Jesus

Jesus (/ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς Iesous; 7–2 BC to AD 30–33), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God. Christians believe Jesus is the awaited Messiah (or Christ, the Anointed One) of the Old Testament.

Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically, and historians consider the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) to be the best sources for investigating the historical Jesus. Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Galilean, Jewish rabbi who preached his message orally,was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. In the current mainstream view, Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher and the founder of a renewal movement within Judaism, although some prominent scholars argue that he was not apocalyptic. After Jesus' death, his followers believed he was resurrected, and the community they formed eventually became the Christian church. The widely used calendar era, abbreviated as "AD" from the Latin "Anno Domini" ("in the year of our Lord") or sometimes as "CE", is based on the birth of Jesus. His birth is celebrated annually on December 25 as a holiday known as Christmas.

Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament

Two names and a variety of titles are used to refer to Jesus in the New Testament.

In Christianity, the two names Jesus and Emmanuel that refer to Jesus in the New Testament have salvific attributes. After the Crucifixion of Jesus the early Church did not simply repeat his messages, but began to focus on him, proclaim him, and try to understand and explain his message: the proclaimer became the proclaimed.

One element of the process of understanding and proclaiming Jesus was the attribution of titles to him. Some of the titles that were gradually used in the early Church and then appeared in the New Testament were adopted from the Jewish context of the age, while others were selected to refer to, and underscore the message, mission and teachings of Jesus. In time, some of these titles gathered significant Christological significance.

Christians have attached theological significance to the Holy Name of Jesus. The use of the name of Jesus in petitions is stressed in John 16:23 when Jesus states: "If you ask the Father anything in my name he will give it you." There is widespread belief among Christians that the name Jesus is not merely a sequence of identifying symbols but includes intrinsic divine power.

Chris Oyakhilome

Chris Oyakhilome (known popularly as "Pastor Chris") is a Nigerian minister who is the founding president of Believers' Loveworld Incorporated, also known as "Christ Embassy", a Bible-based Christian ministry headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.

His ministry runs several arms including the Healing School, Rhapsody of Realities (likely the most translated book in the whole world, 662 translations), and an NGO called the Innercity Missions for Children as well as three Christian television channels: LoveWorld TV, LoveWorld SAT and LoveWorld Plus. Oyakhilome's television programs feature his faith healings, miracles and large meetings which his ministry organises around the world, with gatherings of over 2.5 million people in a single night's event.

On 11 June 2015, Oyakhilome received an honorary D.Sc. degree from his alma mater, Ambrose Alli University. Recently, on Friday, the 23rd of October 2015, Oyakhilome received another honorary D.D. degree from the Benson Idahosa University.

John Osteen

John Hillery Osteen (August 21, 1921 – January 23, 1999) was the founder and first pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, from its beginnings in 1959 until his death in 1999. His son Joel Osteen then succeeded him as pastor.

Life and work

Osteen was born in Paris, Texas. He earned his bachelor's degree from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and his Masters degree from Northern Baptist Seminary. He also held a Doctorate of Divinity degree from Oral Roberts University.

In his biography, John said he did not begin thinking seriously about God until 1939, after leaving a nightclub he frequented. Within a couple of months, he began preaching in Paris, Texas and was apparently ordained to the gospel ministry shortly before his 18th birthday by a church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. He served as an Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church in San Diego after completing his studies at NBTS and by the late 1940s as a minister at First Baptist Church, Hamlin, Texas. John left Hamlin in 1948 to become an itinerant preacher, but within a year he became pastor of Central Baptist Church, Baytown, Texas.

The Authority

The Authority is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters from Stormwatch.

Members

The founding members of the Authority were:

Following the "Outer Dark" storyarc, Jenny Sparks was replaced with:

After the "Revolution" maxi-series, new members of the Authority included: