The term state is used in various senses by Catholic theologians and spiritual writers.

It may be taken to signify a profession or calling in life, as where St. Paul says, in I Corinthians 7:20: "Let every man abide in the same calling in which he was called". States are classified in the Catholic Church as the clerical state, the religious state, and the secular state; and among religious states, again, we have those of the contemplative, the active, and the mixed orders.

The word is also used in the classification of the degrees or stages of Christian perfection, or the advancement of souls in the supernatural life of grace during their sojourn in the world. This has reference to the practice of all the virtues, both theological virtues and moral virtues, and to all their acts both external and internal. It includes two elements, namely our own efforts and the grace of God assisting us. This grace is never wanting for those acts that are positively commanded or inspired by God, and the work of perfection will proceed according to the energy and fidelity with which souls correspond with its aids.

State commonly refers to either the present condition of a system or entity, or to a governed entity (such as a country) or sub-entity (such as a province or region).

Theology (from the Greek Θεός meaning "God" and λόγος meaning "study of") is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.

Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as "reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity";Richard Hooker defined "theology" in English as "the science of things divine". The term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or forms of discourse. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (philosophical, ethnographic, historical, spiritual and others) to help understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any of myriad religious topics. Theology might be undertaken to help the theologian:

Theology translates into English from the Greek theologia (θεολογία) which derived from theos (θεός), meaning God, and logia (λόγια), meaning utterances, sayings, or oracles (a word related to logos [λόγος], meaning word, discourse, account, or reasoning) which had passed into Latin as theologia and into French as théologie. The English equivalent "theology" (Theologie, Teologye) had evolved by 1362. The sense the word has in English depends in large part on the sense the Latin and Greek equivalents had acquired in Patristic and medieval Christian usage, though the English term has now spread beyond Christian contexts.

Paul David Washer (born 1961) is the Founder/Director & Missions Coordinator of HeartCry Missionary Society which supports indigenous missionary work. He is also a Southern Baptist itinerant preacher. Washer's sermons tend to have an evangelistic focus on the gospel and the doctrine of the assurance of salvation, and he frequently speaks against practices such as the sinner's prayer, and a focus on numerical church growth.

Washer had a born again experience while studying to become an oil and gas lawyer at the University of Texas. Upon graduation, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and achieved a Master of Divinity degree. He then moved to Peru to become a missionary for 10 years, after which he returned to the United States. Washer resides in Radford, Virginia, where he lives with his wife and three children.

Washer's sermons often focus on the character of Christ and how a person is saved from hell. According to Washer, a person is saved through faith alone, but the evidence of a person's repentance is by walking with Jesus. Washer claims that most people who profess a belief in Christianity aren't truly saved. Washer blames preachers, as he claims many preachers often say a person is saved without looking for evidence of repentance in that person's life.