dispensationalism

American  

[dis-puhn-sey-shuh-nl-iz-uhm, -pen-] / ˌdɪs pənˈseɪ ʃə nlˌɪz əm, -pɛn- /

noun

1. the interpreting of history as a series of divine dispensations.

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Etymology

Origin of dispensationalism

dispensational ( def. ) + -ism

Example Sentences

Daniel Hummel is a historian, the director of the Lumen Center for the study of Christianity and Culture and the author of “The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped A Nation.”

From Salon

After Darby and the popularization of dispensationalism, however, American evangelical Christians in particular began to pick up the idea that both Jews and Christians had prophetic roles to play in bringing about the return of Jesus.

From Salon

While the specific timeline of events is open to interpretation, and there are innumerable modern and historical interpretations of what is supposedly going to happen, Hummel stressed that the beliefs of the dispensationalists have “slipped the bonds of systematic theology or even the word dispensationalism” and have become very common in the milieu of American Christianity.

From Salon

Hummel refers to the broader adoption of these eschatological ideas as “pop dispensationalism,” with books like the “Left Behind” series of novels or “The Late Great Planet Earth” entrenching these ideas in the minds of many Americans throughout the last century.

From Salon

For example, some people still hold on to an interpretative framework known as dispensationalism, which includes the popular concept of the “Rapture.”

From Salon