Term B

Baal
     A Canaanite god.  The word means "lord" or "husband."  He was a god of weather, associated with thunder, which appointed the times of the rains, and was considered to be the son of the pagan god Dagon.  The ancient Jews were often tempted to follow Baal because so much of their lives depended upon the rain that fed the crops.

Babel
     The Hebrew name for Babylon, one of the cities founded by Nimrod.  In Gen. 11:1-9, it is the location where the entire world spoke a single language and worked together to build a tower into the heavens.  It was representative of the great pride of man.  God confused their languages.  The building of the tower ceased and they dispersed.

Babel, Tower of
     The tower constructed by the builders at Babel became a symbol of their defiance against God, (Gen. 11:1-6).  It was probably modeled after a ziggurat which is a mound of sun-dried bricks and was probably constructed before 4,000 BC.

Baptism
      An immersion or sprinkling of water that signifies one's identification with a belief or cause. In Christianity it is the believer's identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:4-54). It is done in the name and authority (Acts 4:7) of Christ with the baptismal formula of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). It does not save us (1 Pet. 3:21).  However, it is our obligation, as believers, to receive it.
      Some maintain that baptism is necessary for salvation. It is not. If you want to read more on this see Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

Baptismal Regeneration
     The belief that baptism is essential to salvation, that it is the means where forgiveness of sins is made real to the believer. This is incorrect. Paul said that he came to preach the gospel, not to baptize (1 Cor. 1:14-17). If baptism were essential to salvation, then Paul would have included it in his standard practice and preaching of the salvation message of Jesus, but he did not. (See also Col. 2:10-11.) For more information on this see Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?

Bible
     A book or collection of sacred writings.  The term "bible" is best known in reference to the Christian Scriptures consisting of the both the Old and New Testaments.  The word comes from the Greek, biblos, meaning "book."  

Blasphemy
      Speaking evil of God or denying Him some good which we should attribute to Him. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is stating that Jesus did his miracles by the power of the devil (Matt. 12:22-32) and is an unforgivable sin (Mark 3:28-30). Blasphemy arises out of pride (Psalm 73:9,11), hatred (Psalm 74:18), injustice (Isaiah 52:5), etc. Christ was mistakenly accused of blasphemy (John 10:30-33).

Book of Life
     A book kept by God with the list of names of people who will escape God's wrath (Psalm 69:28; Rev. 21:27).  Those whose names are not in the book of Life are cast into hell (Rev. 20:15).

Born Again
     The new birth enjoyed by a Christian upon his conversion and regeneration.  It is a work of the Holy Spirit within a believer.  It is related to faith in Christ and Him crucified (John 3:3-5).  It means that the person is no longer dead in sins (Eph. 2:1), no longer spiritually blind (1 Cor. 2:14), and is now a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17).

Bride of Christ
     A symbolic term used to designate the Christian church in its relation to Christ as one who is a pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2), loved by Christ (Eph. 5:22-33), who will be in the marriage supper to the Lamb (Rev. 19:7).  Rev. 21:9 says, "And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."