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In some Christian movements (especially Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism), to be born again is to undergo a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit from the Holy Spirit. This is contrasted with the physical birth everyone experiences. The term "born again" is derived from an event in the New Testament in which the words of Jesus are misunderstood by his conversation partner, Nicodemus: "Jesus answered him, 'Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.' Nicodemus said to him, 'How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?'" The Greek phrase in the text is in itself ambiguous, resulting in a wordplay in which Jesus' meaning, "born from above," is misunderstood by Nicodemus as "born again." In contemporary Christian usage, the term is distinct from sometimes similar terms used in mainstream Christianity to refer to being or becoming Christian, which is linked to baptism. Individuals who profess to be "born again" often state that they have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The phrase "born again" is also used as an adjective to describe individual members of the movement who espouse this belief, as well as the movement itself ("born-again Christian" and the "born-again movement"). ==History and usage== Historically, Christianity has used various metaphors to describe its rite of initiation, that is, spiritual regeneration via the sacrament of baptism by the power of the water and the spirit. This remains the common understanding in most of Christendom, held, for example, in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism,〔See the section on Anglicanism in Baptismal regeneration〕 Lutheranism, and in much of Protestantism. However, sometime after the Reformation, Evangelical Protestants began to understand being ''born again''〔"born-again." ''Good Word Guide.'' London: A&C Black, 2007. Credo Reference. 30 July 2009〕 as an experience of religious conversion (Heb 10:16), symbolized by deep-water baptism, and rooted in a commitment to one's own personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. This same belief is, historically, also an integral part of Methodist doctrine,〔 〕〔 〕 and is connected with the doctrine of Justification.〔 〕 Such "'Rebirth' has often been identified with a definite, temporally datable form of 'conversion'." Its effects vary with the type of person involved:
According to Melton:
According to Purves and Partee,〔Purves, A. and Partee, C., ''Encountering God: Christian Faith in Turbulent Times'', Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, p. 96 〕 "Sometimes the phrase seems to be judgemental, making a distinction between genuine and nominal Christians. Sometimes ... descriptive, like the distinction between liberal and conservative Christians. Occasionally, the phrase seems historic, like the division between Catholic and Protestant Christians." Furthermore, the term "usually includes the notion of human choice in salvation and excludes a view of divine election by grace alone". The Oxford English Dictionary, finding examples going back to 1961, defines the adjective "born-again" as: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Born again (Christianity)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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