[Greek] στερεόω (stereoō), [Latin] consolidare, [Latin] rigidus, [Latin], confirmare, [French] affermir, [French] renforcer: to make firm, to strengthen, to make strong, to make solid, to receive strength; Acts 3:7, Acts 3:16, Acts 16:5
Background information:
Greek Hellenism: This term means to make stiff, strong, firm, hard, and steadfast.
Homer’s Odyssey 23.103: But thy heart is ever harder than stone.”
Homer’s Iliad 9.510: But if a man denieth them and stubbornly refuse, then they go their own way.”
Sophocles’ Antigone 1262: “Ah, the blunders of an unthinking mind, blunders of rigidity, yielding death.”
Old Testament: This term is related to stereoma, which means creation and firmament. Ancient cosmology brings the notion of a solid vault of heaven. God also establishes the earth. God is constancy and firmness. God confirms the righteousness.
New Testament: This term means to grew strong and to make strong. Peter heals a crippled beggar, making his feet and ankles strong. By faith in God’s name (made strong), Peter was able to heal the crippled beggar. Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and in number.
Scripture:
“Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.” Acts 3:7
This action becomes a process of new creation, rather than a medical healing. The saving power of Christ allows the beggar to go into the temple to hear Peter’s proclamation of salvation.
“And by faith in His name, His name has made strong, and the faith that comes through it has given the beggar this perfect health, in the prescence of all of you.” Acts 3:16
It is Peter’s faith in Jesus that allows Peter to heal the beggar. There is no evidence that the beggar had faith.
“Day after day the churches grew stronger and increased in number.” Acts 16:5
The churches grew both internally and externally. Internally, the congregants’ faith in God strengthened. Externally, there was a need to build more churches. The churches in size and faith.
Stereotype: This term comes from the printing trade and was first adopted in 1798 by Firmin Didot to describe a printing plate that duplicated any typography. The stereotype is used for printing from the original. The first reference of a stereotype as an unchanged image was in 1850. It was not until 1922 that a stereotype was used in a psychological or sociological context.
Stereophonic sound: This is a sound reproduction that creates an illusion of a multiple audio perspective. This is achieved by using two or more independent audio channels. This gives the impression of sound heard from various directions.
Conclusion:
Stereo, stereotype, consolidate, consolidation, rigid, confirm, confirmation, affirm, affirmation, reinforce, reinforcement
Homer interestingly makes reference to the psychological notion of a hard heart. Hardness relates to harshness and rigidity.
Stereo music produces a stronger and deeper sound. A stereotype (social label) can be lasting and difficult to change or break.
“Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Abraham Lincoln
“God does not take away trials or carry us over them, but strengthens us through them.” Edward Bouverie Pusey
Update: 20 Freedom Caucus Republicans held firm in exacting political conditions before giving support to Rep. McCarthy to being Speaker of the House.
Putin and the Russian forces are showing rigidity in continuing to fight the Ukrainians.
Many, refusing to acknowledge the open border problem, accuse Govs. Abbot and Desantis of being cruel to illegal immigrants.
The woke and easily offended seem to be very firmly entrenched in naively looking at history. They cannot see that history must be viewed through the lens of progress.
Many universities and colleges have failed to make firm the notion of being able to express different points of view.
Fortunately, more progress has been made to protect against exposure to CRT and gender ideology.
Unfortunately, in the secular post-Christian world, more and more churches are being closed.