Glossary of religious and spiritual terms
(Starting with "A")
By
Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance,
Toronto, Canada
http://www.religioustolerance.org/glossary.htm
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Abba:
An Aramaic word for father, typically used by
a child when addressing their own parent. Jesus
used the term when addressing God. "Papa"
might be the best translation in English. Not
to be confused with a really neat Swedish singing
quartet.
|
- |
Abortifacient:
- |
General
medical definition: A drug which causes
the interruption
of a pregnancy and the death of an embryo
or fetus. (Pregnancy begins when the pre-embryo
attaches to the wall of the uterus.) |
- |
Common
pro-life definition: A drug which causes
the death of any form of human life after
conception. |
- |
The
difference in definitions makes dialog concerning
emergency contraception
(a.k.a. the morning after pill) very difficult. |
|
- |
Abortion
grays: This is a term used to refer to those
American adults who are not strongly pro-life
or pro-choice. They have reservations about abortion
but do not wish to see it criminalized. They may
well form the majority of adults. They are as
opposed to enforced childbirth for every pregnant
woman as they are to completely free access to
abortion at any stage of pregnancy for any reason. |
- |
Abrahamic:
(a.k.a. Abramic) A group of religions that recognize
Abraham as a patriarch. This includes Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.
Sometimes, the Baha'i Faith
is included in the list. Many smaller non-Jewish
groups such as Samaritans, Falashas, Karaits,
etc, also trace their spiritual roots back to
Abraham, but are not often cited as Abrahamic
religions. |
- |
Absentee
Property Law: An Israeli law that considers
all land in Israel that was abandoned by Palestinians
when they were driven from Israel now belongs
to the state. |
- |
Absolution:
In legal terms, it is the act of a judge or
jury declaring a person innocent of a crime. In
a religious sense, it involves a person being
freed from guilt or sin. In the Roman Catholic
Church, a priest can declare the sins of a penitent
person to be forgiven if they sincerely plan to
avoid such behavior in the future. |
- |
Absolutism:
- |
The
belief that absolute
truths exist in the field of ethics
and morality. Typically, these truths are
extracted from a holy text. Antonym is relativism. |
- |
The
concept that a monarchy held the ultimate
authority in a state. This was typically
a king who claimed to rule by divine right. |
|
- |
Acolyte:
(From a Greek word for "follower")
A layperson who performs minor duties during a
religious service. |
- |
Activism:
Promoting social change. In a religious sense,
the term is often used by Fundamentalist and other
Evangelical Christians to refer to the expression
of the gospel in various ways, including missionary
outreach and social reform. |
- |
Activist
judges: A term, typically used by social or
religious conservatives, to refer to judges who
give state or federal constitutions priority over
ordinary laws, and rule in favor of equal justice
and liberty for all persons, regardless of gender,
race, sexual orientation, degree of ability, etc.
|
- |
AD:
(a.k.a. A.D.) An acronym for anno domini,
the year of the Lord. It refers to the number
of years since the birth of Yeshua of Nazareth,
a.k.a. Jesus Christ. In reality, Jesus was born
probably in the Fall of a year between 4 and 7
BCE. "CE,"
an acronym for the religiously neutral term "common
era" is gradually replacing "AD." |
- |
Adhan:
The Muslim call to prayer, typically from the
minaret at a mosque. |
- |
Adoptionism:
A belief, universally held within the earliest
Christian movement, and still active in the 2nd
and 3rd century CE, that Jesus was a normal human
being, a prophet, who was born as any other human,
and is not a deity. God later gave him supernatural
powers at his baptism when God chose Jesus as
his "adopted" son. Adoptionism
was declared a heresy by a number of early church
councils. |
- |
Advent:
From the Latin word "adventus" or
coming: A period of time before Christmas,
beginning on the Sunday closest to NOV-30 when
the birth of Jesus is recalled. Advent candles
are often lit. |
- |
African
Independent Churches (AICs; a.k.a. African
Indigenous Churches): African-based Christian
faith groups which range from variations of Western
denominations to syncretistic tribal groups which
combine selective elements of Christianity with
local existing traditions. |
- |
Agape:
A Greek word for love that is found frequently
in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) in
noun form as "agape" and in verb
form as "agapao." 1
It is different from erotic love. It is supposed
to be the characteristic attitude of Christians
toward one another, (John 13:34), and toward all
humanity, 1 Thessalonians. 3:12; 1 Corinthians
16:14; 2 Peter 1:7. |
- |
Agnostic:
a person who believes that, at our present level
of knowledge, we cannot know whether or not a
God exists. Some Agnostics believe that we
can never know whether one or more deities exists. |
- |
Agunah:
A Jewish woman who is not free to remarry,
generally because her husband refuses to give
her a get (divorce), or because he has disappeared
and not known to be alive or dead, or because
he is not mentally competent to give her a get. |
- |
Ahimsa:
Taking care and concern to avoid injury to
any sentient creature. This is the first of the
five precepts of Buddhist
life and a major principle of Jainism. |
- |
Alawis:
An sect of Islam that originated in the Shia
tradition. Many of its followers live in Syria. |
- |
Alexandrian
School: One of the two great schools of biblical
interpretation in the early Church. They incorporated
Greek Pagan philosophical beliefs from Plato's
teachings into Christianity. They interpreted
much of the Bible allegorically. The school was
was established in Alexandria, Egypt in the late
second century CE. |
- |
Alim
(single), Ulama (plural): Islamic scholar(s). |
- |
Aliyah:
A Jewish term which means an immigration of Jews
to Israel. An "oleh" is a single Jew
immigrating into Israel. (Plural is "olim"). |
- |
Allah:
This is an Arabic word which means "the
One True God." Most Muslims in the West
use Allah and God interchangeably.
|
- |
Al-Hijra:
An Islamic holy day that recalls the trek
by Mohammed and his followers to Medina. |
- |
Al-Sajdah:
This is the the act of prostration by a Muslim
during which seven parts of the body are to touch
the ground: the forehead, palms, knees and big
toes. |
- |
Allegory:
Interpreting religious texts sybmolically. |
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All
Saints Day: A Christian day of remembrance
of the saints of the faith- both recognized and
unknown. It has been observed since 609 CE.
The Western church celebrates it on NOV-1; Eastern
Orthodox churches celebrate All Saints Day
in the springtime -- on the Sunday after Pentecost. |
- |
All
Souls' Day (a.k.a. the Day of the Dead),
is celebrated yearly on NOV-2. This is a day for
prayer and almsgiving in memory of ancestors who
have died. Believers pray for the souls of the
dead, in an effort to hasten their transition
from Purgatory to
Heaven. It is primarily
observed by Roman Catholics. |
- |
Altar:
A table-like structure originally used for
ritual sacrifice of animals, and occasionally
of humans. Now used as a central focus in Jewish,
Christian, Neopagan, and other religious services. |
- |
Amen:
The word is related to "Emunah"
in Hebrew, which means faith and/or belief. Adding
"Amen" at the end of "...a blessing
or a prayer demonstrates a statement of affirmation
that the blessing is true and hope that the prayer
will be answered." "Amen"
is also a near acronym; its four letters stand
for the three Hebrew words: "Aiy'l Melech
Ne-eman" which mean that God is a true
and faithful king. 2 |
- |
Amillennialism:
(a.k.a Nonmillennialism) A belief taught by Roman
Catholicism, and some Reformed Protestantism and
Baptist churches concerning the end of the world.
We are currently in the "millennium."
End time events described in the book of Revelation
and elsewhere in the New Testament have mostly
taken place. The Antichrist is viewed figuratively
and not as a real person. This was the universal
belief of Christianity up until the 19th century. |
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Amish:
A very conservative Christian group which
broke away from the larger Anabaptist movement
in the Alsace region in France during the late
17th century. Most Amish now live in the U.S.
and Canada -- largely in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
They isolate themselves from the larger American/Canadian
culture. Most are farmers. . |
- |
Anabaptists:
A European Christian movement at the time of the
Protestant reformation, whose origins are a matter
of debate. They believed in adult baptism, freedom
of belief, separation of church and state, the
rejection of war, and other beliefs that were
rather advanced for their time. They were terrible
persecuted, both by Roman Catholicism and Protestant
churches. The Amish and
Mennonites trace their origins to the Anabaptists.
Some theologians and historians include the Society
of Friends (Quakers)
and Moravians as Anabaptist denominations. |
- |
Anagogy:
From the Greek word "anago" - to lead.
Interpreting the scriptures, or other writings,
mystically, in order to uncover a hidden meanings. |
- |
Ancestor
worship: The veneration or worship of deceased
people by their living kin. It exists, sometimes
integrated as part of a world religion, in about
60% of the world's cultures. |
- |
Angel:
The English word comes from the Greek "angelos"
(messenger). In the Bible they were described
as an intelligent and immortal species, usually
presented as being visually indistinguishable
from humans -- i.e. with a human body and without
wings. They delivered messages from God, and either
harmed or helped humans. Satan is described in
the Bible as an evil angel. Because the Bible's
cosmology asserts that the earth was flat, that
it was covered by a metal firmament or dome, and
that God resided in Heaven above the dome, angels
have often been portrayed as having wings so that
they could fly like birds from Heaven to earth
and back. Angels play a major role in Judaism,
Christianity, Islam and the New Age. |
- |
Angelology:
The theological study of angels. This is primarily
found in Christianity. |
- |
Anglicanism:
The beliefs and organization of the Church
of England and the national churches that
together form the Anglican Communion. The
Communion includes the Episcopal Church in the
U.S. and the Anglican Church of Canada. The denomination
is theologically diverse, having members whose
beliefs range from Fundamentalism to liberal Christianity
and from homophobia to support for equal rights
for persons of all sexual orientations. The Communion
is coordinated by the Lambeth Conference which
meets once every decade. |
- |
Anglo-Catholicism:
A movement within the Anglican Communion which
promotes a return to pre-Reformation beliefs and
rituals, including the mass, confession and monasticism. |
- |
Animism:
a type of religious belief that all components
of the universe, including humans, animals, plant
life, rocks, etc. contain some form of life force,
soul or spirit. Some are seen as friendly spirits;
others as tricksters. "While animists
can be found in almost all Asian countries, they
are more than 5% of the population only in Laos.
Animists are between 1% and 5% of the population
in Burma, India, Indonesia, Kampuchea, Malaysia,
and Vietnam." 3 |
- |
Aninut:
A Jewish term covering the interval between
a person's death and burial. |
- |
Annihilationism:
(a.k.a. conditionalism and conditional immortality).
From the Latin word "nihil" --
which means nothing. This an umbrella term used
to refer to a group of beliefs about life after
death. They are:
- |
After
death, unsaved people
will immediately cease to exist in any form.
This is taught by most Adventist
groups, by the
Jehovah's Witnesses and other Christian
groups. This contrasts with the historical
Christian belief that the unsaved will be
tortured for all eternity in Hell
without hope of mercy or cessation. Both
views can be supported by selected biblical
passages. |
- |
The
belief that unsaved people spend an interval
of time in Hell. Their length of stay is
matched to the frequency and seriousness
of their evil deeds. They are then exterminated
and cease to exist. This view is also supported
by some biblical passages. |
- |
The
belief -- common among Agnostics, Atheists,
Humanists, secularists and others -- that
after death everyone will automatically
cease to exist. After death, we live on
only in the DNA that we have passed on to
the next generation, and in the influences
that we have had on other people and society
while we were alive. |
|
- |
Annunciation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary: This is a Christian
holy day which recalls the Archangel's announcement
to Mary of her pregnancy. |
- |
Annunciation:
This refers to the announcement to Joseph (in
Matthew 1:20) and to Mary (Luke 1:26-35) of Jesus'
future birth. |
- |
Antedeluvian:
The interval of time preceding the great flood
of Noah, described in Genesis 2:6-8. Some Christians
believe that the climate was more uniform that
it is at the present, and that the earth was surrounded
by a gigantic vapor cloud. All or essentially
all geologists reject these beliefs. |
- |
Anthem:
A Christian term for a hymn whose words come from
the Bible. |
- |
Anthropology:
The study of humanity and human cultures. |
- |
Anthropomorphism:
The representation of a non-human as a human.
God in the earlier parts of the Hebrew Scriptures
(Old Testament) is described in human terms, as
having a body. Sometimes anthropomorphism is extended
to animals who are assumed to have human feelings.
|
- |
Antibaptists:
(not to be confused with Anabaptists):
- |
Christians
who deny the validity of baptism. Most believe
that water baptism has been replaced by
spirit baptism. |
- |
Christians
who do not recognize earlier baptism that
convert's from other denominations had received.
|
|
- |
Antichrist:
An individual whose appearance is prophesized
in two books of the Christian Scriptures (1 John
and 2 John). He is expected by some Christians
to appear near the End
Time, when he will act as Satan's chief representative.
The pope, Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates, Hitler, Stalin,
and many other people have been called the Antichrist.
So has at least one computer system. |
- |
Anticult
Movement (ACM): A mainly secular movement
which opposes new religious movements (NRMs) because
of their perceived deceptive recruiting practices
and mind-control techniques. Many small ACM groups
coalesced into several large ACM organizations
starting in the early 1970's. Their beliefs that
many NRMs drive their members to suicide and reduce
their followers to near-zombie status has been
widely accepted among the public. However, most
sociologists and other academics reject these
teachings. Counter-cult
organizations -- groups that oppose NRMs on
theological grounds -- are considered by some
to be part of the ACM. |
- |
Antidisestablishmentarianism:
Being opposed to the belief that there should
no longer be an official church a the country.
The word is sometimes quoted as the longest word
in the English language. The longest word in any
language may well be the Welsh name of a town
in Wales:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. |
- |
Antinomianism:
- |
The
belief that once a believer is
saved, they are not bound to follow
moral laws. |
- |
The
belief that a saved believer can freely
sin because he is forgiven of past and future
transgressions. |
|
- |
Antiochan
School: One of the two great schools of biblical
interpretation in the early Church. They incorporated
Greek Pagan beliefs from Aristotle's teachings
into Christianity. |
- |
Anti-semitism:
(a.k.a. Anti-Semitism, antisemitism) Hatred, prejudice,
oppression, or discrimination against Jews or
Judaism. The term is usually spelled with a capital
"S" in "Semitic." We
spell it with a small "s" because it
Semite refers to a language group. Semites
originally meant the descendents of Shem, which
include both Jews and Muslims in the Middle East.
Now, the term is used mainly to refer to Jews.
Alan Dershowitz, in his book "The Case
for Israel" defines anti-semitism as
"taking a trait or an action that is widespread
if not universal, and blaming only the Jews for
it." In recent years, the term has been
used to refer to any action or person that is
critical of Jews, Judaism or the Israel. |
- |
Antitrinitarians:
Christians who deny the Trinity -- that concept
that God the father, Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit are three persons in a single deity. |
- |
Anti-zionism:
A belief system opposed to the creation and continuation
of Israel as a Jewish state. |
- |
Apikoros:
A Jewish term for an unbeliever. |
- |
Apocalypse,
apocalyptic: From a Greek word meaning "revelation."
A style of mainly Jewish and Christian writing
that was common from about 200 BCE
to 200 CE. The writings prophesized
the destruction of evil and triumph of good. Sometimes
narrowly used to refer to the Book
of Revelation in the Bible. |
- |
Apocatastasis:
The belief that all living entities will eventually
attain Heaven, including individuals sent to Hell,
Satan, demons, etc. Hell will thus eventually
be cleared of all of its inhabitants. This is
considered a heresy by
most Christian denominations. One meaning of the
term "universalism" is similar to "Apocatastasis,"
and is a lot easier to pronounce. |
- |
Apocrypha:
A Greek term meaning to hide or uncover. A collection
of fourteen books written after the last book
of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and before
the first book of the Christian Scriptures (New
Testament). It is accepted by the Roman
Catholic Church and
Orthodox Churches as part of the inspired
cannon of the Bible, but is rejected by most Protestant
denominations. |
- |
Apologetics:
A systematic defense of a belief system. It is
derived from the Greek "apologia"
which means to create a defense. See 1 Peter 3:15.
Most apologetics texts are directed to members
of another religion, or to secularists. However
they tend to be read in practice by the faith
group whose beliefs are defended. See Polemics.
In Christianity:
- |
Classical
Apologetics: uses rational arguments
to prove that God exists, and relies on
evidence to support biblical claims and
miracles. |
- |
Presuppositional
Apologetics: starts with the assumption
that God exists and that the Bible is true.
They argue from this that their particular
belief of the Trinity, salvation, Heaven,
Hell, etc. is valid. |
- |
Evidential
Apologetics: uses evidences such as
miracles, fulfilled prophecies, etc. to
prove that God exists and that the biblical
account of Christ and his message are valid
and trustworthy. 4 |
|
- |
Apologist:
A Christian who gives an intellectual defense
of their religion. |
- |
Apostate:
From the Greek apo - histanai ("depart
from a stand.") A person who was once
affiliated with a faith group, but has since "fallen
away" and left the group. One group's apostate
is generally another group's convert. Very severe
penalties exist in some countries of the world
against individuals who abandon the state religion
in favor of another faith. It can theoretically
mean execution in some Islamic
countries. The Roman Catholic church stopped
burning European apostates at the stake in 1792
CE. |
- |
Apostle:
A Christian term to refer to Jesus' immediate
followers. An apostle must generally a man was
personally chosen by Jesus, and to have seen him.
Sometimes, the term is used to refer only to the
twelve disciples, or to the twelve disciples and
Paul. Other times, it has been used to refer to
the 70 disciples selected by Jesus. In Romans
16:7, Paul refers to a female
apostle, Junia, as "outstanding among
the apostles." (NIV) |
- |
Apostle's
Creed: A summary of Christian beliefs. Many
Christians believe that the Apostles personally
wrote the creed so that they could coordinate
their missionary efforts as they spread out through
the known world. However, there is evidence that
the creed was written near the end of the second
century CE, about a century
after the time of the apostles. |
- |
Apostolic
succession: The Catholic belief that Jesus
Christ ordained the twelve apostles, who ordained
bishops, who in turn ordained their successors
in an unbroken sequence up to the present day.
Non-Catholic Christian denominations generally
regard apostolic succession to be a myth. |
- |
Apparition:
From the Latin word "apparere:"
to appear). A paranormal incident involving the
appearance of a non-existent entity or object.
A visual apparition is generally called a ghost. |
- |
Appollinarianism:
An early Christian belief promoted by Apollinarius
(b 310) who lived in Syria. He believed that Jesus
was entirely divine and had no human nature. The
belief was declared a heresy,
first at the Council of Alexandria (378 CE) and
later at two subsequent Councils. |
- |
Aramaic:
A semitic language used throughout southwest
Asia. Used by Jews after the 6th century BCE.
|
- |
Archangel:
a member of the highest rank of angels. Only two
are mentioned in the Bible: Gabriel and Michael. |
- |
Archbishop:
(Derived from a Greek word for "chief overseer").
A bishop who has administrative responsibilities
over an archdiocese. |
- |
Archdiocese:
A diocese -- a geographical area -- that is particularly
large or has an important past. Its priests are
under the direction of a single archbishop. The
term is used by the Roman Catholic church,
the Greek Orthodox churches, and the Anglican
Communion. |
- |
Archon:
A Gnostic term
which refers to the Demiurge
-- the creator of the material world -- and his
angels. |
- |
Areligious:
Indifferent to organized religions. |
- |
Arhat:
A Buddhist saint who has liberated themselves
from samsara: the endless cycle of life, death
and rebirth into the world. They typically lead
a monastic live. |
- |
Arianism:
An early Christian heresy
named after Arius (250-336 CE). He taught that
Jesus was not in existence for all time, but was
created by God near the end of the first century
BCE. He also taught a form
of monotheism in which there is only one person
in the Godhead -- the Father -- and not a Trinity.
The church at the time was evenly divided over
whether Arianism was truth or a heresy. Constantine's
vote swayed the balance, and it became a heresy.
|
- |
Arigocity:
A word coined by Adam Bolt, an Australian
photographer, to mean the acceptance of spiritual
diversity. The word does not seem to have caught
on yet, because the only location on the Internet
where the word appears is on Bolt's personal web
site. Still, it is a word that seems needed, particularly
in the U.S., which is the world's most religiously
diverse country. |
- |
Ark:
In a religious sense, it has two unrelated
meanings:
- |
Noah's
Ark was the boat constructed by Noah in
which he and his family survived the great
flood. |
- |
An
acronym for aron kodesh (holy chest). A
box in which the Torah scrolls are stored. |
|
- |
Armageddon:
A battle that is prophesized to occur in the plain
of Megiddo, Israel. Jesus and Satan, and their
armies, will fight a final battle (as stated in
the biblical Book of Revelation). |
- |
Arminianism:
A set of Christian beliefs suggested by Arminius,
a theologian from the Netherlands, in reaction
to Calvin's five points.
He maintained that
- |
Everyone
has free will and can chose to be saved;
|
- |
God
selected some individuals to be saved on
the basis of his foreknowledge of who would
respond; |
- |
Jesus
died for all; |
- |
People
can resist the call of God. |
- |
One
cannot lose one's salvation unless they
abandon it. |
Calvinists regard these as a
heresy. The controversy
continues to the present time, because both
Calvinists and Arminians can justify their positions
through reference to biblical passages. |
- |
Aryan:
A term used by the German Nazi government to refer
to Caucasians of the Nordic type. Originally,
the term referred to persons who speak an Indo-European
language. |
- |
Asa,
Бs. Жsir:
The name for the Gods in Norse Heathenism, either
as individuals or as a collective. |
- |
Ascended
Masters: A New Age
belief that there are spiritual, non-physical,
entities who live on an astral plane and can communicate
spiritual truths to humans through channeling.
|
- |
Ascension:
In Christianity, this refers to the belief that
Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at God's right
hand. According to two gospels, Luke, Jesus ascended
to heaven on a Monday, the day after his resurrection.
Acts explained that it occurred 40 days later. |
- |
Ascension,
feast of (a.k.a. ascention day): A Christian
holy day celebrating Jesus'
ascension from Earth to Heaven. It is celebrated
on a Thursday, 40 days after Easter Sunday. |
- |
Ascension
of Abdul Baha: A celebration by the Baha'i
Faith of Abdul Baha's spirit rising to heaven. |
- |
Ascension
of Baha'u'llah: A remembrance by the Baha'i
faith of the death of its founder, Mirza Husayn
Ali, and the ascension of his spirit to heaven. |
- |
Asceticism:
The belief that a conflict exists between one's
body and spirit. By renouncing the needs and desires
of the body, one can attain a higher spirituality.
This is concept is found in many religions and
faith groups, from Christianity
to Native American spirituality. |
- |
Ashkenazi:
A term referring to Jews of eastern and northern
European origin. See also Sephardi. |
- |
Ashoora:
A one-day fast in which Muslims recall the
death of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet
of Islam. He sacrificed his life and the lives
of many of his family members and friends in Karbala
Iraq, in order to preserve the teachings of Islam.
6 |
- |
Ashram:
A Hindu term for a religious retreat center where
a student can learn under the guidance of a guru
(teacher). |
- |
Ash
Wednesday: This is the first day of Lent,
observed by Christians. It is held on the Wednesday
which is 40 days prior to Easter. |
- |
Assimilation:
Becoming integrated into mainstream culture. |
- |
Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
- |
A
Roman Catholic holy day which commemorates
the Virgin Mary's death and direct ascension
to heaven. |
- |
The
declaration on 1950-NOV-1 that the Virgin
Mary's body and soul directly ascended to
heaven. This event does not appear
in the Bible. However, it has been argued
on the basis that Jesus would not have allowed
his mother's body to decay in the earth. |
|
- |
Astral
plane: A plane of existence that is separate
from, but which overlaps, the physical world. |
- |
Astral
projection: A practice among some Pagans and
New Agers whereby they believe that they can transfer
their consciousness from the physical world to
the astral plane. |
- |
Astrology:
a belief that the positions of the planets affect
events and states of being on earth. It was developed
independently in Greece and India circa 300 BCE. |
- |
Athame:
A knife, typically double sided with either
a black or natural wood handle used by Wiccans
and other Neopagans during rituals. |
- |
Atheism:
from a Greek term meaning no deity.
- |
According
to many Atheists: having no belief about
a deity. |
- |
According
to most non-Atheists, actively denying that
a deity exists. |
|
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Atheist:
A person who believes in Atheism. |
- |
Atlantis:
An sunken island. generally believed to be in
the Atlantic ocean, which some people assert once
held an advanced civilization. |
- |
Atonement:
In general, an act that unites enemies as friends.
In Judaism, it refers to a process of healing
the relationship between God and humans achieved
through repentance, seeking forgiveness and making
amends. In Christianity, the doctrine that Christ's
death has the power of canceling the sins of those
Christians who are "saved." |
- |
Atonement,
limited: One of the five points of Calvinism:
Christ died to atone for certain sins of specific
individuals -- only those who are elected by God
to be saved. He did not die for the all sins of
all humanity. |
- |
Attributes
of God: God, as viewed by followers
of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is traditionally
thought to be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient
(all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere)
and omnibeneficient (all loving). The theodicy
paradox addresses the apparent impossibility
of God holding these four attributes simultaneously.
Other attributes include holy, good, wise, and
just. |
- |
Aura:
An energy field believed by some to surround humans
or objects. Some people believe that they can
detect an aura visually and determine an individual's
emotional and physical state from its color and
variation. 5 |
- |
Authoritarianism:
A system of control in a group, family, country,
religion, etc. in which most members are heavily
controlled by a few. |
- |
Authority,
Bible: Biblical authority is the belief --
near universally held among conservative Christians
-- that: "the Bible, as the expression
of God's will to us, possesses the right supremely
to define what we are to believe and how we are
to conduct ourselves." 7
Steven Ibbotson states: "The Bible is
authoritative because it is God's inspired word
to humanity." 8
Religious liberals commonly discount some sections
of the Bible as authoritative because they are
judged to be
profoundly immoral when compared to today's
religious and secular moral standards. |
- |
Authorized
Version: Synonym for the King James Version
of the Bible. |
- |
Autosoterism:
The belief that a person is responsible for their
own salvation which is attained through their
good works. |
- |
Avatar:
A Hindu concept of a God adopting a human or animal
form. A God-man Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu. |
- |
Averah
(a.k.a. aveira): A Jewish term for sin. |
- |
Ayyam-I-Ha:
The first intercalary day, required to balance
the Baha'i calendar. Members of the Baha'i faith
engage in acts of hospitality and charity towards
others on this day. |
References:
- "Bible Love" at:
http://www.bibletruths.net/
- "Amen - Meaning & Implication,"
at:
http://www.geocities.com/
- Joseph Tamney, "Animism,"
at:
http://www.hartfordinstitute.org/
- "Apologetics,"
The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry,
at:
http://www.carm.org/
- If you believe that you can detect
auras, and would be willing to prove it, then you
may be eligible to win an award of over one million
dollars in U.S. funds from a Florida group. Please
contact
the author for details.
- "Learning about Islam,"
at:
http://www.al-islam.org/
- Millard J. Erickson, "Christian
Theology," Baker, (1985), Page 241.
- Steven Ibbotson, "Biblical
Authority," Prairie Bible Institute, (2000),
at:
http://instructor.pbi.ab.ca
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