| - |
Babel,
tower of: A tower mentioned in Genesis 11.
The Bible describes how there was only one language
used prior to construction of the tower. God was
offended by the construction, and caused its builders
to speak in different languages. Almost all linguistic
experts, except those who are conservative Christians,
consider the story to be a myth. |
| - |
Babylonian
Talmud: The most authoritative compilation
of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, ethics,
customs, legends and stories. Abbreviated term:
Bavli |
| - |
Backmasking:
A type of subliminal message
in which a second audio track is recorded backwards
on top of a record's music. It is a common belief
among the public that such messages bypass the
conscious brain, enter the subconscious and motivate
the individual to take certain actions. One rock
group actually inserted a backmasking section
on one of their records as a joke. There is no
evidence that backmasking works or has ever been
used with evil intent. |
| - |
Badge:
A cloth identifier that the Catholic
Church required Jews to wear. This was later adopted
by the Nazi Government in Germany who required
certain groups to wear a badge so that they could
easily be singled out. For Jews, this was a yellow
Star of David. For other groups it was usually
a triangle: brown for Roma (a.k.a. Gypsies), purple
for Jehovah's Witnesses, pink for homosexuals,
green for criminals, red for political prisoners,
blue for emigrants, and black for "asocials."
In recent years, gays and lesbians have embraced
the pink triangle as a symbol of their drive for
equal treatment. |
| - |
Bahá'í
Faith: A world religion, founded in 1844
CE by Baha'u'llah (Glory of God) in Iran. Its
roots are based in Islam. With the exception of
its beliefs about homosexuality, and the makeup
of its Universal House of Justice, it promotes
democracy with equal rights to all, regardless
of gender, race, nationality, etc. It has spread
across the world. Its followers experience heavy
oppression in Iran. |
| - |
Baphomet
(a.k.a. Sigil of Baphomet): A pentagram (a five
pointed star) with one point downwards and two
upwards, within a circle. A goat's head is drawn
within the star. This is used by many Satanists
as a religious symbol. |
| - |
Baisakhi:
The Sikhs' New Year's
celebration. |
| - |
Baptism:
The English words "baptize" and
"baptism" are derived from a
Greek root: "baptizr," which
means "to immerse," "to dip
under," or "to wash."
Within Christianity, it is usually performed by
a member of the clergy in a church setting, thus
welcoming an individual into the church.
Denominations disagree about the method (immersion
or sprinkling), the age at which the ritual is
done, and additional consequences of baptism. Some
Christian groups maintain that baptism is required
before a person can be saved; some say that only
those baptized in their denomination or in a certain
way can be saved. Still others consider baptism
to be merely an indication that a person had been
saved in the recent past. |
| - |
Baptism
for the dead: This is a procedure that was
employed among some Christian groups during the
second century CE. Today, it is followed by members
of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day saints -- the Mormons. Ancestors
who died outside the church can be baptized by
their descendents who are alive today. |
| - |
Baptists:
A group of Protestant Christian who, according
to religious historians, originated in the English
Separatist movement of the 1600s. However, some
Baptists believe that they can trace their history
directly back to the New Testament period. In
the U.S., they consist of dozens of denominations
that do not baptize infants, but who baptize individuals
by immersion after they have personally professed
their faith. Baptist congregations are independent;
full authority resides in the membership of each
church. The largest American Protestant denomination,
the Southern Baptist Convention, deviated from
centuries of tradition by expelling congregations
who had decided to welcome sexually active gays
and lesbians as members. |
| - |
Bar
Mitzvah: From the Hebrew phrase "son
of the commandments." A ritual performed
on Jewish boys at the age of 13 when they attain
religious responsibility. |
| - |
Bat
Mitzvah: From the Hebrew phrase "daughter
of the commandments." A ritual performed
on Jewish girls at the age of 12 years and a day
when they attain religious responsibility. |
| - |
BCE
(a.k.a. B.C.E.): An anacronym for "Before
the Common Era." A religiously-neutral calendar
notation that is numerically equivalent to the
"BC" notation without the connotation
that the user recognizes Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus
Christ) to be the Messiah or Christ. Some non-Christians
find the use of "BC" to be offensive. |
| - |
Beget:
To father, or sire. Etymology is: Indo-European
"ghend" > Old English "begetan"
> Middle English "biyeten" > Modern
English "Beget." |
| - |
Begotten:
A past participle of beget. |
| - |
Neit
Hillel: From the Hebrew "House of Hillel).
A liberal religious school of belief derived from
Hillel -- a notable Jewish philosopher and rabbi
who lived during the 1st century BCE. Yeshua of
Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ) largely followed
Hillel's teachings, except over criteria for marital
divorce. |
| - |
Believers
in exile: This is a term created by John Shelby
Spong, a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church,
USA. It refers to Christians "... for whom
the God experience is still real, but most of
the religious forms used to interpret that reality
have lost all meaning." They have outgrown
the faith of their childhood and are searching
for a new path. |
| - |
Beltane:
One of the four major Sabbats celebrated annually
by Wiccans and other Neopagans on the evening
of APR-30. It is based on an ancient Celtic seasonal
day of celebration. |
| - |
Besom:
A broom often used by Wiccans or other Neopagans
to purify a circle or other sacred area before
a ritual is conducted. |
| - |
Bhagavad-Gita:
The "Song of the Lord" -- a holy
text revered by followers of Hinduism and Iskcon. |
| - |
Bible:
This word has many meanings:
|
- |
The
holy text used by Christians. It is includes
Hebrew Scripture
(Old Testament), Christian
Scripture (New Testament). Some faith
groups also include a group of writings
called the Apocrypha. |
|
- |
It
is sometimes used to refer to the holy texts
of other religions. |
|
- |
It
is sometimes used to refer to an all-embracing
book on a specific topic, from computers
to fly fishing to astronomy. |
|
| - |
Bible
Code: A book by Michael Drosnin which promoted
the concept that the Bible contains prophecies
which are hidden by a special code. This belief
became popular during the 1990s, but collapsed
when it was found that similar codes could be
extracted from any book of similar length. |
| - |
Biblical
authority: This 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."
2 Steven Ibbotson states: "The
Bible is authoritative because it is God's inspired
word to humanity." 3
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. |
| - |
Biblical
wordview: A personal perspective on humanity,
deity and the rest of the universe based on the
Bible. There are many such worldviews, reflecting
various conservative, mainline, liberal, Gnostic,
post-Christian and other belief systems. The Barna
Group defines a conservative Protestant biblical
worldview as including eight beliefs:
|
- |
Absolute
truth exists. |
|
- |
The
source of moral truth is the Bible. |
|
- |
The
Bible is without
error in all of its teachings. |
|
- |
That
eternal spiritual salvation
cannot be earned through works while on
earth |
|
- |
Jesus
led a sinless life
while on earth. |
|
- |
Everyone
has a responsibility to share their religious
beliefs with others. |
|
- |
Satan
is a living force, not just a symbol of
evil. |
|
- |
God
is the creator of the universe, omnipotent,
omniscient who still rules the universe
today. |
Barna found that 8% of adult
American Protestants, 5% of adults generally
and less than 0.5% of Roman Catholics "have
a [conservative Protestant] biblical world view."
1 |
| - |
Biblicism:
Having a particular regard for the Bible as
the Word of God and the ultimate
authority for religious belief and morality.
|
| - |
Bibliolatry:
Worship of a book, particularly the Bible.
A term of criticism levied against individuals
who give an excessive regard to the text of the
Bible. |
| - |
Bibliology:
This word has a secular and a Christian meaning:
|
- |
Secular:
A discussion of books. |
|
- |
Christian:
The study of the Bible and the doctrines
derived from it. |
|
| - |
Biocentrism:
Rejecting humanity as having supreme importance
on Earth, and considering all living species as
equally important. |
| - |
Biofield:
A subtle energy field that allegedly permeates
a person's body and extends beyond it. It may
be similar to Qi, an energy field believed to
exist in traditional Chinese medicine. It has
never been detected and measured by conventional
scientific instruments. However, some alternative
medicine practitioners believe that they can detect
and even see it. |
| - |
Bind:
A ritual found in conservative Christianity,
Wicca and other Neopagan traditions to prevent
a person or spirit from harming individuals. |
| - |
Birth
of the Bab: A Baha'i
holy day honoring of the founder, Mirza 'Ali-Muhammed,
(1819-1850 CE). He assumed
the title Bab ("the Gate.")
|
| - |
Birth
of Baha'u'llah: A Baha'i
annual celebration of the birth of their teacher
and Messiah, Mirza Husayn-'Ali-i-Nuri (1817-1892).
He was the Manifestation predicted by the Bab. |
| - |
Birth
of Guru Nanak Dev Ji: A day when Sikhs
commemorate the birthday of their founder. |
| - |
Bisexual:
An individual who is physically and emotionally
attracted to both males and females. |
| - |
Bishop:
(From the Greek word episkopos: supervisor). In
the early church, he was a chief priest at a church.
Later, the role became that of a priest with administrative
duties over a group of churches within a geographical
area called a diocese. |
| - |
Bitheist:
Synonym for duotheist; a person who believes that
there are two deities -- typically one female
and the other male, as in Wicca,
or one all good and the other all bad, as in Zoroastrianism. |
| - |
Black
magic: The use of religious rites and rituals
to harm another person. One example from the Bible
was when Elisha issued a curse against 42 children
who were bothering him. The children were torn
to shreds by she-bears. See 2
Kings 2:23-24. |
| - |
Black
Mass: An imaginary inverted form of the Roman
Catholic mass involving black candles, desecrated
materials stolen from a church, prayers recited
backwards in Latin, etc. Such rituals have been
performed by members of the Church
of Satan as a publicity stunt. |
| - |
Black
Muslims: A group of Muslim organizations for
African-Americans, including the Nation of
Islam. |
| - |
Black
theology: The belief that Israel, as described
in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), was
a nation of blacks. Jesus was black; his purpose
was to liberate fellow blacks from oppression
by white Gentiles. |
| - |
Blasphemy:
Swearing in the name of God, denying the existence
of God, saying evil things about God, asserting
incorrect beliefs about God, etc. One religion's
affirmation of their God is often another religion's
blasphemy about their God. |
| - |
Blessed
be: A frequently used greeting-blessing by
Wiccans and other Neopagans. |
| - |
Blessed
hope: The expectation that Jesus Christ will
return to Earth in the second coming. |
| - |
Blood
Atonement:
|
- |
A
group of theories that attempt to explain
how Jesus' torture-death resulted in a mechanism
by which people's sins can be forgiven.
Other explanations, sometimes called "bloodless
atonement" theories, account for the
forgiveness of sins on the bases of Jesus'
teachings and life. |
|
- |
A
belief in the early
Mormon church introduced by Brigham
Young. It has since been abandoned by some
Mormon denominations. Some crimes were considered
so serious that the perpetrator's salvation
required that he be killed and his blood
mixed with the earth. |
|
| - |
Blood
libel: A false belief which has endured since
the 1st century BCE. It
states that members of a religious group
kidnap, abuse, ritually murder and sometimes eat
the body of a member of another religion.
Groups creating this groundless fable include
ancient Greek and Roman Pagans, Christians, Nazis,
and Muslims. Innocent religious groups victimized
by the fable include Jews, Christians, Wiccans,
Druids and other Neopagans, and Roma (Gypsies).
The hoax exists today mostly among some Muslims
(against Jews) and some Fundamentalist Christians
(against Wiccans, Satanists and other religious
minorities). |
| - |
Blуt:
Service of the Gods; kinship between the Gods
of Norse Heathenism and the people. |
| - |
Bodhi:
A Buddhist term which means to have achieved enlightenment;
to understand the ultimate reality. |
| - |
Bodhisattva:
A Buddhist Sanskrit term that literally means
"an enlightenment being." A person who
is embarked on the path to enlightenment and has
reached the final stage before nirvana. However,
the individual chooses to remain on Earth being
reborn in successive lives, in order to help all
other sentient beings attain enlightenment. |
| - |
Bodhi
Day: The day when Buddha
decided to sit under the bodhi tree, and remain
there until he reached enlightenment. |
| - |
Body
of Christ: This often refers to the physical
body of Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ.)
Other times, it refers to the "invisible
church" which is made up of true Christians,
past and present. Unfortunately, there is no consensus
concerning who is a "true"
Christian, so that there is no agreement over
the exact makeup of this group. |
| - |
Boline:
A knife used by a Wiccan or other Neopagan
to collect herbs for ritual use. |
| - |
Bon
Festival: This is a day when the followers
of Shinto honor the souls
of their ancestors. People visit graveyards. |
| - |
Book
of Life: In Christianity,
a list of saved individuals which is maintained
by God. |
| - |
Book
of Mormon: One of four texts considered to
be divinely inspired and authoritative scripture
by the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and other
Mormon denominations. Mormons believe that Joseph
Smith, their founder, translated the Book of Mormon
from golden plates left by an early American society.
Some researchers believe the Book to have been
written by Smith, and partly based on an earlier
book "View of the Hebrews" by
Ethan Smith (no relation). |
| - |
Book
of Shadows: A personal diary of a Wiccan or
other Neopagan in which she/he records their ritual
activities. |
| - |
Born
again: The process by which a person repents
of their sins and trusts Jesus of Nazareth as
Lord and Savior. Conservative Protestants believe
that this is the only way that one can get to
heaven. Some of these
denominations do not require that a person repent
first. |
| - |
Brahma:
The creator God and member of the Hindu trinity
of deities, which also includes Shiva and Vishnu. |
| - |
Brahmin:
A member of the priestly class in Hinduism --
the highest caste in India. |
| - |
Brainwashing:
(a.k.a. thought control, mind control, coercive
persuasion). A non-violent method that uses mind
control techniques to convince a person to abandon
some of their basic beliefs and adopt the beliefs
of the indoctrinator. The anti-cult
movement teaches that many small religious
groups, which they call cults, engage in brainwashing.
Sociologists and mental health researchers who
are not involved in the anti-cult movement generally
reject the concept. |
| - |
Branch
Davidians: Popular name for a doomsday,
destructive cult, the
Students of the Seven Seals, which was
led by David Koresh. Dozens of their members died
when their compound burned to the ground in Waco,
TX. |
| - |
Brit
Ha-Hayim: In reform Judaism, a ceremony celebrating
the birth of a girl. |
| - |
British
Israel movement: A belief that the ten lost
tribes of Israel -- those conquered and assimilated
by the Assyrians circa 722 BCE -- became the British
people, and sometimes the inhabitants of the former
British Empire, including the U.S. and Canada. |
| - |
Buchmanism:
The Moral Rearmament movement founded by
Frank Buchman (1878 - 1961). He organized the
Oxford Group in 1929, which became Moral
Rearmament, an inter-faith group, in 1938.
Its goal was to change society one person at a
time, by promoting absolute purity, unselfishness,
honesty and love. |
| - |
Buddha:
A Buddhist term used to refer to Prince Siddhartha,
(560 - 480 BCE) after his
enlightenment. |
| - |
Buddha
Day: A celebration of the birthday of the
Buddha. |
| - |
Buddhism:
A world religion, founded in the 6th century BCE
by a Hindu: Siddhartha Gautama, His followers
called him "the Buddha" or "the
enlightened one." It has about 300 million
followers, almost all located in Asia. Buddhism
is experiencing a rapid growth in North America.
It is perhaps the least violent of the world's
major religons. |
| - |
Bull:
From the Latin word "bulla" a
seal. A papal statement in which he speaks ex
cathedra on a matter of belief or morality.
Such a statement is regarded by Roman Catholics
as infallible. |
| - |
Burning
Man Festival: An annual gathering in Black
Rock Desert, NV. Creative individuals create artistic
works, dance, chant, sing, etc. At the end of
the festival, a wooden image in the form of a
man is burned. This is apparently derived from
the burning of a wicker statue of the spirit of
vegetation by the ancient Celts. That statue also
was in the form of a man. |
