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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:
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| 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:
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| 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. | ||||||
| Ad Hominem: The action of attacking a person's character, expertise, ethics, knowledge etc. as an attempt to discredit their ideas without taking on the more difficult task of debating the ideas themselves. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. More details. | ||||||
| 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:
|
| 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):
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| 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. More details. | ||||
| 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:
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| 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. |
Words beginning Ap... to Az... are described elsewhere
References:
- "Bible Love" at: http://www.bibletruths.net/
- "Amen - Meaning & Implication," at: http://www.geocities.com/
- Joseph Tamney, "Animism," at: http://www.hartfordinstitute.org/
Copyright © 1996 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally written on: 1996-MAR-11
Last update: 2008-MAR-01
Author: B.A. Robinson
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