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 | Easter: This is the most important
holy day of the Christian calendar. Easter Sunday commemorates the day
in the springtime when the resurrection of Jesus is believed to have
occurred. The date is calculated by one formula by most Eastern
Orthodox churches, and by another formula elsewhere in Christianity.
Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon
after MAR-20, the nominal date of the Spring Equinox. It can be on any
Sunday from March 22 to April 25th. Eastern Orthodox churches
sometimes celebrate Easter on the same day as the rest of
Christianity. However if that date does not follow Passover, then the
Orthodox churches delay their Easter - sometimes by over a month.
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| Ebionites: (From the Hebrew root "Ebion" which means
poor, oppressed or humble.) A group of Jewish Christians. Some theologians
believe that before Paul came on the scene, the Ebionites (or their
predecessors) formed the
original Christian movement. This included the people who knew Jesus best: his
disciples and family. They were led by Peter and James. They rejected
Paul's writings, believing him to be an apostate from the Mosaic Law. They
denied the deity of Jesus, viewing him as a the final and greatest
prophet. Most rejected the virgin birth, and believed that Joseph and Mary
were Jesus' parents. The members were scattered during uprisings circa 70
and 134 CE, and died out by the 5th century.
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| Ecclesiology: A field of study related to a faith group or groups
own function, organization, structure, practices, and nature.
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Eclectic tradition: A set of beliefs and/or practices
which has been selected as the best from the full diversity of those
available. Eclectic Wicca, for example, involves selecting portions from
a number of established Wiccan traditions in order to create a faith
tradition that an individual Wiccan feels most comfortable with. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eco-justice: is a term used by many ecologists to refer justice
for the Earth and all species of life who live in it. It involves a major
change from our present anthropocentrism to biocentrism and geocentrism -- making the health
of all life forms and the Earth itself of paramount importance.
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| Ecumenical: From a Greek word meaning worldwide.
Any movement which attempts to bring together various denominations or
traditions within a single religion. The term is used most commonly to refer to
Christian intra-denominational efforts.
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| Eid ul-Adha: Muslims celebrate this
Feast of Sacrifice at the conclusion of the Hajj. It recalls Abraham's
willingness to ritually murder his son in response to a command of
God.
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| Eight adversities: A term used in Buddhism to refer to rebirth:
in Hell, as a hungry ghost, as an animal, in Uttarakuru (a very pleasant
place where there is little motivation to practice the Dharma), in a
long-life heaven, also where one is not motivated), with a disability, as
an intelligent but skeptical person, or in the period -- like today --
between a Buddha and his successor.
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| Eightfold Path: A Buddhist list of the path which one must
follow to escape suffering. They include:
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| Eisegesis: The process of taking a preconceived belief and
interpreting a biblical passage in a way that supports that belief. This
is a very common phenomenon, although the interpreter is not generally
conscious of the process.
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| Elder: This term has many meanings, both casual and formal:
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| Election, unconditional: The second of Calvin's five points of theology.
The doctrine states that God has decided, totally on
the basis of his own, unknown criteria, to select a small minority of humans and lead
them to a saving knowledge of the gospel. The majority of humans are not
elected. Without God's help, the gospel is incomprehensible to them; they
will never be saved; they will spend eternity in Hell without hope of mercy or
an end to
their torture. Some Christians believe that God elects that minority of
humans for salvation that he knew would eventually choose Him. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elohim: A Hebrew word for "Gods." | ||||||||||||||||||
| Emerging church (a.k.a. emergent church or emergent movement): This is another of those predominately Christian
religious phrases which mean different things to different people. In
general, it refers to a response by mainly Evangelical and mainline Christian
believers to engage a rapidly
changing culture in positive ways. Some are searchers who feel that they
have outgrown the denomination and the religious beliefs of their youth.
Others are searchers who are not affiliated with any denomination, and who
are seeking for themselves a more spiritual, meaningful, and purposeful
life. Common values of the emerging church include a desire to "... imitate the
life of Jesus, transform secular society, emphasise communal living; welcome
outsiders; be generous and creative; and lead without control."
3 The movement started in New Zealand and
has spread to the U.S., Canada, western Europe,
and Africa.
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| Endless punishment: The belief that the unsaved will be
punished by severe tortures (worms, unbearable heat, horrendous thirst,
flogging with whips, etc) for all eternity without any hope of mercy of cessation. The
book of Revelation describes Jesus as being
present in Hell; whether he is there to supervise or merely observe the
torture is unclear.
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| Endlösung: German word for the "final solution" of the Nazis: to exterminate all of the Jews in Europe in a
systematic genocidal campaign.
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| Enlightenment:
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| Eparchy: a geographical area under the jurisdiction of a bishop
in an Orthodox church. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Epiclesis (aka Epiklesis): A Greek word for invocation, in the
sense of calling upon, or making an appeal to, or addressing someone. In
Christian worship, epiclesis refers to the invocation of the Holy
Spirit.
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Epiphany: Christians recall the visit of the Magi to the baby
Jesus on JAN-6. (aka: 12th day of Christmas, Twelfth Night & Three Kings' Day. Eastern
orthodox churches celebrate Theophany on this day in commemoration of Jesus' baptism. "Epiphany" means "to make known" or "to reveal." Christians believe that the Magi made the divinity of Jesus known to the world. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Episcopal:
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| Epistemology: The study of the nature of knowledge.
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| Equinox: The date and time when the sun crosses the equator.
On that day, the daytime and nightime are both very close to 12 hours.
This happens about March 21 and September 21. Many religious holy days
are synchronized to the equinoxes, including the Jewish Passover, and
Christian Easter. Wiccans, other Neopagans, Native Americans and
followers of many aboriginal religions worldwide celebrate the
equinoxes.
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| Eretz Yisreal: Hebrew for "the land of Israel." The area that
Yahweh is believed to have granted to the Jewish people in the Hebrew
Scriptures.
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| Erntefest: German for "harvest festival." The largest
extermination campaign against Jews during World War II. German Nazis
attempted to exterminate all remaining Jews in the Lubin District of Poland
during the fall of 1943. Over a two day
period, about 42,000 Jews were murdered at Majdanek, Poniatowa, and Trawniki
concentration camps.
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Eschatology, eschatological: This term is derived from the two Greek words "eschatos" meaning "final" and "logos" meaning "word." Eschatology means “the study of the last things”. It is used to discuss two topics:
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| Eschatophobia: A fear of an imminent end of the world and of
civilization as we know it.
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| Esoteric: A type of hidden knowledge that is generally known
only by a few individuals and not by the general public.
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| ESP: An acronym for Extrasensory Perception.
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| Essenes: One of the approximately 24 Jewish groups active during
the 1st century CE.
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| Essentialism: Defining a group of people by one -- or a small
set of -- fixed properties. Gender, religion, race or sexual orientation
are the most common properties. It assumes that there is no possibility of
variation within the targeted group, or potential for change. See
racism, sexism,
religism and
homophobia.
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| Eternal Generation, Eternal Sonship: A belief that Jesus Christ has
been the Son of God continuously, from before the creation of the world to
the present time. Some Christians have alternative beliefs, stating that
Jesus became the Son of God at the time of his ascension, or resurrection,
or baptism, or birth.
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| Eternal Progression (LDS and other Mormon Churches): See
Exaltation
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| Eternal Subordination of the Son: An early Christian heresy in
which Jesus was believed to be forever in a subordinate role to God the
Father. This hierarchical concept of the Trinity has been promoted in recent
decades by some Fundamentalist Christians. It is often used to teach that
women should be restricted to inferior roles in the Church, home, and the
rest of society.
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| Ethical Culture: A movement founded in the U.S. by Felix Adler (1851 - 1933). He advocated
replacing religious beliefs and codes with a secular ethic.
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| Ethics: The study of human values and moral conduct. See also Normative Ethics
and Metaethics.
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| Eucharist: See Communion
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| Eugenics: Programs by which humans are carefully selected for
breeding in order to maximize certain qualities. The German Nazi
government instituted a Mutterkreuz (mother's cross) program which
encouraged women to have many "Aryan" children, for which they could
receive crosses.
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Euhemerism (a.k.a. evemerism):
The belief that ancient deities were actually kings and other heros who were deified, typically after their death. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Euthanasia: (Greek for "good death.") An ambiguous term with meanings ranging from "physician assisted suicide" for terminally elderly persons in intractable pain, to the German Nazi programs of murdering old and handicapped persons. We recommend that the term never be used, and that a specific term be used in its place. |
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| Evangelical: "Evangelical" is not a
well-defined term with a universally accepted meaning. It normally refers to a major portion of the conservative
"wing" of Protestant Christianity. In a study comparing
Evangelical and mainline denominations, a Princeton University study
included the following as Evangelical denominations: Assemblies of God,
Southern Baptists, Independent Baptists, black Protestants, African
Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion; Church of Christ,
Churches of God in Christ, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, National
Baptist Church, National Progressive Baptist Church, Nondenominational,
Pentecostal denominations, and the Presbyterian Church in America. 1 Evangelicals tend to take very conservative views on social matters, like access to abortion, equal rights for gays and lesbians, etc. Many Evangelical congregations serve parishioners who are mainly of a single race. Fundamentalists comprise the most conservative wing of Evangelicalism. Most Evangelicals tend to be less anti-scientific and less literal in their interpretation of Biblical passages than are Fundamentalists. Evangelicals generally believe in the historical doctrines of the Christian church:
There are many additional beliefs regarded as important by various Evangelical organizations. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention requires its employees to sign a loyalty oath which includes the belief that the authors of the Gospels were in fact named Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Some Evangelical institutions refuse to hire faculty who believe that women should be eligible for ordination. The name "evangelical" was originally used to refer to those faith groups
which followed traditional Christian beliefs, in contrast with two other movements:
philosophical rationalism and legalistic Christianity. The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America, and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod total about 6 million
members and are not part of the present-day Evangelical movement.
More information on the definition of Evangelical | ||||||||
| Evangelize: To explain ones beliefs to another in the
hope that they might wish to adopt them. The word is sometimes used as a
synonym for "Proselytize" -- to actively attempt to convert another person to your
beliefs.
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| Evidential, Evidentialism, Evidentialist: This refers to a method of attempting
to prove the validity of Christianity by starting with the assumption (or
attempt to prove) that
God exists and continuing with the use of reason. An alternate method is
presuppositionalism
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Evil: An act that is considered profoundly immoral, wicked and depraved. This is a relative term. For example, the Nazi Holocaust, a.k.a. the Shoa in Judaism, and The Devowering by the Roma is generally regarded as the most extreme example of evil during the 20th century. However, among the German Nazis,
the genocide to make Europe Judenfrei (free of Jews) and to exterminate all Roma was considered a noble quest. | ||||||||
| Evil one: A Christian synonym for Satan: a fallen angel.
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| Evolution, Naturalistic: (From the Greek "evolutio"
meaning unrolling or turning out). The term has multiple meanings. It is often
necessary to examine an essay, speech or article carefully in order to
determine which meaning is being used.
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| Evolution, Theistic: One of three main cosmogonies (models
of origins) commonly accepted in North America. It accepts the
observations of naturalistic evolution but states that God guided and
used evolution as a method of forming the multiplicity of species of
life, the rest of the Earth and the rest of the universe.
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| Evolutionist: A term used by Evangelical Christians to refer to over 99% of earth and biological
scientists who use and support the theory of evolution in their professional work.
The term is not used by scientists themselves.
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| Exclusivism: The belief that one's truth (or faith
group or religion) is the only truly valid truth (or faith group or religion). This is a
very common belief among monotheistic faiths, and among other religions as well.
It has historically been a foundation of religiously motivated
oppression, mass murder, mass crimes against
humanity and genocide. Alternative beliefs towards other religions
are inclusivism and
pluralism. More
details.
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| Excommunication: The enforced separation of a Christian from
her or his denomination, done for the good of the individual and the faith
group, with the intent of changing the individual's behavior so that they
can be welcomed back. Unfortunately, in many high-intensity/high
commitment religious groups, where a member's entire support network
consists of fellow members, excommunication can lead to depression and
occasional suicide.
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| Exegesis: Analyzing passages from a document -- often the Bible
-- to understand what it meant to its author and others in the author's
culture.
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| Exaltation of Christ: This consists of Christ's resurrection,
ascension to heaven, sitting at the right hand of God, and second coming.
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| Exaltation (LDS and other Mormon Churches):
a.k.a. Eternal Progression. This "...is a belief among members of many
Mormon denominations that mankind, as spirit children of their Father in
Heaven, can become like him. Exaltation is the highest goal of a Mormon, to
become as God is. The highest goal is to learn to become like God, who is
perfect in attributes and perfections. Exaltation means to live the life
that God lives and to obtain the co-equal position of godhood." 2
These beliefs are regarded as blasphemy and heresy by essentially all non-Mormon Christian faith groups, and are largely
responsible for anti-Mormon feelings among many Christians.
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Exceptionalism: This is the the belief that God gave America a special role in human history. Almost 60% of American adults affirm this belief. Those that believe in exceptionalism are more likely to support military interventions in foreign countries and to believe that torture of prisoners is sometimes justified. | ||||||||
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Exegesis: This means "to lead" or "to bring out." It is most commonly used to refer to "bringing out" of Scripture the message that is contained there. Unfortunately, people generally bring their culture and beliefs to the Bible which distort the actual meaning of the text. A good example is the analysis of Genesis 19, the story of God's genocide at Sodom and Gomorrah. Some groups interpret this as God's condemnation of same-gender sexual behavior by men or women. Others interpret this as God's condemnation of males attempting to rape other males, or rape males of a different species (angels in this case) or of using rape to humiliate strangers who were visiting the rapists' city. Sadly, both groups often believe that their execesis, alone, is the only correct one. They essentially never dialogue with each other. | ||||||||
| Existentialism: This is both a philosophical and literary
movement which teaches that:
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| Exodus: A mass movement of people from an area or country. It
often refers to the alleged departure of Hebrews from slavery in Egypt,
variously dated as 1440 to 1290 BCE. "Exodus" is the name of the
second book in the Pentateuch -- the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. | ||||||||
| Exorcism: The act of driving one or more evil spirits from the
body of a person.
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| Externalist: A Buddhist term for an individual who follows a
non-Buddhist religion.
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| Extraction evangelism: A technique of drawing non-Christians
individuals out of their culture of origin and converting them to
conservative Protestantism. This has been criticized for its destructive
effect on those families in which only some members convert to Christianity.
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| Extrasensory Perception: (acronym ESP) The
ability of a person to sense the world using powers beyond the five
senses. This often takes the form of reading cards being dealt in another
room, viewing events in a remote location, sensing auras, predicting the
future, etc. A prize of over one million
dollars awaits anyone who can prove that they have some form of ESP.
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Extreme Unction (a.k.a. Unction and Anointing of the sick): A sacrament of the Roman Catholic church in which a seriously ill person is anointed with oil that has been consecrated by a bishop. It's purpose is to obtain the remission of sins and to restore the person to health. To our knowledge, the efficacy of extreme unction to make a person healthy has never been scientifically evaluated. |
References used:
- Robert Wuthnow, "Study on Religion and Politics Finds Widespread Interest in Progressive Issues: Survey Suggests Political Potential of Mainline Protestants," at: http://www.princeton.edu/
- "Exaltation (LDS Church), Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/ Search for "Exaltation"
- "Emerging church," Wikipedia, 2009-MAR-29, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
- "Top ten religion and politics findings of 2010," Public Religion Research Institute, 2010-DEC, at: http://archive.constantcontact.com/
Copyright © 1996 to 2013 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written on: 1996-MAR-11
Last update: 2013-JUN-01
Author: B.A. Robinson
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