Glossary of terms

Religious terms starting
with the letters "Ini" to "Iz"

Terms beginning with the letters IA to INF are in the previous list.

	Initial evidence: A doctrine formed from the Book of Acts. It holds that speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Both the United Pentecostal Church and the Assemblies of God believe this doctrine. The, UPC further believes that this experience is essential to salvation. i.e. if you haven't spoken in tongues, you haven't been saved. 1
	Inmarry, inmarried: A couple who both follow the same religion, and perhaps the same denomination/sect/tradition of the same religion.
	Inquisition: A group of organizations within the Roman Catholic Church which were responsible for the detection and elimination of heretics. They were the final court of appeal for those charged with heresy. Those who could be proven to be heretics were turned over to the civil authority for execution, usually by burning the victims alive at the stake. This arm of the church was created in 1542 as the "Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition." Another body, the Spanish Inquisition, executed its last victim in 1826. The Vatican’s Congregation of the Inquisition was created to fight the Reformation. It went through two recent name changes, being called the "Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei" (Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) in 1965. "Sacred" was dropped in 1983. In recent centuries It was headed by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger until his election as pope in 2005. It continues to monitor heresy within the Catholic Church.
	INRI: An acronym for the Latin phrase "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum" which means: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"

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	Inspiration: When applied to a sacred text like the Bible, inspiration means that the God affected the thought processes of the writers and prevented them from writing any material that was in error. A logical result of inspiration is that the text of the Bible was inerrant, in its original autograph copy as written down by its author.  However, subsequent copying is known to have resulted in changes to the text. Some were sometimes intentional, reflecting the gradual evolution of early church beliefs. Some were accidental copying errors. For example, the vast majority of Greek copies of the book of Revelation cite "666" as the number of the anti-Christ at Revelation 13:18. However, some of the most ancient copies cite the number as 616.
	Intention: The belief in the Roman Catholic church that the efficacy of the administration of a sacrament is dependant on the priest having the proper intent.
	Intercession: An activity of Christ in which he is believed to advocate to God the Father the in favor of one or more individuals
	Interdict, Interdiction: A prohibition by the pope that can deprive individual persons, groups, communities and even nations of all priestly ministry. Thus, they no longer had access to the sacraments of the church.
	Interfaith (a.k.a. inter-faith): An attempt to initiate dialog, cooperation, and understanding among individuals of two different faiths. It is also used to refer to a relationship or marriage between people of different faiths. It is occasionally used as a synonym for "multi-faith." Unfortunately, the term "faith" is defined differently by various religious groups. For example, some conservative Protestants regard a marriage to a person who is not of their denomination to be an interfaith marriage. Other conservative Protestants would regard liberal Christians, Roman Catholics, Mormons, etc. as being of a different faith. Still other Christians interpret "interfaith" as involving another religion, as in a Christian-Buddhist exchange.
	Interfaithism: A belief that all religions are equally valid; they all lead to God. This word is used almost entirely among conservative Protestants. One of the two main meanings of the word "pluralism" is a synonym for "interfaithism."
	Interreligious: A synonym for "interfaith."
	Intertestamental period: The interval of time between the writing of Nehemiah, perhaps the last book to be written in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), and the writing of 1 Thessalonians, the first book to be written in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament). The interval covers circa 400 BCE to 51 CE. Books that form the Apocrypha were written during this interval. Most mainline and liberal religious historians date the writing of the book of Daniel in the middle of the Intertestamental period, to about 165 BCE.

	Intincture: To some Christians, this is the communion practice in which the believer takes the bread or host, carries it to the wine, dips it, and then consumes it. In the Roman Catholic church, intincture involves the priest dipping the host in the wine and placing it on the tongue of the communicant.
	Irresistible Grace: This is the fourth of The Five Points of Calvinism: the belief that it is impossible for a person whom God has elected to avoid coming to a knowledge of God.
	Irtidãd: Literally: "turning back". In Islam, this is the act of apostasy -- leaving Islam for another religion or for a secular lifestyle.
	Islam: The second largest religion in the world. It has over 1,164 million followers, about 20% of the world's population, and is rapidly growing. It is based on the Qur'an, which is said to have been dictated to the Prophet Mohammed by the angel Jibril (a.k.a. Jibreel; Gabriel in English) in 622 CE. This is the largest of the purely monotheistic faiths. Members are found in large numbers throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
	Islamic: Synonym for "Muslim," a follower of Islam.
	Islamism: An Islamic revivalist movement, often characterized by moral conservatism, literalism, and the attempt to forcibly implement Islamic values in all spheres of life.
	Islamists: These are Fundamentalist Muslims who are attempting to replace secular governments with Islamic theocracies. Mainstream Islamists do this by peaceful means of persuasion. Violent, extremist, radical, militant Fundamentalist Islamists use violence and terrorism as their main means of effecting change.
	Islamophobia: "Fear and/or hatred of Muslims, or of the religion of Islam, and/or a desire to limit the civil liberties of Muslims. This word corresponds to sexism, racism, religism, homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia in areas related to gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and nationality. It corresponds to anti-semitism and Christianophobia in topics related to Judaism and Christianity. It is often exhibited by a person or attributing the actions of a few extreme, violent, Fundamentalist Muslim terrorists to the entire population of Muslims.
	Isogesis: Reading something into a document. One starts with a belief and searches a document for supporting passages. Often used with reference to the Bible. A potential hazard is that the interpreter may quote a verse out of context with considering the rest of the passage or other passages in the rest of the Bible which may express conflicting views.

Reference used:

The following information source was used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlink is not necessarily still active today.

1. Mark MvNeil, "Is speaking with tongues the initial evidence of the spirit baptism?," at: http://www.abortionessay.com/files/Spirit.html

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