Glossary of religious and spiritual terms

Words and phrases
starting with the letters "Tri" to "Tz"

See preceeding lists for words beginning with Ta to Th and Ti to Tra

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Tribulation: A period of seven years of great misery and death when God pours out his hatred on humans. It is described in Revelation 14:9-16.

Trichotomy: The belief that a person is composed of three parts: body, soul and spirit. An opposing belief, also justified by reference to biblical passages is Dichotomy: In the field of religion, this is the concept that a person is made up of a body and a soul, or of a body and a spirit.

Trickster: Within Native American spirituality, a trickster is a mythical hero who teaches culture, proper behavior and provides sustenance to the tribe.

Tridentine: Latin for "of Trent:" A Roman Catholic term pertaining to the Council of Trent, held between 1545 and 1563 CE.

Trinity:

The Christian belief that deity is simultaneously a unity and is composed of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As the ancient Athanasian Creed is worded, the Trinity is "one God" and "three persons... and yet they are not three Gods, but one God." Extensive debate about the nature of God and of Jesus split the Christian movement during the early centuries of the Church until this concept was forced on the church by the Emperor Constantine.

The Hindu belief that Brahman is simultaneously visualized as a unity, and as a trinity composed of: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu, (Krishna) the Preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.

The belief among many Neopagans that the Goddess exists as a trinity, composed of Maiden, Mother and Crone, representing energy and sexuality, fertility, and wisdom.

Trinity, Economic: Christian concepts of how God has revealed himself to humanity.

Trinity, Ontological: Christian concepts of how the three persons in the Trinity relate to each other.

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Tritheism: The belief in the existence of three deities. This is one form of polytheism. A small minority of Christians believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three different entities, or that God and Jesus are separate and the Holy Spirit is a type of force.

Trope:

A short phrase sung by a choir during a religious service to backup words being spoken.

A figure of speech in which words are not used in their literal sense; examples include a metaphor, simile, allegory, irony, etc.

"Turn or Burn:" An expression used by some religious conservatives to recommend that a person with a homosexual orientation change their sexual orientation, -- or perhaps become celibate -- to avoid spending eternity burning in Hell after they die. The expression is based on a conservative interpretation of the greek word "arsenokoitai" in 1st Corinthians 6:9-10. Practical experience and research has shown that in adulthood, changing one's sexual orientation is impossible, or nearly so.

Two Covenant theory: See dual covenant theory

Two Spirited: An North American Aboriginal term that includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender persons and transsexuals.