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V.7
Glossary of Some Religious Terms
agnosticism--roughly, the belief that it is not possible to know whether gods or deities exist, or the belief that one does not know about those things. animism--may mean,
atheism (non-theism)--The term "atheism" originated as a disparaging term applied to any person or belief in conflict with established religion. For example, the first Christians in the Roman Empire were called atheists because they denied the existence of the Roman gods. Broadly, it means an absence of belief in any gods or deities, or a belief that gods or deities do not exist at all. Note: Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are considered non-theistic or atheistic religions (also see theism). However, most atheists believe the obvious, namely, that God exists as an idea, concept, or theoretical construct. There is a sense according to which everybody is an atheist or theist. This is so because the term "God" covers many different conceptions from crude anthropomorphism to sophisticated ideas of an Infinite Substance, the Ground of all Being, or the highest ethical ideas and practices the human mind can conceive of. Broadly speaking, those who hold a different version of one's own God idea or concept are often called atheist. atheism, strong--is the explicit affirmation that God or gods, as depicted by the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions, do not exist. Michael Martin observes in Encarta 98: Some positive [strong] atheists have maintained that the existence of evil makes the existence of God improbable. In particular, atheists assert that theism does not provide an adequate explanation for the existence of seemingly gratuitous evil, such as the suffering of innocent children. Theists commonly defend the existence of evil by claiming that God desires that human beings have the freedom to choose between good and evil, or that the purpose of evil is to build human character, such as the ability to persevere. Positive atheists counter that justifications for evil in terms of human free will leave unexplained why, for example, children suffer because of genetic diseases or abuse from adults. Arguments that God allows pain and suffering to build human character fail, in turn, to explain why there was suffering among animals before human beings evolved and why human character could not be developed with less suffering than occurs in the world. For atheists, a better explanation for the presence of evil in the world is that God does not exist. atheism, weak-- is any form of non-theism that falls short of this standard. It includes all nonbelievers who are about 1/5 or 20 percent of the world's population. deism — the belief that a god or gods exists, but does not interact with events at the scale of human beings. Deists hold that they can rationally prove that God created the world but thereafter left it to its own workings. It typically rejects supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and divine revelation prominent in organized religion, along with holy books and revealed religions that assert the existence of such things. Instead, deism holds that religious beliefs must be founded on human reason and observed features of the natural world, and that these sources reveal the existence of a supreme being as creator. This belief was popular in the 18th century, and most of the founders of the United States were deists. dharma--the Sanskrit term Dharma signifies the underlying order in nature, human life and behavior considered to be in accord with that order. Ethically, it means 'right way of living' or 'proper conduct,' especially in a religious sense. With respect to spirituality, dharma might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths. Dharma is a central concept in religions and philosophies originating in India. dualism--The idea that there are two types of stuff. It often refers to mind (soul, spirit) and matter including energy). Dualism comes in three forms:
dystheism or maltheism — the belief that God is not, as is often assumed, good, but is actually evil. ecclesia--is a religious group which is strongly integrated with the dominant social and political culture. Often ecclesias are state churches, though they need not be. A state church by definition has official legal recognition of its role in the society, while an ecclesia might not. A sect is a small group that has broken away from an established church. A cult starts usually with a charismatic leader who indoctrinates members with unorthodox or extremist views, practices, or beliefs. Most, if not all, religions started as a sect or cult before becoming mainstream. eschatology-- The branch of theology dealing with last things, such as death, immortality, resurrection, judgment, and the end of the world. fideism--the view that everything that can be known with certainty about God, divine things, and religious beliefs in general is known only or primarily by faith and revelation but never by reason, intellect or natural theology alone. The word fideism comes from fides, the Latin word for faith, and literally means faith-ism. Specifically, fideism teaches that rational or scientific arguments for the existence of God are fallacious and irrelevant, and have nothing to do with the truth of Christian theology. Its argument is somewhat like this:
Fideism is strongly rejected by Roman Catholicism because the teachings of Thomas Aquinas affirm the doctrine of the Church that God's existence can indeed be demonstrated by reason (natural theology). Gnosticism--an esoteric system of mystical religious and philosophical doctrines, stressing gnosis (secret and superior knowledge limited to an elite few) as essential to salvation. They often view matter as evil, and variously combine ideas derived from various mythologies, ancient Greek philosophy, ancient religions, and, eventually, Christianity. God--There is a sense according to which everybody, even secular humanists and atheists are theists, that is, believers in some form of God. This is so because the term "God" covers many different conceptions from crude anthropomorphism (personification) to sophisticated ideas of an Infinite Substance, the Ground of all Being, or the highest ethical ideas and practices the human mind can conceive of (probably the idealization of the self). For the Stoic philosophers, for instance, the term "God" meant the totality of the ordered material or physical world, the cosmos. Historically, there has been belief in thousands of different deities. Most of the historical gods have been replaced by the God idea of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions. They dogmatically declare how the word "God" must be used according to their sacred texts and traditions. Today, the God idea most promoted and defined is that of the majority of theologians. They concede that God is mysterious and unknowable because we have no empirical or sense-experiential knowledge of God. But they also insist to have crucial knowledge grounded in revelation, faith, and tradition. Theologians of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition often claim not only that God exists, but that he has certain characteristics. Their theoretical construct is as follows: A. God's existential attributes: 1. Omnipotent (all-powerful, meaning He can accomplish anything that can be accomplished with power. 2. Omniscient (all-knowing), 3. Self-existent (uncaused), 4. Eternal (always was and will be), 5. Incorporeal (disembodied, without a material body), 6. Immutable (unchanging). B. God's ethical traits: 1. Righteous and just (all will get what they deserve), 2. Omnibenevolent (all-good), 3. Loving (devoted, good will toward each and all), 4. Personal (concerned with each individual), 5. Continuously active (in the affairs of this world), 6. Compassionate (merciful, kind, "humane"). C. God cannot, or at least will not*: 1. Do the logically impossible such as creating a married bachelor, a square triangle, change the past, create an immovable object and then move it, or make two plus two equal five. 2. Act outside the limitations imposed by his own nature. For instance, violate His unchangeable nature, make Himself go out of existence. *Without this restriction, we would get contradictions. And once we have contradictions, then anything, no matter how absurd, may be logically derived. Moreover, the noted restrictions if asserted, could not be made intelligible.gods and goddesses--"Men create the gods in their own image" observed the Greek philosopher Xenophanes in 580 BCE. And indeed, gods are often what humans would like to be: immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good, not accountable to anyone, etc. But even their appearance is in the image of the believer. Again, as Xenophanes points out: . . . if oxen and horses or lions had hands, and could paint with their hands, horses would paint the forms of gods like horses, and oxen like oxen." Today, for instance, Christians picture their God Jesus according to the color of their skin and facial characteristics. Whites paint him white, blacks paint him black, with Chinese his face has Chinese features, and with Ethiopians they are Ethiopian, etc. God, prove of existence--Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) probably had it right with reference to the God concept as stated by theologians: In former times, one sought to prove that there is no God -- today one indicates how the belief that there is a God arose and how this belief acquired its weight and importance: a counter-proof that there is no God thereby becomes superfluous When in former times one had refuted the "proofs of the existence of God" put forward, there always remained the doubt whether better proofs might not be adduced than those just refuted: in those days atheists did not know how to make a clean sweep.For "how this belief acquired its weight and importance" see From Origins to Organized Religion. heaven (Paradise)--the residence of God, the angels, and the spirits or souls of the righteous after the mortal life. In Christianity, Islam, and some forms of Hinduism, it is a place of complete happiness and perfect rest. In Christian theology, the state or place of perfect union with God and so of eternal life and supreme happiness. However, only two activities are mentioned. One is the beatific (blissful, joyful, heavenly, rapturous) vision, where "the just will see God by direct intuition, clearly and distinctly" (Catholic Encyclopedia). And the other is the enjoyment of seeing the sufferings of the damned in Hell (Saint Augustine). This appears rather boring compared to the native North-American's final destination, the "Happy Hunting Grounds."
In Hinduism there are many and varied concepts of heaven. Worshippers of
Vishnu (the second "person" of the trinity), the Preserver, believe that
they will go to a heaven in which there is no suffering, fear, or death and
that they will be able to live in the glory of Vishnu's eternal light. hell (Sheol, Hades, Gehenna)--is a place where the unworthy or wicked are condemned to torture. In Christianity it is an everlasting condition in a place of total and final separation from God and so of eternal misery and suffering. It is a like place in Islam, but the Koran says nothing about everlasting. Cruelty ranges from being subject to hellfire (Christianity, Islam) to being boiled in human excrement (in Judaism's Orthodox branch). Hinduism has 21 hells where one is purged of bad karma. Among the tortures are getting cooked in a jar or eaten by crows. The Hindu spin-off Jainism holds the record for most hells, namely, 8.4 million. Tibetan Buddhism lists eight cold hells, while Classical Buddhism speaks of seven hot ones complete with torture chambers, flaming pits and quagmires. Some modern philosophers and theologians argue that the concept of hell is contrary to the idea of a merciful God. Hence, some Christian churches have voted this concept out of their belief system, while others deemphasize or are silent about it.
henotheism-- The belief that there may be more than one deity, but one is supreme. incubus--male evil spirit or demon thought in medieval times to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with women (also see succubus). karma--"You reap what you sow." In Buddhism and Hinduism, the totality of a person's good and evil actions carried over from one life to the next and determining whether that life is better or worse than the previous one. The concept of karma in Buddhism is different from the notion of karma in Hinduism. In Buddhism, the idea of karma is much less deterministic. The Buddhist notion of karma is primarily focused on the cause and effect of moral actions in this life, while in Hinduism the concept of karma is more often connected with determining one's destiny in future lives. metaphysics--asks ultimate questions: What is truth? Are there entities beyond nature? What is a person? How is the mind related to the body? What is the world made of? It is now an obsolete inquiry because science answers most of these questions. monism--the doctrine that there is only one ultimate substance or principle, whether mind (idealism), matter (materialism), or some third thing that is the basis of both. It may also mean the theory that reality is an organic whole without independent parts. monotheism — roughly, the belief that only one god exists. This is a being, usually non-material, which has supernatural powers to direct and control reality, and with whom human beings can have a relationship. The God of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and some versions of Hinduism. monotheism, exclusive: The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities are distinct from it and false — either invented, demonic, or simply incorrect. Note: Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Vaishnavism (a Hindu denomination) claim to be exclusively monotheistic. monotheism, inclusive: The belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities are just different names for it. The Hindu denomination of Smartism is an example of inclusive monotheism. morality, theist vs. atheist--The difference between the two is not merely theoretical, but a difference in viewing the world and acting in it. The theist believes in a supernatural source of morality and justice if not in this life, then in the next. The atheist believes that morality is of human origins to serve human needs, and that justice must take place in life here and now or not at all. mythology--is the study of myth. Myth were early narratives by pre-scientific cultures that answered the questions of curious minds and justified the existence of a society's power structure. Although myth have some explanatory and moral value, they appear to be grounded in wishful thinking, psychological delusion and illogical inferences, that is, on a confusion of subjective and objective reality. Early humans had questions like: Where did the world come from? What are the gods like, and where did they come from? How did humanity originate? Why is there evil in the world? What happens to people after they die? Myths also try to account for a society's customs and rituals. They explain the origins of agriculture and the founding of cities. Some such narratives found their way into the world religions. The flood legend and the fall of man are examples of myth in religion. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, relates the well-known story about Noah and his ark who survives a completely flooded earth. No scientist today would admit that a flood could ever have covered the whole Earth, with waters reaching higher than the highest mountains. The book of Genesis also explains how humanity fell from God's grace on account of a transgression by Eve, who was the first woman. As punishment, humanity lost its immortality and was evicted from paradise, the Garden of Eden. Greek myth has a narrative of a like story. In the beginning earth was a paradise, inhabited by men and gods only. Then, Zeus, the ruler of the gods, decided that one of the gods, Prometheus, should have a wife. Hence, he had made the first woman, Pandora. She arrived on earth with a box that contained all sorts of misery and evil. The paradisiacal earth would remain so a long as Pandora would restrain herself and not open the box. However, she did, and like Eve after her, caused evil to escape and thus the suffering of humanity. There are other variations of the story of Pandora's box. Moreover, early rulers used myth to justify their elevated place in society. Ruling families in several ancient civilizations claimed that their power originated in the world of the gods or in heaven. In India the breakdown of society into castes is based on ancient mythology that emerged in the Indus Valley after 1500 BC. The kings of Europe traced their ancestry back to the patriarchs of the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament). The papacy claims that its mission to convert the world is justified to an unbroken chain of succession back to Saint Peter who was allegedly appointed by Christ as his vicar on earth. The most comprehensive study of myth from the perspective of depth psychology was made by Joseph Campbell (1904-87) in his The Masks of God (4 vol., 1959-67). The work accounts for a general theory of the origin, development, and unity of all human cultures. The root prompter, he explains, is a universal need of the human mind to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities. naturalism-- the belief that the natural world, as explained by scientific laws, is all that exists and that there is no supernatural or spiritual creation, control, or significance
organized religions (from lat. religare, to bind together) bind their followers to certain teachings and doctrines. For better or worse, they are powerful and most influential traditions that shape events and minds through offering a simplified vision of the world and rules of conduct. Also, they project what believers may expect or hope for after death.
paganism (heathenism) -- often
used as derogatory term to characterize non-monotheistic, indigenous
religions that preceded Christianity. Often, nature or the earth are
objects of worship. The term is also applied to persons adhering to no
particular religious belief or who are indifferent to religion. panentheism — roughly, the belief that the universe is part of God in which he is immanent. Unlike pantheists, panentheists belief in the supernatural or a transcendent reality. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) were panentheists. pantheism — roughly, the belief that God and the universe are equivalent. Pascal's wager is often quoted. It argues for the acceptance of the Christian God on rational grounds. That is, one should accept the existence of God even in the absence of proof as the best strategy because the alternate outcome for disbelief is eternal damnation in Hell--one has nothing to lose by believing. It is a kind of "afterlife insurance," "Hell avoidance insurance," or Heaven insurance. Commentary: However, a mullah of Islam can make the same argument for Allah, as can a guru of Hinduism for Brahma, and so can a thousand others. Hence, it is probably better to have no belief than a false one. Moreover, if God has even a spark of compassion, then He would not condemn an unbeliever for an honest mistake. But if He is a sadistic God, then He would much more enjoy tormenting a believer rather than an unbeliever. Hence, the unbeliever is better of in each case. polytheism — roughly, the belief that multiple gods or deities exist. However, polytheism does not preclude the concept of an underlying divine presence wearing many different. faces. philosophy of religion -- is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that "theology" tends to be apologetic in nature, that is, committed to the defense of particular religious positions and truth claims. Philosophy of religion, however, is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion. reincarnation --see Probing Supernatural Claims Satan--in Christian theology, the great enemy of humankind and of goodness; the Devil: usually identified with Lucifer, the chief of the fallen angels. There is no devil in the Hebrew Bible, but under Zoroastrianism influence a new figure, Satan, was introduced.secular--signifies in philosophy "pertaining to the world or to things not spiritual or sacred; related to or connected with worldly things; dissociated from religious teaching or principles; not devoted to sacred or religious use; temporal; non-ecclesiastical; worldly; such as secular education, secular music, etc. secular humanism--is an ultimate belief system. It is a humanistic philosophy that upholds reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects the supernatural and the spiritual as justifications of moral reflection and decision-making. Like other types of humanism, secular humanism is a life stance focusing on the way human beings can lead good and happy lives. More specifically, secular humanism is a eupraxsophy, "good practice and wisdom." It is a non-religious life stance, but it holds like religions a cosmic outlook. However, it avoids the supernatural component of religion. Thus, it avoids the "transcendental temptation," which is believing or claiming knowledge that goes beyond what is humanly possible.
The term "secular humanism" was coined in the 20th century to make a clear distinction from "religious humanism". A related concept is scientific humanism, which the philosopher and biologist Edward O. Wilson claimed to be "the only worldview compatible with science's growing knowledge of the real world and the laws of nature". sin--is a concept that has been present in many cultures throughout history, where it was usually equated with an individual's failure to live up to externally imposed standards of conduct or with violation of taboos, laws, or moral codes. In the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions it is the deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle as "revealed to" or determined by clerics. Examples are offenses against and offending God, transgressions of divine laws, the breaking of natural but declared taboo sexual behavior, etc. The determination of what is a sin appears to be often arbitrary, capricious, and nonsensical. For instance, God cannot be offended since according to doctrine He is a perfect being. There is no sin but ignorance. Christopher Marlow (1564-93)
succubus--female evil spirit or demon thought in medieval times to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with sleeping men (also see incubus). supernatural -- pertaining to, or being above or beyond what is natural; unexplainable by natural law or phenomena, and often attributed to God or a deity. Also known as preternatural (extraordinary), meaning, that which is differing from or beyond what is normally found in or expected from nature. Synonyms are: superhuman, spectral, ghostly, occult, paranormal, hidden, mysterious, secret, unknown, unrevealed, dark, mystic, mythical, mythological, fabulous, legendary, misty, unintelligible, unfathomable, unearthly, inscrutable, incomprehensible, undiscernible, transcendental, psychic, obscure, unknowable, impenetrable, invisible, concealed. theism--indicates the belief in the existence of a god or gods. Often thought of as creator(s) and perhaps ruler(s) of the universe as well as judges of the deceased. As, for example, in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition.
theology -- this term is a compounded from two Greek words theos (god) and logos (rational utterance). In the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers, theology denoted the teaching of myth. However, the discipline received its most distinctive content and methodology within Christianity. It has been defined as reasoned discourse about God or the gods, or more generally about the cosmos, religion and spirituality. In particular, it is the study of the nature of the divine or God and the relations between God(s), humankind, and the universe. Theology asserts also normative statements that are grounded in the authority of a divine teacher, personal revelation, meditation, spirituality, or some other kind of motivating and subjective experiences. The major sub-disciplines by topic are:
Minor sub-disciplines in Christian theology are pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit or spirit, Geist, in general), angelology (the study of angels), and demonology (the study of Satan, demons, and evil spirits). Today, many theological concerns or questions have been secularized by modern philosophy, the social disciplines, and the natural sciences.
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