vital terms

theophany

An appearance or manifestation of God to humans

exegesis

an explanation of a text; a critical interpretation

Existential

having to do with existence

functional

having to do with function

Noetic

of, relating to, or based on the intellect

onomastic

of, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.

rationalism

A belief or theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response

monism

the doctrine that reality is ultimately made up of only one essence

Atheism (Hitchens)

believe science is a better way of explaining the world than religion

Ontology

the study of being

Epistemology

study of knowledge

Soteriology

study of salvation

Essence

nature of something

existence

the state of being

homoousion

of the same substance

Ockham's Razor (Hitchens) Relativism

Simpler explanations are more likely to be correct; avoid unnecessary or improbable assumptions