World Religions (Final)

Adherent

A follower of a religion (member/believer)

Agnosticism

One cannot know ether God exists or not; soft atheism

Animism

The belief that spiritual power or forces reside in nature

Annihilation

The belief that at death the individual ceases to exist

Asceticism

Rigorous life of self-denial, often expressed through fasting, meditation and solitude.

Atheism

The belief that God does not exist; no supernatural

Atonement

To satisfy the required payment for sin through the shedding of Christs blood

Blasphemy

The crime of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for a God or a religion and its doctrines and writings

Christology

the study of christ

Ecclesiastic

a member or the clergy, typically someone associated with a christian church

Eschatology

the study of end times

Estrangement

the state or no longer being in a relationship with someone

Grace

the undeserved favor of God

Hamartiology

study of sin

Henotheism

Devotion to or worship of one god while allowing that other gods exist

Heresy

beliefs or practices that deviate from the essential teachings of a religion: counter to orthodoxy

Imputation

To attribute something or credit something to someones account

Justice

Executing what is morally right and fair

Justification

The act of Gods grace in declaring sinners fully acquitted and counting them as righteous before him on the basis of the finished work of christ

Martyr

Witness, put to death for ones faith

Mediator

A go-between or intermediary standing between 2 parties

Monotheism

the belief in one personal supreme god

Nihilism

the belief that life has no ultimate meaning: meaninglessness

Orthodoxy

The essential beliefs and practices that define a religion: counter to heresy

Pantheism

God is everything and everything is God

Pluralism

The view that all religions are equally true and thus equally valid paths to God or the ultimate reality

Pneumatology

The study of the Holy Spirit

Polytheism

The belief in many Gods

Propitiation

The appeasing of gods wrath, satisfying of gods justice

Reconciliation

The restoration of an estranged relationship

Redemption

Buying back

Reincarnation

The rebirth of the soul into another life form after physical life

Relativism

truth is not absolute or binding but dependent upon an individual or group perspective

Religion

A system of beliefs and practices that provides values to give life meaning and coherence by directing a person towards transcendence

Soteriology

the study of salvation

Syncretism

the attempt to blend together different or sometimes even opposing beliefs

Transcendence

extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience; seeking meaning and purpose

Trinitarianism

The monotheistic belief in one God recognized as three distinct persons

truth

that which corresponds to fact or reality

Anti-semitism

hatred or prejudice against jews

Rabbi

Jewish clergy; literally means teacher

Septuagint

the old testament translated into greek

Zionism

the movement to restore a jewish homeland in palestine

Torah

first 5 books of the bible

Shalom

greeting and farewell that means peace

Diaspora

the dispersion of the jews throughout the world

Mishna

first version of the writing down of that oral law (200 AD)

Talmud

Additional laws/comments/reflections were added into once large text (200-500 AD.) Modern authority in judaism

Tanakh

Old testament

Shema (memorize)

Hear, O Israel , the Lord your God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4). Jewish prayer

Passover

commemorates the freeing of the hebrews from egyptian slavery

Seder

special plate of foods with symbolic meanings celebrating the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in egypt

Rosh Hashanah

The feast of trumpets, religious new year, kicks off their religious year

Yom Kippur

The day of atonement (when the high priest would enter the holy of holies, repent of his sins and the sins of the people)

Halal

Islamic dietary rules: Strict prohibition against pork and alcohol

Imam

Spiritual leader, directs prayers on friday at noon at the mosque, the call to daily prayers

Caliph

A successor to Muhammad ruling as the religious and political leader

Hegira

Muhammeds flight from mecca to medina (fleeing from those seeking to kill him)

Sunni

Largest branch, about 85%. Tend to lean more on the hadith than the quran

Hafiz

One who has memorized the entire Quran

Qur’an

“To recite”, word of allah given to muhammad through encounters with gabriel

Hadith

the traditions recored several centuries later (spiritual regulations)

Sharia

all-encompassing legal that governs both public and private life

Shahada

Statement of faith

“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammed is his prophet”

Salaat

5 daily prayers

Eid al-Fitr

3 day feast that breaks the fast

Ramadan

Month of fasting from sunrise to sundown, cleebrates muhammed receiving the Quran

Hajj

Pilgrimage to mecca

Kaa’ba

Sacred stone building at the center of the Mecca Mosque

Brahman

the '“one”, fragmented from it

Karma

law of cause and effect, karma determines their reincarnation

Moksha

Release form the cycle of reincarnation

Vedas

Oldest hindu scripture, contains prayers, hymns, and ceremonies directed at a number of gods

Upanishads

Hindu scirpture containing the teachings of the ancient gurus inteneded to supplement the Vedas (800-600 BC)

Bhagavad Gita

Most popular hindu scripture, epic mythical story of Hindu warripr Arjuna and Krishna disguised as an avatar

Vishnu

preserver brahman

Shiva

Destroyer brahman

Krishna

ISKCON Avatar

Hanuman

Monkey God

Atman

Individual soul that was seperated from Brahman

Maya

The physical world is an illusion, Brahman alone is reality

Sangha

Community of monks (boys of 13+ enter)

Theravada

The way of the elders (the lesser way) (only monks)

Mahayana

The greater way (everyone else who's not a monk)

Bodhisattva

An ascended master who refuses his entry into nirvana to help unenlightened people, pass on good karma and generally benefit others

Zen

A more intellectual branch. More focused on philosophy, meditation, and peaceful living as opposed to religion reincarnation and enlightenment. Calligraphy and haiku came out of this

Tripitaka

One of the main version of Buddhisms sacred scriptures, both branches agree

Lotus Sutra

Ancient Buddhist scripture (Mahayana)

Book of the Dead

Also known as the Bardo Thodol. This is from tibetan Buddhism, focuses on the journey beyond the grave working towards their death

Sunyata

The force, the ultimate reality. This is the impersonal force just like the Brahman of hinduism

Tanha

Cause of suffering (desires, craving, attachment)

Dharma

The doctrines and teachings of buddhism

Ahimsa

concept of nonviolence

The 8-fold path

Path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana

Jainism

Only about 4-5 million, extreme non-violence pacifists.Strict asceticism. Founded by a student of Buddha

The Dharmachakra

Symbol of Buddhism, represents the 8 fold past

What is meant by “folk religion” or “syncretism”

The blending together of differing views

How does syncretism happen

Mislabel themselves, a lack of instruction, lack of commitment to the religion

Why we cannot think of Jesus as simply a good moral teacher?

Jesus claimed to be God, so we cant think of him as a good teacher if we dont think that hes God

3 options for who Jesus was

Liar, Lunatic, Lord