Bible Vocab Terms - world religions

transcendence

the overcoming of normal limitations imposed by the human condition, whether temporarily or abidingly

cosmology

the understanding of the nature of the universe

monotheism

belief in only one god

polytheism

belief in many gods

pantheism

belief that divine reality resides in everything

nontheistic

describes a belief system that nods that there is no divine being

transtheistic

describes a religion that allows for belief in the divine or semidivine beings w/o the belief in an essentially relevant god

revelation

the transmission of the divine will or knowledge to human beings, typically through myths or some form of religious experience

faith

experience of the divine or holy presence, sometimes involving intellectual belief and sometimes emphasizing personal trust

mysticism

a category of religious experiences characterized by communing or uniting w/ the ultimate reality through inward contemplation

ethics

a dimension of religion that deals w/ how we are to act while living in the world

ritual

formal worship practices, often based on the reenactment of a myth

empathy

the capacity for seeing things from another’s POV, and an important methodological approach for studying religions

myth

a story (often recorded in scripture) that tends to answer questions of origins and serves as a source of sacred truth