God-Talk Midterm

Spirituality

personal response to dimensions of life that are considered sacred

Religion

particular response to dimensions of life that are considered sacred as shaped by institutionalized tradition

4 C’s of Religion

Creed, Code, Cult, Community

Creed

set of beliefs specifically formulated

Code

code of conduct

Cult

devotional/ritualistic practices (corporate or individual)

Community

conceptions of inclusiveness or exclusiveness of the religious group

Etomology of theology

theo means god and ology means the study of so theology is the study of god

Anselms definition of theology

faith seeking understanding

Christian theology four sources of knowledge

Scripture, Tradition, Reason, Experience

Agnosticism

doesn’t know for sure whether any gods exist or not

Atheist

does not believe in the existence of gods

Theism

belief in existence of gods, specifically a creator of the universe

YaHWeH

Hebrew name revealed to Moses in the Exodus meaning god of the Israelites

Allah

Arabic word meaning God derived from Islamic religions

Revelation

the revealing of god and his works to humanity in the form of the scriptures

Immanence

The idea that god is near us in space and time

Apophatic language

A way of speaking about god and the holy through negation admitting that human language is limited and cannot grasp the ultimate reality

Omnipotence

god is in total control of himself and his creation

Omniscience

god knows all things

Omnibenevolence

god is all-loving and loves everyone unconditionally

In what language was the old testament written?

Hebrew

In what language was the new testament written?

Greek

Bible

compilation of religious texts central to christianity and judaism written over thousands of years

Testament

there are two testaments in the bible and they are representative of god’s promises to his believers and a record of what he has done for them already

Gospel

the gospels are stories about god narrating the life and teachings of jesus christ

Jesus/Joshua

in christianity he is the messiah, in islam he is a prophet. He has never sinned.

Christ/Messiah

son of god, thought to be a king who would restore god and save his people

Parable

a narrative with moral significance generally derived from jesus life

Epistile

instruction letter on how to live ones life

incarnation

jesus is thought to be the human incarnation of god

TaNaK

Combination of Torah (5 books of moses) , Prophets, and writings

Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books

Books considered canon of old testament

Apocolypticism

Relgious belief that the end of the world is immenent

Rabbinic Judaism

the beliefs and practices of the Jewish people, outlined in the Torah and interpreted by the sages

Talmud

compilation of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, traditions, customs, and parables

Quran

the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God

Hadith

a collection of traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad which constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Qur'an.

People of the book

phrase in Islam that refers to anyone who worships the “one true god”