R 204:Western Religions, Fall 1998
R204 GLOSSARY
General Religious Studies Terms
GENERAL RELIGIOUS STUDIES TERMS
another world to live in: The imagined realm to which one has access through the system of symbols constituting a religious tradition by dwelling in them (= attending from them subsidiarily). It is the realm wherein one encounters or at least makes connection with what the tradition takes to be ultimate reality. It is the "inside" which qualifies insiders as "insiders."
at-onement: The state of being at-one with what is taken to be ultimate reality. It encompasses in its range of meaning "reconciled with," "in right or appropriate relation to," "in rapport with," "in agreement with," "in harmony with," "in conformity to," and "in union with"--with the understanding that the precise characterization of this state of at-onement will differ from one tradition to another.
bracketing: The separating of an empathetic description of a religious phenomenon from the speaker's or writer's own person -- putting it in neutral, as it were -- so that the phenomenon may be observed, understood, and appreciated for what it is on its own apart from whatever the personal position of the speaker or writer may be on the subject. Instead of directly giving expression to the convictions of the participant, bracketing defers to the participant as holding those convictions. E.g., instead of saying, "In the Roman Catholic Mass the bread and wine sacramentally become the body and blood of Christ," bracketing would say, "In the Mass, Roman Catholics believe that the bread and wine sacramentally become the body and blood of Christ."
central (or primary) story: One of the most important parts of the system of symbols making up a religious tradition, the most important story of all the stories that are told and typically the one in relation to which all other stories, beliefs, symbols, and practices take on the meaning they characteristically have in that tradition. To convey most essentially the core meaning of what a given religion is all about, a story will be told and usually it will be the same story or variations on the same story, regardless of the context. Usually it is the story of the founding or establishment of the tradition.
crossing the threshold: The action of entering into (coming to dwell within) the system of symbols of a religious tradition and thus the "other world" of a tradition -- i.e., becoming an insider. Adult converts cross a threshold self-consciously, while persons growing up within a tradition do so gradually and typically unselfconsciously. Adult insiders typically, however, recross the threshold again and again, whenever they engage in religious practice and renew their understanding of things from within the tradition. Empathetically objective understanding by outsiders of a tradition requires a crossing of the threshold in an act of empathetic imagination.
Eastern religions: The family of the great religious traditions which emerged in the Far East, primarily the religions originating in India (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism) and China (Taoism, Confucianism), though it includes more than these.
empathetic objectivity: An objectivity appropriate to the study of human subjects and cultural phenomena such as religion. Specifically, it involves the effort to take into account and do full justice to the understanding and experience of the insider in developing a full or rounded understanding of the object of investigation. A disciplined empathy is thus an essential part of what is involved.
empathy: An act of imaginatively stepping into another person's perspective and considering how things look from over there, as if one were an insider while one is not one in fact. Success in empathetic understanding would be a matter of having (temporarily, in an act of imagination) entered the perspective of the other person sufficiently well to be able to re-present it credibly to others, especially and above all in a way that is recognizable and credible to those persons who themselves occupy that perspective.
eschatological: Pertaining to the end of history as we know it, sometimes spoken as the end of time. It relates to those religious traditions (primarily Western religions) that speak of a final end or culmination to human history, which is said to involve a cosmic judgment of persons in relation to the expectations of God and a final apportioning of justice in which each is expected to receive what he or she most truly deserves. There is no such conception in traditions (such as Eastern religions) which conceive cosmic time as cyclical rather than linear or non-repeating.
historical religion: A religious tradition which conceives itself to have originated in (or have been decisively shaped by) a revelation of "ultimate reality" intervening in human history through certain particular events, persons, and circumstances. Its central story will tell of a decisive revelation of trans-historical, universal significance as having actually taken place in historical time. In consequence, all efforts to convey the content of that alleged revelation will be shaped and colored by those historical particulars, and the tradition will continue to be preoccupied with those historical particulars as having been vested with eternal significance. The Western family of religions are all historical religions in this sense.
holiness of God: The awesome, infinite standard of righteousness, justice, and inward beauty that God in Western religions is understood both to set or establish and to be by his very being. This is a characteristic of "ultimate reality" held in common by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but particularly stressed in Judaism.
monotheism: Belief that there exists one and only one God. A common trait among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
objectivity (the sense of objectivity appropriate to the study of religion): A striving to draw near to the object of investigation at the point where all relevant perspectives on it intersect, thus to comprehend it in its transcendence beyond any one perspective in a way that commands the recognition of those who dwell within them and know them well. It is fundamentally a matter of doing justice to the object itself, the object in the round. (This meaning of objectivity is to be distinguished from that often associated with modern natural science, namely a comprehensive methodology of distancing: of separating the investigating self from the object of investigation.)
oneness of God: The singularity of God in the understanding of Western religions, transcendent beyond all created things, as their creator, sustainer, providential governor, source of moral guidance, controller of their destiny, and final judge -- the singular focus of what should be one's ultimate allegiance. A characteristic of "ultimate reality" shared in common by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but particularly stressed in Islam.
otherness of God: The person-like character of God in the understanding of Western religions, in virtue of which (a) God and his intentions in essential respects would not be known did he not reveal himself (make himself and his intentions known) in human history and (b) God is capable of entering into relationship with particular persons and peoples, thereby singling them out from among other persons and peoples to accomplish his special purposes in history.
presentational symbol: A religious symbol that serves not only to represent some aspect of what is taken to be ultimate reality but which in the appropriate circumstances serves for participants to render it present and enable direct participation in it. In that respect they are sometimes called sacramental symbols. All presentational symbols are in the first place representational symbols, but the reverse is not true.
problem of meaning: The respect in which events in human experience from time to time in a variety of different ways pose a threat to the ultimate meaningfulness of life and disclose a felt disrelationship between the persons feeing that threat and what is taken to be ultimate reality (i.e., a felt lack of rapport with, or need to be regrounded within whatever is conceived to be the ultimate ground of meaning and purpose in life). The question is, how to cope with the threat and, in the face of it, attain to an affirmation of the meaning and worth of life despite it. There are at least six different ways that such a threat is posed, six aspects of the problem of meaning, corresponding to each of the six ways of being religious, which are in turn six generic ways (that in principle might be found within any major tradition) of coping with the threat and attaining to an affirmation of the meaning and worth of life despite it.
prophet: A human spokesperson for God in Western religions, allegedly chosen and enabled by God to declare and make known his revelation to human beings, which revelation typically involves (in part at least) some divine moral expectation that needs to be heeded to get in right relationship with God.
public education religion studies (of the sort that is legally appropriate): Objective studies about religion (in contrast with studies assuming a religious perspective and designed to foster and support that perspective) in the context of public education that are consistent with the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution, namely studies which are secular (neither promote nor hinder religion) in nature, intent, and purpose, studies whose primary effect is secular (in the same sense), and studies which involve no entanglement between the state and a religious organization.
religion (generic definition of): A means of getting in touch with and of attaining at-onement with "ultimate reality." In slightly different words, a religion is a system of symbols (e.g., words and gestures, stories and practices, objects and places) that functions religiously, namely, an ongoing system of symbols that participants use to draw near to, and come into right or appropriate relationship with, what they deem to be ultimate reality.
representational symbol (in the context of religion): Anything which refers to and thus represents something pertaining to "ultimate reality." Some such symbols under certain circumstances may also serve as presentational symbols, in which case they are experienced as conveying the very presence of what they are understood to represent.
revelation: A disclosure or communication by the "ultimate reality" to human beings of matters that would not otherwise be known, or not known as clearly and decisively. A primary religious concept within Western religions.
scandal of particularity: A feature of historical religions (see especially Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) whereby the universal and eternal message of divine revelation is accessible only in and through the particular historical and culturally specific circumstances in which it is held to have originally been given. In consequence, there results a perpetual controversy over sorting out what is essential to the divine message and what are the non-essential particulars of its initial historical reception. The mix often comes across as "scandalous" to outsiders who might identify with what seems to be matters of universal significance but are put off by what appears to be culturally and historically specific particulars.
system of symbols: The complex of stories, scriptures (if the tradition is literate), rituals, symbolic forms, and particular vocabulary for referring to what is taken to be ultimate reality, that as an interconnected whole constitute the core of a given religion.
test of empathy: One of two tests of candidates for empathetically objective interpretations of religious phenomena. Its purpose is to test how well one's interpretation has captured and conveyed an insider's perspective. The actual test is to see whether or not knowledgeable and thoughtful insiders can recognize their own understanding as insiders in the proposed interpretation.
test of neutrality: One of two tests of candidates for empathetically objective interpretations of religious phenomena. Its purpose is to test how well one's interpretation is disengaged from the expression of one's own personal attitude, orientation, and judgment toward the phenomena. The actual test is to see if a third party can detect from the interpretation any expression of your own attitude, orientation, and judgment, especially insofar as it may have biased, distorted, or colored what is conveyed by the interpretation.
threshold (of a system of symbols, of "another world to live in"): An entryway whereby one crosses the boundary from being outside the "other world" of a tradition to being inside it. Though it may be symbolized by a physical threshold (as to a temple or shrine), it essentially refers to a shift of consciousness from focally attending to a tradition's symbols to subsidiarily attending from them to what they symbolize, which is to say coming to dwell within them.
threshold effect: A change in the appearance and experienced texture of religious symbols as one crosses the threshold of a tradition's system of symbols and enters the "other world" to which it grants access, as one no longer looks at them from the outside but comes to dwell in them. On the outside, symbols are opaque and at best refer to matters within that other world. As one begins to cross the threshold, one begins to glimpse intimations of those matters more or less directly; the symbols become translucent. Insofar as one is able fully to cross the threshold, the symbols become transparent to their referents and serve to usher one into the very presence of them.
"ultimate reality": A variable standing for whatever the people of a given tradition take to be the ultimate ground of meaning and purpose in life--both how things are and how life ought to be lived. It stands for whatever is taken to make up the ultimate cosmic context of life that lies beyond the perspectives of ordinary human awareness and the mundane sphere of everyday life.
way of being religious: One generic manner and pattern among others of drawing near to and coming into right or appropriate relationship with what a religion takes to be ultimate reality. Each way is further characterized in terms of a mode of approach to what is taken to be the ultimate reality, an aspect of the problem of meaning to which it is addressed, a heremeneutical orientation, a pattern of social structures, and specific virtues and vices.
way of devotion: Cultivation of a personal relationship to "ultimate reality" of whole-hearted adoration, devotional surrender to "its" transforming grace, and trust in "its" providential care, anticipating in return an influx of sustaining energy, hope, and a sense of affirming presence or at-onement. It typically involves a conversion experience and emotional purgation.
way of mystical quest: Employment of ascetic and meditative disciplines in a deliberate quest to interrupt, slow down, or otherwise break through and become free of, the obscuring limitations and distracting compulsions of ordinary life in order to attain a direct awareness of "ultimate reality," come to be wholly at-one with it, and have life and one's relations with all things become transparently grounded in it. (The way of mystical quest should not be confused with "mysticism" as the term is used at large or by other authors, though there is in most cases some overlap. "Mysticism" in common usage is in some respects much broader, is focused more on extraordinary experiences, and, except for individual authors, is not possessed of a single, clear definition.)
way of reasoned inquiry: A rational, dialectical struggle to transcend conventional patterns of thinking in the effort to attain understanding of, and consciousness-transforming insight into, what is taken to be the ultimate what, how, and why of things--i.e., to bring together and unite, so far as possible, mind with what is taken to be the ultimate Mind and thereby acquire a portion of divine wisdom. It typically involves systematic study of a tradition's scripture and previous attempts to articulate what is ultimately the case.
way of right action: Concerted effort to bring all of life, individual and communal, into conformity with the way things are ultimately supposed to be (however understood)--i.e., to realize and fulfill what is taken to be the sacred intendedness of life--that promises individual fulfillment, social justice, and the embodiment of divine ideality in the midst of mundane, this-worldly life.
way of sacred rite: Participation in the sacred archetypal patterns through which "ultimate reality" is understood by participants to be manifest, by means of symbolic ritual enactments or presentations that enable participants repeatedly to enter their presence, attain at-onement for the moment with them, and thereby have established and renewed their sense of meaningful order, identity, and propriety. It is typically communal rather than individual.
way of shamanic mediation: Entry into altered states of consciousness in which persons become mediators or channels for what is taken to be an intervention of spiritual reality, in the expectation that "supernatural" (trans-mundane) resources of imagination, power, and guidance will be released for solving or dealing with otherwise intractable problems of life. Expressed through phenomena such as "possession" (trance), "oracular utterance," "ecstatic vision," and/or "spirit journeying," it seeks at-onement with "ultimate reality" in what is taken to be its readiness to bring about healing, well-being, and fulfillment for the world.
Western religions: The family of major religious traditions which emerged in the Near East, primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, each of which defines itself in certain respects in relation to the former as a further development or as a successor. All claim to be based upon a decisive revelation of "ultimate reality" as a person-like God.
70 CE: Date of the destruction by the Romans of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (i.e., the end of Judaism being centered on sacrificial ritual), the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, the end of the Kingdom of Judah (i.e., the end of a landed national status for the people of Israel), and perhaps the most decisive event characterizing the experience of Exile (Diaspora) for the People of Israel. (It did not begin the experience of Exile, which began with the destruction by the Babylonians of the First Temple and the literal exile of the Jewish ruling and intellectual classes in 722 BCE, if not with the earlier destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 786 BCE.
Abraham: The first of the patriarchs of the people of Israel, model of authentic faith in God, the first person (according to Jewish belief) to be singled out to live in covenant with God, the covenant that would eventually embrace the whole people of Israel (who consider themselves direct descendants of Abraham, whether by birth or adoption). Abraham is claimed as the progenitor and model of faith by Christians and by Muslims also.
aggadah: One of the two subject matters of the Oral Torah, especially having to do with the purposes of the commandments, but encompassing everything in the Torah other than the commandments of God and their implications. It encompasses matters of belief (e.g., about the nature of God, what actually happened at Mt. Sinai, the last things, life after death), among other things. According to the Oral Torah, interpretation of aggadah is not as restrictive as interpretation of halakhah; consequently differing interpretations are allowed, though they should be well reasoned interpretations.
Akiba (c50-c132 CE): One of the most respected of the rabbis whose interpretations and arguments are preserved in the Talmud. He died a martyr at the hands of the Romans. ["c" before a date means that it is uncertain.)
bar mitzvah: The ceremony in which a 13 year old boy becomes an adult member of the Jewish community. It minimally involves coming forward to recite the formal blessing in Hebrew over the portion of the Torah to be read in the synagogue service. The words literally mean “son of the commandment.”
bat mitzvah: The equivalent of the bar mitzvah ceremony for girls in Reform and Conservative congregations. The words literally mean “daughter of the commandment.”
cantor: Leader of Jewish synagogue worship, which is sung or chanted in accordance with various ancient melodies. A professional cantor is not necessary. Basically anyone who knows the prayers and who is respected in the community can serve as worship leader. In Orthodox and pre-modern synagogues, the leader must be male and a bar mitzvah.
circumcision: A boy's initiation ritual as a member of the covenant between God and the people of Israel, involving removal of the foreskin of the penis. It normally occurs on the 8th day after birth and is called brit milah (covenant of circumcision).
Conservative Judaism: A movement in the latter half of the 19th century attempting to adapt Judaism to modern life by using principles of change within the traditional laws and make use of the tools and principles of modern scholarship in studying the Torah; occupies a middle ground between Reform and Orthodox Judaism. From the beginning it has emphasized the relationship between the religion and the people. It is the only Jewish religious movement which has consistently supported Jewish nationalism (Zionism), which issue is the crux of its split with Reform Judaism. Founded by Zecharias Frankel (1801-1975) in Germany and later Solomon Schechter (1847-1915) in America.
covenant (berith): The special, ongoing relationship which is believed to exist between God and the people of Israel, begun with Abraham but reconfirmed and developed further at Mt. Sinai to include all the people of Israel, and involving Israel's acceptance of God's Torah.
David: The most loved and respected of the kings of Israel, and model, despite his many failings, of the messiah to come. He was the second of the three kings who ruled over the ancient united kingdom of Israel, reigning between 1002 and 962 BCE.
Exile/Diaspora: Separation of the people of Israel from their homeland, the land believed to have been promised to Abraham and his descendants, and their dispersal throughout the world. It is a living symbol for Judaism of the unredeemed status of the world.
Exodus: The central story of Judaism, telling of the miraculous deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, with divine signs and wonders, under Moses' leadership, and encompassing the receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, and 40 years of wandering in the wilderness of Sinai before their entry into the "promised land."
halakhah: One of the two subject matters of the Oral Torah, specifically having to do with the commandments of God and their implications. According to the Oral Torah, interpretation of halakhah must issue in a single ruling of what the commandment of God implies for conduct. By extension the term encompassses all of the Torah's implications for human conduct and all traditional interpretations of the same as a guide for Jewish life.
Hasidism: A popular mystical and devotional Jewish movement beginning in the 17th century in Eastern Europe, initially quite distinct from traditional Rabbinic Judaism, but later home of the most strict or ultra-orthodox of Judaists. It emphasizes intuition over reason, non-scholarly piety over scholarship in the study of Torah, and worshipping God through devotional joy. In the second generation, it came to emphasize the role of charismatic holy men (zaddiks [also tzaddiks], rebbes) who are storytellers, wonder workers, and believed to be channels for special divine guidance and assistance for their followers.
Haskala/Emancipation/Enlightenment: The European Enlightenment of the 18th century and its impact upon Jews of Europe, producing new forms of Jewish religious life, assimilation of large numbers of Jews into the surrounding culture, and provoking sometimes hostile reaction among those who continued to identify with traditional beliefs and practices.
Hillel: One of the great first century CE rabbis whose interpretations and arguments are preserved in the Talmud. He is particularly known for his pithy definition of Judaism: "What is hateful to yourself do not do to your fellow-man. That is the whole Torah. All the rest is commentary. Now go and study."
Holocaust, the: Ancient term meaning "all-consuming sacrificial fire," used since World War II to denote the destruction of some 6 million Jews under the Nazis.
Israel: A name which is said to mean "he who struggles with man and god and prevails" or "wins." It refers to (a) Jacob, a grandson of Abraham, who is sais to have first received the name in an unusual encounter with a supernatural being; (b) the offspring of Jacob, personified as a single person (though not all that often); (c) an ancient united kingdom under kings Saul, David, and Solomon; (d) the northern kingdom, after the united kingdom split in two, from Solomon's death until its destruction by the Assyrians in 722 BCE; (e) the modern state of Israel founded in 1948.
Israel Baal Shem (1700-1760 CE): Founder of Hasidism; charismatic holy man, storyteller, mystic, wonder worker, and shaman. All subsequent leaders of Hasidism trace their lineage in direct descent from the Baal Shem (which means "master of the good Name [i.e., Name of God]".
Jerusalem: Holiest city in the world for Judaists, established by King David as the capital of the ancient united Kingdom of Israel and place it is believed God chose for his Temple. The name means "city of peace."
Jew: Member of the people (or household) of Israel, standing (according to Judaists) in a special covenant with God in virtue of which they are believed to bear certain special obligations (the commandments). Historically, the name derives from persons who were citizens of the Kingdom of Judah. A person may be a Jew by birth or by conversion to Judaism. Interestingly, Jews never call themselves "Jews" in Hebrew, but always "Israelites." In Hebrew, there is no distinction between Israelite and Israeli, though there is in English.
Judah: The ancient southern kingdom into which the united Kingdom of Israel split in 922 BCE, centered in Jerusalem, lasting until its destruction in 586 by the Babylonians, restored later in that century and lasting until 70 CE. This ancient kingdom/nation took its name from the name of one of Jacob's 12 sons [Jacob was the grandson of Abraham], after whom was named one of the12 tribes of Israel who were supposed to be the offspring of that son and who were thought to have settled what later became the ancient southern kingdom of Judah..
Judaist: A religious Jew; i.e., a Jew who identifies with and practices Judaism as a religious faith.
Kabbalah (or Cabala): The Jewish mystical tradition [or at least one major strand of that tradition], dedicated to discovering the esoteric, inner meaning of the Torah, using distinctively Jewish forms of meditation for developing an awareness of divine powers at work in the world and within oneself, and endeavoring to cooperate with God in the redemption of the world. The name Kabbalah refers to the teaching concerning the 10 sepherot, both cosmic centers of energy, by means of which God is said to have created, is governing, and will redeem the universe, and internal centers of psychic energy [compare the chakras of Hindu Tantric mystical practice] accessed through meditation.
kosher: From the Hebrew word kashrut, meaning ‘fit to eat.’ Specifically, it refers to food selected and prepared according to Jewish dietary rules (which are themselves a product of the Oral Torah’s interpretation of the commandments of the Torah regarding food) and under rabbinical supervision.
Maimonides (1141-1205 CE): The greatest Jewish philosopher, who brought together in a happy syntthesis the philosophy of Aristotle with the faith and practice of Judaism in his Guide for the Perplexed, and one of the greatest of the Medieval rabbis whose clarifying summary of the entire Oral Torah, called Mishneh Torah, is still regarded as among the best and most influential.
Messiah: Literally, the one annointed to be king. The human ruler who is forcast by the ancient Hebrew prophets for the end of days to bring peace to humanity, to restore the people of Israel to sovereignty in the promised land, and to rule over society in perfect accordance with the Torah. The symbol of the anticipated redemption of Israel and the world at large by God. Judaists are by no means unanimous in their understanding and interpretation of the figure of the messiah. It is a matter of aggadah, not halakhah.
Messianic Judaism: Any form of Judaism which is particularly linked with the messiah and/or what that symbol is understood to stand for as either coming very soon (whether as a supernatural or natural figure) or as having already come. In late biblical times, the Zealots, the Qumran community (possibly the same as the Essenes), and Christianity were forms of messianic Judaism. In modern times, Reform Judaism, Zionism, and messianic socialism are forms of messianic Judaism. Actually, this phrase is not used in Judaism itself, but has been used by many scholars in the comparative study of religion. Although the Pharisees and the Rabbis of the Talmud did believe in the Messiah, because they did not give belief in the Messiah central emphasis, these scholars are reluctant to speak of the Pharisees and the Talmudic Rabbis as "messianic."
Mishnah: The oldest portion of what is found the Talmud, compiled and edited by Rabbi Judah around 200 CE, representing the most authoritative judicial rulings (legal interpretations) on halakhah which the Oral Torah had produced by that time. Strictly speaking, the Talmud proper is the Gemara which consists of commentariy on (or responses to) the Mishnah, passage by passage.
mitzvah (plural: mitzvot): A good deed or virtuous action. It most often refers to a commandment of God given in the Torah -- or, better, an action or deed commanded in the Torah -- intended to be performed or carried out by members of the covenant, thereby making holy or sacred the area of life to which it pertains. According to traditional reckoning, there are 613 mitzvot in the Torah.
Moses: Greatest of the Hebrew prophets, leader of Israel through the Exodus, receiver from God of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, the one human of whom it is said that he spoke with God face to face.
Oral Torah: Part of the Whole Torah that is said to have been given by God to Moses (and through Moses to the people of Israel) at Mt. Sinai, consisting specifically of the practical know-how for appropriately interpreting the Torah, the divine authorization to so interpret the Torah, and by implication all of the interpretions of the Torah that have subsequently been produced in accordance with it. It is learned through oral apprenticeship from masters of the Oral Torah and is practiced orally to this day in groups of two or more persons. The commandment to study the Torah, at least among Orthodox Jews today, is understood to mean participation, to the extent that one is able, in the Oral Torah.
Orthodox Judaism: The self-conscious reaffirmation of traditional Rabbinic Judaism within the modern world, believing that God gave both the Written Torah as given in the Torah scrolls and the Oral Torah for its interpretation, and accepts as binding the evolving interpretations of the Oral Torah in full continuity with the pre-modern past. Especially identified with the position taken by Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) in opposition to Reform Judaism.
Passover (Pessah): Spring holiday festival, lasting eight days, centering upon a ritual meal taking place usually in the home and celebrating liberation from slavery in Egypt by the miraculous power of God under the leadership of Moses. The rabbis teach that to properly celebrate Passover is to so identify with the experience of the first generation of the people of Israel that one comes to understand oneself as having undergone the Exodus from slavery in Egypt.
Pharisees: A sect of late Biblical Judaism (in Judaism, it is post-Biblical, post-Hebrew-Bible) which became responsible for the reshaping of Judaism after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and the content of the Mishnah. It was from them that post-Biblical, Rabbinic Judaism derived its characteristic practices and convictions, among them belief in the Oral Torah. Frequently misjudged in history, they are acknowledged in Judaism as the greatest masters of the Oral Torah and are revered for their sincerity of heart and soul.
Philo: Perhaps the first great Jewish philosopher, who lived in the first century CE in Alexandria, Eqypt. He synthesized the philosophy of Plato and ancient Stoicism with Biblical religion and came to have a powerful influence on subsequent theology and philosophy, especially Christian thought.
rabbi: Literally, "my master." Title for a master, teacher, and ordained judge of the Oral Torah. Not until modern times did a rabbi come to exercise the roles of leader of worship, pastor, and preacher.
Rabbinic Judaism: The dominant character of post-Biblical Judaism until modern times, accepting the theory and practice of the Oral Torah, and thus the centrality of Torah, its study, and its practical guidance for all aspects of Jewish life. The rabbis, masters of the Oral Torah, accordingly occupy the place of religious leadership in all aspects of religious life in this form of Judaism.
Reform Judaism: Jewish religious movement advocating change of tradition to conform to the conditions of modern life. Originally a grass-roots movement, Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) in Germany helped give it a coherent intellectual basis. Reform Judaism holds halahkah (and thus the Oral Torah) to be a human creation not binding upon modern Jews; it does not take the Written Torah to be literally given by God and therefore sacrosanct; and it tends to universalize all Jewish teachings and minimize what traditionally has made Jews other than or different from non-Jews. It interprets the messianic hope in a figurative way as a vision of justice for all people of which they see it is the mission of Jews to spread. In recent years, Reform has become increasingly more traditional, however.
revelation: A communication by God to human beings of a particular historical time and place of matters that its recipients would not otherwise know about God and his will for human beings. According to traditional Judaism, the greatest revelation, eclipsing all others, is the revelation of the Torah of God at Mt. Sinai to Moses and the people of Israel.
Sabbath/shabbat: The Jewish weekly holy day, a day in which Jews are commanded to rest from labor and devote themselves to worship, study of Torah, and family. It lasts from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset. It commemorates the seventh day of Creation, in which God is said to have rested from the labor of creating the heavens and the earth and all of its creatures.
Shema: Proclamation of the unity of God: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is one." Specifically, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, Numbers 15:37-41. Sometimes said to be the closest thing to a creed in Judaism.
Siddur/Order of Prayer: The traditional structure of congregational prayer or liturgy for all days except special holy days. Basically established by the rabbis of the Mishnah, setting order of worship for subsequent post-Biblical Judaism. The order of worship followed by a Jewish group is usually in book form, and is called the Siddur.
Sinai: A mountain in the wilderness of the Sinai penninsula where Moses and the people of Israel are said to have received the Torah from God, shortly following their Exodus from Egypt.
Talmud: Mishnah plus commentary on the Mishnah, called Gemara, produced in rabbinical academies in Palestine and in Babylonia (actually two versions) between 200 CE and 700 CE. (Strictly speaking, however, the Talmud refers only to the Gemara.) The Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara taken together) is the primary literary expression of the Oral Torah. Subsequent editions of the Talmud contain further commentary up to the present day.
Tanakh/Hebrew Bible: The Jewish scriptures; an acronym made up of Torah, Neviim (the books of the Prophets), and Ketubim (the Writings, including the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon).
tefillin: Amulets (phylacyteries) worn by adult males at morning prayer, based on Exodus 13:1, 11, and Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21. These passages of the Torah are written on parchment, placed in leather cases, to which are attached long leather straps, and worn on left arm and forehead, with the straps wrapped around the left arm, hand, and finger -- signifying, among other things, the restrictions placed upon a Judaist’s physical and mental activities.
Temple, the (First and Second): The place in Jerusalem where God is said to have chosen to be worshiped by means of an elaborate system of sacrificial rituals. The center of Jewish religious life from the time of Moses to the building of the first temple by Solomon was this system of sacrificial rituals at a portable sanctuary. Except for the Babylonian exile in the middle of the 6th century BCE, between the destruction of the First Temple and the building of the Second Temple under Nehemiah, this system of sacrificial rituals at the Temple continued unabated until 70 CE, when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. There have been no Temple and no sacrificial rituals since then.
Torah: The central symbol of Judaism, signifying first of all what was revealed by God to the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai -- laying out, above all, the way of life given by God for the people of Israel. Most tangibly, it is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (the Written Torah), especially in the form of the Torah scroll, which is the focus of Jewish worship. By extension it includes the whole of the Hebrew Bible. For Rabbinic Judaism, it includes also the Oral Torah, to complement and interpret the Written Torah, and all of the interpretations that have been produced by the Oral Torah over the centuries. Finally it is said mystically to refer to the esoteric principles that structure heart of all of creation.
Written Torah: The first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. According to Rabbinical Judaism, the Written Torah as found in the contemporary Torah scrolls was given by God, and as such is sacrosanct; but it was complemented by the Oral Torah, also given by God, to interpret and apply the Written Torah to living out what God has intended.
Yavneh (also Yabneh, Jamnia): The city in Palestine where a rabbinical academy was established after the destruction of the Second Temple to determine and shape what would become of subsequent Judaism. The Siddur and the substance of what became the Mishnah were its principal products.
Yom Kippur: The holiest day of the Jewish year, the Day of Atonement, 8-9 days after Rosh Hashanah (celebrating the creation of the world in the early Fall), in which the people of Israel fast and gather in their synagogues to make up for the wrongs they have committed toward their neighbors, confess their to God, and seek his forgiveness and blessing.
Zion: The mountain on which Jerusalem and the Temple was built, yet also symbolic of the entire Jewish homeland, the "promised land" of Palestine. Traditionally, the place where redemption is to begin and where the messiah is to begin his reign.
Zionism: A modern, for the most part secular movement to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine, in response to a recognition that modern Western societies, despite their liberal rhetoric, would never wholly accept Jews in their difference from other peoples. Founded in 1897 by Theodor Herzl.
Zohar: The most important and influential book of Kabbalah, for the most part composed by Moses de Leon in Spain in the 13th century and completed in the 14th century; a mystical commentary claiming to find profound esoteric meanings beneath every detail of the Torah.
30 CE: Date of what Christians believe to be the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus, and of Pentecost, the birthday of the Christian church (inclusively understood).
380 CE: Date when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire; thus also of the so-called "marriage of Church and State" and the legacy of that "marriage" over time, known as "the Constantinian heritage."
1054 CE: Date of the so-called "Great Schism" in which the Eastern Orthodox tradition and the Roman Catholic tradition (or the Western Church) separated.
1517 CE: Traditional date on which Martin Luther nailed a long list of complaints against the Roman Catholic church to the door of Wittenberg Castle for the purpose of public debate, but which became (unknown to him at the time) the fateful beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Anabaptist: (lit., "rebaptizer"). One or another of several groups making up the radical wing of the Protestant Reformation, which rejected the validity of infant baptism and insisted that only persons making a self-conscious choice for themselves to depart from "the kingdoms of this world" and embrace "the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ" were truly Christians, for whom baptism by immersion was the appropriate outward testimony. They insisted that Christians were called to live a lifestyle distinct from that of the common culture and that the Constantinian heritage of a state church was an abomination.
apostolic: Pertaining to the work or commission of an apostle (lit., “one sent on behalf of another) of Jesus Christ. The twelve men which Jesus gathered around himself were called apostles. Later, bishops in the early church were regarded as successors to the apostles, generation after generation, and carrying that title. The work of bishops and priests and, by extension, the work of a humble lay person done on behalf of Jesus and what is understood to be his ongoing ministry (e.g., in proclaiming the Gospel), is called "apostolic."
Aquinas (1225-1274 CE): One of the very greatest of Christian philosophers and theologians, who lived, taught, and wrote in the 13th century in central Europe. He is widely recognized as having shown how the Christian faith and pagan Greek philosophy in its most challenging form, the systematic thought of Aristotle, could be reconciled without compromise to either faith or philosophy.
Augustine (354-430 CE): One of the very greatest of Christian philosophers and theologians, as well as a bishop and founder of a monastic order, who lived, taught, and wrote in the latter fourth and early fifth century in North Africa as Rome was being overrun by the barbarians. He is widely recognized as having shown how the Christian faith and much of pagan Greek philosophy as found in the writings of Plato and Plotinus could be reconciled without compromise to either faith or philosophy.
Baptism: One of the two sacraments recognized by most Protestants and one of the seven sacraments recognized by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Episcopalians/Anglicans. Specifically, the rite of initiation into the New Covenant of Christianity by way of a ritual bath or washing done in the name of the Trinity. Non-sacramental traditions view it as an outward symbol of a person’s inward faith in and self-conscious commitment to Jesus Christ. Sacramental traditions view it as a rite whereby the person is adopted by God into the New Covenant, brought into permanent relation to the grace of God in Jesus Christ and thus freeing the person from the condition of Original Sin--and so they do not hesitate ot baptise infants.
Benedict (480-543 CE): Founder of Western Christian monasticism and composer of the Rule of St. Benedict, which most all monastic groups in Western Christianity follow.
Body of Christ, (Mystical): The supernatural or theological dimension of the Christian Church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ, whereby jointly and individually understand themselves to be an extension of his presence (of the Incarnation) in the world, continuing to carry on his ministry of reconciling the world to God. One of the primary intentions of the Christian revelation is to bring the Life of Jesus Christ to realization in the individual lives and gathered community of Christian believers in every generation--i.e., for them to be the Body of Christ.
Calvin, John (1509-1564): One of the principal leaders (French Swiss) of the Protestant Reformation, founder of the Reformed Church, particularly noted for the systematic and rational way he explained basic Christian beliefs and for stressing the sovereignty of God’s providence over all things.
catholic: In origin it refers to the quality of the Christian Church as universal, comprehensive, and inclusive of all parts. Historically, it has come to differentiate those Christian traditions that assign special importance to the rulings of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (4th through 8th century) as sources of doctrine, the Sacraments as necessary means of grace, and the Apostolic Succession of bishops (from the original Apostles to the present) as authorized agents of Christ. It is often, somewhat misleadingly, taken (especially when capitalized) to refer simply to the Roman Catholic Church.
Charismatic Movement: A movement (eventually world-wide) among members of mainstream Protestant and Roman Catholic denominations, beginning in the early 1960s, to experience for themselves the supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit (called "Baptism in the Holy Spirit") referred to in the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. It represents a new expression of the Way of Shamanic Mediation within Christianity.
Christ: Greek word for Messiah (lit., one annointed to be King). Title attributed to Jesus by his followers and all Christians since, identifying him as the promised Jewish Messiah, who would bring redemption not only to those faithful to God under the Old Covenant but for all persons who would place their faith in him.
Christmas: Christian holiday celebrating the birthday of Jesus and therewith the Incarnation of God; normally observed on December 25.
Church (ecclesia): The Greek word ecclesia means "those who are called out," which here is used to refer to members of the New Covenant with God in and through Jesus Christ. The Church, then, is the people of the New Covenant, all of them. Later, after divisions within the Church arose, it came also to be used to one or the other of the separated divisions (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church, or the Presbyterian Church), to a local Christian congregation, and to the building where a local Christian congregation met for worship.
Church Fathers (Patristic Writings): Early Christian teachers and theologians whose writings came to exercise a great influence over subsequent Christianity, by way of explaining basic Christian teachings and doctrines, refuting heresies, interpreting scripture, providing pastoral guidance, etc.
Counter Reformation: The movement in the latter half of the 16th century within the Roman Catholic Church, in response to the Protestant Reformation, to reform and rectify itself (in response to many of the Protestant criticisms) but also to consolidate its own understandings and position in order to counteract the erosion of members to the new Protestant sects.
deification (theosis): (lit., "becoming God") A specific Christian teaching, found particularly in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, that holds that a Christian is destined to be transformed in his or her very nature, from mortality to immortality, so that he or she comes to participate directly in the life and being of God. It is strongly connected with the Way of Mystical Quest as encouraged and practiced in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. In the radical sounding words of the early Church Father Athanasius, "God became man, that man might become God."
Easter: Christian holiday celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus after his death and burial, in which he is understood to have broken the power of death and sin over the lives of human beings; the most important holiday of the year for most Christians, especially sacramental Christians; always occuring in the Spring.
Eastern Orthodox: One of the three major divisions of Christianity, claiming to be historically continuous with the early Church and to be the truest and most faithful to original Christianity. Among the three divisions, it is the most sacramental, making use of all of the senses in worship (particularly distinguished by the pervasive use of icons), and the most mystical in its worship and spirituality. It understands "orthodox" to mean "right praise" or "right worship," more than "right or correct belief."
Enlightenment: A secular, humanistic, sometimes anti-religious (certainly anti-traditional) movement centered originally among European intellectuals of the 18th century, which provoked sometimes hostile reaction among persons who continued to identify with traditional beliefs and practices. It has had a large impact upon Western Christianity, especially Protestantism, but in the latter half of the 20th century upon Roman Catholicism as well. It has produced various expressions of "Modern" or "Liberal Protestantism" and similar expressions in Roman Catholicism. So also it has provoked traditional reactions of a defiant or hard-line nature known as "Fundamentalism."
Eucharist/Divine Liturgy/Mass/Holy Communion/Lord's Supper: One of the two sacraments recognized by most Protestants and one of the seven sacraments recognized by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Episcopalians/Anglicans. Non-sacramental Protestants interpret to be a ritual meal of bread and wine (or bread and grape juice) symbolically reminding (representing) participants of the last meal Jesus had with his followers before his death and of Jesus giving of himself unto suffering and death that they might be delivered from sin and its consequences. Sacramental Christians interpret it to be the rite of renewed incorporation into the Mystical Body of Christ, in which the bread and wine serve as presentational symbols whereby participants are believed to be brought directly into relation to God in Christ.
Evangelical Protestantism: A movement of renewal within Protestantism in the last two centuries, growing out of the Pietist movement of the 18th century in Europe and the Great Awakening in the American Colonies. It stresses the proclamation of the Gospel, especially to those persons who have never heard it or heard it truly (and thus evangelizing and missionary work), a personal conversion experience in which one is said to be "born again" into an inward relationship to Jesus as one’s "personal Lord and Savior," and a devotional study of Scripture as a means of communication between God and the individual believer. This movement has come to encompass most (but not all) forms of Protestantism in America, especially expressions other than Liberal Protestantism.
Fundamentalism: A movement within Evangelical Protestantism of reaction to, and committed opposition to, the eroding effects of modern culture upon traditional (pre-modern) Christianity and especially to the influence of the secular humanism associated with the Enlightenment--above all to (a) the application of critical historical scholarship to the understanding and interpretation of Scripture (and all suggestions that the words of Scripture are merely human and subject to error) and (b) acceptance of modern natural science (and especially the theory of evolution) to be a more reliable account of origins than the first chapters of the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.
Gospel (evangelion/evangel): The Central Story of Christianity, telling of how God has come in the person of Jesus to reconcile his fallen creation to himself and to redeem it in accordance with his purposes, to the effect that responding in faith to the Gospel, appropriately proclaimed, is believed to bring about a process of redemptive transformation of the person so responding.
Grace: A gift from God of divine help, aid, assistance, reassurance, guidance, healing, transformation, etc.
Holy Tradition: The Christian equivalent or parallel to the idea of the Oral Torah in traditional rabbinic Judaism found in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions alongside of Scripture first prior to the New Testament Scriptures and then alongside them. In particular, it is alleged to be the oral tradition, passed down in a person to person way from Jesus and the original Apostles and guided by the Holy Spirit, of what God is supposed to have revealed in Jesus Christ. It particularly is taken to include the divinely authorized practical know-how for interpreting Scripture appropriately and actualizing the Life of Jesus Christ (the Mystical Body of Christ) in the lives of Christians. Roman Catholics also call it the Magisterium.
Holy Week: A sequence of 8 days in Christian liturgical calendar observed by sacramental Christians, for sacramentally participating along with Jesus in the great events of the Gospel, culminating in Jesus’ Crucifixion on Good Friday, his death and burial, and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
icons/iconography: Icons are two dimensional pictures, make of paint and wood, used throughout Eastern Orthodox worship and for meditation. They are said to be sacramentals, presentational symbols, whereby what is depicted is said to become sacramentally present to the persons who "venerates" (never "worships") the icon, or more strictly, to whomever venerates what is depicted. These instances of "theology in paint" typically depict Jesus, scenes and persons from Scripture, and saints from the history of Christianity. They are said to portray more what faith is said to see than what the eye sees. The seventh of the Ecumenical Councils specifically affirmed the use of icons in worship and rejected the interpretation of their use as an instance of idolatry. (The word ikon in the New Testament is translated "image." Human beings are said in Scripture to be "created in the image of God." And in Colossians, Jesus is said to be "the image of God made visible," which Orthodox Christians take to be the ultimate justification of the use of icons.) Iconography is the art of icon painting.
Incarnation, the: The Christian doctrine that Jesus was at once both a human being and God; that God was in Jesus reconciling the world to himself; and that in Jesus God came to know intimately the full extent of the common human condition, so that there is nothing about human life that God has not become acquainted with.
infallibility: The doctrine held by Roman Catholics that the Pope, when making rulings ex cathedra on matters pertaining to faith and morals, will be protected from error by the Holy Spirit. Also a doctrine held by Eastern Orthodox that the Church as a whole (but no one person or cleric such as a bishop), as manifest in an ecumenical council of bishops from the entire Church, will be protected from error by the Holy Spirit.
Justification by Faith: The doctrine held by most Protestants (a key theme of the Protestant Reformation), and based on the teachings of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, that salvation comes soley by God’s grace received in faith and not at all from things that one does or can do to earn it.
kerygma: The appropriate telling or proclamation of the Gospel, in such a way that the hearer who responds in faith is understood to have a transformative encounter with God in Christ.
Kingdom of God: The condition of life redeemed by, and reconciled with, God that Jesus is believed to have inaugurated and made accessible to people who respond to him in faith.
Lent: A 40 day penitential period before Holy Week each year that is observed by sacramental Christians, to seriously consider how far they fall from God’s expectations and to repent with God’s help. Often special prayer and fasting is practiced.
Liberal Protestantism: A movement within mainstream Protestant traditions to modernize their teaching and practice, to reinterpret or drop traditional teachings that seem out of date and incompatible with modern enlightened thinking, to subject the Scriptures to modern critical historical scholarship, and to adapt Christian teaching to be consistent with modern natural science. Often it has involved a shift to the Way of Right Action as the primary way of being religious, with a special emphasis on social action projects on behalf of persons suffering from injustice or oppression.
Liberation Theology: A recent expression of Liberal theology, but particularly found in certain manifestations of the Roman Catholic tradition, which interprets the Scriptures, and the Gospel in particular, to be concerned with the liberation of victims of injustice and oppression.
Luther, Martin (1483-1546): The most important leader and theologian of the Protestant Reformation, founder of the Lutheran tradition of Protestantism, and translator of the Bible into vernacular German.
Magisterial Reformation (Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican varieties): The mainstream, right wing of the 16th century Protestant Reformation, identified in terms of its rejection of the Roman Catholic Magisterium (the Roman Catholic conception of Sacred Tradition as something alongside of Scripture having been passed down from Jesus and the first Apostles). In contrast with the Radical Reformation Protestants, Magisterial Reformation Protestants did not reject the Constantinian heritage of the marriage of church and state, but took advantage of state power to forward their Reformation goals.
Magisterium/Church as Teaching Authority: The Roman Catholic equivalent or parallel to the idea of the Oral Torah in traditional rabbinic Judaism, believed to be in existence first prior to the New Testament Scriptures and then alongside them, but embodied in particular in the heirarchy of the Church (in the Bishops, but culminating in the Pope at the top as having the last word in resolving issues concerning faith and morals for all Roman Catholics). It is alleged to be the oral tradition, passed down in a person to person way from Jesus and the original Apostles and guided by the Holy Spirit, of what God is supposed to have revealed in Jesus Christ. It particularly is taken to include the divinely authorized practical know-how for interpreting Scripture appropriately and actualizing the Life of Jesus Christ (the Mystical Body of Christ) in the lives of Christians.
monasticism: A movement, begun in the 4th century CE by Christians, who were dissatisfied with "culture Christianity," to live a radically simplified, ascetic (usually celibate), either hermitic or communal lifestyle following Jesus’ teachings and seeking to draw near to God with one’s whole heart, mind, and strength. It was and largely still is a Christian expression of the Way of Mystical Quest, though it rarely sought, or resulted in, dramatic "mystical experiences."
New Covenant/New Testament: The special covenantal relationship with God which Christians understand themselves to stand in through their faith in Jesus Christ., a covenant understood to supplant or take the place of the Old Covenant/Old Testament relationship that the Jewish people were believed to have had with God.
Nicene Creed: The most widespread creedal statement of basic or core Christian beliefs (shared by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and in principle most Protestants), which was worked out in the 4th century CE; it has three parts, corresponding to beliefs about each of the 3 persons (or faces) of the Christian conception of the Trinity.
non-sacramental: An orientation among most Protestant groups (excepting Episcopal or Anglican and Lutheran) that reduces to a minimum the recognition of presentational symbols, out of fear of committing idolatry, among other concerns. It does not centrally emphasize, if it gives place at all to, the Way of Sacred Rite. It generally views all symbols in the Christian tradition as merely symbolic, including whatever "Sacraments" it may recognize, with the exception of Holy Scripture and the kerygma.
Original Sin: The Christian doctrine that, apart from the grace of God in Jesus, no one is able to get right with God but will inevitably lead a sinful life. This condition is believed to be the result of the fall from grace of the first human beings, Adam and Eve.
Paul: First Apostle of Christianity to the gentiles (non-Jews), author of many books of the New Testament (e.g., Romans), first Christian theologian.
Pentecost: Birthday of the Christian Church in 30 CE, when, according to the New Testament account, the Holy Spirit supernaturally empowered the disciples of Jesus to become "the Body of Christ," to appropriately proclaim the Gospel in all of its power; and to live the kind of life to which Jesus had introduced them.
Pentecostal Movement: A Protestant movement, beginning at the turn of the 20th century and growing out of what is called the Holiness Movement among Protestant Evangelicals, which sought the supernatural manifestations of, and empowerment by, the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the life of the individual Christian or the sort referred to in the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. It represented a new expression of the Way of Shamanic Mediation within Christianity. In most cases it led to the founding of new Protestant denominations often with the word "pentecostal" in their names. It is particularly noted for the so called "gift of the Holy Spirit" known as "speaking in tongues." But by no means was it exclusively focused on this gift alone.
Pope: Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome, chief bishop and thus head of the Roman Catholic Church, successor to the office of St. Peter, who according to Roman Catholic teaching was the chief among the Apostles. The office of the Pope is similar in authority to the U. S. Supreme Court, which has the final say in interpreting the Constitution and federal laws. In controversies surrounding matters of Roman Catholic faith and morals, the Pope has the final say in resolving them and, in so doing, is believed to be protected from error by the Holy Spirit.
preaching of the Gospel: The appropriate telling or proclamation of the Gospel (also called the kerygma), in such a way that the hearer who responds in faith is understood to have a transformative encounter with God in Christ.
Radical Reformation: The more radical, left wing of the 16th century Protestant Reformation, identified in terms of its rejection of the Constantinian heritage of the marriage of church and state in addition to its rejection of the Roman Catholic Magisterium. They insisted that only persons making a self-conscious choice for themselves to depart from "the kingdoms of this world" and embrace "the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ" were truly Christians. They held that Christians were called to live a lifestyle distinct from that of the common culture and that a Christian should have nothing to do with the coercive power of the state. Hence the Protestant traditions steming from the Radical Reformation have been pacificists, for the most part, and have practiced an alternative lifestyle from the surrounding culture in which they have been located.
Real Presence: The theological name often used by sacramental Christians to refer to bread and wine consecrated in the Eucharist as presentational (or sacramental) symbols of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, the sacrificial gift of his life unto death for the sins of the world. Insofar as he is understood sacramentally to be present, claiming them as his own body and blood, they are thus sacramentally understood to be his body and blood, his real presence.
Roman Catholic: One of the three major divisions of Christianity, claiming (similar to Eastern Orthodox) to be historically continuous with the early Church and to be the truest and most faithful to original Christianity. It is centered in Rome, with the Bishop of Rome serving as its head or Pope.
Sacrament/Mystery: An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, said to be given by Christ himself and understood by sacramental Christian traditions to be a sure and certain means of that grace. Most Christians identify two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox (whose name for Sacraments is Mysteries), and Episcopalians/Anglicans identify seven Sacraments: Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Confession (also called Reconciliation or Penance), Ordination, Marriage, and Healing (or Unction).
sacramental: An orientation among Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Episcopalians/Anglicans, and Lutherans that gives central emphasis to the Way of Sacred Rite (and particularly the Sacrament of the Eucharist) as a way of drawing near to, and coming into right relationship with, God in Jesus Christ. It thus recognizes many more presentational symbols than do non-sacramental traditions.
saints: Persons who are advanced in the process of transformation consequent upon placing faith in Jesus Christ as the means of being reconciled with god. In the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Episcopal/Anglican traditions, they officially recognize or canonize persons posthumously based on careful documentation, especially persons believed to have been specially empowered by the Holy Spirit to do miraculous things. Once recognized as a "saint," it is believed in these traditions that death is no fundamental barrier to communication between the living and these dead in prayer, in which a living person may ask a saint to pray for them or intercede for them just as the person might ask another living elder to pray for them.
scholasticism: One of two major expressions of the Way of Reasoned Inquiry in the Medieval Period, particularly noted for systematically working out a reconciliation between ancient Greek pagan philosophy (particularly the views of Aristotle) and the Christian faith. It is particularly noted for recognition of the autonomy of reason within its own sphere and of the need for revealed truth received by faith to complement and fill out what cannot be known by reason unaided. Its foremost expositor was Thomas Aquinas.
Second Coming: The promised return to the earth of Jesus Christ to bring to completion the intended redemption of God for his fallen creation. Different Christians differ in opinion about what exactly it means, what it will bring about, how much one can figure out from the Scriptures about when it will happen, and what will happen when it finally happens.
Seven Sacraments, the: Special ritual "means of grace" that are recognized by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Episcopalians/Anglicans: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation (also called Chrismation), Confession (also called Reconciliation or Penance), Healing (also called Unction), Marriage, and Ordination. Among Eastern Orthodox, they are also called Mysteries.
sin/sinfulness/state of sin: (lit., "missing the mark") Falling short of God’s expectation; doing wrong in God’s eyes; "aborting," as it were, the creation under way that God is intending one to become. To be in sin or a "state of sin" is to be turned away from God and his divine assistance.
Social Gospel Movement: A movement within Liberal Protestantism in the early part of the 20th century which focused on the social and economic implications of the Gospel, which was interpreted to mean liberation from injustice, oppression, and inequity.
Seven Ecumenical Councils, the: A series of councils of bishops representing the whole of the Church between the 4th and 8th centuries which laid out basic Christian doctrines; condemned heretical teachings; established the laws of governance of the Church, and clarified the nature and structure of appropriate worship. The decisions of these seven councils have been determinative of what is orthodox teaching for all major expressions of Christianity, at least until the emergence of Liberal Protestantism in the modern world.
Trinity, the: (God) the Father, (God) the Son, and (God) the Holy Spirit: A major Christian doctrine formulated in the 4th and 5th centuries CE within two of the Ecumenical Councils, specifically affirming that the revelation of God in and through Jesus Christ has disclosed three distinctive ways that the one God reveals or manifests himself from before the beginning of time: God as Father--creator of all things and revealer of the Torah; God as Son--incarnate as Jesus but also the creative Word of God at work in creation and through the Prophets; and God as Holy Spirit--providential guide and supernatural power in the life of the Church and in the lives of individual Christians.
Vatican II: A special council of the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church held in the mid 1960s, resulting in many significant changes: e.g., changing the language of worship from Latin to the vernacular, emphasizing Bible study and literacy, simplifying and revising the Sacraments, becoming much more ecumenical toward other Christian traditions, etc.
Virgin Mary/Theotokos: The mother of Jesus, and thus the mother of God in human form, having conceived him miraculously by power of the Holy Spirit, according to Christian teaching; highly venerated by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox as the first of Christians, model of Christian faith and piety, and the closest human being to Jesus (thus one whom one might ask to pray for one’s own special concerns as one might ask an living elder Christian). Theotokos means "bearer of God."
10th of Muharram: Traditional date among Shi'a Muslims for commemorating the tragic death of Husayn (third Imam, according to their understanding) by means of the ritual drama called the Ta'ziya.
570 CE: Date of birth of Muhammad.
610 CE: Date of "the Night of Power" when the Qur'an is said to have first begun to be revealed to Muhammad.
622 CE: Date of the Hijra, the emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib (later called Medina ["City of the Prophet"], the birthday of the Ummah (the Muslim community), and the date from which the Muslim calendar commences.
632 CE: Date of the death of Muhammad and the closing of the revelation of the Qur'an.
Abraham (or Ibrahim): The patriarch to whom Jews, Christians, and Muslims all trace their spiritual origins, and to whom all uphold as a model of true faith in God. Regarded among Muslims as one of the most important of prophets, the first to denounce idolatry and emphasize worship of God alone, and the builder of the original Ka'bah. Many stories about Abraham may be found in the Qur'an which are not in the Bible.
Abu Bakr: First caliph (successor or deputy) from 632 to 634 CE, succeeding Muhammad, of the Muslim Ummah according to Sunni Muslim understanding.
al-Ghazali (1058-1111): Regarded by many as the second greatest Muslim after Muhammad. Great philosopher, theologian, interpreter of Shari’a, inspirer of popular piety and devotion, and mystic (Sufi). He did more than any other Muslim theologian to defend and gain respect for Sufism among othodox Muslims.
Ali: The nephew and son-in-law of Muhammad, one of the first to accept the prophethood of Muhammad and a close associate of Muhammad. Believed by Shi’a Muslims to have been chosen by Muhammad to be the successor to Muhammad as both the Caliph (ruler) and Imam (religious leader and interpreter of the will of God) for the Ummah, and therefore unjustly deprived of his rightful leadership by the first three caliphs recognized by Sunni Muslims. Sunnis recognize Ali to be the fourth caliph.
Alid Imams: The Imams recognized by one or another Shi’a Muslim sect, beginning with Ali and continuing with one or another of his direct lineal descendants.
Allah: Literally, "the God." The Arabic word for the one and only God. (It is not a proper name, say, for the god of Muslims. The Arabic word "Allah" has the definite article built into it, so it cannot gramatically be made plural.)
"Allahu akbar": Literally, "God is greater!" A devotional phrase found throughout Muslim life, but especially in the daily Salat and in the Call to Prayer. The point is that, whatever may at the time be occupying one’s attention and may be thought to be important, God is greater! (and should never be permitted to be lowered to a level of "association" [shirk] in value with whatever that may be).
baraka: Blessing or spiritual power, popularly believed (in certain Muslim circles, but by no means all) to have been given to certain persons (wali, literally "friends of God"), whereby they are believed able to exercise shamanic powers on behalf of persons in need who solicit their help.
"Basmala" (or "Bismillah"): Literally, "In the name of God." Used as a spoken preface to action and conversation by devout Muslims. One of the common, devotional ways of calling God to mind (dhikr) at all times.
caliph (or khalifa): (Literally, "successor" or "deputy.") The successor to the rule of Muhammad over the Ummah, according to Sunni Islam. A duly authorized governor of the Ummah, but not having religious authority to interpret the Qur’an or to declare the divine word.
Caliphate (or Khilafa): The institution of the caliph in Sunni Islam. The succession to the rule of Muhammad over the Ummah, from the first calipf, Abu Bakr, down to 1924, when the Caliphate (long become powerless) was abolished in Turkey.
dhikr: (Literally, "remembrance" or "recollection.") The act of calling God to mind, usually by mentioning his names. In Islam generally, it is a commended devotional practice to be done at all times. In Sufism, dhikr is a specific technique of disciplined meditation upon God intended to culminate in mystical union with God.
din (or ibada): Religion in general and religious duties in particular. Specifically encompassing the 5 religious duties of a Muslim: Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj. Ibada means "acts of worship," and specifically includes the last four of these five.
Fatihah: The "Opening" sura of the Qur’an, recited in the Muslim’s 5 times daily Salat. The Muslim equivalent of the Christian "Lord’s Prayer."
fiqh: (Literally, "understanding" of the law.) The study of law or jurisprudence in Islam, focused exclusively on Shari’a and its implications.
hadith: (Literally, "tradition" or "report.") A literary form that communicates a saying, an action, or a custom of the Prophet Muhammad, believed by Muslims to be the primary and authoritative source for how to interpret and implement the Qur’an for life.
Hajj: The official (or greater) pilgrimage to Mecca and its enviorns to carry out certain specific rituals during the 12th month, the Month of Pilgrimage (Dhu’l-Hijja), which is a religious obligation of all Muslims who have the means, the health, and the freedom from conflicting responsibilities to make the journey.
Hijra: The Emmigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622, which Muslims take to be the founding event or birth of the Ummah and so date their calendar from that event (celebrated each year on the first of Muharram).
Husayn: Second son of Ali, regarded as the third Imam among Shi’a Muslims, martyred with his immediate followers at Karbala, Iraq, on the 10th of Muharram in 680 CE, by the Sunni caliph, Mu’awiya and his army. Reenactment of Husayn’s suffering and death annually in the dramatic passion play, the Ta’ziya, in Shi’a Muslim communities, is believed to atone for the sins of participants.
Ibn Hanbal (780-855): Hero of the literalist interpretation of the Qur’an, founder of the most conservative of the four Sunni schools of orthodox legal interpretation, author of one of the most respected collections of Hadith, sworn enemy of the rationalist Mu’tazilite school of Muslim theology, and near-martyr for his views which gained for them widespread popular acceptance. He is responsible for the view that the Qur’an in its Arabic form is uncreated.
Imam: (Literally, "leader.") In Shi’a Islam, the rightful successor and ruler of the Ummah and divinely guided interpreter of the Qur’an and the Shari’a for the faithful, specifically chosen by Muhammad to be his nephew and son-in-law Ali and his direct lineal descendant.
imam: (Literally, "leader.") In Sunni Islam, one who leads the salat, especially one who leads the salat in a mosque. It may be anyone who knows the prayer.
Iman: (Literally, "faith" or "belief.") The articles of faith which a Muslim is obligated to believe, according to Shari’a.
Imamate: The institution of the Imam and the succession of Imams in one or another sect of Shi’a Islam.
Ishmael [or Isma'il]: First son of Abraham, acknowledged both in the Bible and the Qur’an. The Qur’an tells many more stories of Ishmael and Abraham than does the Bible, including their construction of the Ka’bah and Abraham’s willingness to obey the divine summons to sacrifice Ishmael (which he was kept from doing after having demonstrated his willingness).
Islam: Submission to the revelation of the Qur’an; the religion of the Qur’an.
islam: "Submission to God" or "surrender to God," wherever it might be found.
jihad: (Literally, "striving" or "exertion.") Militant striving in the cause of God to bring about true submission to God, first of all in oneself, next in one’s home and immediate environment, then in one’s local community, and finally in communities beyond one’s own. In respect to the last, it has come also to mean “holy war.”
Ka'bah [or Kaaba or Ka'ba]: (Literally, "cube.") The ancient shrine believed by Muslims to have been first constructed by Abraham and Ishmael for the worship of the one true God; the geographical focus or center of Muslim worship (Salat) and pilgrimage (Hajj).
Khadija: First wife of Muhammad and first to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad.
Mecca [or Makkah]: The location of the Ka’bah, the ancient shrine believed by Muslims to have been first constructed by Abraham and Ishmael for the worship of the one true God, which is the geographical focus or center of Muslim worship (Salat) and pilgrimage (Hajj). The first most important or holy city in Islam, and the birthplace and home of Muhammad until the Hijra.
Medina [or Madinah]: The City of the Prophet (originally named Yathrib), which received its name after the Hijra, in which Muhammad and his followers moved there and founded the Ummah. Muhammad’s tomb is in Medina. The second most important or holy city in Islam.
mihrab: The niche in the wall of the mosque indicating the direction (qibla) of Mecca (and therefore of the Ka’bah), for the purpose of proper prayer orientation.
mosque (or masjid): (Literally, "place of prostration.") A Muslim house of worship, set up specifically for communal performance of the Salat, including a place for ritual cleansing (wudu). It is often used for community social and political events as well.
muezzin: The person who performs the call or summons to prayer (Salat), five times a day, in a Muslim community
Muhammad (or Mohammed) (570-632): The final prophet, or "seal of the prophets," through whom God chose to reveal the Qur’an, according to Muslims.
Muslim (or Moslem): A member of the Islamic faith; one who accepts and at least nominally abides by the Qur’anic revelation to Muhammad. At the very minimum, according to Muslim law, it is one who asserts with intention that "There is no God but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God."
muslim: "One who submits to God," or "one who has surrendered to God" through the act of islam; i.e., a true believer in Allah.
Mutazilites (or Mu’tazilah): A group and school of Muslim theologians, strongest in the ninth century CE, who, swayed by rationalist philosophical reflection, pressed speculation concerning the nature of God, the origin of the Qur’an, and human free will beyond the position which later (and largely in reaction against them) came to be the position of orthodox Islam. Specifically, they criticized the literal interpretation of anthropomorphic passages in the Qur’an, held that the Qur’an was created by God in time, and taught that God wills only things that are just and good, never evil, and consequently that humans in their exercise of free choice are responsible for the evil in the world.
Qur’an (or Quran or Koran): (Literally, "recitation.") The holy scripture of Islam, believed by Muslims to have been supernaturally revealed, word for word, to Muhammad as the last and final revelation before the end of history as we know it.
Ramadan: The ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, in which all Muslims are obligated to fast (no food, no drink, and no sexual intercourse) from dawn to dark. It is regarded as a holy month, commemorating when the Qur’an first began to be revealed to Muhammad, when all Muslims are expected to draw nearer to God and call to mind the events of the central story of Islam.
rasul: (Literally, "messenger.") A type of prophet (nabi) entrusted with a special divine message for a specific people. Muhammad is identified as a rasul in this sense.
"Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Rashidun): The first four caliphs of Islam after Muhammad according to Sunni understanding (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali), who are believed to have been particularly exemplary in keeping with the sunna of Muhammad, placing God and the good of the Ummah before their own interests.
Salat: The ritual or liturgical prayer in Islam, involving a formal sequence of words and gestures facing the Ka’bah in Mecca for which one must be ritually purfied or cleansed; obligatory for all Muslims 5 times a day.
Sawm (or Saum, or Siyam): "Fasting" from dawn until dark (no food, no drink, and no sexual intercourse) during the month of Ramadan; one of the five religious obligations of Muslims.
Shahadah (or Shahada): The "bearing witness" to, or "confession" of, God’s unity and the prophethood of Muhammad; one of the five religious obligations of Muslims. According to Muslim law, saying the Shahadah once in one’s life, with intention, makes one a Muslim.
Shari'a (or Shari'ah): (Literally, "the way to the water hole.") The sacred law of God as revealed in the Qur’an and interpreted in the sunna of the Prophet and the orthodox traditions of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).
Shi’a (or Shi'i or Shi'ite) (Fivers, Seveners, Twelvers): (Literally, "party," "faction," or "sect.") The adherents or followers of ‘Ali, believing that Muhammad had chosen him and through him a line of descendents as Imam, the rightful successor and ruler of the Ummah and as divinely guided interpreter of the Qur’an and the Shari’a for the faithful. There are various subbranches or sects of Shi’a, which differentiate themselves according to the person whom they take to be the last Imam (as having been the 5th, the 7th, or the 12th Imam to follow Muhammad).
shirk: (Literally, "association.") The act of associating anything with God, giving God a rival in one’s values, loyalties, and affections, insubordination toward God; i.e., idolatry. This is regarded as the root of all other sins, and when conscious or deliberate is regarded as unforgiveable.
sufi: (From suf, which means wool.) Originally, a wearer of a course woolen frock. It later came to have a double meaning: (a) (the broad meaning:) a devout Muslim who seeks to bring his or her life into submission to God in all ways for its own sake, and not for reward or to avoid punishment; and (b) (the narrow meaning:) a Muslim mystic who pursues a particular tariqa in pursuit of a direct knowledge of, and union with, God.
Sufism: The Islamic Way of Mystical Quest, encompassing several different traditional tariqas or pathways for seeking and finding union with God.
sunna: "Custom," "usual procedure," or "way of acting," especially of Muhammad. When referring to Muhammad, it is regarded as the first source of Shari’a after the Qur’an. It is comparable to the idea of the Oral Torah in Rabbinic Judaism--namely, the divinely authoritative practical know-how for interpreting the written revelation of God and applying it to life. The Prophet’s sunna is remembered and transmitted by means of the Hadith.
Sunni (or Sunnite): Popular name for the Muslim majority, which conceive themselves as following the Prophet’s sunna.
sura: A chapter of the Qur’an. The Qur’an contains 114 suras.
tariqa (or tariqah, or tarika): A Sufi path involving ascetic and meditative disciplines under the guidance of a spiritual master of the path (a shaykh or pir) aimed at immediate and direct knowledge of God and believed to culminate ultimately in a unitive state of "passing away" (fana) or absorbtion in God. I.e., a specific example of the Muslim Way of Mystical Quest.
tawhid (or tauhid): The assertion or doctrine of the oneness of God in Islam--i.e., that God is one and that nothing compares, or is to be compared with, God. Recognition and acknowledgement of the tawhid of God is absolutely central and fundamental to everthing about Islam.
Ta'ziya: (Literally, "consolation") The Shi’a passion drama that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Husayn at Karbala; performed in Shi’a communities the first 10 days of Muharram, but especially on the 10th.
'ulama’: The learned class of legal and religious scholars in Islam; the custodians of Islamic teaching and of Shari’a in particular.
Ummah (or Umma): The community of Islam, theoretically embracing all Muslims but referring more particularly to the Muslim social order, established by Muhammad when he first emmigrated to Medina, in which the whole of life is brought under the rule of Shari’a as revealed in the Qur’an.
wali: (Literally, "friend of God") A term used in many parts of Islam to refer to Muslim saints and other persons, whether living or dead, deemed to be holy or specially gifted with Allah’s blessing (baraka) and who, as a result, are believed able to exercise supernatural power and control spiritual forces on behalf of persons in need. In effect, a wali is (or is at least treated as) a Muslim shaman, following the Way of Shamanic Mediation in Islam.)
Zakat: A portion (usually figured at one fourtieth) of one’s wealth beyond basic living expenses that Muslims are obligated (as one of their 5 basic religious duties) to share each year with the poor. The root meaning of the word connotes "sweetening," "purification," and "growth"--implying that paying the Zakat sweetens, purifies, and contributes to the growth of one’s wealth so that one might freely enjoy it as a gift from God. It is distinguished from charity (sadaqa), which is commended in addition to Zakat. Return to Syllabus
Direct suggestions, comments, and questions about this page to Dale Cannon. Last Modified
9/20/98 
Western
Oregon University