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A PHILOSOPHICAL/THEOLOGICAL VOCABULARY

PHILOSOPHY -- Love and pursuit of wisdom by

intellectual means and moral self-discipline. The

investigation of causes and laws underlying reality.

THEOLOGY -- The study of the nature of God and religious

truth; rational inquiry into religious questions, especially those

posed by Christianity. An organized often formalized body of

opinions concerning God and Man's relationship to God.

METAPHYSICS -- branch of philosophy that tries to

discover and explain reality and knowledge

SOPHISTRY -- A plausible but misleading or fallacious

argument. Plausible but fallacious argumentation; faulty

reasoning.

ANTINOMY -- Opposition; contradiction. Contradiction

between inferences or principles that seem equally necessary

and reasonable. Can God make a rock so big he can't lift it?

SKEPTICISM -- attitude of not believing easily; doubt; The

philosophical doctrine that absolute knowledge is impossible

and that inquiry must be a process of doubting in order to

acquire approximate or relative certainty. 2. Doubt or disbelief

of the tenets of Christianity.

DEISM -- the belief that god created the universe then

abandoned it assuming no control or responsibility over life.

A group of rationalists of the 17th and 18th centuries who

rejected formal religion and supernatural revelation, but

argued that the course of nature demonstrates the existence of

God. There were deistic elements in the thinking of Voltaire,

Rousseau, Franklin, and Jefferson. The religious orthodox

called them freethinkers.

EXISTENTIALISM -- philosophy which holds that reality

consists of living and that human beings make themselves

what they are and are responsible to themselves alone; the

belief that man is adrift in a godless, hostile or at least

indifferent universe; anguish is an emotion common to men

confronting life's problems; and morality demands

participation. Denies God and stresses man's absolute freedom

to choose, with resulting anguish and despair.

ETHICS -- The study of the general nature of morals and of

the specific moral choices to be made by the individual in his

relationship with others; the philosophy of morals. Also

called "moral philosophy."

FUNDAMENTALISM -- belief in the bible as factual

historical record and incontrovertible prophecy, including such

doctrines as the Genesis, the Virgin Birth, the Second coming,

and Armageddon

PANTHEISM -- the doctrine identifying God with the

various forces and workings of nature; belief that God is not

separate from the universe and God is the universe 2. belief in

and worship of all gods.

SYNCRETISM -- The attempt or tendency to combine or

reconcile differing beliefs, as in philosophy or religion.

EPICUREANISM -- The art of making life happy, with

intellectual pleasure or serenity the only good. Taught that

physical pleasure was good, but in moderation. Denies the

existence of the gods. Rejects the afterlife. Fond of good

food, good books, appreciation of music and the arts. "Eat,

drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."

CATHOLICISM -- of or pertaining to the universal

Christian church; or pertaining to the ancient, undivided

Christian church

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH -- The Christian church

that is characterized by a hierarchic structure of bishops and

priests in which doctrinal and disciplinary authority are

dependent upon apostolic succession, with the pope as head of

the episcopal college.

REFORMATION -- The effort in the 16th century (led by

Martin Luther) to reconstitute the life and teaching of

Western Christendom, resulting in the separation of the

Protestant churches from the Roman Catholic Church.

PROTESTANT -- Any Christian that seceded from the

Church of Rome at the time of the Reformation. One of those

who adhered to the doctrine of Luther and in 1529 protested

against the decree of the Diet of Spires commanding

submission to the authority of Rome.

LUTHERAN -- Of or relating to Martin Luther or his

religious teachings and especially to the doctrine of

justification by faith alone instead of by sacraments and

mediation of Church; placed man in direct communication

with God; insistence on reading the Bible placed on the

individual greater responsibility for his own salvation; of or

relating to the branch of the Protestant Church adhering to the

views of Martin Luther.

PRESBYTERIAN -- Of or pertaining to ecclesiastical

government by presbyters (church elders); traditionally

Calvinist in doctrine.

CALVINISM -- The religious doctrines of John Calvin, the

greatest theologian of the Reformation, which emphasize the

supremacy of the Scriptures in the revelation of truth, the

omnipotence of God, the sinfulness of man, the salvation of

the elect by God's grace alone, and a rigid moral code.

EPISCOPALISM -- (Protestant) The belief that the power to

govern the church should rest with an episcopal (bishop) or

pastoral body, rather than with any supreme individual.

BAPTIST -- a Christian believing that the sacrament of

baptism should be given only to adult members upon

profession of faith and usually by immersion.

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ANABAPTIST -- A member of one of the radical

movements of the Reformation of the 16th century that

insisted that only adult baptism was valid and held that true

Christians should not bear arms, use force, or hold

government office.

MENNONITE -- (Protestant) A member of an Evangelical

Protestant Christian sect opposed to taking oaths, holding

public office, or performing military service.

AMISH -- An orthodox Anabaptist sect that separated from

the Mennonites in the late 17th century and exists today

primarily in southeastern Pennsylvania.

GOSPEL -- The teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. One of

the first four books of the New Testament, describing the

life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

MORMON -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 at Fayette, New York.

Accepts the Book of Mormon (An American prophet,

warrior, historian of the fourth century, author of sacred

history of the Americas, engraved on golden tablets) as the

word of God.

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES -- A religious sect founded in

the United States during the late 19th century, the followers

of which practice active evangelism, preach the imminent

approach of the millennium, and are strongly opposed to war

and to the authority of organized government in matters of

conscience.

JEHOVAH -- God, especially in Christian translations of the

Old Testament.

MILLENNIUM -- A thousand-year period of holiness

during which Christ is to rule on earth. Revelation 20:1-5; a

hoped-for period of joy, serenity, prosperity, and justice.

ADVENTS -- Christians that believe Christ's second coming

and the end of the world are near at hand.

ORTHODOX -- Adhering to the accepted or traditional and

established faith, especially in religion.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE -- The church and the religious

system founded by Mary Baker Eddy, emphasizing healing

through spiritual means as an important element of

Christianity, and teaching pure divine goodness as underlying

the scientific reality of existence.

PURITANISM -- A composite of social, political, ethical,

and theological ideas in English and American

Protestantism. The early settlements in New England were

Puritan in origin. Their ideal of society was a theocracy,

with powerful ministers and absolute control of individual

conduct. The family was the fortress of godliness, and life

was to be lived in strict obedience to detailed laws of God as

read in the Bible.

JUDAISM -- The monotheistic religion of the Jewish people,

tracing its origins to Abraham, having its spiritual and

ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Bible and the

Talmud (The collection of ancient Rabbinic writings

consisting of the Mishnah and the Gemara, constituting the

basis of religious authority for traditional Judaism).

ZION -- The Jewish people; Israel; the Jewish homeland as

a symbol of Judaism; a place or religious community

regarded as sacredly devoted to God; a city of God; an

idealized harmonious community; a utopia

ZIONISM -- A plan or movement of the Jewish people to

return from the diaspora to Palestine; a movement originally

aimed at the re-establishment of a Jewish national homeland

and state in Palestine and now concerned with development

of Israel.

BAR MITZVAH -- A 13-year-old Jewish male, considered

an adult and thenceforth responsible for his moral and

religious duties; the ceremony conferring and celebrating this

status.

BAT MITZVAH -- A girl who reaches the age of Jewish

duty and responsibility, usually between twelve and fourteen

years.

ISLAM -- A religion based upon the teachings of the

prophet Mohammed, believing in one God (Allah) and in

Paradise and Hell, and having a body of law put forth in the

Koran (Allah's revelations to Mohammed) and the Sunna (the

body of traditional Moslem law, based on teachings of

Mohammed); the Moslem religion.

HINDUISM -- A Western term for religious beliefs and

practices of most of the people of India. Innumerable sects

and no well-defined ecclesiastical organization

characterized by beliefs in reincarnation and a supreme

being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing

theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for

liberation from earthly evils. Hold cows and snakes as sacred.

Trinity - Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu

BRAHMAN -- The remote diety who created the universe;

the essential divine reality of the universe; the eternal spirit

from which all being originates and to which all returns.

SHIVA -- The destroyer. God of destruction and

reproduction, a member of the Hindu triad.

VISHNU -- The preserver. The chief diety worshipped by the

Vaishnava, and second member of the trinity including

Brahma and Shiva.

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BUDDHISM -- The doctrine, attributed to Gautama

Buddha, that suffering is inseparable from existence but that

inward extinction of the self and of the senses culminates in

a state of illumination beyond both suffering and existence.

ZEN BUDDHISM -- A Chinese and Japanese school of

Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment can be attained

through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather

than through the scriptures.

SATORI -- A state of spiritual enlightenment sought in Zen

Buddhism (Japanese for "insight").

MYSTICISM -- A spiritual discipline aiming at union with

the divine through deep meditation or trancelike

contemplation; any belief in the existence of realities beyond

perceptual or intellectual apprehension but central to being

and directly accessible by intuition.

HEDONISM -- Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure; the

ethical doctrine that only that which is pleasant or has pleasant

consequences is intrinsically good. 2. Psychology -- that

human behavior is motivated by the desire for pleasure and the

avoidance of pain.

ANIMALISM -- A state of enjoying sound health and the

wholesome satisfaction of physical drives. A state of brutish

indifference to all but the physical appetites. The doctrine

that man is purely animal with no spiritual nature.

ANIMISM -- The primitive belief that all things animate

and inanimate are held to possess an innate soul.

SECULARISM -- The view that the consideration of the

present well-being of mankind should predominate over

religious considerations in civil affairs or public education.

SECULAR - of or pertaining to the temporal rather than to

the spiritual.

HUMANISM -- A philosophy or attitude that is concerned

with human beings, their achievements and interests, rather

than with the abstract beings and problems of theology. An

interest in man and his capabilities, the humanities.

HUMANITARIANISM -- The ideas, principles, or methods

of charity, philanthropy. The belief that man's sole moral

obligation is to work for the improved welfare of humanity.

The belief that the nature of man may reach perfection

through his own efforts without divine aid. The belief that

Jesus was mortal rather than divine.

AESTHETICISM -- the belief in beauty as the basic

standard of value in the human life

EMPIRICISM -- use of methods based on experiment and

observation.

UTILITARIANISM: The doctrine or belief that the greatest

good of the greatest number should be the purpose of human

conduct; the doctrine or belief that actions are good if they are

useful.

MATERIALISM -- The philosophical opinion that physical

matter in its movements and modifications is the only

reality and that everything in the universe, including thought,

feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of physical

laws. The theory or doctrine that physical well-being and

worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest

value in life.

SCIENTOLOGY - a body of beliefs Created by L. Ron

Hubbard (1911–1986), starting in 1952, as a successor to his

earlier self-help system, Dianetics. People are immortal beings

who have forgotten their true nature. Practitioners can be

spiritually rehabilitated through a process known as auditing.

Through counseling, people deal with traumatic memories and

get past their limiting effects.

IDEALISM -- (opposite of materialism) The theory that the

object of external perception, in itself or as perceived,

consists of ideas.

NOMINALISM -- The doctrine that abstract concepts,

general terms, or universals have no objective reference but

exist only as names.

ECLECTICISM -- Free selection and borrowing, as of

ideas or styles, from diverse sources.

NIHILISM -- entire rejection of the established beliefs of

religion, morals, gov't, laws, etc.

SOLIPSISM -- The theory that the self is the only thing that

can be known and verified. The theory or view that the self is

the only reality