Vashti

bor

Hebrew וַשְׁתִּי (vaštī)

Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Esther 1:9:


territorialism

en-noun

territorialism (countable and uncountable, plural territorialisms)

(religion) A theory of church government according to which the ruler of a country has the natural right to rule also over the ecclesiastical affairs of its people.


gatha

Transliteration of Sanskrit गाथा (gāthā). Doublet of Gatha.

translit

(Buddhism) A poem or mantra, especially one recited mentally as part of meditation or mindfulness practice.


universalist

en-adj

universalist (comparative more universalist, superlative most universalist)

more universalist (comparative)
most universalist (superlative)

(religion, US, paganism, Germanic paganism) Following a form of neopaganism, especially Germanic neopaganism, that is supportive of minorities and marginalized groups.


E-meter

Short for electropsychometer, a device that can detect charge in the brain.

(Scientology) An electronic device used in auditing in an attempt to diagnose whether a subject has been relieved from spiritual impediment of his or her sins or charged memories (engrams).


psychographic

(spiritualism) Relating to seances or occult communication.


takfiri

“In Ghazaliya, it is forbidden to sell ice because the takfiris said, ‘The Prophet Muhammad had no ice in his time,’ ” said Khatan Kareem, a manager at the factory where the drivers worked, shaking his head at the absurdity.

2007 July 28, Stephen Farrell, “Strife and Ice, Staples of Life, Overlap in Iraq”, in New York Times:

(Islam, derogatory) A radical Muslim who excommunicates other Muslims, or accuses them of apostasy.


archabbey

(ecclesiastical) An abbey which is the seat of an archabbot (high monastic rank within an order or congregation)


particularism

en-noun

particularism (countable and uncountable, plural particularisms)

From particular + -ism, after French particularisme.

(Christianity, Judaism, theology) The principle that only certain people are chosen by God for salvation.


mallam

From Arabic مُعَلِّم (muʕallim, “teacher”).

(Islam) In Africa, a teacher of the Qur'an.


shura

From Arabic شُورَى (šūrā, “consultation”)

“The leadership, resistance and shura are all based here in Afghanistan.”

2007 January 5, Carlotta Gall, “Taliban Leader Promises More Afghan War”, in New York Times:

[…] Mullah Bradar[…] is said to reside in the Pakistan port city of Karachi, where many members of the Quetta shura have taken refuge, according to Afghan officials.

2009 March 11, Carlotta Gall, “As U.S. Weighs Taliban Negotiations, Afghans Are Already Talking”, in New York Times:

(Islam) A body that provides counsel to a leader


jizya

jizya (usually uncountable, plural jizyas)

From Arabic جِزْيَة (jizya), from Middle Persian 𐭢𐭦𐭩𐭲 (gzyt /gazīd/), 𐭢𐭦𐭩𐭲𐭪𐭩 (gzytky /gazīdag/, “poll-tax”).

Ending jizya lifted a real burden on the poor, and promised, at least symbolically, a greater equality between the followers of different faiths.

2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 122:

(Islam, historical) A per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria.


tower of silence

tower of silence (plural towers of silence)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-tower of silence.wav

Calque of French tour du silence, from the fact that human voices are generally not heard at such places.

(Zoroastrianism) A low, cylindrical, open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate from exposure and consumption by carrion birds such as vultures, the remaining bones being kept in an ossuary.

بُرْج الصَّمْت

low, cylindrical open-topped tower where Zoroastrians place the bodies of deceased people to disintegrate


astaghfirullah

/ˈæs.tæɡ.fɪ.ɹəˈlɒː/

Borrowed from Arabic أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ (ʔastaḡfiru llāha, literally “I ask forgiveness from Allah”).

bor+

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ

(Islam, literally) In the literal sense, "I seek forgiveness from Allah"; a short prayer of redemption; God forgive me.

I should not have done that, astaghfirullah.

(Islam) An expression of guilt or shame.


Mandaean

From Mandaic [script needed] (mandaia, “those with knowledge”), from ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀ (“knowledge”).

der

(religion) A believer in, or follower of, Mandaeism

mandealainen

a believer in, or follower of, Mandaeism


supererogate

en-verb

supererogate (third-person singular simple present supererogates, present participle supererogating, simple past and past participle supererogated)

supererogates (present singular third-person)
supererogating (participle present)
supererogated (participle past)
supererogated (past)

/ˌs(j)uːpəɹˈɛɹəɡeɪt/

/ˌsupəɹˈɛɹəˌɡeɪt/

Borrowed from Latin supererogare. See supererogation.

They who, in their obedience, attain to the greatest height which is possible in this life, are so far from being able to supererogate, and to do more than God requires, […]

The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter XVI, article iv

Were this all, therefore, or my task confined to such a relation, I should supererogate indeed in making this appearance.

1897, Stanley John Weyman, chapter I, in Shrewsbury:

(intransitive, theology, Catholicism) To do more than God commands.


samana

/sɑːˌmɑːnɑː/

From Pali samaṇa. Doublet of sramana and shaman in some contexts.

(religion) An ascetic, (especially) an ascetic monk who ignores the Vedas in Buddhist and Indian contexts.

(Buddhism) An ascetic monk, a Buddhist hermit.

شامانيّ؛ سامانيّ؛ شامان؛ سامان؛ عرّاف، ناسِك شامانيّ


manzil

Borrowing from Arabic مَنْزِل (manzil, “house, dwelling”).

bor

(Islam) Any of the seven partitions of the Qur'an, which can be read in an entire day.


synteresis

From Medieval Latin syntērēsis (in Thomas Aquinas), from Ancient Greek συντήρησις (suntḗrēsis, “careful watching”), from συντηρεῖν (suntēreîn, “to keep guard”).

der

Synteresis, or the purer part of the conscience, is an innate habit, and doth signify “a conservation of the knowledge of the law of God and Nature, to know good or evil”.

(theology, historical) An aspect of one's conscience by which one can judge wrong from right and decide on what makes good conduct (as distinguished from syneidesis).


ecumene

From Ancient Greek οἰκουμένη (oikouménē, “inhabited world”), from οἰκέω (oikéō, “I inhabit, dwell”), from οἶκος (oîkos, “residence”).

bor

(religion) Unification of Christianity and of Christendom.


mardana

Borrowed from Hindi मर्दाना (mardānā) / Urdu مردانہ (mardāna), from Persian مردانه (mardâne).

(Islam) A part of a house or palace reserved for men, especially on the Indian subcontinent.

(India, Islam) A part of a train reserved for men.


Tamar

From Hebrew תָּמָר (tamár, “Tamar”, literally “date palm, date”).


emanationism

(theology) The idea that everything emanates from something else, and that the original and most perfect things emanated directly from God.


personal union

en-noun

personal union (countable and uncountable, plural personal unions)

In the political sense, calque of German persönliche Vereinigung (attributed to German jurist Johann Stephan Pütter, 1777).

calque

(theology, Christian theology) Hypostatic union; the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one individual existence (person).

unione ipostatica

union of Christ's human and divine natures in one person


archdeceiver

(religion) One who orchestrates deception, especially the Devil.

arquienganador

one who orchestrates deception, especially the Devil


word of God

Just as it would be utterly vain to lay natural reasons of comfort to him who hath no wit, so would it undoubtedly be frustrate to lay spiritual causes of comfort to him who hath no faith. For unless a man first believe that holy scripture is the word of God, and that the word of God is true, how can he take any comfort in that which the scripture telleth him?

1535, Sir Thomas More, Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, Book I, ch. 2:

(theology) the Scriptures, especially when interpreted as the work of God rather than man


presentative

en-adj

presentative (comparative more presentative, superlative most presentative)

more presentative (comparative)
most presentative (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Late Latin praesentativus (“that presents for consideration”) + English -ive (suffix signifying belonging or relating to, of the nature of, serving to, or tending to, forming adjectives). Praesentativus is from Latin praesentātus (“presented, exhibited, or shown”) + -īvus (suffix forming adjectives); while praesentātus is the perfect passive participle of praesentō (“to present, exhibit, or show”), from praesēns (“at hand, present; existing; immediate; prompt; propitious; (grammar) present”) (the present active participle of praesum (“to be before something; to be in charge of; to command, lead; to preside or rule over”), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before, in front; in charge’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before; in front”)) + sum (“to be, exist, have”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”))) + -tō (frequentative suffix). The English word is analysable as present + -ative.
The noun sense (“construct that serves to present something, or draw it to the attention of the interlocutor”) is derived from adjective sense 3 (“serving to present something, or draw it to the attention of the interlocutor”).

der

Mrs. Ellen Gulſton, Relict of Theodore Gulſton, Doctor of Phyſick, a very Learned Man, being poſſeſſed of the Impropriate Parſonage of Bardvvell in Suffolk, did firſt procure from the King leave to annex the ſame to the Vicarage, and to make it Preſentative; and having formerly the Donation of the Vicarage, ſhe gave them both thus annexed freely to St. John’s College in Oxon: Expreſſing many Godly Reaſons in a pious Letter of her Grant, to advance the Glory of God to her Povver, &c.

1704, Henry Spelman, “An Account of the Worth of This Treatise, Taken Out of the Epistle to Sir Henry Spelman’s History of Tythes”, in De Non Temerandis Ecclesiis, Churches Not to Be Violated. A Tract of the Rights and Respects Due unto Churches. […], 6th edition, London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […]; republished in Two Tracts […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], 1704, →OCLC:

Advowsons are also either preſentative, collative, or donative. An advowſon preſentative is where the patron hath a right of preſentation to the biſhop or ordinary, and moreover to demand of him to inſtitute his clerk, if he finds him canonically qualified: and this is the moſt uſual advowſon.

1766, William Blackstone, “Of Incorporeal Hereditaments”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book II (Of the Rights of Things), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 22:

(ecclesiastical law) Of a benefice, or the advowsons, tithes, etc., associated with a benefice: that a patron has the right to present.


apophatically

en-adv

apophatically (comparative more apophatically, superlative most apophatically)

more apophatically (comparative)
most apophatically (superlative)

(theology) In an apophatic way; using apophasis.


apophatic

en-adj

apophatic (comparative more apophatic, superlative most apophatic)

more apophatic (comparative)
most apophatic (superlative)

From Ancient Greek ἀποφατικός (apophatikós, “negative”).

uder

For him, the assertions of Palamas ran counter to the apophatic insistence in Pseudo-Dionysius that God was unknowable in his essence.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 488:

Augustine had absorbed the underlying spirit of Greek apophatic theology, but the West did not develop a fully fledged spirituality of silence until the ninth century, when the writings of an unknown Greek author were translated into Latin and achieved near-canonical status in Europe.

2009, Karen Armstrong, The Case for God, Vintage, published 2010, page 123:

(theology) Pertaining to knowledge of God obtained through negation rather than positive assertions.

apophatique

pertaining to knowledge of God obtained through negation rather than positive assertions


charism

en-noun

charism (countable and uncountable, plural charisms or charismata)

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek χάρισμα (khárisma, “grace”). Doublet of charisma.

lbor

Reviewing the prudential warnings and moral qualms issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “it is hard not to conclude,” the editors write, “that the bishops’ charism, rather than the president’s, has better served the nation.”

2007 April 14, Peter Steinfels, “A Catholic Debate Mounts on the Meaning of ‘Just War’”, in New York Times:

(Christianity, theology) A power or authority, generally of a spiritual nature, believed to be a freely given gift by the Grace of God.

charisma

extraordinary power granted by the Holy Spirit


anthropomorphist

(religion) Someone who attributes the human form to God.


Christian Science

(religion) A Christian church comprising the members of the Church of Christ, Scientist, founded by Mary Baker Eddy.

Ciência Cristã

a Christian church that follows the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy


algum

der

אַלְגּוּמִּים

Hebrew אַלְגּוּמִּים (algumím)

And the seruants also of Huram, and the seruants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought Algume trees and, precious stones.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Chronicles 9:10:

(biblical) A tree or wood mentioned in the Bible, possibly juniper or red sandalwood.


kashaya

Borrowed from Sanskrit कषाय (kaṣāya, “astringent; dull; yellowish red; dirt; passion”), from Proto-Indo-European *kars-. Cognates include Sanskrit कष्ट (kaṣṭa) and English harsh.

bor+

(Buddhism) Robes of fully ordained monks and nuns


maulana

Ultimately from Arabic مَوْلَانَا (mawlānā).
The Indian slang usage of the term for any Muslim person was derived from a stereotype, especially towards Muslims who look stereotypical (beard, robes, and skullcap).

At the end of his long and cantankerous life the maulana had gone against all his high principles. He had gone to a Boston hospital to look for health; he had at the very end entrusted himself to the skill and science of the civilization he had tried to shield his followers from.

1981, V. S. Naipaul, Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey, page 168:

(Islam) A religious scholar, especially in Central and South Asia.

(India, Islam, Internet slang, religious slur) A Muslim person in general, especially an extreme conservative.


mawlid

the fair (or mulid) as it had developed over the years was half secular and half religious in inspiration.

1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 101:

(Islam) A holiday celebrating the birthday of a holy man or prophet, especially Muhammad.


restorationist

(religion) One who believes in a temporary future punishment and a final restoration of all to the favour and presence of God; a Universalist.


divine law

en-noun

divine law (countable and uncountable, plural divine laws)

(theology) Any law (or rule) that, in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God (or a god).


Pleroma

(Gnosticism, historical) Alternative letter-case form of pleroma (“the spiritual universe seen as the totality of the essence and powers of God”)


dispensationalism

Have we not therefore, good reason to fear disastrous consequences from the fact that the teachers of the new dispensationalism say the Jewish rabbis were right in their interpretation of the prophecies, that the kingdom foretold by the prophets is an earthly kingdom of Jewish character, and that in fact Christ’s mission at that very time was to restore again the earthly Kingdom to Israel? And why then did He not do it?

1928, Philip Mauro, “Twentieth Century Dispensationalism: What and Whence?”, in The Gospel of the Kingdom, with an Examination of Modern Dispensationalism (Religion), Boston: Hamilton Brothers, →OCLC, page 23:

In considering dispensationalism, it is important to know exactly what we are talking about. The Dispensationalists themselves define a dispensation as a period of time, a concept found nowhere in the Scriptures.
One of the earliest American writers on dispensationalism, after Darby, Miller, and their immediate associates, was a Landmark Baptist leader in Arkansas and Texas, Dr. J. R. Graves. In the year 1883 he published a book entitled The Work of Christ Consummated in Seven Dispensations.[…]
By far the most influential work on dispensationalism in modern times is the Scofield Reference Bible, published early in the present century.

1957, Jesse Wilson Hodges, “The Term Dispensation”, in Christ's Kingdom and Coming with an Analysis of Dispensationalism (Religion), Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., →OCLC, pages 52-53:

The most notable contribution was Ryrie’s description of the sine qua non of dispensationalism— one that I memorized on more than one occasion for Dr. John Cawood while a student at Philadelphia College of Bible. Ryrie’s sine qua non of dispensationalism is threefold.
1. Dispensationalism keeps Israel and the Church distinct.
2. The distinction between Israel and the Church emerges from a hermeneutical system that is usually called literal interpretation, namely the employment of a normal or plain interpretation.
3. Dispensationalism understands that the basic purpose of God in all of His dealings with people is to bring glory to Himself through salvation and other purposes.

1999, Herbert W. Bateman IV, “Dispensationalism Yesterday and Today”, in Herbert W. Bateman IV, editor, Three Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism: A Comparison of Traditional and Progressive Views (Biblical Reference / Theology), Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 35:

Dispensationalism offers believers a road map to deal with uncertainty in the world at large. "When somebody says there's a pattern here, and let me tell you what the pattern means, this is what gets a lot of people's attention," said Mr. Weber, the church historian. At this point, dispensationalism's tenets have become so popular that many evangelicals who are in denominations or churches that might not necessarily adhere to dispensationalism have, nevertheless, adopted bits and pieces of it.

2005 October 16, Michael Luo, “Doomsday: The Latest Word if Not the Last”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-05-29, The World: Prophecies:

Evangelicals have long been influenced by dispensationalism, a theology that promotes a literal reading of biblical prophecy. Many dispensationalists believe Israelites’ return to the Holy Lands is a requirement for the Second Coming of Jesus. When Israeli troops captured the Old City of Jerusalem in June 1967, some saw it as a sign that Jesus was coming. However, dispensational teaching has been waning in mainstream evangelical circles, even as support for a state of Israel has remained strong.

2015 December 14, Sarah Pulliam Bailey, “How some evangelicals are challenging a decades-long stance of blanket support for Israel’s government”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-12-16, Acts of Faith:

After 1981, he devoted himself to writing, promoting his view of Bible prophecy, family life seminars and political activism.
Some fellow conservative Christians pushed back against LaHaye's end-times views, known as premillennial dispensationalism, emphasizing that the books were fictional and should not be read as an exact theological interpretation of the Bible. Still, his books strongly shaped evangelical views of Jesus' Second Coming and popularized the ideas to the broader public. Jenkins called LaHaye a "spiritual giant."

2016 July 25, Rachel Zoll, “Tim LaHaye, author of 'Left Behind' end-times novels, dies”, in USA Today, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-10-08:

Today, the tenets of dispensationalism are upheld across various portions of conservative evangelical Christianity, though debates linger over the precise division, nomenclature, and number of dispensations.

2022, R. B. Thieme, Jr., “dispensationalism”, in Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, First edition (Religion), Houston, TX: R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, →ISBN, archived from the original on 2023-01-14, page 64, column 1:

(religion) A Protestant evangelical theology dividing history into dispensations (rooted in the writings of John Nelson Darby).


alhajia

(Islam) A woman who has made a religious pilgrimage to Mecca


pearly gates

After the description in Revelation 21:21.

When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls / And pearly gates behold?

1795, Joseph Bromehead, Jerusalem, My Happy Home:

This immense wealth; this gilded splendor; this profusion of luxury; this exemption from toil; this life of ease; this sea of plenty; aye, what of it all? Are the pearly gates of happiness and sweet content flung open to such suitors?

1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter 7, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York, Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC:

The narrowness of the imagination of the old masters is generally depicted in their canvases. Heaven to them was a serious business of pearly gates, harps, halos, and aërial flights on ambient pale clouds.

1908, Harold McGraff, chapter 27, in The Lure of the Mask:

I'd toss for pennies on the front steps of the New Jerusalem or set up a faro layout just outside the Pearly Gates.

1910, Jack London, chapter 20, in Burning Daylight:

By the time they got a doctor down / I was already dead / And I'll never understand why the man / Standing in the Pearly Gates said…

1971, John Prine (lyrics and music), “Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore”, in John Prine:

When I'm at the pearly gates / This'll be on my videotape, my videotape

2007, “Videotape”, in In Rainbows, performed by Radiohead:


ousia

Borrowed from Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía), from the feminine present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “I am”).

We could never know God's ousia, but in order to adapt his indescribable nature to our limited intellect, God communicated to us through his activities in the world.

2009, Karen Armstrong, The Case for God, Vintage, published 2010, page 79:

(theology) The essential nature or ‘substance’ of God, often as contrasted to the ‘energies’ (external actions and influences) through which he is manifest.


Milcah

(biblical) A sister-in-law of Abraham: a sister of Sarah.

And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.


Rahab

And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joshua 6:25:

(biblical) A prostitute of Jericho who, in the Torah, helped Israelite spies.


eternalism

[The earth’s] history stretched indefinitely or even infinitely into past and future and involved no unique and unexplained events such as the Flood; indeed, earth history was “without vestige of a beginning, without prospect of an end.” […] Most significantly, the virtual eternalism of such theories was extended, often explicitly, to the history of mankind[…]. Mankind could thus be claimed as uncreated and therefore not subject to any of the traditional moral and social constraints.

1986, Martin J. S. Rudwick, “The Shape and Meaning of Earth History”, in David C. Lindberg, Ronald L. Numbers, editors, God and Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter between Christianity and Science, →ISBN, page 307:

The first of these is eternalism, which holds that matter, energy, and intelligence—the components of the universe—are uncreated, indestructible, eternal, and forever fixed.

1997, Dale C. Lecheminant, “Foreword”, in John A. Widtsoe, Rational Theology: As Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, →ISBN, page vii:

(philosophy, theology) The view that matter is uncreated and has existed, and will exist, eternally.


SWT

From Arabic سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى (subḥānahu wataʕālā, “glorious and exalted is He”), honorific placed after the name of God (Allah) in Islamic texts.

der

سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى

Subhanahu wa-ta'ala
subhanahu wa-ta'ala#English

(Islam) Initialism of Subhanahu wa-ta'ala.


Young Earth creationism

(creationism, pseudoscience) Belief that the universe and the Earth are 6,000 to 10,000 years old as inferred from a literal interpretation of the creation narrative in Genesis.


Heilsgeschichte

Without a divine Heilsgeschichte it would not make sense to speak of Jesus' ‘deity’. He would then simply be one of the heroes of history—nothing more.

1959, Guthrie/Hall, translating Oscar Cullman, The Christology of the New Testament, p. 306

He was not a Leninist because he would have had no conception of historical self-determination. The only kind of history that mattered was Heilsgeschichte, or salvation history.

2007 December 4, Terry Eagleton, The Guardian:

The much greater iconographic programmes of the other three Bibles mean that a sort of pictorial Heilsgeschichte can be given spread throughout the work: in the Bamberg it has to be compressed.

2008, Jill Bradley, You Shall Surely Not Die, volume 1, page 71:

(theology) History seen as the work of God's salvation. (Especially, in Christianity, the history of the Old Testament, seen as a preparation for the coming of Christ.)

heilsgeschiedenis

history seen as the work of God's salvation


Manoah

(biblical) The father of the biblical strongman Samson.


Ababil

From Arabic أَبَابِيل (ʔabābīl, “tiny birds”), described in the Qur'an as dropping red clay bricks on the army of elephants, sent by the king of Yemen to attack the city of Mecca, in the year (571 AD) when the prophet Muhammad was born.


sadhana

en-noun

sadhana (usually uncountable, plural sadhanas)

Transliteration of Sanskrit साधना (sādhanā).

translit

(religion) A spiritual practice or discipline leading to a goal.


Sabaoth

/səˈbeɪˌoʊθ/

From Latin, from Ancient Greek Σαβαώθ (Sabaṓth), from Biblical Hebrew צבאות (tsabāʾōθ), plural of צבא (tsābāʾ).

(Judaism, Christianity, biblical) An epithet of God in His role as protector of the Israelite army, usually translated (alongside YHWH or Elohim) as "Lord of Hosts".; compare the archaic title Drighten.

(Gnosticism) One of the seven chief archons in the Ophite cosmogony.


sacramentarian

(theology) Someone who holds that the presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist is purely metaphorical rather than physical or literal.

(religion) One who holds a high or extreme view of the efficacy of the sacraments.


by the Grace of God

Calque of Latin Deī grātiā. Doublet of Dei gratia.

(idiomatic, religion, Christianity) By divine will and benevolence.


passible

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French passible, from Late Latin passibilis.

(chiefly theology) Able to suffer, or feel pain.


household deity

en-noun

household deity (plural household deities)

[…] Ganesh (Pillayar in Tamil), here is not associated with militant Hinduism; Pillayar is a lovable household deity here, a free and familiar god who craves no chauvinistic devotion.

1990, V. Geetha with S. V. Rajadurai, “Communal Violence in Madras: A Portent?”, in Economic and Political Weekly, volume 25, number 38, →ISSN, page 2122:

[O]n this day, as throughout the New Year's period, rites of divination for the following year were performed along with rites for the spirits of ancestors and other household deities.

2005, Michael Como, “Silkworms and Consorts in Nara Japan”, in Asian Folklore Studies, volume 64, number 1, page 127:

(mythology, religion) A minor tutelary deity watching over a household, usually conceived as a protective ancestral spirit or genius loci.

huisgod

minor god or goddess who protects a home or family

lar

chiefly Roman contexts, particularly overseeing the family

penates

chiefly Roman contexts, particularly overseeing the house and its storeroom


head

it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God

From the Gospel of Matthew, verse 19:24. Some assert that "camel" is a misinterpretation of a word meaning "rope" and others assert that the "Needle's Eye" was a gate in the walls of Jerusalem, but the evidence for each of these theories is contested, and the literal interpretation remains the most common.

(Christianity, biblical) It is unlikely that the wealthy will go to heaven.

ʔinna murūra jamal min ṯaqb ʔibratin ʔaysaru min ʔan yadḵula ḡaniyyun ʔilā malakūti llāhi

إِنَّ مُرُورَ جَمَل مِنْ ثَقْب إِبْرَةٍ أَيْسَرُ مِنْ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ غَنِيٌّ إِلَى مَلَكُوتِ اللهِ

det er lettere for en kamel at komme igennem et nåleøje end for en rig at komme ind i Guds rige

eher geht ein Kamel durch ein Nadelöhr, als dass ein Reicher in das Reich Gottes gelangt

det er lettere for en kamel å gå gjennom et nåløye enn for en rik man å komme inn i Guds rike

łatwiej jest wielbłądowi przejść przez ucho igielne, niż bogatemu wejść do królestwa niebieskiego

é mais fácil passar um camelo pelo fundo de uma agulha do que entrar um rico no reino de Deus

léxče verbljúdu projtí skvozʹ igólʹnoje uškó, čem bogačú vojtí v cárstvije nebésnoje

ле́гче верблю́ду пройти́ сквозь иго́льное ушко́, чем богачу́ войти́ в ца́рствие небе́сное

es más fácil que un camello pase por el ojo de una aguja, que un rico entre en el reino de Dios


naat

en-noun

naat (countable and uncountable, plural naats)

From Classical Persian نعت, which is from Arabic نَعْت (naʕt).

(Islam) poetry in praise of the prophet Muhammad


Zipporah

From Biblical Hebrew צִפֹּרָה (ṣippōrā), a feminization of ציפור / צִפֹּר (ṣippōr, “bird”).

he-m

ציפור / צִפֹּר (ṣippōr, “bird”)

And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.


right-hand path

(occultism) A path through life that focuses on deities or divinity rather than the terrestrial.


left-hand path

(occultism) A path through life that values the advancement and preservation of the self and the pursuit of terrestrial goals, rather than the worship of intangible deities.


Eleazar

Borrowed from Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר ('El'azár, “God has helped”). Doublet of Lazarus.

bor

And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.

(biblical) Any of a number of men in the Old Testament, including a son of Aaron.


archdemon

(religion, fantasy) A chief demon; an archdevil.


asectarian

en-adj

asectarian (comparative more asectarian, superlative most asectarian)

more asectarian (comparative)
most asectarian (superlative)

The asectarian comradeship of the very early thirties yielded to unofficial manipulation of religious differences as the decade advanced.

1999, Seán McMahon, Sam Hanna Bell: a biography, Blackstaff Press, →ISBN, page 114:

Muir came from a religious home where doctrine and theology were somewhat ambiguous as a result of the asectarian Disciples doctrine.

2002, Dennis C. Williams, God's Wilds: John Muir's Vision of Nature^([199]), Texas A&M University Press, →ISBN, page 199:

In respect of the asectarian label applied to this event, we would point out that the sizeable Protestant/non-Catholic membership of our community has, throughout all of the sectarian unrest in Antrim over recent years, remained welcome in Rathenraw and will continue to receive the support of the community.

2003 September 24, Rathenraw Community Association, “Points of view: Community not a no-go area despite recent arson attack.”, in Europe Intelligence Wire:

(religion, uncommon) Not sectarian; lacking sectarianism.


age of judgment

en-noun

age of judgment (plural ages of judgment)

Thus if God fixes and determines the Day of Judgment, upon the foreſight of ſuch a General Impiety as will deſerve a final exciſion, God cannot reveal this to the World: For one would think it impoſſible, did the World know this beforehand, but the Age of Judgment ſhould be the moſt Devout and Religious Age, that ever had been from the beginning of the World; and then that would not be a fit time to deſtroy the World; and God could not foreſee it the propereſt time of Judgment.

1692: William Sherlock, A Practical Diſcourſe concerning a Future Judgment, page 187 (2ⁿᵈ edition; printed by M.R. for W. Rogers, at the Sun over-againſt S. Dunſtan’s Church in Fleetſtreet)

(theology) The time of the Last Judgment


hikmat

hikmat (countable and uncountable, plural hikmats)


yana

Transliteration of Sanskrit यान (yāna, “vehicle”).

translit

The Tibetan word for yana is thekpa, which means "that which lifts you up." Anything that lifts you up and takes you to your destination is a yana.

2013, Chögyam Trungpa, chapter 1, in Judith L. Lief, editor, The Bodhisattva Path of Wisdom and Compassion, volume 2:

(Buddhism) Any of the vehicles of Buddhist or Tantric practice.

ယာန

any of the three vehicles of Buddhist practice


Peleg

en-proper noun

Peleg (countable and uncountable, plural Pelegs)


Ananda

Transliteration of Sanskrit आनन्द (ānanda) or Pali ānanda.

translit

(Buddhism) The foremost disciple of Gautama Buddha.


Potiphar

From Biblical Hebrew פּוֹטִיפַר (potifár).

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 39:1:

(biblical) An Egyptian and captain of the guard under Pharaoh.


jamaat

/d͡ʒəˈmɑː(ʔ)ət/

(Islam) Party; community; group; assembly.

(Islam) A group of Muslims offering prayers together.


day of reckoning

en-noun

day of reckoning (plural days of reckoning)

(religion) The final and eternal judgment by God of all nations; Final Judgment.


akhirah

From Arabic الآخِرَة (al-ʔāḵira, “the hereafter”).


mahr

en-noun

mahr (countable and uncountable, plural mahrs)

(Islam) A mandatory gift from the groom to the bride upon marriage in Islamic cultures.

مَهْر

a mandatory gift from the groom to the bride upon marriage in Islamic cultures


Uriah

From Biblical Hebrew אוּרִיָּה ('ūriyyā, literally “God is my light”).

uder

And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 11:15:

Some devout Christians are among the most fervent advocates of the death penalty, contradicting Jesus Christ and misinterpreting Holy Scriptures and numerous examples of mercy. We remember God’s forgiveness of Cain, who killed Abel, and the adulterer King David, who arranged the killing of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, his lover.

2014, Jimmy Carter, “Full Prisons and Legal Killing”, in A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 39:

(biblical) The husband of Bathsheba whom David sent to death.


Bathsheba

From Hebrew בַּת שֶׁבַע (bat shéva', “daughter of an oath”), from בַּת (bát, “daughter”) + שֶׁבַע (shéva, “oath”).

af

3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 11:3:

(biblical) In the Old Testament, the wife of Uriah and later of David.


Suiten

Borrowed from Japanese 水(すい)天(てん) (Suiten, literally “water deva”).

ja-r

(Japanese Buddhism) Japanese translation for Varuna.


Jair

/d͡ʒəˈɪə̯(r)/

From Middle English Jair, Iair, from Old English Iāirus, from Latin Iaīrus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάϊρ (Iáïr), from Biblical Hebrew יָאִיר (yāʾîr, literally “he will light up”). Doublet of Jairus.

der

And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 10:3:


Tirzah

Borrowed from Hebrew תִּרְצָה (tirtsáh), meaning "pleasant" or "she is my delight".

Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.


ERV

(biblical) Initialism of English Revised Version.


awrath

From the Arabic عَوْرَة (ʕawra, “imperfection”, “nakedness”), from عَوِرَ (ʕawira, “to lose an eye”).

bor

(Islam) Those parts of one’s body which must be covered for decency, the identification of which various according to sect and circumstance (for example, a woman covers different parts around men than around women).


Mahayana

/ˌmɑːhəˈjɑːnə/

/ˌmʌhəˈjɑːnə/

Borrowed from Sanskrit महायान (mahāyāna, literally “Great Vehicle”).

bor+

(Buddhism) A school of Buddhism widely practised in East Asia and Vietnam which accepts non-Pali canon scriptures, recognizes a broader array of buddhas and bodhisattvas, and whose spiritual objective is to achieve Buddhahood and liberate other beings, rather than simply to achieve personal enlightenment, as in Theravada Buddhism.


Hinayana

Transliteration of Sanskrit हीनयान (hīnayāna, “lesser vehicle”).

translit

1913, Buddhism, article in Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson–Clairvaux,
It was known as the Mahayana, or Great Vehicle, in distinction to the other and earlier form of Buddhism contemptuously styled the Hinayana or Little Vehicle, which held its own in the South.

1921, Charles Eliot, Hinduism And Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Volume II, Book IV: The Mahayana, 2005 Gutenberg Ebook edition,
The obscurest period in the history of Buddhism is that which follows the reign of Asoka, but the enquirer cannot grope for long in these dark ages without stumbling upon the word Mahayana. […] The word_([1]) signifies Great Vehicle or Carriage, that is a means of conveyance to salvation, and is contrasted with Hinayana, the Little Vehicle, a name bestowed on the more conservative party though not willingly accepted by them.

"Do it yourself" is a modern phrase which expresses the Hinayana way to salvation.

1979, Ward J. Fellows, Religions East and West, page 171:


Madhyamika

(Buddhism) The central philosophy of Buddhism that was systematized by Nagarjuna. It establishes that all phenomena are empty of independent reality.


Buddha-nature

en-noun

Buddha-nature (countable and uncountable, plural Buddha-natures)

(Buddhism) The potential of achieving the nature of the Buddha through study and religious practice.

佛性

the potential of achieving the nature of the Buddha through study and religious practice


BHS

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
w:en:Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

(biblical) Initialism of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia., an annotated edition of the Leningrad Codex, an important early Hebrew biblical manuscript.


seven seals

(biblical) The seals that secure the book or scroll that John of Patmos saw in an apocalyptic vision.


primatial

The Inquisition even ruined the career of Bartolomé Carranza, Archbishop of Spain's primatial see of Toledo, and a distinguished Dominican theologian.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 672:

(ecclesiastical) Of or pertaining to a primate.


cognite

en-verb

cognite (third-person singular simple present cognites, present participle cogniting, simple past and past participle cognited)

cognites (present singular third-person)
cogniting (participle present)
cognited (participle past)
cognited (past)

I abruptly cognited that "Have You Lived Before this Life?" was our first new book in two years.

1959 April 27, L. Ron Hubbard, “HCO Policy Letter of 27 April 1959: Why New Books Are Few”, in The Organization Executive Course: An Encyclopedia of Scientology Policy, volume 2, published 1974, →ISBN, page 21:

Unlike psychoanalysis or psychiatry, the person (auditor) treating another person never evaluates for them. The processes used are intended to allow the person to cognite on his sins or wrongdoings and change his ways.

1963 February 11, C. C. Morley, “[Letter to Edward V. Long]”, in Invasions of Privacy (Government Agencies): Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure […] United States Senate, Eighty-Ninth Congress, First Session […], volume 2, published 1965, page 794:

One requirement, before a preclear can advance beyond a particular level, is that he should "cognite" on everything scientological up to that stage, and a failure to satisfy the organization that one has a reality on all relevant scientology theory to that stage delays the issue of the HPA certificate.

1965, Kevin Victor Anderson, Report of the Board of Inquiry Into Scientology, page 82; republished as “Chapter 12: The Teaching of Scientology”, in Martin Poulter, editor, The Anderson Report, 1997:

(intransitive, Scientology) To become aware, or think so as to become aware, of some fundamental truth.


apolysis

From Ancient Greek ἀπόλυσις (apólusis, “discharge; literally, absolution”).

bor

(religion) A prayer of dismissal at the end of an Eastern Orthodox service

apolyse

a prayer of dismissal at the end of an Eastern Orthodox service


Christological

en-adj

Christological (comparative more Christological, superlative most Christological)

more Christological (comparative)
most Christological (superlative)

(theology) Of or pertaining to Christology


antediluvial

antediluvial (comparative more antediluvial, superlative most antediluvial)

more antediluvial (comparative)
most antediluvial (superlative)

Early 18th c., ante- + diluvial, possibly as alteration of earlier antediluvian.

(biblical) Of or pertaining to a time before Noah's flood.


beatus

(religion) A person who has been beatified.


annihilationism

(theology) The Christian doctrine that sinners are permanently destroyed rather than being confined to Hell.


Bethesda

From Aramaic בֵּית חַסְדָּא (bēṯ ḥasdā, “House of Grace”).

der

בֵּית חַסְדָּא

(biblical) A pool in Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament.


avowry

en-noun

avowry (countable and uncountable, plural avowries)

From Middle English avouerie, avourie, from Old French avoerie, avouerie.

But it is as plain that before those Statuts, if the Rectors of two Churches of severall Auowries, had controuerted the right of a fourth part (or of the value of either of their Churches more) in Tithes, by suit commenced in the spirituall Court, the Patron of the Rector-defendant might haue had an Indicauit, to prohibit the prosecution and holding of the Plea. […] [Bracton] mentions no Writ of right of Aduowson of Tithes that should follow.

1618, John Selden, The Historie of Tithes […], page 428:

[…] there is a reference to the Charter, and an enactment again, that as to those ecclesiastical dignities, which were of the avowry of the Crown, that the elections should be free, saving the rights of the Crown as the patron and founder of those benefices.

1840 June 11, William Follett, edited by Ralph Barnes, Report of the Case of The Queen v. The President and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, in Exeter, […], published 1841, page 55:

We have a further recital of previous legislation (35 Edward I.) showing that the Pope in detriment to the advowry of people of Holy Church had been in the habit of disposing of archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbeys, priories, and benefices, and reserving the first fruits for himself, […]

1873, John Henry MacMahon, Church and State in England; Its Origin and Use, page 149:

(ecclesiastical) Advowson, the right to appoint to a benefice or office.


probabiliorism

(religion, philosophy) The belief that man is fated to do what is almost certainly correct.

Coordinate term: probabilism

(theology) The position that it is not lawful to act on a less safe opinion in moral matters unless it is more probable than a safe opinion.


collative

From the Latin collātīvus (“brought together, collected, joint”). Compare the French collatif.

uder

(ecclesiastical, of a benefice) In which the ordinary (or bishop) is the same person as the patron.

collatif

of a benefice: in which the ordinary and the patron are the same person


bullbaiting

en-noun

bullbaiting (countable and uncountable, plural bullbaitings)

(Scientology) A process in which a person is subjected to simulated threats and verbal abuse but must not respond.


Ashur

(biblical) a grandson of Noah in Genesis


transcreation

From transcreate + -ion, trans- + creation or from French transcreation.

(philosophy, theology) A type of creation by a deity or primal force.


soteriological

en-adj

soteriological (comparative more soteriological, superlative most soteriological)

more soteriological (comparative)
most soteriological (superlative)

/səʊtɪəɹɪə(ʊ)ˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/

From soteriology + -ical, after German soteriologisch.

Despite common metaphorical formulations of the wu-wei ideal, each of the texts I will examine presents its own soteriological strategy for realizing wu-wei in practice, and these soteriological strategies are themselves formulated in terms of conceptual metaphor.

2003, Edward Slingerland, Effortless Action: Wu-wei As Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 12:

In fact he continued to accept Purgatory's existence until around 1530, when he finally realized that his soteriological revolution had abolished it (his change of mind demanded a certain amount of re-editing of some of his earlier writings).

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 608:


anticult

anticult (comparative more anticult, superlative most anticult)

more anticult (comparative)
most anticult (superlative)


kattar

kattar (comparative more kattar, superlative most kattar)

more kattar (comparative)
most kattar (superlative)

From Hindi कट्टर (kaṭṭar, “strict, rigid”).

"And even the announcement of Delhi’s own Board of Education came with one of the avowed aims being making students “kattar deshbhakt” (staunch patriots)."

(India, religion, Hinduism) strict, rigid, fundamentalist, especially in terms of religious belief

sanghi

used towards traditionalist Hindus with nationalist views


ISV

International Standard Version
w:International Standard Version

(biblical) Initialism of International Standard Version.


Verethragna

Transliteration of Avestan 𐬬𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬖𐬥𐬀 (vər^əθraγna), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Wr̥tragʰnás. Doublet of Vahagn and Bahrām.

translit

(Zoroastrianism) The hypostasis of “victory”; a highly complex figure in Zoroastrianism.


inlead

en-verb

inlead (third-person singular simple present inleads, present participle inleading, simple past and past participle inled)

inleads (present singular third-person)
inleading (participle present)
inled (participle past)
inled (past)

From Middle English inleden (“to lead or bring in, introduce”), from Old English inlǣdan (“to lead in, bring in, introduce, conduct”), equivalent to in- + lead. Cognate with Dutch inleiden (“to initiate; introduce”), German einleiten (“to initiate; introduce”), Danish indlede (“to introduce”), Swedish inleda (“to introduce”).

cog

Emanuel Swedenborg
When man is in the former state, the Lord inflows and inleads immediately


Jannat

Borrowed from Arabic جَنَّةْ (jannat, literally “paradise”).


disconformity

en-noun

disconformity (countable and uncountable, plural disconformities)


deosil

Before people started arriving, I began the day as I always did: by sprinkling saltwater widdershins—counterclockwise—around the perimeter of my shop, then smudging deosil—clockwise—with a sage bundle.

2012, Juliet Blackwell, In a Witch's Wardrobe: A Witchcraft Mystery, New York, NY: New American Library, →ISBN, page 32:


Aquinian

en-adj

Aquinian (comparative more Aquinian, superlative most Aquinian)

more Aquinian (comparative)
most Aquinian (superlative)

(theology) Of or pertaining to Thomas Aquinas (circa 1225-1274), Italian Catholic priest and influential philosopher and theologian.


Teegeeack

From the works of L. Ron Hubbard, of unknown origin. Perhaps after Terra and Gaia.

He caused people to be brought to Teegeeack (Earth) and put an H Bomb on the principal volcanoes […]

1968, L. Ron Hubbard, OT III (manuscript); republished as “OT III Scholarship Page”, in David S. Touretzky, editor, Secrets of Scientology, 1997, archived from the original on 2023-03-14:

The church believes that 75 million years ago, the leader of the Galactic Federation, Xenu, solved an overpopulation problem by freezing the excess people in a compound of alcohol and glycol and transporting them by spaceship to Teegeeack -- which we know as Earth.

1995 August 19, Marc Fisher, “Church in Cyberspace”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-16:

(Scientology) The planet Earth at the time of Xenu.


totemism

en-noun

totemism (usually uncountable, plural totemisms)

This is the common story of superstition, from the totemism of savage tribes and the image-worship of semi-civilized peoples on to the heathenism of the Mass.

1883, R. Heber Newton, The Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible:

Although you see some representations of animals or gods in the form of animals, there's really no totemism or animism in Egyptian religion.

1995 July 21, Sarah Bryan Miller, “What's New in Ancient Egypt”, in Chicago Reader:

“The Happiness of Objects” doesn’t make it easy on the viewer. Mr. Mitchell’s book is, after all, an academic tome (though quite readable) that delves into complex discussions of everything from pictures, objects and materials to their relationship with totemism, fetishism and idolatry.

2007 May 18, Martha Schwendener, “Proof That Things Are People Too (Well, Almost)”, in New York Times:

(religion) The belief that a person or group has a special mystical relationship to a totem

طوطمية

belief in a special relationship to a totem


justiciar

From Late Latin justitiarius and justiciarius (“justiciar, judge, justice [of the peace]; judiciary, related to justice”), from Latin iūstitia (“justice”) + -āria (“-ary”). As a translation of various Continental European offices, via Middle French justicier, Spanish justiciero, justicia mayor, etc.

(Christianity, theology, rare) A justiciary: a believer in the doctrine (or heresy) that adherence to religious law redeems mankind before God.


necessarian

1810, Charles Buck, Materialists, entry in A Theological Dictionary, Volume 2, page 86,
And the Necessarian asserts, that if, in any given state of mind, with respect both to dispositions and motives, two different determinations, or volitions, be possible, it can be on no other principle, than that one of them should come under the description of an effect without a cause; just as if the beam of a balance might incline either way, though loaded with equal weights.

But neither you nor myself, necessarian as I am, can pretend to this degree of perfection.

1832, Joseph Priestley, edited by John Towill Rutt, The Theological and Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley, volume 4, page 191:

When it is considered that, according to the Necessarian doctrine, no action fails to produce effects, and no effort can be lost, there seems every reason for the conclusion which I have no doubt is the fact, that true Necessarians must be the most diligent and confident of all workers.

1877, Harriet Martineau, edited by Maria Weston Chapman, Harriet Martineau′s Autobiography, volume 1, Cambridge University Press, published 2010, page 112:

doctrine of necessity
doctrine of necessity

(philosophy, theology) An adherent of necessarianism; an advocate of the doctrine of necessity.


justiciary

justiciary (countable and uncountable, plural justiciaries)

From Late Latin justitiaria, justiciaria (“judgeship, judiciarship; court sessions”), justitiarius, and justiciarius (“justiciar, judge, justice [of the peace]; judiciary, related to justice”), all from Latin iūstitia (“justice”) + -āria (“-ary”). Paralleled in Middle English and Early Modern English by forms from Anglo-Norman justiserie (“judgeship, judiciarship”), from Anglo-Norman and Middle French justicerie (“judgeship; tribunal”), from justice + -ery. As a translation of various Continental European offices, via Middle French justicier, Spanish justiciero, etc.

cog

(Christianity, theology) A believer in the doctrine (or heresy) that adherence to religious law redeems mankind before God.


justiciary

en-adj

justiciary (comparative more justiciary, superlative most justiciary)

more justiciary (comparative)
most justiciary (superlative)

(Christianity, theology, obsolete) Of or relating to justification or redemption before God.

(Christianity, theology, obsolete) Of or relating to the doctrine (or heresy) that adherence to religious law redeems mankind before God.


indifferentism

en-noun

indifferentism (usually uncountable, plural indifferentisms)

The second class of parishioners were less Philistine, certainly, but even more hopeless from the parish priest’s point of view. In their luxurious houses they lived an easy, selfish, and sensual life, beyond his reach, surrounded by a wall of indifferentism, and contemptuous of all that was not tangible and material.

1904, Guy Thorne, chapter 2, in When It Was Dark, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, page 7:

To the pantheist or monist [mystical experiences] are experiences of the One, which is identical with himself, and which is probably the same in all religions and even in secular mysticism. In face of this easygoing tolerance or indifferentism it is perhaps not surprising that monotheists are often intolerant, believing that God has chosen them and by implication not others.

1976, Geoffrey Parrinder, chapter 3, in Mysticism in the World’s Religions, Oxford: Oneworld, published 1995, page 20:

(religion) The doctrine that all religions are equally valid.

indiferentismo

the doctrine that all religions are equally valid


Church of Scientology

(Scientology) the largest organisation promoting Scientology.


suitheistic

en-adj

suitheistic (comparative more suitheistic, superlative most suitheistic)

more suitheistic (comparative)
most suitheistic (superlative)

His presence, after all, disturbs our arrogant pretensions and suitheistic fantasies.

2008, James Patrick Holding, Shattering the Christ Myth, page 334:


probabilism

en-noun

probabilism (usually uncountable, plural probabilisms)

Coordinate term: probabiliorism

(theology, chiefly Catholicism) The casuistic doctrine that, in difficult matters of conscience, one may safely follow a doctrine that is probable, e.g. approved by a recognized Doctor of the Church, even if the opposite opinion is more probable.


rigorism

rigorism (countable and uncountable, plural rigorisms)

(Christianity, theology) In Roman Catholic moral theology, the doctrine that in a case of doubt between right and wrong one should take the safer course, i.e. the one in verbal accordance with the law.


Master of the Universe

Master of the Universe (plural Masters of the Universe)

The "highly successful business person" sense is derived from Mattel's Masters of the Universe toy line and media franchise, which was launched in 1982. It was first used as such in the 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (see quotations).

Constantine inscribed these words on the pedestal:— Oh Christ! king and master of the universe, I consecrate this humble tower, this sceptre, and the power of Rome, to thee!

1849, William Francis Lynch, Narrative Of The United States Expedition To The River Jordan And The Dead Sea:

Svarogu, the god of the ancient pagan Slavs, should no doubt equally be placed. Like Zeus, like Jupiter, like Varuna, like Ahura Mazda, he is the master of the universe, the gods are his children, and it is from him that they have received their functions.

1879, James Darmesteter, “The Supreme God in the Indo-European Mythology”, in Littell's Living Age, volume 143, number 1845:

To God, the Supreme Master of the universe, our Creator, the All Holy, All Good, we owe honour, service, obedience, and love.


familism

familism (usually uncountable, plural familisms)

Familism was spread in England by Christopher Vittels, an itinerant joiner of Dutch origin.

1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 15:

(religion, now historical) The beliefs or practice of the Family of Love religious sect, active in sixteenth century England.


UU

Riley's comments capture the dilemma that many UUs confront.

2004, Kate Tweedie Erslev, Full circle: fifteen ways to grow lifelong UUs, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, page 2:

Unitarian Universalist
Unitarian Universalist#English

(religion) Initialism of Unitarian Universalist.


exteriorization

/ɪkˌstɪɹiɚɪˈzeɪʃən/

/ɛkˌstɪɹiɚɪˈzeɪʃən/

From exteriorize + -ation or exterior + -ization.

(Scientology) The process of a thetan leaving its human body.


donative

From Latin dōnātīvum (“a gratuity”), from dōnō (“I give [a present]”), from dōnum (“gift”).

(ecclesiastical law) A benefice conferred on a person by the founder or patron, without either presentation or institution by the ordinary, or induction by his orders.


cover one's feet

en-verb

cover one's feet (third-person singular simple present covers one's feet, present participle covering one's feet, simple past and past participle covered one's feet)

covers one's feet (present singular third-person)
covering one's feet (participle present)
covered one's feet (participle past)
covered one's feet (past)

When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, Surely he covers his feet in his summer chamber. (Judges 3:24)

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. (1 Samuel 24:3)

(euphemistic, biblical) To lower one’s garment, especially to urinate or defecate.


familist

Like Francis Bacon, Familists believed that men and women might recapture on earth the state of innocence which existed before the Fall: their enemies said they claimed to attain the perfection of Christ.

(religion, historical) A member of the Family of Love religious group in 16th-century England.


theo-

From Latin theo- (“god”), combining form of theos (“god”); from Ancient Greek θεό- (theó-, “god”), combining form of θεός (theós, “god”).


beatific vision

en-noun

beatific vision (countable and uncountable, plural beatific visions)

(Christianity, theology) The eternal and direct visual perception of God.


Rabshakeh

For example, here is a man, a chief officer or cupbearer, Rabshakeh by name, who represents the king of Assyria[…]

1885, Joseph Parker, The people's Bible: discourses upon Holy Scripture, volume 16, page 83:

(biblical) One of Sennacherib's messengers to Hezekiah, quoted in 2 Kings 18:27–37 and Isaiah 36:12–20.


Sheba

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

(biblical) A former kingdom in the Red Sea region. An ancient kingdom in Arabia or possibly in Africa. Frequently equated with ancient Saba.


predestinarian

But it is wrong to stress only the predestinarian aspect of protestantism […].

1972, Christopher Hill, The World Turned Upside Down, Folio Society, published 2016, page 123:

(chiefly theology) Of or relating to predestination.


antiuniversalism

(theology) Opposition to universalism (the theological belief that all souls can attain salvation).


eternitarian

Describe the world as rays of the world beyond every serial-eternitarian or ideal alternative — posit the existential eternity — the eternal body.

1968, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, The Visible and the Invisible:

(religion, rare) One who believes in the eternity of the soul.


diriment

(religion, of an impediment to marriage) Serving to invalidate an attempted marriage.


impedient

(religion, of an impediment to marriage) Serving to make a marriage illicit but valid.


pneumatology

pneumatology (countable and uncountable, plural pneumatologies)

From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “breath”) + -logy.

These divine qualities migrated to Mary because of deficiencies in the theology of God, in Christology and in pneumatology. It makes no lasting sense to retain this as a permanent status quo, using Mary as a cover-up for defective notions of the divine.

2000 June 17, Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Mary of Nazareth: Friend of God and Prophet”, in America, volume 182, number 21:

(Christianity, theology) The study of the Holy Spirit as revealed in Scripture.


Baruch

Borrowed from Hebrew בָּרוּךְ (Barukh, “blessed”). Cognate with Arabic بَارَك (bārak, “Barak”).

Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 36:4:

(biblical) Any of a number of Old Testament men, including the scribe and companion of Jeremiah.


oeconomus

From Latin oeconomus, from Ancient Greek οἰκονόμος (oikonómos), from οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + νόμος (nómos, “law, rule”).

(ecclesiastical) A married priest (chiefly Orthodox Christian and Uniate usage), as opposed to a hieromonk.

(ecclesiastical) A priest or other person who serves as the bursar or finance officer of a diocese or religious institution (chiefly Roman Catholic usage), an episcopal oeconomus temporarily takes charge of church property in the event of an episcopal vacancy.


pasch

Borrowed from Latin pascha. Perhaps also influenced by Old Norse páskar and its derivatives.

And on the first day of the Azymes, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the pasch? But Jesus said: Go ye into the city to a certain man, and say to him: the master saith, My time is near at hand, with thee I make the pasch with my disciples.

1749, The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. […] Newly reviſed, and corrected according to the Clementin Edition of the Scriptures (Douay–Rheims Bible, Challoner Revision), Matthew 26:17–18:

NOW the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the pasch, was at hand.

1749, The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. […] Newly reviſed, and corrected according to the Clementin Edition of the Scriptures (Douay–Rheims Bible, Challoner Revision), Luke 22:1:

Victor, bishop of Rome, A. D. 192, thus writes: ‘[…] (we find) the catholic church celebrate ^([sic]) pasch, not on the fourteenth of the moon, with the Jews, but from the fifteenth day to the twenty-first. […]’

1843, Thomas SMYTH (D.D., of Charleston, S.C.), Presbytery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primitive Polity ... Also, the Antiquity of Presbytery; including an account of the ancient Culdees, and of St. Patrick, etc, page 372:

That the pasch must be taken in its usual sense of paschal lamb is clear from the words of the evangelists […]. The foregoing writers impugned the Judaizing Quartodecimans, […] the very existence of their adversaries attests an ancient tradition in the church that Jesus had eaten the pasch on the fourteenth day of Nisan. This error on the part of the orthodox champions must have arisen from the principle that Jesus is our true pasch, stated by St. Paul […].

1898, A. J. Maas, The Gospel According to Saint-Matthew: With an Explanatory and Critical Commentary, page 262:

For this reason the Hundred and Fourteenth Psalm is written, because it is the recompense of love; whence the pasch of the Lord received its manner of celebration at the fourteenth moon; since, he who celebrates the pasch ought to be perfect;[…]

1925, Catholic University of America, Patristic Studies, page 77:

[…] after a few words in which the pasch has not as yet been mentioned by name, he adds, “And thus shall you eat it: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staffs in your hands; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the pasch of the Lord.”

1989 [c. 226–229 CE], Origen, translated by Ronald E. Heine, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Catholic University of America Press, translation of original in Ancient Greek, →ISBN, page 271:

(theology or archaic) The feast of Passover or (specifically) the Paschal Lamb, or (for Christians), Easter, seen as the fulfillment of Passover.

The Man-God had scarcely returned to His Father when the Apostles hastened to establish a solemn festival to commemorate His pasch, that is to say, His glorious passage from death to life.

1884, Jean Gaume, The Catechism of Perseverance; Or, An Historical, Dogmatical, Moral, Liturgical, Apologetical, Philosophical, and Social Exposition of Religion: From the Beginning of the World Down to Our Own Days, page 381:

The immediate future of his pasch is his saving death, through which humanity is reconciled. The long-term, eschatological future is found in the promise of his resurrection and embraces the whole future of the life of the Church […]

1999, Anscar J. Chupungco, Handbook for Liturgical Studies: The Eucharist, Liturgical Press, →ISBN, page 330:

Rather, an ecclesiology nourished in the book of Nehemiah continually returns to Christ's pasch, to the people of God's dependence upon divine mercy in Christ.

2007 10, Matthew Levering, Ezra & Nehemiah, Brazos Press, →ISBN, page 212:

They were alone with the Messiah of Israel and made up his paschal group, the “passahhaburah”; they were the companions of his pasch, “the Twelve,” the nucleus of the Israel of the future, that “remnant” of Israel […]

2013, F. X. Durrwell, In the Redeeming Christ, Ave Maria Press, →ISBN, page 114:

(2) Jesus' pasch, his death and resurrection (from which there is no reason to exclude his life), is gospel, to which we respond substantially in orthodoxy; […]

2015, Jon Sobrino, Christ the Liberator: A View from the Victims, Orbis Books, →ISBN:

(theology or archaic) The Paschal Mystery; the death and resurrection of Jesus.


softa

From Ottoman Turkish صوفته (“theology student”) (modern Turkish softa), from Classical Persian سوخته (sōxta).

bor

The softas, concerning whose exploits we have heard so much of late, are the theological students who wish to become ulemas, or, literally, learned men.

1896, Eliakim Littell, Robert S. Littell, Living Age, volume 208, page 330:

(Islam) A religious student, especially in Turkey


retreatant

(religion) a participant in a religious or similar retreat


exercitant

(religion) One who practises spiritual exercises, especially those of Ignatius of Loyola.


Baal-gad

Borrowed from Hebrew בַּעַל גַּד (bá`al gad, “lord of fortune”).

(biblical) A city noted for Baal-worship, located at the most northern or northwestern point to which Joshua's victories extended.


interconfessional

The goal of this interconfessional endeavour is to bring harmony and understanding between these disparate churches.

(religion) Taking place between religious organisations that have different systems of formulated theology (confessions of faith)

idirchreidmheach

taking place between religious organisations that have different systems of formulated theology


jihadic

en-adj

jihadic (comparative more jihadic, superlative most jihadic)

more jihadic (comparative)
most jihadic (superlative)

Kepel, however, refuses to surrender his belief that the jihadic firestorm reached its zenith long before, with the Soviet expulsion from Afghanistan in 1989.

2005, William H. Thornton, New world empire: civil Islam, terrorism, and the making of neoglobalism, page 4:


Iblis

From Arabic إِبْلِيس (ʔiblīs, “Iblis”), possibly from the trilateral root ب ل س (b-l-s) with the general meaning of “despair”, بَلَسَ (balasa). Alternatively, perhaps from Ancient Greek διάβολος (diábolos).

beyond these mountains, Eblis and his accursed Dives hold their infernal empire.

1786, William Beckford, Vathek; an Arabian Tale:

I do believe that Eblis hath
A snare in ev’ry human path —

1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:


Yahuwah

Vocalization of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (יהוה) peculiar to some religious movements.

1998 "Seventh-Day Adventist Ministry Proclaiming YAHUAH Elohim and His Son YAHUSHUA (JESUS); Exposing Roman Catholicism and Her Daughters" (usenet post citing www.sda-online.com)

(religion) Proper Name of the tetragrammaton YHWH of the Abrahamic deity according to the Hebrew scriptures.


free grace

Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardoneth all our sins. (the Westminster shorter catechism of 1647, question 33http://books.google.com/books?id=7gMNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA683&dq=%22Free+Grace%22&hl=en&ei=-pv_TLz3Hsrf4ga0-ISdCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Free%20Grace%22&f=false)

(theology) A concept of grace as a gift given freely by God, without regard to entitlement or merit.


sindon

en-noun

sindon (countable and uncountable, plural sindons)

From Latin sindōn (possibly by way of Old French syndone and sindone), from Ancient Greek σινδών (sindṓn), from Late Egyptian šndy(t), from earlier šnḏwt (“kilt”).

(obsolete or historical) A piece of such cloth, particularly

(ecclesiastical) The shroud of Jesus following the crucifixion.

(ecclesiastical) The corporal: the cloth placed beneath the eucharist.


Gilgal

bor

Hebrew גִּלְגָּל

(biblical) The site of Joshua's encampment before the siege of Jericho.


miaphysite

A modern coinage from Byzantine Greek μία (mía, “one”) + φύσις (phúsis, “nature, substance”) + -ite; see Miaphysitism for more.

The leaders of the Miaphysite cause across the empire still loudly proclaimed their loyalty to the imperial throne, and there is no reason to doubt that most were sincere.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 233:

(theology) Of or pertaining to Miaphysitism; maintaining that Christ has a single, though composite, nature.


Rule of Three

(religion, Wicca) A religious tenet held by some Wiccans, stating that whatever energy, positive or negative, a person puts into the world will be returned threefold.


rule of three

(religion, Wicca) A religious tenet stating that the energy a person puts out into the world, positive or negative, will be returned to that person threefold.


Al Hijrah

Borrowed from Arabic الهِجْرَة (al-hijra)

(Islam) The first day of the Islamic calendar; the first day of Muharram.


Orphism

From Orpheus + -ism; art sense coined by French poet Guillaume Apollinaire in 1912 as orphisme.

coin

Coordinate term: Pythagoreanism

1974, The Emerson Society Quarterly, Issues 74-81, Emerson Society, page 125,
Thoreau's acquaintance with Orphism dated from at least as early as the summer of 1840, when he read Ralph Cudworth's True Intellectual System of the Universe and took notes on some of Cudworth's references to the Orphic religion.

1995, Dan Urman, Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher, Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery, Part 2, E. J. Brill, page 355,
The oracular poems produced by Orphism and attributed to Orpheus himself, similarly reveal neither messiah nor messianic age.

The origins of Orphism are obscure, although they seem to date back at least to the sixth century B.C.E. Orphic ideology mainly concerned the mysteries of Dionysos, which many Greeks took very seriously.

2004, Stephanie L. Budin, The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, ABC-CLIO, page 307:

2010, Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui, Orphism and Christianity in Late Antiquity, De Gruyter, page 295,
The apologists' strategies distort the real image of Orphism, but they maintain a certain basis in reality in order to appear plausible.

(religion, Ancient Greece) A religious movement in antiquity, supposed to have been founded by Orpheus.


dukkha

en-noun

dukkha (countable and uncountable, plural dukkhas)

three marks of existence
three marks of existence

(Buddhism) The three main types of pain, suffering, or stress: physical and mental, impermanence, and conditioned states. One of the three marks of existence.


pygarg

From Latin pygargus from Ancient Greek πύγαργος (púgargos), a compound of Ancient Greek πῡγή (pūgḗ, “rump”) + ἀργός (argós, “white”).

(biblical) An unidentified large animal with horns, possibly the addax, mentioned in the Bible (Deuteronomy 14:5) as one of the animals permitted for food.

pikareka

A large unidentified animal mentioned in the Bible.


Deluge

(biblical) The Biblical flood taking place in the story of Noah in Genesis.


zelatrix

zelatrix (plural zelatrices or zelatrixes)

From Latin zelatrix (“female zealot; zealous female”).

uder

An intelligent and active zelatrix should be at the head of each circle, or one zelatrix may have several circles under her care.

1871, Jean Lyonnard, Perpetual Intercession to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, Thomas Richardson and Son, Chapter XVIII, page 171

But, we still have to ask what benefits Teresa herself perceived in the chapter of faults and other similar corrective measures: the role of the zelatrix or monitor for instance?

2000, Ruth Burrows, Carmel: Interpreting A Great Tradition, →ISBN, page 88:

(ecclesiastical) A nun who oversees the behavior of young nuns.


TULIP

unconditional election
unconditional election#English

limited atonement
limited atonement#English

irresistible grace
irresistible grace#English

perseverance of the saints
perseverance of the saints#English

(religion, mnemonic) Acronym for the Five Points of Calvinist doctrine: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints


sola gratia

(religion) The doctrine that salvation is conveyed by the grace and goodwill of God, as a free gift, without merit on the part of the sinner.


imamate

From imam + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office).

af

The Mahometans do not agree among themselves about this imamate, or dignity of the imam. Some think it of divine right, and attached to a single family, as the pontificate of Aaron. Others hold, that it is, indeed, of divine right, but deny it to be so attached to any single family, as that it may not be transferred to another.

1819, Abraham Rees, “Imam”, in The Cyclopaedia; Or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature, volume 18:

After mentioning these facts, Shahristâni adds that "whatever befell them was prognosticated by Jaafar as-Sâdik, who said that temporal dominion was not for their family, but that the Imâmate was to be a toy in the hands of the Abbassides."

1891, Syed Ameer Ali, The Life and Teachings of Mohammed: Or, The Spirit of Islam:

The government has accused the Houthis of trying to restore the traditional Zaidi-led imamate that largely ruled Yemen until 1962.

2009 September 21, Robert F. Worth, “Yemen’s North Hit by Bloodiest Fighting in Years”, in New York Times:

(Islam) The office or jurisdiction of an imam.


Dzogchen

In Dzogchen, the way of behaving is the key to the practice, not because there are fixed rules as to what one should and should not do, but because the principle is that one must learn to become responsible for oneself, working with one's own awareness.

1996, Kloṅ-chen-pa Dri-med-ʼod-zer, Dzogchen: The Self-perfected State, page 124:

(Tibetan Buddhism) The Great Perfection; the state of contemplation beyond the mind; not unconscious, but mental processes not conditioning of awareness.

(Tibetan Buddhism) The corresponding teachings found in Nyingmapa and the non-Buddhist Bonpo.


Amyraldism

Named after its formulator, Moses Amyraut, + -ism.

four-point Calvinism
four-point Calvinism

(theology) A form of Protestant belief also known as four-point Calvinism.


limited atonement

(Christianity, theology) A doctrine, one of the Five Points of Calvinism, stating that Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement on the cross is limited in scope to those who are predestined unto salvation, which is conferred only to believers.


rinpoche

(Tibetan Buddhism) A title warranting great respect, prefixed to the names of Tibetan Buddhists.


perseverance of the saints

en-noun

perseverance of the saints (uncountable)

(Christianity, theology) A doctrine, one of the Five Points of Calvinism, stating that true believers in Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement on the cross (the "saints") cannot relapse and are predestined to salvation.


total depravity

(Christianity, theology) A doctrine, one of the Five Points of Calvinism, that all human action is tainted by original sin.


irresistible grace

(Christianity, theology) A doctrine, one of the Five Points of Calvinism, stating that the salvific benefit of Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement on the cross is extended to those predestined unto salvation, without any possibility of Satan or sin successfully defeating God's election.


unconditional election

(Christianity, theology) A doctrine, one of the Five Points of Calvinism], stating that Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement on the cross is extended to those predestined to become a believer, at God's discretion and without condition.


anatman

(Buddhism) The doctrine that there is no transcendental ego or soul; that the perceived true self is an illusion. Corresponds to the Hinayana or Theravada Buddhist doctrine of anattā.

အနတ္တ

Buddhist doctrine that there is no transcendental ego or soul


tulka

Since the Dalai Lama is a tulka, he can choose to be reborn as he pleases to serve humanity.

(Buddhism) In Tibetan Mahayana, a particular high-ranking lama who can choose their own manner of rebirth.


metemorphothe

From Ancient Greek μετεμορφώθη (metemorphṓthē), third person singular passive aorist of μεταμορφόω (metamorphóō, “to transform”) (thus meaning "he was transformed").

der

(theology) The Transfiguration of Christ.


darshan

en-noun

darshan (countable and uncountable, plural darshans)

From Sanskrit दर्शन (darśana, “vision”), from a root दृश् (dṛś, “to see”).

A common sight in India is a crowd of people gathered in the courtyard of a temple or at the doorway of a streetside shrine for the darshan of the deity.

2002, S. Brent Plate, Religion, Art, and Visual Culture: A Cross-Cultural Reader, →ISBN, page 171:

Hindus take darshan of a holy person, object, or place, believing that its mere presence, particularly the sight of it, conveys blessings.

2006, Linda Hess, chapter 8, in The Life of Hinduism, page 183:

When approaching a soul who is known to give darshan, be in the same area of the superconscious mind that you feel he must be in.

2007, Editors of Hinduism Today, What Is Hinduism?: Modern Adventures Into a Profound Global Faith, page 151:

(Hinduism, Buddhism) Hierophany, theophany; being in the presence of the divine or holy (as a person or object).


Lotus Sutra

From a calque of Sanskrit सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र (Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra).

cal

सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्र

(Hinduism, Buddhism) "Sūtra on the White Lotus of the Sublime Dharma Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra", a popular Sanskrit treatise which forms the basis of many forms of Buddhism.


sunyata

en-noun

sunyata (countable and uncountable, plural sunyatas)

From Sanskrit शून्यता (śūnyatā), from शून्य (śūnya, “zero, nothing”) + ता (-tā, “generalizing suffix”). Cognate with Pali suññatā.

1993, Sunyata, Emptiness and Self-emptying, Kenosis by Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma published in Buddhist - Christian Dialogue London, 27th March
However since emptiness empties itself and so cannot itself be an object of attachment, dynamic 'sunyata' empties itself out as just the things themselves.

(Buddhism) Emptiness, the absence of an intrinsic essence or nature which is stable and separable from other things.


vitki

(Germanic paganism) A sorcerer in Norse Heathen societies.


redemptrix

From Latin redemptrix; equivalent to redemptor + -trix.


discrimen

discrimen (plural discrimina or discrimens)

Some years ago James Gustafson advanced the thesis that any comprehensive and systematic account of theological ethics must have a central "discrimen" - an organizing perspective, principle, metaphor or analogy around which it is structured. That discrimen must relate in a coherent fashion four "base points": an understanding of God and God's purposes in relation to humans and the rest of creation; an interpretation of the significance of "the world" and human life in it; an interpretation of human moral agency and actionsl and an interpretation of how we ought to make moral choices and judgements.

1995, James B. Tubbs Jr, Christian Theology and Medical Ethics: Four Contemporary Approaches, →ISBN:

The discrimen, or pattern, that each theologian eventually chooses is his or her own distinctive construal of the discrimen that guides his or her critical theological judgements.

2000, Cleophus James LaRue, The Heart of Black Preaching, →ISBN, page 18:

And if we were to link this discrimen to Balthasar's synoptic judgment about what Christianity is all about, then it would be associated with humanity's participation in God as that is realized in God's incarnation in the person Jesus Christ. I do not wish to imply that these two discrimens are the only two with which Balthasar operated.

2003, William Thomas Dickens, Hans Urs Von Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics, →ISBN:

But if discrimen is a cardinal virtue of adulthood, the tenets of infantilism work against it. Discrimen requires right judgement; but the idea of something, even judgment, being 'right', is in profound conflict with individualism (which says I can only claim my judgement as being right for me).

2012, Michael Bywater, Big Babies: Or: Why Can't We Just Grow Up?, →ISBN:

(theology) A pattern or organizing principle that forms the basis of moral judgements.


cataphatic

From Ancient Greek καταφατικός (kataphatikós, “affirmative”).

der

(theology) Pertaining to the expression of God in terms of what God is, rather than in terms of what God is not (apophatic).

cataphatique

pertaining to the expression of God in terms of what God is


Naraka

(Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism) The underworld or Hell according to Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, where souls are sent for the expiation of their sins.


Cush

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew כוש (kûš, “Ethiopia, Ethiopians”).

bor+

(biblical) The son of Ham, grandson of Noah, and supposed progenitor of the African peoples.

(biblical) A Benjamite mentioned only in the title of Psalm 7.


preclear

(Scientology) One who has not yet reached a "clear" state (in which they are free from engrams).


ziara

(Islam) A visit to a holy place; a pilgrimage.


wali

You see the shrine was founded in memory of a great Wali, seer, holy man – but apparently a Mohammedan.

1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 130:


antisecular

en-adj

antisecular (comparative more antisecular, superlative most antisecular)

more antisecular (comparative)
most antisecular (superlative)

The lawsuit, filed with the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the country, seeks to shut down the party because of what it says are antisecular activities.

2008 March 15, Sabrina Tavernise, “Suit Seeks to Bar Party of Premier in Turkey”, in New York Times:

(sociology, religion) Opposing what is secular.


litholatry

(chiefly theology) The worship of stones.


gompa

And when finally I got to the end of the five-hour drive over the highest motorable pass in the world, it was to learn that the gompa in Hunder was closed.

2009 March 13, Pico Iyer, “Heaven’s Gate”, in New York Times:

(Buddhism) A Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sadhana in Tibet, India, Nepal, or Bhutan.


spiration

en-noun

spiration (usually uncountable, plural spirations)

(theology) The procession of the Holy Ghost.


Zillah

And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.


thriambus

Borrowed from New Latin thriambus, from Ancient Greek θρίαμβος (thríambos), of Pre-Greek origin. Doublet of triumph and trump.

(religion, Ancient Greece) A hymn to Dionysus, sung in processions in his honour.


mythicism

mythicism (countable and uncountable, plural mythicisms)

From myth + -icism. In occasional use since the 1840s.
The earliest use of the term was in Christian theology, in reference to the "Mythic Theory" of D. F. Strauss (1835). The more general sense appears from the 1870s.

1845: "Truly, if the caput mortuum of Christianity which mythicism leaves us, be all that is true of our religion, our feelings would tempt us to forgive the Evangelists who have so beautifully deceived, rather than the critics who so coldly disenchant us." (The Christian examiner, vol. 39, p. 160)

(theology) The scholarly opinion that the gospels are mythological expansions of historical data.


deen

2014, CHANEL, Purple Ink Presents Savage Sisters by Chanel, iUniverse →ISBN
Sterling was Muslim, and although he wasn't on his deen, Shanice and Shakira felt that he should have had a Janazah.

2016, Skepta, Shutdown, on Konnichiwa
You say you're Muslim, you say you're Rasta / Say you don't eat pork, don't eat pussy / Liar, you're just an actor / Blud, you're not on your deen

(Islam) religion; religiosity; the way of life of a pious Muslim


quinquarticular

the quinquarticular controversy between Arminians and Calvinists

(theology) Relating to the five articles of Remonstrance.


world soul

You, to whom love was peace, that now is rage;
Who did the whole world's soul contract, and drove
Into the glasses of your eyes

Thanks to the morning light,
Thanks to the seething sea,
To the uplands of New Hampshire,
To the green-haired forest free . . .

1847, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The World-Soul:

NINA: The bodies of all living creatures have dropped to dust, and eternal matter has transformed them into stones and water and clouds; but their spirits have flowed together into one, and that great world-soul am I!

1912, Anton Chekhov, translated by Marian Fell, The Seagull, act 1:

Like many ungainly or otherwise unattractive Scotchmen, he [Thomas Carlyle] was a seer. By which I do not mean to refer so much to his transcendental rhapsodies about the World-soul or the Nature-garment or the Mysteries and Eternities generally.

1913, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, chapter 1, in The Victorian Age in Literature:

During the long nights on the mountain overshadowing Pasadena, he has done a lot of unorthodox thinking about the human mind, the human soul, the World Soul, Cosmic Consciousness, Cosmos, God.

1940 April 29, “Scientist on Immortality”, in Time:

[H]er vision of Sant'Agnese resembles the beautiful Neoplatonist concept of the world soul as a great boat, in which every individual is a member of the crew who rows it through the cosmos for the space of existence, and then merges back into its fabric.

2001 June 3, Marina Warner, “Books: Where Heaven Touches Down”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-07-19:

(religion, philosophy) A single, unifying spirit believed by some to animate every living being in the world and to underlie the value of every inanimate thing as well.

Weltseele

single, unifying spirit present in every living being


orlay

Learned borrowing from Old English orlæġ (“fate”), from Proto-West Germanic *oʀlag, *uʀlag, from Proto-Germanic *uzlagą (“destiny; fate”, literally “that which is laid out; out-lay; plan; design”). Equivalent to or- + lay.

der

There laws they laid, there life chose, To men's sons, and spoke orlay […]

2004, Nathaniel Harris, Witcha: A Book of Cunning:

I am fully aware of how Oaths affect my Orlay and my Wyrd. I am Oathed to no one, save the Holy Ones and my Wife.

2006, An Heathen Reader: Some Thoughts on the State of Things I Think, anheathenreader.blogspot.com/.../some-thoughts-on-state-of-things-i.html

You could think of your own orlay as the source or seed of your “personal wyrd.” A newborn infant initially inherits its orlay from its parents and ancestors. This initial orlay is its heritage, compiled from the words and deeds of those ancestors.

2009, Alaric Albertsson, Travels Through Middle Earth:

These deeds done within the innangard of the tribe by its tribesmen are its law, its orlay.

2011, Swain Wodening, The Sacred and the Holy:

Remember how I wrote at the beginning of this chapter that the Norns 'shape' orlay. Orlay itself gives a person 'shape' within the dimensions of Time and Wyrd.

2021, Winifred Rose, Heathen Soul Lore Foundations:


as above, so below

The concept was first laid out in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus: "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing."

(occultism) What happens on a higher level of reality also happens on lower levels; the microcosm and macrocosm behave alike.

Emerald Tablet
Hermes Trismegistus
as above, so below

jak nahoře, tak dole

what happens on a higher level of reality also happens on lower levels

quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius


tanha

The Buddhist concept of tanha, for example — roughly translated as “blind demandingness” — encapsulates many tenets of R.E.B.T. and points the way toward emotional equanimity: stop asking more of the universe than it can possibly deliver.

2009 May 10, “Enlightenment Therapy”, in New York Times:


anticelibacy

en-adj

anticelibacy (comparative more anticelibacy, superlative most anticelibacy)

more anticelibacy (comparative)
most anticelibacy (superlative)

“I don’t want to be the anticelibacy priest,” he said.

2009 May 12, Damien Cave, “Celebrity Priest Says He Is Torn Between Church and Girlfriend”, in New York Times:


Aram

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

(biblical) a Biblical region located in modern Syria.


Miaphysitism

From miaphysite + -ism, a modern coinage from Byzantine Greek μία (mía, “one”) + φύσις (phúsis, “nature, substance”), referring in particular to the formula of Cyril of Alexandria, “one incarnate nature of the Word”, μία φύσις τοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένη (mía phúsis toû Lógou sesarkōménē).

Oriental Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodox Church

(theology) A Christological formula, upheld by the Oriental Orthodox Church, holding that divinity and humanity are united in a single nature in Christ.


necessarianism

Scholars working on Joseph Priestley have begun to take a proper measure of his philosophical position, known as “necessarianism,” a psychological determinism based on the teachings of the midcentury physician and theologian David Hartley—with, in Priestley′s own case, the addition of materialism. To its enemies, necessarianism seemed rank fatalism, but its adherents found that it both explained the evils about them and offered a sovereign remedy (generally through one or another variety of education) to resolve them and bring mankind to perfection.

1995, Denis G. Paz, Nineteenth-Century English Religious Traditions: Retrospect and Prospect, page 106:

While not acceptable to all Unitarians, the philosophical determinism known as Necessarianism, identified with Hartley and Priestley, also proved persuasive to many, both ministers and laymen.

2000, R. K. Webb, “6: Miracles in English Unitarian Thought”, in Mark S. Micale, Robert L. Dietle, editors, Enlightenment, Passion, Modernity: Historical Essays in European Thought and Culture, page 114:

To cut a long story short, this led to the emergence of a new form of necessarianism. People are conditioned to behave as they do, so freedom is an illusion. This form of necessarianism may be called ‘behaviourist necessarianism’.

2001, Alexander Crombie, An Essay on Philosophical Necessity, page number not shown:

(philosophy, metaphysics, theology) An extreme form of determinism that holds that all phenomena, including the will, are subject to immutable rules of cause and effect; necessitarianism.


triple goddess

(Wicca) Alternative letter-case form of Triple Goddess


baraminological

(creationism) Of or pertaining to baraminology.


Simonism

His zeal for the purification of the church urged him forthwith to operate against the prevailing system of Simonism, or the purchasing of spiritual offices with money, and the immoral life led by the clergy.

1844, Friedrich Kohlrausch, A history of Germany: from the earliest period to the present time, page 190:

Here in 1062 the bishop of Florence Mezzabarba was refused admittance by the monks, who accused him of Simonism.

1899, Elvira Grifi, Saunterings in Florence: a new artistic and practical hand-book, page 456:


tutelary deity

en-noun

tutelary deity (plural tutelary deities)

Where had then beene the church of Durham, and the devotion of Kings to his ſepulchur? Where had then beene the tutelarie Deity against the Scotts, and the lande of the church called St. Cuthberts patrimony? How then should his holywarke folk be freed from tribute and ſervice in warre, and the Monkes of Durham fed ſoe many yeares with eaſe and fatt revenues, if now their Saint had beene entombed in the ſea, and erected his eſpicopal ſeate among the fiſhes?

1778, W[illiam] Hutchinson, A View of Northumberland: With an Excursion to the Abbey of Mailross in Scotland. By W. Hutchinson Anno 1776, volume II, Newcastle: Printed by T. Saint, for W. Charnley and Messrs Vesey & Whitfield, →OCLC, page 126:

The identification of the Bardic Crist Celi with the Bardic Moses, with a view to blending both religions in one scheme of magic, has been illustrated in the just cited pages of the Neo-Druidic Heresy. […] The words Gwledig Moysen shew us that the Moses of this spurious Israel was himself its tutelary deity; and he is not different from the Crist Gwledig. But that epithet designates the Being spoken of, in respect of his local tutelarity, and not of his more general attributes as a Person of the Trindawd.

1836, [Algernon Herbert], “Chapter II”, in Britannia after the Romans; being an Attempt to Illustrate the Religious and Political Revolutions of that Province in the Fifth and Succeeding Centuries, volume I, London: Henry G[eorge] Bohn, 4, York Street, Covent Garden, →OCLC, footnote, page 63:

The Okrika war deity was Fenibcso who was regarded as the spirit of a warrior who feared neither god nor man. The Nembe war deity was also its tutelary deity Ogidiga. Kalabari differed from all the other states in having a female tutelary deity, Owame Akaso, who prohibited homicide within her community. Her cult thus provided a very powerful sanction against civil disturbances.

1963, G[william] I[wan] Jones, “The Eastern Delta State at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century”, in The Trading States of the Oil Rivers: A Study of Political Development in Eastern Nigeria, London: Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press, OCLC 1193785; reprinted as The Trading States of the Oil Rivers: A Study of Political Development in Eastern Nigeria: New Introduction by John C. McCall, 2nd edition, Hamburg: LIT Verlag; London: James Currey Publishers by arrangement with the International African Institute, 2000, ISBN 978-3-8258-4778-4 (Germany); ISBN 978-0-85255-918-5 (UK), page 70

Your son, Khyuṅ-po rDo-rje, is the son of the Medicine Buddha, and therefore he should know the Medicine Buddha as his tutelary deity and pray to him deeply, and his achievements will be great.

1973, Jampal Kunzang, “The Life of the Great Physician-Saint gYu-thog the Elder”, in Tibetan Medicine: Illustrated in Original Texts: Presented and Translated by the Ven. Rechung Rinpoche Jampal Kunzang, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Calif.: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 192:

There are some tutelary deities of this type in the Festival for All the Tutelary Deities who are unique to that text. A subset of this type of tutelary deity is attested in the one occurrence of ᵈLAMMA URU-lim-ya "and the Tutelary Deity of the City". This may refer to the Tutelary Deity of Hatti, although it may also have meant the tutelary deity of some particular city mentioned earlier in the text.

1991, [John] Gregory McMahon, The Hittite State Cult of the Tutelary Deities (Assyriological Studies; 25), Chicago, Ill.: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, →ISBN, page 39:

Possession of a drum performs the symbolic function of representing physically the dhāmi-jhākri’s mastery of particular spirits. More specifically, it indicates the nature of the dhāmi-jhākri’s relationship with his tutelary deity, the ban-jhākri. […] This idea of the drum as the physical embodiment of the dhāmi-jhākri’s relationship to his tutelary deity also accounts for why the drum is periodically fed with blood on specific occasions (guru-pūjā).

2003, Damian Walker, “Medium of the Message: Shamanism as Localised Practice in the Nepal Himalayas”, in Neil S[tuppel] Price, editor, The Archaeology of Shamanism, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 112:

(religion) A deity, usually minor, serving as a tutelary (guardian or supporter) for a place, person, group, or activity.

守護神

minor protective or otherwise helpful deity


Bethphage

/ˈbɛθ.fəˌd͡ʒi/

From Aramaic בית-פגי (literally “house of unripe figs”).

(biblical) A place near Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament.


Zaqqum

(Islam) A tree that grows in Jahannam (Hell), whose dwellers are compelled to eat the bitter fruit.


Jacob's ladder

Jacob's ladder; Christ is Jacob's ladder that reacheth up to heaven; and he that refuseth to go by this ladder thither, will scarce by other means get up so high.

1691, John Bunyan, “The Jerusalem Sinner Saved”, in The Works of John Bunyan, volume 1:


taqiyya

Unadapted borrowing from Arabic تَقِيَّة (taqiyya).

ubor

(Islam) Religious dissimulation while under threat or persecution.


Guanyin

zh-l

觀音／观音 (Guānyīn)

(religion, Buddhism) The bodhisattva of compassion, venerated by Buddhists in East and Southeast Asia; depicted variously as male or female.

Avalokiteśvara
Guanyin
Haiphong
Hanoi
Vietnam
Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts


Judas Iscariot

From Ancient Greek Ἰούδας (Ioúdas) Ἰσκαριώτης (Iskariṓtēs)/ Ἰσκαριώθ (Iskariṓth); the original Hebrew or Aramaic term is unknown and the subject of much debate. For more information, see Judas Iscariot § Name and background.

(biblical) One of the twelve disciples of Jesus in the New Testament, who betrayed Jesus into the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.


Homoean

en-adj

Homoean (comparative more Homoean, superlative most Homoean)

more Homoean (comparative)
most Homoean (superlative)

From Latin homoeus, from Ancient Greek ὅμοιος (hómoios, “like, similar”), + -an.

der

Maybe the Homoean formula of Ariminum would have succeeded in uniting the Church if Constantius had not unexpectedly died in his mid-forties in 361.

2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 216:

(theology) Pertaining to the belief established in the fourth century as a middle ground between the homoousian and homoiousian positions, contending merely that the Father is ‘like’ the Son.