World Religion Dsst Glossary (A)

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Abhidharma pitaka

Back 1

higher teachings

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Acolyte

Back 2

lay person who assists ministers in services (Christian)

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Acupunture

Back 3

Chinese medical treatment using needles to stimulate the flow of chi'i in the body.

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Adhan

Back 4

a way of calling Muslims to the five obligatory daily prayers

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Adi-Buddha

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the one source of the five celestial Buddhas (north, south, east, west, center)

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Adonai

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one of the Jewish names for God, typically used in prayer.

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Adoptionism

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the teaching that Jesus was actually a human who was adopted by God (idea brought by Elipandus Archibishop of Toledo and Felix Bishop of Urgel)

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Advaita

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non-dualism, in Hindu philosophy the denial of the duality of the self and the world

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Aeneas

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Hero of Greek mythology, son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite (in Iliad he is a Trojan pious Trojan leader)

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Agape

Back 10

gathering of Christians for common meal (love feast)

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Agama

Back 11

Hindu scripture

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Aggadah

Back 12

stories, legends, theologies in the Talmud and Midrash

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Agni

Back 13

sacred fire and the ritual priest of fire and light

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Agnostic

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neither the belief nor disbelief in a god

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Agora

Back 15

large open space used for Greek assemblies

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Alexandrian School

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Christian school that believed in the divinity of Christ over the humanity of Christ

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Aleinu

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Jewish closing prayer of service proclaiming God's sovereignty.

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Aliyah

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Jewish being called up to recite blessing before Torah reading

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'Am ha' aretz

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common folk (distinguished from religious observers, pious people)

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Amaterasu

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sun goddess of Shintosim

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Amida

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focus of devotion for Pure Land Buddhism, celetial Buddha that vowed to lead all beings to Pure Land.

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Amish (Amish Mennoites)

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Conservative Christian group created by Jakob Amman (1656-1730) that migrated to North America.

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Amitabha

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(Amida) Buddha of the west "Pure Land"

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Amudah

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desk in synagogue where Torah is read (Jewish)

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Analogy

Back 25

comparing something sacred with something ordinary

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Ananda

Back 26

meaning bliss, Buddha's cousin, memorized and recited all Buddha's teachings.

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Anathema

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Christian cut off from the church, more serious than excommunication

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Anicca

Back 28

the fact that all things are temporary

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Animism

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the belief that all nature is filled with spirits (common for the oral religions)

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Annitya (anicca)

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change, impermanence of all things

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Anthesteria

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Athenian festival to god Dionysus to celebrate spring and wine maturation

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Antiminsion (antimension)

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portable altar that is made of cloth decorated with scenes from the Passion (Easter Orthodox Christian)

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Antiochene School

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emphasized humanity of Christ

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Aparche (first-fruits)

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agricultural gifts to gods (Greek)

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Apocalypticism

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belief in the sudden ending of world with God's judgment

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Apocatastasis

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belief that all beings will be reconciled with God in the end (includgin the devil)

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Apocrypha

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books not included in Hebrew canon or the Protestant canon of the Old Testament but incldued in Greek Septaugint, Catholic, and Orthodox

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Apologetics

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Christians focused on defending the reasonablenesss of Christianity

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Apostle

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missionaries sent by Jesus (including his disciples and Paul)

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Apostolic Fathers

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Christian leaders that weren't apostles but either related or close friends with

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Apostolic succession

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the authority of clergy comes from the unbroken succession between ordinations beginning with the apostles

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Arahat

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Buddhist monk

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Aramaic

Back 43

a dead Semitic language

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Archbishop

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Catholic and Anglicanism a bishop that oversees other bishops

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Arhat

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one who has attained Nirvana (Budedhism)

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Arianism

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belief by Arius (4th century) that Christ was created by God, greater than a man, less than a God

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Ark

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cabinet in synagogue that holds Torah (Jewish)

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Artha

Back 48

power gain, a permissible goal in life (Hindu)

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Ary Samaj

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Back to the vedas movement in 1875

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Aryans

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(Indo-Europeans) semi-nomadic people who migrated from Eastern Europe and greatly influenced India today

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Ashera

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Canaanite goddess of fertility

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Ashkenazim

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Jews from the west, central and east Europe

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Ashramas

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the four stages of life (student, householder, hermit, homeless wanderer)

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Ashtanga Yoga (Raja Yoga)

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Yoga with eight components; morality, ethics, posture, breath, control, sense control, concentration, meditation, absorption

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Ashtoreth

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fertility goddess

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Asita

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astrologer that predicted Buddha's fate

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Asoka

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first of the Mauryan emperors of India, sponsored Buddhist teachings in rock, pillars, and vaves

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Assimilation

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the merging of cultural traits from previously distinct cultural groups

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Astrology

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prediction of lives based on the stars and plantes

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Asuras

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demigods who live in lower heavens, second highest realm (Mahayana Buddhism)

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Asvamedha

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Aryan horse sacrifice

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Atharva-Veda

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Brahmanic poetry to meet needs

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Atheist

Back 63

someone who does not believe in any God

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Avataras

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alternate forms assumed by a god

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Avidya

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ignorance

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Avalokita

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Indian deity of compassion recognized by Buddhists as bodhisattva