Vocabulary Definitions for REL 2300: Understanding Religions

REL 2300: Understanding Religious Traditions S. Lloyd Walters, Professor Vocabulary Assignment #3 Find the following terms, concepts and / or individuals in your text and write a concise but complete definition or description of each. You may add others to this list at your discretion. Chinvat Bridge - In Zoroastrianism, the bridge of judgment that a soul must walk over after death. Ziggurats - In Mesopotamia, pyramid-like structures used in worship. The brick- or stone- covered mounds were topped by a house that represented the court of the deity. Ahura Mazda - The Zoroastrian god of light; the Wise Lord who is the highest deity. Angra Mainyu - In Zoroastrianism, the evil spirit who opposes Ahura Mazda Gilgamesh - A Mesopotamian king of Uruk about 2600 b.c.e. He searched for immortality, found the plant that was its source, and lost it to a serpent. Ishtar - In Babylonia, a mother goddess who de- scended into the underworld. She was also known as Inanna. Magi - Among the ancient Persians, priests. Their doctrine reduced Ahura Mazda from a transcendent principle to a good spirit, opposed by an evil spirit. Marduk - The Babylonian god of creation. To create the world, he defeated the goddess of chaos, Tiama. Mithra - The god of light in Zoroastrianism Tammuz - The Babylonian version of Dumuzi, the Mesopotamian god of springtime. He was a god of fertility. Zarathustra - Persian who, after he healed a favorite horse of Vishtaspa, his king, was released from prison to lead a new religion. Zoroaster - At fifteen he received the sacred thread of initiation and lived an exemplary life, except that at age twenty he left his parents and the wife they had chosen for him. His religious upheaval began at age thirty. Ark of the Covenant - A box containing the Ten Commandments. Priests carried it in processions and then housed it in the tabernacle. Bar Mitzvah - The ceremony that recognizes a thirteen-year-old Jewish boy as a son of the commandment. He is considered an adult responsible for religious duties. Bat Mitzvah - In Reform and Conservative Judaism, the ceremony that recognizes a daughter of the commandment, a Jewish female between twelve and fourteen years of age. She is considered an adult responsible for her religious duties. Covenant - The binding agreement between God and his chosen people. The covenant was repeatedly renewed. Unlike a contract, the covenant had no date of expiration. Diaspora - A Greek word for the dispersion of Jews. These were the Jews who lived outside the Holy Land Garden of Eden - The beautiful garden containing the tree of life, where God intended Adam and Eve to live in peaceful and contented innocence, effortlessly reaping the fruits of the Earth.

REL 2300: Understanding Religious Traditions S. Lloyd Walters, Professor Vocabulary Assignment #3 Find the following terms, concepts and / or individuals in your text and write a concise but complete definition or description of each. You may add others to this list at your discretion. Kabbalah - A form of rabbinic teaching giving “hidden” or “secret” meaning to He- brew scriptures. Kosher - In Judaism, meat that has been properly prepared for eating. One requirement is that most of the blood be removed from the meat. Messiah - The one whom the Jews expected to come and deliver Israel from oppression and establish a kingdom of righteousness. It can refer to a historical person or to a supernatural being. Midrash - Rabbinic exposition explaining the meaning of the scriptures. The root meaning is “to search out.” Mishnah - Teachings of the rabbis compiled about 200 c.e. The Mishnah records discussions of rabbis on how best to live according to the Torah. Mosaic Law - The ancient law of Hebrews contained in the Pentateuch. The Law of Moses. Passover - A Jewish holiday in the spring. It celebrates God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt during the time of Moses. Prophet - A person inspired by God to speak in his name. In Hebrew history, prophets in groups gave way to the messages of individual prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel Rabbi - In Judaism, a teacher. After 70 c.e., rabbis were ordained interpreters and leaders of Judaism. Rosh Hashanah - In Judaism, the first of the Days of Awe, Tishri 1 and 2. Celebrates God’s creation of the world. Fall of the year, period of prayer and self-examination. Sanhedrin - In times of the temple, the supreme judicial body of the Jews. Shema - Hear. The beginning word of Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel!” A declaration of God’s unity, it is recited twice daily. Shivah - In Judaism, the seven days of mourning that Jews observe for loss of members of their family. Tanakh - The complete Jewish Bible, comprising three parts: Torah, the five books of Moses; Nevi’im, the prophets; and Kethuvim, the writings. The first letters of the three terms yield Tanakh Talmud - The collection of rabbinic teachings. It had deep influence over the lives of Jews from the be- ginning of the medieval period. The Mishnah and the Gemara were incorporated in the Talmud. Torah - Teachings that comprise the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Western Wall - the platform of the former Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 c.e.

REL 2300: Understanding Religious Traditions S. Lloyd Walters, Professor Vocabulary Assignment #3 Find the following terms, concepts and / or individuals in your text and write a concise but complete definition or description of each. You may add others to this list at your discretion. Yom Kippur - The tenth day of the Days of Awe. A twenty-four-hour period of fasting when Jews stand or kneel in prayer much of the time in the synagogue. Zionism - A movement led by Jews to pro- vide a home country for themselves. Theodor Herzl was a leader at the end of the nineteenth century. Abraham - Abraham was the first Hebrew patriarch and is revered in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the Bible, he was called by God to journey to a new land, where he founded a new nation. Ashkenazim - A Yiddish-speaking group of Jews who settled in central and northern Europe. The term in Hebrew referred to Germany. Baal - A god or gods of Canaan. Baals were land- lords or keepers of the land. Canaanites worshipped them to make crops grow. Canaanites - The people among whom the Israelites settled on their return from slavery in Egypt. Canaan comprised the area bordered by the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. Essenes - A group of pious Jews of the first century c.e. who lived in separate communities and practiced ritual washing and other acts for purity. Some scholars think that the inhabitants of the Qumran com- munity, near the Dead Sea, were Essenes. King David - David, the king, established Jerusalem as his center and incorporated the mighty Philistines into a peaceful coalition. Moses - Moses was an exemplary man of God. As leader of the Hebrews, he not only received the Torah but also established a system to institute it among God’s people. Pharisees - A group of Jews who represented the piety of the common people in the centuries immediately after the Maccabean War Sadducees - Jewish leaders who claimed allegiance to the priestly descendants of Zadok, a priest in the days of King David. These wealthier Jews followed only the Torah. Sephardim - Jews who lived in medieval Spain until expelled in 1492. Those who refused to become Christians moved to North Africa, Italy, and especially Turkey, where Sultan Bayzid II admitted them gladly. Apocalypse - A revelation. A prophetic vision of the destruction of evil and salvation of righteous people. Apostle - A person who was a disciple of Jesus sent out to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God. Traditionally, Jesus chose twelve apostles. Christ - The Greek word meaning “the anointed one.” The Hebrew word for the concept was messiah. Christians believe that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.

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REL 2300: Understanding Religious Traditions S. Lloyd Walters, Professor Vocabulary Assignment #3 Find the following terms, concepts and / or individuals in your text and write a concise but complete definition or description of each. You may add others to this list at your discretion. Epistles - Letters, particularly those that have become part of the New Testament scriptures. Many epistles of the New Testament were attributed to Paul and to the apostles who walked with Jesus. Excommunicate - The forced exclusion of a person from a religious organization, such as a church. People who continued, after warning, to practice errors, often were excommunicated from the church. Gospels - Messages of good news. The four stories of the life of Christ found in the New Testament Incarnation - To invest God in human flesh. Christians consider the Christ as God in human form. Indulgences - Remissions of temporal punishment for sin that has already been pardoned. Indulgences became a subject of debate for Martin Luther. Miracle - An event judged to be brought about by divine intervention in the ordinary events of history. Parable - A simple story told to illustrate a religious truth or lesson. Pentecost - A festival coming fifty days after Easter. The time when the Holy Spirit descended on the early Christian church. A Christian name for Feast of Weeks in Judaism. Resurrection - A belief that a person who has been dead will be restored as a whole, living person. Sacraments - Rites instituted by Jesus as recorded in the New Testament to bestow a grace of God. Trinity - The Christian belief that three persons in union, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are one God. Anglicans - Members of the Church of England. Their church government is episcopal; the clergy is directed by bishops. Baptists - Members of the Baptist tradition. Adherents are baptized when they are old enough to choose Christ as their savior. Immersion is the preferred, often required, form of baptism. Government is by members of each congregation. Jesus - In Christianity, the son of God and the second person of the Holy Trinity. Christian doctrine holds that by his crucifixion and resurrection he paid for the sins of all mankind. His life and ministry are recounted in the four Gospels of the New Testament. Judaizers - Persons who advocated the practice of Jewish observances for all Christians. They opposed Paul’s emphasis on freedom from the law. Lutherans - Members of the Protestant denomination based on the teachings of Martin Luther (1483–1546). Their beliefs are based primarily on the Bible rather than on teachings of the church fathers, ecumenical councils, or the pope.

REL 2300: Understanding Religious Traditions S. Lloyd Walters, Professor Vocabulary Assignment #3 Find the following terms, concepts and / or individuals in your text and write a concise but complete definition or description of each. You may add others to this list at your discretion. Methodist - A member of the church that follows the “method” of John Wesley, former Anglican clergyman. The church’s government is episcopal, that is, through bishops. Presbyterians - In the tradition of John Calvin, Presbyterians base their beliefs primarily on the Bible. Governance of the church is through the Presbytery and other elected bodies. Puritans - Former members of the Church of England who sought to purify it. They settled in Massachusetts and sought to establish a theocracy, a government under rule of God. Quakers - Members of the Society of Friends; established in England by George Fox. Quakers are led by the Inner Light, through democracy. Joseph Smith - Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. John Wesley - An Anglican priest who formed the Meth- odist Church. Methodist circuit riders ministered to frontier families in America. Brigham Young - Joseph Smith’s successor, who led Mormons to Salt Lake City, Utah

Vocab Assignment 3 - Kendall Gay

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