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What is Extraterrestrial Life? Extraterrestrial life is hypothetical life which may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. Such life might range from simple prokaryotes (or comparable life forms) to intelligent beings and even sapient beings, possibly bringing forth civilizations which might be far more advanced than humanity. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of sapient life elsewhere in the universe. The science...
Jiva In Hinduism, the jiva (जीव, jīva) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root jīv, which translates as ‘to breathe or to live’. The jiva, as a metaphysical entity, has been described in various scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and the Vachanamrut (the teachings of Swaminarayan). Each...
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (often referred to as the Four Horsemen) are figures in Christian scriptures, appearing in the New Testament‘s final book, Revelation, an apocalypse written by John of Patmos, as well as in the Old Testament‘s prophetic Book of Zechariah, and in the Book of Ezekiel, where they are named as punishments from God....
Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BCE biblical apocalypse with an ostensible 6th century BCE setting, combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a portrayal of end times) both cosmic in scope and political in focus. It gives “an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon”, and its message...
Millennialism Millennialism or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future eternal state of the “World to Come“. Christianity and Judaism have both produced messianic movements which featured millennialist teachings—such as the notion that an earthly kingdom of God was at hand. These...
Ismah Ismah or ‘Isma (عِصْمَة; literally, “protection”) is the concept of incorruptible innocence, immunity from sin, or moral infallibility in Islamic theology, and which is especially prominent in Shia Islam. In Shia theology, ‘ismah is characteristic of prophets, imams, and angels. When attributed to human beings, ismah means “the ability of avoiding acts of disobedience, in spite of having...
Hadith of Warning The Hadith of Warning or Yawm al-Inzar (یوْمُ الْاِنذار), also known as the Invitation of the close families of Muhammad (دعوة ذو العشیرة – Da‘wat dhul-‘Ashīrah), was a hadith in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad attempted to warn his relatives to become Muslim. Narration The hadith is narrated in the context of the revelation of Ash-Shu’ara,...
Shia View of Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a member of the Ahl al-Bayt. Shias regard Ali as the first Imam and consider him, along with his descendants, to be one of the divinely appointed successors of Muhammad who are claimed by the Shia...
Geneva Bible The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James Version by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of 16th-century English Protestantism and was used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). It was one of the Bibles taken to...
Children’s Faith in Islam Eliminating Any Questions in the Child’s Mind from the Very Beginning Your children may have some questions concerning prayers and other religious matters. Introverted children are usually too shy to ask their parents such questions. However, it is of great importance that children open up and...
Outline of Islam Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God (Allah), and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. It is the world’s second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24% of the world’s population, most commonly known as Muslims. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 50 countries. Islam teaches...
Imamate in Shia doctrine In Shia Islam, the Imamate (Imamah, إمامة) is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imams possess divine...
Occultation in Shia Islam Occultation in Shia Islam refers to a belief that the messianic figure known as the Mahdi, a cultivated male descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, has already been born and subsequently went into hiding, from which he will one day emerge and establish a global Islamic...
History of Protestantism Protestantism originated from the Protestation at Speyer in 1529, where the nobility protested against enforcement of the Edict of Worms which subjected advocates of Lutheranism to forfeiture of all of their property. However, the theological underpinnings go back much further, as Protestant theologians of the time cited both Church Fathers and the Apostles to justify their...
Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Orthodox Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours are very long and complicated, lasting about eight hours (longer during Great Lent) but are abridged outside of large monasteries. An iconostasis,...
Eastern Protestant Christianity The term Eastern Protestant Christianity (or Eastern Reformed Christianity), as well as Oriental Protestant Christianity, encompasses a range of heterogeneous Protestant Christian denominations that developed outside of the Occident, from the latter half of the nineteenth century and yet keeps elements of Eastern Christianity, to varying degrees....
Byzantine Rite Lutheranism Byzantine Rite Lutheranism (also known as Byzantine Lutheranism or Eastern Lutheranism) refers to Lutheran Churches, such as those of Ukraine and Slovenia, that use a form of the Byzantine Rite as their liturgy. It is unique in that it is based on the Eastern Christian rite used...
Nestorianism Nestorianism is a polysemic term, used in Christian theology and Church history as a designation for several mutually related but doctrinarily distinctive sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian Nestorius (d. c. 450) who promoted specific doctrines in the fields of Christology and Mariology. The second meaning of the term is much...
True Orthodoxy True Orthodoxy, or Genuine Orthodoxy (“Church of True Orthodox Christians”; “True Orthodox Church”), often pejoratively referred to as “Zealotry“, is a movement within Eastern Orthodox Christianity that has been separated from the mainstream Eastern Orthodox Church over issues of ecumenism and calendar reform since the 1920s. Population Those...
History of the Eastern Orthodox Church According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world,...
History of Eastern Christianity Christianity has been, historically a Middle Eastern religion with its origin in Judaism. Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in the Middle East, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Far East, Balkans, Eastern Europe, Northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. It is contrasted with Western Christianity which...
Criticism of Protestantism Criticism of Protestantism covers critiques and questions raised about Protestantism, the Christian tradition which arose out of the Protestant Reformation. While critics praise Protestantism’s Christ-centered and Bible-centered faith, Protestantism is faced with criticism mainly from the Catholic Church and some Orthodox Churches, although Protestant denominations have also...
Charismatic Movement The charismatic movement is the international trend of historically mainstream Christian congregations adopting beliefs and practices similar to Pentecostalism. Fundamental to the movement is the use of spiritual gifts (charismata). Among mainline Protestants, the movement began around 1960. Among Roman Catholics, it originated around 1967. History The classic Pentecostalism movement usually traces its origin to the...
Excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose of the institutional act is to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in...
Black Church The term Black Church refers to the body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African-Americans, as well as their collective traditions and members. The term can also refer to individual congregations. While most black congregations belong to predominantly African-American Protestant denominations,...
The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Christian church and an international charitable organisation. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7 million, consisting of soldiers, officers and adherents collectively known as Salvationists. Its founders sought to bring salvation to the poor, destitute, and hungry by meeting both their “physical and spiritual...
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