“Windows To Spirituality”
Euthyphro Dilemma The Euthyphro dilemma is found in Plato‘s dialogue Euthyphro, in which Socrates asks Euthyphro, “Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?”(10a) Although it was originally applied to the ancient Greek pantheon, the dilemma has implications for modern monotheistic religions. Gottfried...
Argument From Beauty The argument from beauty (also the aesthetic argument) is an argument for the existence of a realm of immaterial ideas or, most commonly, for the existence of God. Plato argued there is a transcendent plane of abstract ideas, or universals, which are more perfect than real-world examples of those ideas. Later...
Kalam Cosmological Argument The Kalam cosmological argument is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of God. It is named after the kalam (medieval Islamic scholasticism) from which its key ideas originated. It was popularized in the western world by William Lane Craig in his book, The Kalām Cosmological Argument (1979). The argument’s key underpinning idea is the metaphysical impossibility...
Argument From Degree The argument from degree, also known as the degrees of perfection argument or the henological argument is an argument for the existence of God first proposed by medieval Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas as one of the five ways to philosophically argue in favour of God‘s existence in his Summa Theologica. It is based on ontological and theological notions...
Argument From Contingency In the scholastic era, St. Thomas Aquinas formulated the “argument from contingency“, following Aristotle in claiming that there must be something to explain why the Universe exists. Since the Universe could, under different circumstances, conceivably not exist (contingency), the existence of God must have a cause – not merely another contingent thing,...
Universal Causation Argument From Metaphysical Motion In the existence of God, Argument from universal causation, an argument from first cause, or the causal argument. (about the origin). Whichever term is employed, there are three basic variants of the argument, each with subtle yet important distinctions: the arguments from in causa (causality), in esse (essentiality), and in fieri (becoming)....
Filioque Filioque is a Latin term added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (the Nicene Creed), and which has been the subject of the great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The Latin term Filioque describes the Holy Spirit as proceeding from both the Father and the Son, (not from the Father only). In the Nicene Creed it...
Baptism With The Holy Spirit In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctrines of salvation and ecclesiology. It is frequently associated with incorporation into the Christian Church,...
Perichoresis Perichoresis (“rotation”) is a term referring to the relationship of the three persons of the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to one another. Circumincession is a Latin-derived term for the same concept. It was first used as a term in Christian theology, by the Church Fathers. The noun first appears in the writings of Maximus Confessor (d....
What Is Trinity? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Trinity?“ The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Trinitas, ‘triad’, trinus “threefold”) holds that God is one God, but three coeternal and consubstantial persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct, yet are one “substance, essence or...
Introduction To The Trinity A difficult but fundamental concept within Christianity, the Trinity is the belief that God is three separate persons but is still a single God. The core belief The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian belief that: There is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy...
Divine Inspiration Divine inspiration is the concept of a supernatural force, typically a deity, causing a person or people to experience a creative desire. It has been a commonly reported aspect of many religions, for thousands of years. Divine inspiration is often closely tied to the concept of revelation, the belief in information being revealed or disclosed through...
Christian Agnosticism Christian agnosticism is a plausibly viable option which may not only provide significant benefits for both apologetics and evangelism but may also offer much needed encouragement and hope for seekers and believers who find themselves plagued with doubts. Christian agnostics practice a distinct form of agnosticism that applies only to the properties of God....
Household Deity A household deity ( or Household gods) is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess –...
Sacred King In many historical societies, the position of kingship carries a sacral meaning, that is, it is identical with that of a high priest and judge. The concept of theocracy is related, although a sacred king need not necessarily rule through his religious authority; rather, the temporal position has a religious significance. History Sir James George Frazer used the concept...
Son Of Heaven Son of Heaven, or Tianzi (天子; Tiānzǐ), was the sacred imperial title of the Chinese emperor. It originated with the ancient Zhou dynasty and was founded on the political and spiritual doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven. The secular imperial title of the Son of Heaven was “Emperor of China“. The title,...
King Of Kings King of Kings was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East. Though most commonly associated with Iran (historically known as Persia in the West), especially the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires, the title was originally introduced during the Middle Assyrian Empire by king...
Outline Of Names Of God A number of traditions have lists of many names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word “God” (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun or name to refer to different deities, or...
Gender Of The Holy Spirit In Christian theology, the gender of the Holy Spirit has been the subject of some debate in recent times. The grammatical gender of the word for “spirit” is feminine in Hebrew (רוּחַ, rūaḥ), neuter in Greek (πνεῦμα, pneûma) and masculine in Latin (spiritus). The neuter Greek πνεῦμα is used in the Septuagint to...
Outline Of Conceptions Of God Here, we have collected all the articles about the outline of conceptions of God. Conceptions of God in monotheist, pantheist, and panentheist religions – or of the supreme deity in henotheistic religions – can extend to various levels of abstraction: as a powerful, human-like, supernatural being, or as the...
