“Windows To Spirituality”
Mormonism And Christianity Mormonism and Christianity have a complex theological, historical, and sociological relationship. Mormons express the doctrines of Mormonism using standard biblical terminology and have similar views about the nature of Jesus’ atonement, bodily resurrection, and the Second Coming as traditional Christianity. Nevertheless, most Mormons do not accept the Trinitarian views...
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is...
Divinization In Christianity This article covers divinization in Christianity. In Christian theology, divinization (“divinization” may also refer to apotheosis, lit. “making divine”), or theopoesis or theosis, is the transforming effect of divine grace, the spirit of God, or the atonement of Christ. Although it literally means to become divine, or to become god, most...
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in Christian and Jewish calendars, as the Sabbath, and its emphasis on the imminent Second Coming (advent) of Jesus Christ. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the mid-19th century and it...
Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah‘s Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.69 million adherents involved in evangelism and an annual Memorial attendance of over 17 million. Jehovah‘s Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group of elders in Warwick, New York, United States, which establishes all doctrines based on its...
Buddhahood In Buddhism, buddhahood (buddhatva, buddhatta or buddhabhāva; 佛果) is the condition or rank of a buddha “awakened one”. The goal of Mahayana‘s bodhisattva path is Samyaksambuddhahood, so that one may benefit all sentient beings by teaching them the path of cessation of dukkha. Mahayana theory contrasts this with the goal of the Theravada path, where the goal is...
Faith In Buddhism In Buddhism, faith refers to a serene commitment to the practice of the Buddha‘s teaching and trust in enlightened or highly developed beings, such as Buddhas or bodhisattvas (those aiming to become a Buddha). Buddhists usually recognize multiple objects of faith, but many are especially devoted to one in particular,...
Religious Festivals (Islam) Almost every nation has religious festivals to commemorate important events in their history or to celebrate special occasions. There are two religious festivals in Islam, ‘Id al-Fitr, the festival of the breaking of the fast at the end of the month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast...
Shia Islam Shia Islam or Shi’ism is one of the two main branches of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor and the Imam (leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from the caliphate as a result...
Sunni Islam Sunni Muslims are the larger of the two main branches of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Sunnism or as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (أهل السنة والجماعة) (people of the example (of Muhammad) and the community). The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah (سنة ), which means “example” and refers particularly to the the words and actions...
What Is Yoga? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Yoga?“ Yoga (“to yoke”) refers to a series of interrelated ancient Hindu spiritual practices that originated in India, where it remains a vibrant living tradition. Yoga is one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy....
Roman Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church and...
Sabians The Sabians (الصابئة , al-Ṣābiʼah or الصابئون al-Ṣābiʼūn) of Middle Eastern tradition were a religious group mentioned three times in the Quran as a People of the Book, along with the Jews and the Christians. In the hadith, they were described simply as converts to Islam. Their identity has been called an “unsolved Quranic problem”. Interest in the identity and history of the...
What Is Tengrism? Tengrism, also known as Tengriism, Tenggerism, or Tengrianism, is a Central Asian religion characterized by shamanism, animism, totemism, polytheism, and monotheism, and ancestor worship. It was the prevailing religion of the Turks, Mongols, Hungarians, Bulgars, Xiongnu, and, possibly, the Huns, and the religion of the several medieval states: Göktürk Khaganate, Western Turkic...
Shamanism Shamanism is a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with what they believe to be a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is someone who is regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world...
Native American Religions Native American religions are the spiritual practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. This article focuses on Native North Americans. Traditional Native American ceremonial ways can vary widely and are based on the differing histories and beliefs of individual tribes, clans, and bands. Early European explorers describe individual Native...
Witchcraft And Divination In The Hebrew Bible Various forms of witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible are mentioned in a generally disapproving tone. The Masoretic Text of the Torah forbids: nahash; as a noun, nahash translates as snake, and as a verb it literally translates as hissing. The verb form can be extended to mean whispering. onan; onan literally translates as clouds, possibly referring to nephomancy....
Tritheism Tritheism (from Greek τριθεΐα, “three divinity“) is a nontrinitarian Christian heresy in which the unity of the Trinity and thus monotheism are denied. It represents more a “possible deviation” than any actual school of thought positing three separate deities. It was usually “little more than a hostile label” applied to those who emphasized the individuality of...
Hindu Mythology Hindu mythology are narratives found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, the regional literatures like Periya Puranam. Hindu mythology is also found in widely translated popular texts such as the Panchatantra and Hitopadesha, as well as Southeast Asian texts. Hindu mythology does not often have a consistent, monolithic structure....
Jewish Reactions To Intelligent Design This article covers Jewish reactions to Intelligent Design. The reaction of Jewish leaders and organizations to intelligent design has been primarily concerned with responding to proposals to include intelligent design in public school curricula as a rival scientific hypothesis to modern evolutionary theory. Intelligent design is an...
