“Windows To Spirituality”
Nontheistic Religion This article covers the definition of Nontheistic Religion. Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious context — some otherwise aligned with theism, others not — in which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices. Nontheism has been applied to the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology, and plays significant roles in Hinduism, Buddhism,...
Criticism Of Atheism Criticism of atheism is criticism of the concepts, validity, or impact of atheism, including associated political and social implications. Criticisms include positions based on the history of science, findings in the natural sciences, theistic apologetic arguments, arguments pertaining to ethics and morality, the effects of atheism on...
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...
Monasticism Monasticism (from Greek: monachos meaning “alone”) is the religious practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to devote one’s life fully to spiritual work. Those pursuing a monastic life are usually called monks or brothers (male), and nuns or sisters (female). Both monks and nuns may also be called monastics. Monastics usually take religious vows of poverty and celibacy in order to dedicate themselves...
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...
Physicalism In philosophy, physicalism is the metaphysical thesis that “everything is physical”, that there is “nothing over and above” the physical, or that everything supervenes on the physical. Physicalism is a form of ontological monism—a “one substance” view of the nature of reality as opposed to a “two-substance” (dualism) or “many-substance” (pluralism) view. Both the definition of...
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...
Religious Terrorism Religious terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a tactic to achieve religious goals or which are influenced by religious identity. In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism has more often been...
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,...
Introduce Kids To The Qur’an This article encourages us to introduce kids to the Qur’an. Introducing Your Kids to the Sacred Text(s)- The Qur’an Making younger generations love the Qur’an is of great importance when trying to raise their religious consciousness. Merely saying “the Qur’an is sacred” is too superficial...
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...
Jesus Christ Jesus Christ, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or simply Jesus, is Christianity‘s central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. Muslims regard him as a major prophet and some regard him as the Messiah. Many Hindus also recognize him as a manifestation of the divine, while...
The Quran or The Qur’an The Qur’an, (Qur’ān, Quran, Koran, or Al-Qur’an; literally “the recitation“) is the central religious text or Scripture of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind and consider the text in its original Arabic to be verbatim the...
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...
