Jehovah’s Witnesses Beliefs Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Beliefs are based on the Bible teachings of Charles Taze Russell—founder of the Bible Student movement—and successive presidents of the Watch Tower Society, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Nathan Homer Knorr. Since 1976 all doctrinal decisions have been made by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group of elders at the denomination’s headquarters....
What Is Iman? Iman (إِيمَان ʾīmān, faith or belief) in Islamic theology denotes a believer’s faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition is the belief in the six axioms of faith, known as arkān al-īmān. The term iman has been delineated in both the Quran and hadith. According to the Quran, iman must be accompanied by righteous deeds and...
God Complex A God complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of their error or failure, even in the face of irrefutable evidence, intractable problems, or difficult or impossible tasks. The...
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 –...
Monolatry Monolatry (single worship) is belief in the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term “monolatry” was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen. Monolatry is distinguished from monotheism, which asserts the existence of only one god, and henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one...
Agnostic Atheism Agnostic atheism is a philosophical position that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Agnostic atheists are atheistic because they do not hold a belief in the existence of any deity, and are agnostic because they claim that the existence of a deity is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact. The agnostic atheist may be...
List Of Forms Of Worship This list of 60 words refers to forms of worship – not specific religions or belief systems, but rather terms that denote a specific object of worship, be it saints, snakes or whatever. Related word lists you might want to check out are those for philosophical...
What Are Virtues Of Belief? This article covers the answer to the question: “What are Virtues of Belief?” In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Surely We created man of the best pattern; then We reduced him to the lowest of the low, save those who believe and...
Vitalism Vitalism is the belief that “living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things”. Where vitalism explicitly invokes a vital principle, that element is often referred to as the “vital spark”, “energy” or “élan...
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...
Argument From Reason The argument from reason is an argument against metaphysical naturalism and for the existence of God (or at least a supernatural being that is the source of human reason). The best-known defender of the argument is C. S. Lewis. Lewis first defended the argument at length in his 1947 book, Miracles: A Preliminary Study. In the second...
What Is Superstition? Superstition is any belief or practice that is considered irrational or Supernatural: for example, if it arises from ignorance, a misunderstanding of science or causality, a positive belief in fate or magic, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and practices...
Antireligion Antireligion is opposition to religion of any kind. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term antireligion has also been used to describe opposition to specific forms of supernatural worship or practice, whether organized or not. Opposition to religion also goes beyond the misotheistic...
What Is The Origin of Religion? This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the origin of religion?“ Will Religion, Supposedly Developed by ”Primitive” People to Explain the Unknown, Eventually Become Unnecessary? Those who answer the above question with a resounding “yes” base their answer upon the following...
Religion And Health This article covers the relationship between religion and health. Scholarly studies have investigated the effects of religion on health. The World Health Organization (WHO) discerns four dimensions of health, namely physical, social, mental, and spiritual health. Having a religious belief may have both positive and negative impacts on health and morbidity....
Faith And Rationality Faith and rationality are two ideologies that exist in varying degrees of conflict or compatibility. Rationality is based on reason or facts. Faith is belief in inspiration, revelation, or authority. The word faith sometimes refers to a belief that is held with lack of reason or evidence, a belief...
Image Of God The Image of God (צֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים, tzelem Elohim; Latin: Imago Dei) is a concept and theological doctrine in Judaism, Christianity, and Sufism of Islam, which asserts that human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. Philosophers and theologians have debated the exact meaning of the phrase for millennia. Following...
What Is Skepticism? Skepticism or scepticism is generally a questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more items of putative knowledge or belief or dogma. It is often directed at domains, such as the supernatural, morality (moral skepticism), theism (skepticism about the existence of God), or knowledge (skepticism about the possibility of knowledge,...
What Is Epistemology? Epistemology (epistēmē, meaning ‘knowledge‘, and logos, meaning ‘logical discourse’) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge. Epistemology is the study of the nature of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief. Much debate in epistemology centers on four areas: (1) the philosophical analysis...
Hope (Theological Virtue) Hope is termed a theological virtue because its immediate object is God, as is true of the other two essentially infused virtues, faith and charity. Hope, in its widest acceptation, is described as the desire of something together with the expectation of obtaining it. The Scholastics say that it is a movement of the appetite towards a future...