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Manitou Manitou, akin to the Iroquois orenda, is the spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American theology. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. Aashaa monetoo means “good spirit“, while otshee monetoo means “bad spirit“. When the world was created, the Great Spirit, Aasha Monetoo, gave the land to the indigenous...
Mother goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of motherhood. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. The concept is complementary to a “Sky Father” or “Father Sky“. There is difference of opinion between...
Marxist–Leninist Atheism Marxist–Leninist atheism, also known as Marxist–Leninist scientific atheism, is the irreligious and anti-clerical element of Marxism–Leninism, the official state ideology of the Soviet Union. Based upon a dialectical-materialist understanding of humanity’s place in nature, Marxist–Leninist atheism proposes that religion is the opium of the people, meant to promote a person’s passive acceptance of...
Chinese gods and immortals Chinese traditional religion is polytheistic; many deities are worshipped in a pantheistic view where divinity is inherent in the world The gods are energies or principles revealing, imitating and propagating the way of Heaven (Tian 天), which is the supreme godhead manifesting in the northern culmen of the starry vault...
The Trinity in World Religions The Trinity is found in many different world religions. The study of comparative religion gives Man the opportunity to examine the commonalities, as well as differences, between diverse belief structures. The Trinity is definately a commonality, one of which is most commonly recognized in the...
Nontheism Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in a God or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of God and differs from an antithetical, explicit atheism. Nontheism does not necessarily describe atheism or disbelief in God; it...
Cataphatic Theology Cataphatic theology or kataphatic theology is theology that uses “positive” terminology to describe or refer to the divine – specifically, God – i.e. terminology that describes or refers to what the divine is believed to be, in contrast to the “negative” terminology used in apophatic theology to indicate what it is believed the divine is not. Etymology “Cataphatic” comes...
Atheism Atheism (from Greek: a + theos + ismos “not believing in god”) refers in its broadest sense to a denial of theism (the belief in the existence of a single deity or deities). Atheism has many shades and types. Some atheists strongly deny the existence of God (or any form of deity) and attack theistic claims. Yet certainty as to...
Guru Granth Sahib ‘Guru Granth Sahib ji’ (ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ) is the central religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal living Guru following the lineage of the ten human Gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth, its first rendition, was compiled by the fifth Sikh Guru Arjan...
Islam and Sikhism Islam is an Abrahamic religion founded in the Arabian peninsula, while Sikhism is a Dharmic religion founded in the Indian subcontinent. Islam means “submission” (to the will of God). The word Sikh is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘disciple’, or one who learns. Both religions are monotheistic. Sufi Muslims and Sikhs believe...
Nontrinitarianism Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence (from the Greek ousia). Certain religious groups that emerged during the Protestant Reformation have historically been known as antitrinitarian, but are not considered Protestant in popular...
god (male deity) A god is a male deity, in contrast with a goddess, a female deity. While the term “goddess” specifically refers to a female deity, the plural “gods” can be applied to deities collectively, regardless of gender. The Greek and Roman pantheons were ruled by Zeus, and Jupiter. When ancient Egyptian religion developed closer to monotheism, it was Amun, a male god,...
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 that God is...
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...
Divine Simplicity In theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is without parts. The general idea can be stated in this way: The being of God is identical to the “attributes” of God. Characteristics such as omnipresence, goodness, truth, eternity, etc., are identical to God’s being, not qualities that...
Did Man Invent Religion? The opponents of the religious life argue that religion was put together as a sort of outpouring of man’s feeling of powerlessness in the world or of his feelings of relief and gratitude when rescued from powerlessness. In summary form, the argument goes like this: Certain...
Science and The Concept of Science Despite the disasters science and technology have brought to mankind and the mistakes of the purely scientific approach in seeking the truth, as well as the failure of science and technology to bring man happiness, it is not right to condemn science and technology...
Science and Religion in The Holy Book Science regards as ‘scientific’ the facts established through empirical methods. Therefore, the assertions, which have not yet been established through observation and experiment, can only be theories or hypotheses. Science cannot be sure about the future; it does not make definite predictions. Doubt...
Science and Religion Science considers any fact, established through empirical methods, to be scientific. Therefore, assertions not established through observation and experiment are only theories or hypotheses. As science cannot be sure about the future, it does not make definite predictions. Doubt is the basis of scientific investigation. However, Prophet...
Wild Animal Suffering Wild animal suffering is the suffering experienced by nonhuman animals in nature through causes such as disease, injury, parasitism, starvation, natural disasters, and killings by other animals. Wild animal suffering has historically been discussed in the context of the philosophy of religion as an instance of the...
![A 1st- to 2nd–century CE water tank relief panel showing two ardhaphalaka Jain monks carrying colapatta cloth on their left hand found in the ruins of Mathura (Brooklyn Museum 87.188.5).[7] This cloth carrying tradition to cover genitalia by ancient Jain monks in principle resembles the beliefs of the Svetambara and now extinct Yapaniya subtradition.](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/Jain_Narrative_Relief_Panel_mid_2nd_century_BCE.-1st_century_CE_18.4_x_61.6_cm_Brooklyn_Museum_87.188.5-80x80.jpg)
