Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or humans to a higher purpose, in particular divine beings, as an act of propitiation or worship. While sacrifice often implies the ritual killing of an animal, the term offering (Latin oblatio) can be used for bloodless sacrifices of food or artifacts. For offerings...
Why All Of Our Prayers Have Not Been Answered This article covers Why All Of Our Prayers Have Not Been Answered. Belief necessitates supplication as a certain means of securing needs, and just as human nature has an intense desire for it, so too the Almighty God decrees, Say, “My...
Ceremonial Pole A ceremonial pole symbolizes a variety of concepts in several different cultures. For example, in the Miao culture in Yunnan China. In The Evolution of the Idea of God, Grant Allen notes that Samoyeds of Siberia, and Damara of South Africa plant stakes at the graves of ancestors. According...
![The Aztec Tula Atlantean statues have been called as symbols of idolatry, but may have just been stone images of warriors.[186]](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/Telamones_Tula-520x390.jpg)
Idolatry Idolatry literally means the worship of an “idol“, also known as a worship cult image, in the form of a physical image, such as a statue. In Abrahamic religions, namely Christianity, Islam and Judaism, idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than God as if it were...
Muscle Worship Muscle worship (also called sthenolagnia) is a form of body worship in which one participant, the worshiper, touches the muscles of another participant, the dominant, in a sexually arousing manner. The practice of muscle worship can involve various wrestling holds and lifts, as well as the rubbing, massaging, kissing, or...
Imperial Cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. “Cult” here is used to mean “worship“, not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may be one of personality in...
Animal Worship Animal worship (or zoolatry) is rituals involving animals, such as the glorification of animal deities or animal sacrifice. When a god is respected or worshipped by means of a representative animal, an animal cult is formed (Teeter et al., 2002, p. 355). Animal cults may be classified according to their outward form or according...
Ancestor Worship Ancestor worship is a religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, that the spirits of deceased ancestors will look after the family, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the...
Why Do We Need To Worship God? This article covers the answer to the question: “Why Do We Need To Worship God?“ If you want to understand what great profit and happiness lie in worship, and what great loss and ruin lie in vice and dissipation listen to and take...
![A man making dua [supplicating]](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/Prayer_at_night-520x345.jpg)
Dua In Islam, dua (دُعَاء ), literally meaning “invocation“, is an act of supplication. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to ‘call out’ or to ‘summon’, and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. Muhammad is reported to have said, “Dua is the very essence of worship.” There is...
Salah Salah (“prayer”, صلاة; pl. صلوات ṣalawāt; also salat), or Namāz (Persian: نَماز) in some languages, is one of the Five Pillars in the faith of Islam and an obligatory religious duty for every Muslim . It is a physical, mental, and spiritual act of worship that is observed five...
Prayer In The New Testament Prayer in the New Testament is presented as a positive command (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). The People of God are challenged to include Christian prayer in their everyday life, even in the busy struggles of marriage (1 Corinthians 7:5) as it brings people closer...
Prayer In The Bahá’í Faith Prayer in the Bahá’í Faith refers to two distinct concepts: obligatory prayer and general or devotional prayer. Both types of prayer are composed of reverent words which are addressed to God, and the act of prayer is one of the most important Bahá’í laws for individual discipline. The purpose of prayer...
Prayer, Its Importance, And Types Of Prayer This article covers the meaning of a Prayer, Its Importance, And Types Of Prayer. Prayer is a great mystery of servanthood to God, the very essence of it. There are three types of prayer. Types or kinds of prayer The first kind of...
Reformed Worship Reformed worship is religious devotion to God as conducted by Reformed or Calvinistic Christians, including Presbyterians. Despite considerable local and national variation, public worship in most Reformed and Presbyterian churches is governed by the Regulative principle of worship. General principles and historical overview Further information: Hymnody of continental Europe...
Sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a means by which God enacts his grace. Many denominations,...
What Is Importance Of Thanksgiving? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Importance Of Thanksgiving?” Thanksgiving and praise always go together. We cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful. Through repeating verses like, “Will they not then give thanks? (36:35)”, “Will they not then give thanks?...
Divine Service In Lutheran The term “Divine Service” is popularly used among the more conservative Lutheran churches and organizations of the United States and Canada. In the more progressive denominations, such as The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the terms “Holy Communion” or “the Eucharist” are much more commonly used.The Divine Service (German: Gottesdienst) is a title...
Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of Christianity created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. In some denominations, such as the Anglican Communion and Methodist Churches, confirmation bestows full membership in a local congregation upon the recipient. In others, such as the Roman Catholic Church,...
Is Every Prayer Answered By God? Is every prayer answered by God? What does answering prayer mean? ‘Pray to me and I will answer you’ (40:60). If someone objects: “We pray many times, but we are not given what we pray for, although the verse cited says that every prayer...