P

 


Pacittiya  Pacittiya are rules entailing confession. There are ninety two Pacittiya

This term is most probably related to the verb //pacinati//, "to know," and means "to be made known" or "to be confessed."  There are 92 rules in this category, divided into eight chapters of ten each, and one of twelve.

See also Patimokkha


Pagan  

   1.  One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially an adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity.

   2. A Neo-Pagan.
   3. Offensive.
         A. One who has no religion.
         B. A non-Christian.
   4. A hedonist.

Traditional designation of a practitioner of classical polytheisms. The early Christians often used the term to refer to non-Christians who worshiped multiple deities. Christian missionaries frequently sought to stamp out pagan practices by building churches on the sites of pagan shrines or by associating Christian holidays with pagan rituals (e.g., linking Christmas with the celebration of the winter solstice). The term pagan was also used to refer to non-Christian philosophers, and in the 20th century it was used to identify members of certain new religious movements. See Neo-paganism.


Paganism   The state of being pagan; pagan characteristics; esp., the worship of idols or false gods, or the system of religious opinions and worship maintained by pagans; heathenism.

In the late Roman world a paganus was a ‘rustic’, and the word's shift to mean ‘non-Christian’ reflects a period when Christianity had spread among the upper classes and within towns, but not to the rural peasantry. Pagans need not share any common ground, but in Britain the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings recognized the same major gods and goddesses, but with slight variations in name (e.g. Woden/Odin), and although the native British had different deities these had responsibility for similar aspects of life such as warfare and fertility. The Romans had no trouble in assimilating the deities of either group with their own pantheon.

One should not envisage either Celtic or Germanic paganism as having structures or doctrines comparable to those of the Christian church. The building of temples and existence of a professional class of priests seems to have been more a feature of Celtic than Germanic practice. What may have mattered far more to the majority of people were localized guardian spirits who might be honoured at natural sites such as a spring, a grove of trees, or a hilltop.

Christianity saw off the major pantheons of gods and goddesses without too much difficulty and major festivals of the pagan year such as midwinter could be replaced with appropriate Christian celebrations like Christmas. What was harder to eradicate was the attachment to local holy places, though healing springs, for instance, were sometimes absorbed into local saints' cults.

See aslo norse paganism


Pakinnaka  (miscellaneous)

In Buddhism, the last set, three of the seventy five sekhiya or rules of training (Sekhiyavatta)See also the Patimokkha

A bhikku should train himself thus: If I am not sick...

  1. I will not defecate or urinate while standing. 

  2. I will not defecate, urinate or spit on green vegetation. 
  3. I will not defecate, urinate or spit into water. 


Palestine  Also called  Holy Land.  Biblical name,  Canaan.  an ancient country in SW Asia, on the E coast of the Mediterranean.

Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. In its broader meaning as a geographical term, Palestine can refer to an area that includes contemporary Israel and the Palestinian territories, parts of Jordan, and parts of Lebanon and Syria. In its narrow meaning, it refers to the area within the boundaries of the former British Mandate of Palestine (1920-1948) west of the Jordan River.

Palestine can also refer to the State of Palestine, declared by the Palestinian National Authority and recognized by over 100 countries. Within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the use of the term Palestine can arouse fierce controversy.

Also known as  Holy Land, Canaan, Palestine, Promised Land


Pali   The language of the texts of Theravada Buddhism. The Pali language is the product of the homogenization of the dialects in which the teachings of the Buddha were orally recorded and transmitted. The term Pali originally referred to a canonical text or passage rather than to a language. No script was ever developed for Pali and scribes used the scripts of their native languages to transcribe the texts. Tradition states that the language of the canon is Magadhi, the language believed to be spoken by Gautama Buddha.

Palm   Arecaceae, Palmae or Panamea (othrtwise known by the common name palm tree)  See also Palm Branch

Palmae  Arecaceae, Palm or Panamea (othrtwise known by the common name palm tree)  See also Palm Branch


Palm branch   (or palm frond or palm stem)

A palm branch usually refers to the leaves of the Arecaceae (sometimes known by the names Palmae, Palm or Panamea) [othrtwise known by the common name palm tree].

The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in pre-Christian times. The Romans rewarded champions of the games and celebrated military successes with palm branches. The motto of the HMS Nelson and the University of Southern California is "Palmam qui meruit ferat", which means in Latin, "Let him bear the palm who has deserved it". Jews followed a similar tradition of carrying palm branches during festive times.

Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul, as in the Palm Sunday festival celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. In Christian art, martyrs were usually shown holding a palm frond, representing the victory of spirit over flesh, and it was widely believed that a picture of a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was buried there

palm frond   A frond is a large leaf with many divisions to it, and the term is typically used for the leaves of palms, ferns or cycads.

see palm branch

palm stem   A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant.

see palm branch


Palm Sunday  Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Canonical Gospels Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19: the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion.

In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers. The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of box, yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday.

Panamea  Arecaceae, Palm or Palmae (othrtwise known by the common name palm tree)  See also Palm Branch


Pantheism    (Greek: ( 'pan' ) = all and ( 'theos' ) = God, which literally means "God is All" and "All is God"

Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God; or that the Universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. More detailed definitions tend to emphasize the idea that natural law, existence, and the Universe (the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be) is represented in the theological principle of an abstract 'god' rather than a personal, creative deity or deities of any kind. This is the key feature which distinguishes them from panentheists and pandeists. As such, although many religions may claim to hold pantheistic elements, they are more commonly panentheistic or pandeistic in nature.

Some argue that pantheism is little more than a redefinition of the word "God" to mean "existence", "life" or "reality". Many pantheists would say that if this is so, such a shift in the way we think about these ideas can serve to create both a new and a potentially far more insightful conception of both existence and God.

Perhaps the most significant debate within the pantheistic community is about the nature of God. Classical pantheism believes in a personal, conscious, and omniscient God, and sees this God as uniting all true religions. Naturalistic pantheism believes in an unconscious, non-sentient Universe, which, while being holy and beautiful, is seen as being a God in a non-traditional and impersonal sense.

The viewpoints encompassed within the pantheistic community are necessarily diverse, but the central idea of the Universe being an all-encompassing unity and the sanctity of both nature and its natural laws are found throughout. Some pantheists also posit a common purpose for nature and man, while others reject the idea of purpose and view existence as existing "for its own sake."


papa desana
papa-desana   Sanskrit, the revealing of wrongdoing; Pali, papa-desana.). The practice of confession. In Buddhism, confession is not a sacrament nor an appeal for absolution to a divine power. monks do not act as confessors or have the power to forgive sins. Instead, the confession of wrongdoing is seen as psychologically healthy and an aid to spiritual progress by allowing feelings of shame (hri) and remorse (apatrapya) to be acknowledged and discharged. A guilty conscience is viewed as a hindrance to religious progress, and it is believed that owning up to wrongful deeds inhibits their repetition. For monks there is an official occasion for confession at each po?adha (Pali, uposatha), when the Pratimok?a is recited and monks are obliged to declare any infringements of the rules by themselves or others. There is no equivalent ceremony for lay Buddhists.


Papal:  Of/from/belonging to the Pope

Papal infallibility  See infallibility


Parajika  Rules entailing expulsion from the Sangha (Defeat)

The four parajikas (defeats) are rules entailing expulsion from the sangha for life. If a monk breaks any one of the rules he is automatically 'defeated' in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately. He is not allowed to become a monk again in his lifetime. Intention is necessary in all these four cases to constitute an offence. The four parajikas for bhikkus are:

  1. Sexual intercourse, that is, any voluntary sexual interaction between a bhikku and a living being, except for mouth-to-mouth intercourse which falls under the Sanghadisesa.

  2. Stealing, that is, the robbery of anything worth more than 1/24 troy ounce of gold (as determined by local law.)
  3. Intentionally bringing about the death of a human being, even if it is still an embryo — whether by killing the person, arranging for an assassin to kill the person, inciting the person to die, or describing the advantages of death.
  4. Deliberately lying to another person that one has attained a superior human state, such as claiming to be an arahant when one knows one is not, or claiming to have attained one of the jhanas when one knows one hasn't.

See also Patimokkha


Paran  Meaning: abounding in foliage, or abounding in caverns, (Gen. 21:21)

a desert tract forming the northeastern division of the peninsula of Sinai, lying between the 'Arabah on the east and the wilderness of Shur on the west

It is intersected in a northwestern direction by the Wady el-'Arish. It bears the modern name of Badiet et-Tih, i.e., "the desert of the wanderings." This district, through which the children of Israel wandered, lay three days' march from Sinai (Num. 10:12, 33). From Kadesh, in this wilderness, spies (q.v.) were sent to spy the land (13:3, 26). Here, long afterwards, David found refuge from Saul (1 Sam. 25:1, 4).


Paranormal   Paranormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation, or phenomena alleged to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure. In parapsychology, it is used to describe the potentially psychic phenomena of telepathy, extra-sensory perception, psychokinesis, ghosts, and hauntings. The term is also applied to UFOs, some creatures that fall under the scope of cryptozoology, purported phenomena surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and other non-psychic subjects. Stories relating to paranormal phenomena are found in popular culture and folklore, but the scientific community, as referenced in statements made by organization such as the United States National Science Foundation, contends that scientific evidence does not support paranormal beliefs.


parapsychology  The study of the evidence for psychological phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis, that are inexplicable by science.


parchment  Prepared animal skin on which text is written.


Parish  A parish is a local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and presbyterian churches. It refers to a local, ecclesiastical community or territory, including its main church building and other property.

1.
    a.) An administrative part of a diocese that has its own church in the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and some other churches.

    b.) The members of such a parish; a religious community attending one church.

2. A political subdivision of a British county, usually corresponding in boundaries to an original ecclesiastical parish.

3. An administrative subdivision in Louisiana that corresponds to a county in other U.S. states.


Parish church   There are parish churches of all sizes, ages, and architectural styles, with internal fittings equally diverse. What is common to all of them is that they are buildings at the centres of their communities. The rights and wrongs of how God should be worshipped aroused great passions, and parish churches have been built and rebuilt, furnished and refurnished throughout their history in conformity with these shifting ideals of worship.

The parochial system developed piecemeal from the 10th cent., but was in place by the 13th. From then until the early 19th cent. the priest was supported by a landed endowment, the glebe; by a tax payable by the parishioners, the tithe; and by various offerings like mortuaries. By the early 13th cent. it was established that the rector could only be expected to maintain the fabric of the chancel of the church from his income, the parishioners being responsible for the upkeep of the nave and for the books and vestments needed. The imposition of this collective responsibility resulted in the emergence of a real sense of community in the later Middle Ages, with the people taking a dominant role in the organization of parish life and the form of the church building and its contents, through their elected representatives, the churchwardens.

There are examples of parish church buildings from all periods, like the Saxon church of Escomb (Co. Durham), the Romanesque church of Kilpeck (Herefordshire), or the great Decorated church of St Mary Redcliffe (Bristol). The Reformation brought an end to the extensive rebuilding of the later Middle Ages and there are comparatively few churches built between the mid-16th and early 19th cents. The churches built by Wren after the Great Fire of London are an exception, and there are fine Hanoverian churches at Stoke Edith (1740-2) and Shobdon (1752-6) in Herefordshire. The 19th cent. saw another massive church-building programme as the Church of England tried to provide for the growing population.

Parish churches may not often have been rebuilt after the 16th cent. but their interiors were often remodelled. The numerous altars, and images of the saints in stone, wood, glass, paint, and needlework, were swept away in the Reformation. In the 19th cent. church interiors were completely remodelled along the lines advocated by the Victorian reformers to provide space for the proper celebration of the liturgy. Thus, whereas parish churches are of very diverse architectural styles, their interior arrangements are generally 19th cent. The sanctuary was screened off and raised above the floor of the nave by steps, the altar was returned to its medieval position near the east wall, railed off and raised on further steps, so that space was created for the parish choir and organ within the east end.

particular redemption   See Limited atonement


Passover  (Hebrew, Yiddish: He-Pesach.ogg Pesach, Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish: Peysekh)

First of the three major annual Jewish Festivals. Celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage over 3000 years ago. Usually occurs in April.

Passover is a Jewish and Samaritan holy day and festival commemorating God sparing the Jews when He killed the first born of Egypt. Followed by the seven day Feast of the Unleavened Bread commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery.

Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, the full moon of that month, the first month of the Hebrew calendar's festival year according to the Hebrew Bible.

In the story of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God inflicted ten plagues upon the Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves, with the tenth plague being the killing of firstborn sons. However, the Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a spring lamb, and upon seeing this, the Spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover". When Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason it is also called (Chag HaMatzot), "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread". Matza (unleavened bread) is the primary symbol of the holiday. This bread that is flat and unrisen is called Matzo.

Together with Shavuot ("Pentecost") and Sukkot ("Tabernacles"), Passover is one of the three pilgrim festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.


Passover Seder    The feast commemorating the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, celebrated on the first night or the first two nights of Passover.


Pastoral epistles  The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament:

  • the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy) 

  • the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy), 
  • and the Epistle to Titus. 

They are presented as letters from Paul of Tarsus to Timothy and to Titus. They are generally discussed as a group (sometimes with the addition of the Epistle to Philemon) and are given the title pastoral not because they are uniquely caring or addressing personal needs, but because they are distinctive in being addressed to an individual person rather than a whole church or group of churches.

See epistle


Pater noster  Also known as The Lord's Prayer  See The Lord's Prayer Here


Patidesaniya  This term means "to be acknowledged." As a name for training rules, it means "entailing acknowledgement." The four training rules here are unique in that they mention, as part of the rule, the words to be used in acknowledging the violation; the second rule is especially unique in that it depicts the violators as acknowledging their offense as a group.

Patidesaniya are violations which must be verbally acknowledged.

  1. Accepting and eating food from an unrelated bhikkuni. 

  2. Accepting and eating food after a bhikkuni has instructed the donors on who to give what food, and none of the bhikkus rebuke the bhikkuni.
  3. Accepting and eating food from a family that the sangha designates as "in training", that is, preparing to becoming arahants, unless if the monk is sick.
  4. Accepting and eating food from a family living in a dangerous location, unless if the monk is sick.

See also Patimokkha


Patimokkha 

The meaning of the term patimokkha is a matter of conjecture. According to the Mahavagga it means "the beginning, the head (or entrance — mukha), the foremost (pamukha) of skillful qualities" (Mv.II.3.4). The term serves as the name not only of the basic code of training rules, but also of a sermon in which the Buddha enumerated the basic principles common to the teachings of all Buddhas: "The non-doing of all evil, the performance of what is skillful, and the purification of one's mind: This is the Buddhas' message" (Dhp.183). Thus whatever the etymology of the term patimokkha, it denotes a set of principles basic to the practice of the religion.

In Buddhism, the Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns (bhikkhunis). It is contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.

The rules are arranged into sections: 

1. Parajika
2. Sanghadisesa
3. Aniyata
4. Nissaggiya pacittiya
5. Pacittiya 
6. Patidesaniya 
7. Sekhiyavatta 

7.1 Saruppa (proper behavior) 
7.2 Bhojanapatisamyutta (food) 
7.3 Dhammadesanapatisamyutta (teaching dhamma) 
7.4 Pakinnaka (miscellaneous)

8. Adhikarana-samatha 


Patriarch   Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a composition of (pater) meaning "father" and (archon) meaning "leader", "chief", "ruler", "king", etc.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are referred to as the three patriarchs of the people of Israel, and the period in which they lived is called the Patriarchal Age. It originally acquired its religious meaning in the Septuagint version of the Bible.

The word has mainly taken on specific ecclesiastical meanings. In particular, the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above Major Archbishop and primate), and the Assyrian Church of the East are called patriarchs. The office and ecclesiastical conscription (comprising one or more provinces, though outside his own (arch)diocese he is often without enforceable jurisdiction) of such a patriarch is called a patriarchate. Historically, a Patriarch may often be the logical choice to act as Ethnarch, representing the community that is identified with his religious confession within a state or empire of a different creed (as Christians within the Ottoman Empire).

patriarchal  See patriarchy


Patriarchs  The Patriarchs (also known as the Avot in Hebrew) according to the Judeo-Christian Old Testament, are Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Collectively, they are referred to as the three patriarchs (shloshet ha-avot) of Judaism, and the period in which they lived is known as the patriarchal period.

Their primary wives - Sarah (wife of Abraham), Rebekah (wife of Isaac), and Leah and Rachel (the wives of Jacob) - are known as the Matriarchs. Thus, classical Judaism considers itself to have three patriarchs and four matriarchs.

See patriarch


patriarchy   

Terms used by feminist scholars to describe what they see as the male-dominated, anti-woman structure of society. Not to be confused with the biblical "patriarchs," Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; "the patriarchal narratives" would usually refer to the stories in Genesis about these biblical characters, unless context indicated that the author was judging the narratives in question to be "patriarchal" in terms of promoting androcentrism or male privilege.

Paul  See Paul Here in Names in The Bible


Pauline epistles   The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. They provide an insight into the beliefs and controversies of formative Christianity and, as part of the canon of the New Testament, they have also been, and continue to be, foundational to Christian theology and ethics.

In the order they appear in the New Testament, the Pauline epistles are:

Paul the Apostle  See Saint Paul


Peleg  See Peleg Here in Names in The Bible

Peniel  Peniel is Hebrew for "face of God."


Pentecost (Ancient Greek: "the fiftieth day")

Pentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year, celebrated the 49th day (7 weeks) after Easter Sunday-or the 50th day, inclusively, whence its name is derived from the Greek. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday. Historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot or the day, fifty days after the Exodus, on which God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. In the New Testment times, Pentecost now commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2. Pentecost is also called Whitsun, Whitsunday, or Whit Sunday, especially in the United Kingdom.


Pentecostal  any fundamentalist Protestant church that uses revivalistic methods to achieve experiences comparable to the Pentecostal experiences of the first Christian disciples.

Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, or the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ as described in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2.

Pentecostalism is an umbrella term which includes a wide range of different theological and organizational perspectives. As a result, there is no central organization or church which directs the movement. Most Pentecostals consider themselves part of broader Christian groups. For example, Pentecostals often identify as Evangelicals. Furthermore, many embrace the term Protestant, while others the term Restorationist. Pentecostalism is also theologically and historically close to the Charismatic Movement as the latter was influenced by the Pentecostal movement, and some Pentecostals use the two terms interchangeably.

Within Pentecostalism there are two major groups, Trinitarian and Oneness. Examples of Trinitarian denominations include the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the Assemblies of God while some Oneness denominations are the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). There are more than 130 million adherents to Pentecostalism. When Charismatics are included the number increases to nearly a quarter of the world's 2 billion Christians.

Also See Pentecostalism


Pentecostalism   Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, Greek for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which for Christians commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ as described in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2.

Pentecostalism is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of different theological and organizational perspectives. As a result, there is no central organization or church that directs the movement. Most Pentecostals consider themselves part of broader Christian groups. For example, Pentecostals often identify as Evangelicals. Furthermore, many embrace the term Protestant, while others prefer the term Restorationist. Pentecostalism is also theologically and historically close to the Charismatic Movement, which was influenced by the Pentecostal movement, and some Pentecostals use the two terms interchangeably.

Within Pentecostalism there are three major groups, Wesleyan Holiness, Higher Life, and Oneness. Examples of Wesleyan-Holiness denominations include the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. The Assemblies of God and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel are of the Higher Life branch, while some Oneness denominations include the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) and Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW). Many Pentecostal denominations are affiliated with the Pentecostal World Conference. Worldwide there are more than 250 million adherents to Pentecostalism. When Charismatics are added with Pentecostals the number increases to nearly a quarter of the world's 2 billion Christians.


Pentecostalism Beliefs

Theologically, some Pentecostal denominations are aligned with Evangelicalism in that they emphasize the reliability of the Bible and the need for the transformation of an individual's life with faith in Jesus. Pentecostals generally adhere to the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, believing that the Bible has definitive authority in matters of faith, and adopt a literalist approach in its interpretation.

Pentecostal theology was shaped by the two movements it grew out of, the Wesleyan Holiness and the Higher Life revival movements. Participants in these movements believed that after the conversion experience (the first blessing) there was a “crisis experience of sanctification” or the second blessing. Wesleyan Holiness preachers taught that this experience would immediately eliminate sin in the Christian life, achieving “sinless perfection.” Higher Life Christians shared the belief in a second blessing. They understood it not as the total elimination of sin, but as “full consecration’ that empowered them for evangelism.” Early Pentecostals, therefore, understood Holy Spirit baptism as this second blessing and speaking in tongues as the physical evidence for this blessing.

From these two camps came Oneness Pentecostalism. While still believing in the earlier Wesleyan Holiness and Higher Life understandings of salvation, Oneness Pentecostals differ from Trinitarians in that they do not describe God in the manner of three personages but instead describe God in the manner of three manifestations. They believe the scriptural doctrine is that the three are manifestations or titles of one, indivisible God. They believe that God was manifest in the flesh as Jesus Christ.


Pentateuch  

Pronounced As: "penttyook"

The first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit.

The first five books of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible these books are called the Torah.

The five-fold volume, consisting of the first five books of the Old Testament. This word does not occur in Scripture, nor is it certainly known when the roll was thus divided into five  portions The Book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Probably that was done by the LXX. translators. Some modern  critics speak of a Hexateuch, introducing the Book of Joshua as one of the group. But this book is of an entirely different  character from the other books, and has a different author. It stands by itself as the first of a series of historical books  beginning with the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan. The books composing the Pentateuch are properly but one book, the "Law of Moses," the "Book of the Law of Moses," the "Book of Moses," or, as the Jews designate it, the "Torah" or "Law." That in its present form it "proceeds from a single author is proved  by its plan and aim, according to which its whole contents refer  to the covenant concluded between Jehovah and his people, by the instrumentality of Moses, in such a way that everything before  his time is perceived to be preparatory to this fact, and all  the rest to be the development of it. Nevertheless, this unity  has not been stamped upon it as a matter of necessity by the latest redactor: it has been there from the beginning, and is  visible in the first plan and in the whole execution of the work.", Keil, Einl. i.d. A. T. A certain school of critics have set themselves to reconstruct  the books of the Old Testament. By a process of "scientific  study" they have discovered that the so-called historical books  of the Old Testament are not history at all, but a miscellaneous  collection of stories, the inventions of many different writers, patched together by a variety of editors! As regards the Pentateuch, they are not ashamed to attribute fraud, and even  conspiracy, to its authors, who sought to find acceptance to their work which was composed partly in the age of Josiah, and partly in that of Ezra and Nehemiah, by giving it out to be the work of Moses! This is not the place to enter into the details  of this controversy. We may say frankly, however, that we have  no faith in this "higher criticism." It degrades the books of the Old Testament below the level of fallible human writings, and the arguments on which its speculations are built are  altogether untenable. The evidences in favour of the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch are conclusive. We may thus state some of them  briefly:

(1.) These books profess to have been written by Moses in the name of God (Ex. 17:14; 24:3, 4, 7; 32:7-10, 30-34; 34:27; Lev. 26:46; 27:34; Deut. 31:9, 24, 25).

(2.) This also is the uniform and persistent testimony of the Jews of all sects in all ages and countries (comp. Josh. 8:31, 32; 1 Kings 2:3; Jer. 7:22; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 8:1; Mal. 4:4; Matt. 22:24; Acts 15:21).

(3.) Our Lord plainly taught the Mosaic authorship of these  books (Matt. 5:17, 18; 19:8; 22:31, 32; 23:2; Mark 10:9; 12:26; Luke 16:31; 20:37; 24:26, 27, 44; John 3:14; 5:45, 46, 47; 6:32, 49; 7:19, 22). In the face of this fact, will any one venture to allege either that Christ was ignorant of the composition of the Bible, or that, knowing the true state of the case, he yet  encouraged the people in the delusion they clung to?

(4.) From the time of Joshua down to the time of Ezra there  is, in the intermediate historical books, a constant reference  to the Pentateuch as the "Book of the Law of Moses." This is a point of much importance, inasmuch as the critics deny that there is any such reference; and hence they deny the historical  character of the Pentateuch. As regards the Passover, e.g., we  find it frequently spoken of or alluded to in the historical  books following the Pentateuch, showing that the "Law of Moses" was then certainly known. It was celebrated in the time of Joshua (Josh. 5:10, cf. 4:19), Hezekiah (2 Chr. 30), Josiah (2 Kings 23; 2 Chr. 35), and Zerubbabel (Ezra 6:19-22), and is  referred to in such passages as 2 Kings 23:22; 2 Chr. 35:18; 1 Kings 9:25 ("three times in a year"); 2 Chr. 8:13. Similarly we  might show frequent references to the Feast of Tabernacles and other Jewish institutions, although we do not admit that any  valid argument can be drawn from the silence of Scripture in such a case. An examination of the following texts, 1 Kings 2:9; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chr. 23:18; 25:4; 34:14; Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Dan. 9:11, 13, will also plainly show that the "Law of Moses" was  known during all these centuries. Granting that in the time of Moses there existed certain oral  traditions or written records and documents which he was  divinely led to make use of in his history, and that his writing  was revised by inspired successors, this will fully account for certain peculiarities of expression which critics have called  "anachronisms" and "contradictions," but in no way militates  against the doctrine that Moses was the original author of the whole of the Pentateuch. It is not necessary for us to affirm  that the whole is an original composition; but we affirm that the evidences clearly demonstrate that Moses was the author of those books which have come down to us bearing his name. The Pentateuch is certainly the basis and necessary preliminary of the whole of the Old Testament history and literature. (See DEUTERONOMY)


Peoples Temple   referred to as a destructive cult.

It is best known for causing the death of 918 people on November 18, 1978 in Guyana, at the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project (informally called "Jonestown"), a nearby airstrip at Port Kaituma, and Georgetown.

A congregation led by Pastor Jim Jones. It fell victim to a massive murder-suicide in November 1978. In the wake of the tragedy, the Peoples Temple has become a symbol of the dangers of cults and Jones the model of the evil, manipulative cult leader. The Peoples Temple was for the last 15 years of its existence a part of the Christian church (Disciples of Christ), a large mainstream Christian denomination. In the 1960s it was hailed by liberal Protestants for its social activism. Within the loose structure of the Christian church, however, it developed a unique internal life.

The Peoples Temple was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1955 by a youthful Jim Jones as an independent congregation. He eventually brought the congregation into fellowship with the Disciples of Christ and he was ordained as a minister in that church in 1965. The next year he led most of the congregation's members to Ukiah, California, and once settled the group began to take on the elements of its unusual life. Although Jones was white, his efforts at recruiting were focused in the African American community, and the great majority of members were black. Worship services took on the free style of black Holiness churches.

By 1972 the Peoples Temple had grown to include several congregations, with groups in San Francisco and Los Angeles joining the older groups in Indianapolis and Ukiah. That same year Jones leased land in the South American nation of Guyana and the temple initiated an agricultural colony. The colony prospered and in 1977 Jones and a number of the members moved there. Eventually approximately one thousand members resided at Jonestown, as the colony was named. Jones's move to Guyana coincided with a rising criticism of the church by former members (including accusations of violence directed toward some) and the prospect of several very negative media reports on the temple.

By this time a variety of government investigations had been launched into temple activities, including its use of the welfare checks received by many of the members. In November of 1978, U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan visited Jonestown to investigate allegations of human rights abuses

Congressman, Ryan claimed he was interested in visiting because many of its residents had formerly lived in his district. After what had been to all outward appearances a cordial visit, Ryan and his party were murdered as they were about to board an airplane to return to the United States. Within hours most of the temple members were dead; some committed suicide, but many were murdered. Very few survived to tell what had happened.

On November 18, 1978 Jim Jones and 911 of his followers committed suicide or were murdered. Initial reports said the members drank Kool-Aid laced with cyanide, but a report from the Guyanese coroner said that hundreds of the bodies showed needle marks, indicating foul play. The U.S. government has not released all the documents pertinent to their investigation of the incident, further complicating the long-held conspiracy theory that Jonestown was a mind-control experiment conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The tragedy at Jonestown resulted in the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the incidents of September 11, 2001. At the airstrip, Temple members murdered, among others, Congressman Leo Ryan, who became the only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in United States history.

In the wake of the tragedy, the U.S. Congress conducted an extensive investigation. Unfortunately, though a lengthy report was issued, the mass of materials, including the files of the various government investigations of the temple, have never been made public, and the truth of what actually occurred at Jonestown remains shrouded in mystery. Substantive revelations of what occurred there will likely be made when those files become available. In the meantime, completely distancing herself from the standard anticult rhetoric concerning the temple, Patricia Ryan, Ryan's daughter, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, claiming that it was in large part responsible for her father's death.


perseity   The condition in which a thing is acting out of its own inner nature. God alone is supposed to be describable as per se esse, that is, existing out of his or her own inner necessity. It was a doctrine of Aquinas that ‘quod est per se, semper est prius eo quod est per aliud’: that which is per se is always prior to that which depends upon something else. The notion forms the background to the cosmological argument and ontological argument.


Perseverance of the saints   one of the five points of Calvinism

Perseverance of the saints is a controversial Christian teaching that none who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith. The doctrine appears in two different forms:

(1) the traditional Calvinist doctrine found in the Reformed Christian confessions of faith, and
(2) the Free Grace or non-traditional Calvinist doctrine found in some Baptist and other evangelical churches.

In a sense, both can describe Christian believers as "once saved, always saved", but the two forms attach a different meaning to the word saved — namely, whether or not it necessarily involves sanctification, the process of becoming holy by rejecting sin and obeying God's commands. Because of this difference, traditional Calvinist Christians tend to prefer the historical term "perseverance of the saints", which is one of the five points of Calvinism, and advocates of the Free Grace doctrine usually prefer the less technical terms "eternal security", "unconditional assurance", and "once saved, always saved" to characterize their teaching.

The two views are similar and sometimes confused, and though they reach the same end (namely, eternal security in salvation), they reach it by different paths. Free Grace advocates seek to moderate the perceived harshness of Calvinism as it is found in the Reformed confessions and to emphasize that salvation is not conditioned on performing good works. Traditional Calvinists maintain that the Free Grace doctrine ignores certain key Bible passages and would be rejected by Calvin and the Reformed churches, which have both firmly advocated the necessity of good works and with which Free Grace has sought to align itself historically to some degree. Other Christians such as Catholics and Orthodox reject both versions of the doctrine.


Persia    Iran

officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, formerly known internationally as Persia until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Since 1949, both the names "Persia" and "Iran" are used, however, Iran is used for an official and political context. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans"


Persian
Persian People

Historical name for a region roughly coterminous with modern Iran. The term was used for centuries, chiefly in the West, and originally described a region of southern Iran formerly known as Persis or Parsa. Parsa was the name of an Indo-European nomadic people who migrated into the area c. 1000 BC; the use of the name was gradually extended by the ancient Greeks and other Western peoples to apply to the whole Iranian plateau. The people of Iran have always called their country Iran, and in 1935 the government requested that the name Iran be used instead of Persia.


Pesach  See Passover


Pesach Sheni    (Hebrew: Second Passover)

Pesach Sheni is a minor Jewish observance on the 14th of Iyar in the Hebrew Calendar. The holiday is mentioned in the Torah in Numbers 9:1-14. Moses announces that the Passover sacrifice (Korban Pesach, or Passover lamb) may only be eaten by people who are ritually pure. Men come to Moses, complaining that as people who have come into contact with the dead, and therefore ritually unclean, they are unable to fulfill the mitzvah of Passover. Moses consults God who responds by announcing that anyone who is unable to sacrifice the paschal lamb on the 14th of Nisan, either due to defilement or inability to journey to the place of sacrifice in time, is to perform the sacrifice on the 14th of Iyar, a full month later, and eat the paschal lamb along with matzah and maror.

Today, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the lack of access to the Temple Mount Jews are unable to perform the Passover sacrifice, neither on Passover nor on Pesach Sheni. It is customary to eat a piece of Matzah. In some communities tachanun and other penitential prayers are also omitted due to the festive nature of the day.


pesher  Hebrew word meaning explanation or interpretation; occurs in the Bible only at Ecclesiastes 8:1. Used of a particular type of commentary found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as the Pesher on Habakkuk (designated 1QpHab) and the Pesher on the Psalms (4QpPs).

See also Habakkuk Commentary

Pesher Habakkuk  See Habakkuk Commentary


Peshitta  (Syriac: simple, common)

Ancient version of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Classical Syriac (Eastern Aramaic).

The Peshitta is the standard version of the Christian Bible in the Syriac language.

The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated from the Hebrew, probably in the second century. The New Testament of the Peshitta, which originally excluded certain disputed books, had become the standard by the early 5th century, replacing two early Syriac versions of the Gospels.

Peter  See Peter Here in Names in The Bible


Pharaoh  the official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks.

The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the “sun” or “sun-god,” and the article phe, “the,” prefixed; hence phera, “the sun,” or “the sun-god.” But others, perhaps more correctly, think the name derived from Perao, “the great house” = his majesty = in Turkish, “the Sublime Porte.”

Menes is the name of the Egyptian king credited with founding the First dynasty, sometime around 3100 BC. Menes was seen as a founding figure for much of the history of Ancient Egypt, and was possibly a mythical founding king similar to Romulus and Remus for Ancient Rome.

Ancient Egyptian legend credits a pharaoh by this name with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt into in a single, centralized monarchy. However, his name does not appear on extant pieces of the Royal Annals (Cairo Stone and Palermo Stone), which is a now-fragmentary king's list that was carved onto a stela sometime during the Fifth dynasty. He typically appears in later sources as the first human ruler of Egypt, directly inheriting the throne from the god Horus. He also appears in other, much later, king's lists, always as the first human pharaoh of Egypt. Two king's lists of the 19th dynasty (13th century BC) call him Meni, the 3rd century BC Egyptian historian Manetho called him Menes, and the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus referred to him as Min.

The first pharaoh of Egypt mentioned by name in the Bible is Shishaq (probably Sheshonk I), the founder of the twenty-second dynasty and a contemporary of Rehoboam and Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:40; 2 Chronicles 12:2 sqq.). The title pharaoh is prefixed to his name in the Great Dakhla stela—as in Pharaoh Shoshenq—which dates to Year 5 of his reign.

2 Kings 17:4 says that Hoshea sent letters to 'So, King of Egypt', whose identification still is not certain. He has been identified with Osorkon IV, who was a minor king at Tanis who ruled over a divided Egypt, with Tefnakht of Sais and Pi'ankhy.

Taharqa, who was the opponent of Sennacherib, is called King of Ethiopia (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9), and hence is not given the title pharaoh, which he bears in Egyptian documents.

Last are two kings of the twenty-sixth dynasty: Necho II, who the Bible says defeated Josiah (2 Kings 23:29 sqq.; 2 Chronicles 35:20 sqq.), and Apries or Hophra, the contemporary of Sedicous (Jeremiah 44:30). Both are styled as pharaoh in Egyptian records.

Below is a list of some of Paharoah's mentioned in the Bible:


1. The Pharaoh who was on the throne when Abram went down into Egypt (Gen. 12:10-20) was probably one of the Hyksos, or “shepherd kings.” The Egyptians called the nomad tribes of Syria Shasu, “plunderers,” their king or chief Hyk, and hence the name of those invaders who conquered the native kings and established a strong government, with Zoan or Tanis as their capital. They were of Semitic origin, and of kindred blood accordingly with Abram. They were probably driven forward by the pressure of the Hittites. The name they bear on the monuments is “Mentiu.”

2.  Apopi  The Pharaoh of Joseph's days (Genesis 41) was probably Apopi, or Apopis, the last of the Hyksos kings.

To the old native Egyptians, who were an African race, shepherds were “an abomination;” but to the Hyksos kings these Asiatic shepherds who now appeared with Jacob at their head were congenial, and being akin to their own race, had a warm welcome (Gen. 47:5,6).

Some argue that Joseph came to Egypt in the reign of Thothmes III., long after the expulsion of the Hyksos, and that his influence is to be seen in the rise and progress of the religious revolution in the direction of monotheism which characterized the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

The wife of Amenophis III., of that dynasty, was a Semite. Is this singular fact to be explained from the presence of some of Joseph's kindred at the Egyptian court? Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell" (Gen. 47:5-6).

3.  Aahmes I. The "new king who knew not Joseph" (Ex. 1:8-22) has been generally supposed to have been Aahmes I., or Amosis, as he is called by Josephus. Recent discoveries, however, have led to the conclusion that Seti was the “new king.”

For about seventy years the Hebrews in Egypt were under the powerful protection of Joseph. After his death their condition was probably very slowly and gradually changed. The invaders, the Hyksos, who for some five centuries had been masters of Egypt, were driven out, and the old dynasty restored. The Israelites now began to be looked down upon. They began to be afflicted and tyrannized over.

In process of time a change appears to have taken place in the government of Egypt. A new dynasty, the Nineteenth, as it is called, came into power under Seti I., who was its founder. He associated with him in his government his son, Rameses II., when he was yet young, probably ten or twelve years of age.

Note: Professor Maspero, keeper of the museum of Bulak, near Cairo, had his attention in 1870 directed to the fact that scarabs, i.e., stone and metal imitations of the beetle (symbols of immortality), originally worn as amulets by royal personages, which were evidently genuine relics of the time of the ancient Pharaohs, were being sold at Thebes and different places along the Nile.

This led him to suspect that some hitherto undiscovered burial-place of the Pharaohs had been opened, and that these and other relics, now secretly sold, were a part of the treasure found there. For a long time he failed, with all his ingenuity, to find the source of these rare treasures. At length one of those in the secret volunteered to give information regarding this burial-place.

The result was that a party was conducted in 1881 to Dier el-Bahari, near Thebes, when the wonderful discovery was made of thirty-six mummies of kings, queens, princes, and high priests hidden away in a cavern prepared for them, where they had lain undisturbed for thirty centuries.

"The temple of Deir el-Bahari stands in the middle of a natural amphitheatre of cliffs, which is only one of a number of smaller amphitheatres into which the limestone mountains of the tombs are broken up. In the wall of rock separating this basin from the one next to it some ancient Egyptian engineers had constructed the hiding-place, whose secret had been kept for nearly three thousand years.”

The exploring party being guided to the place, found behind a great rock a shaft 6 feet square and about 40 feet deep, sunk into the limestone. At the bottom of this a passage led westward for 25 feet, and then turned sharply northward into the very heart of the mountain, where in a chamber 23 feet by 13, and 6 feet in height, they came upon the wonderful treasures of antiquity. The mummies were all carefully secured and brought down to Bulak, where they were deposited in the royal museum, which has now been removed to Ghizeh.

Among the most notable of the ancient kings of Egypt thus discovered were Thothmes III., Seti I., and Rameses II. Thothmes III. was the most distinguished monarch of the brilliant Eighteenth Dynasty. When this mummy was unwound "once more, after an interval of thirty-six centuries, human eyes gazed on the features of the man who had conquered Syria and Cyprus and Ethiopia, and had raised Egypt to the highest pinnacle of her power.

The spectacle, however, was of brief duration. The remains proved to be in so fragile a state that there was only time to take a hasty photograph, and then the features crumbled to pieces and vanished like an apparition, and so passed away from human view for ever."

"It seems strange that though the body of this man," who overran Palestine with his armies two hundred years before the birth of Moses, "mouldered to dust, the flowers with which it had been wreathed were so wonderfully preserved that even their colour could be distinguished" (Manning's Land of the Pharaohs).

Seti I. (his throne name Merenptah), the father of Rameses II., was a great and successful warrior, also a great builder. The mummy of this Pharaoh, when unrolled, brought to view "the most beautiful mummy head ever seen within the walls of the museum. The sculptors of Thebes and Abydos did not flatter this Pharaoh when they gave him that delicate, sweet, and smiling profile which is the admiration of travellers. After a lapse of thirty-two centuries, the mummy retains the same expression which characterized the features of the living man. Most remarkable of all, when compared with the mummy of Rameses II., is the striking resemblance between the father and the son. Seti I. is, as it were, the idealized type of Rameses II. He must have died at an advanced age. The head is shaven, the eyebrows are white, the condition of the body points to considerably more than threescore years of life, thus confirming the opinions of the learned, who have attributed a long reign to this king."

4.  Rameses II., the son of Seti I., is probably the Pharaoh of the Oppression. During his forty years' residence at the court of Egypt, Moses must have known this ruler well. During his sojourn in Midian, however, Rameses died, after a reign of sixty-seven years, and his body embalmed and laid in the royal sepulchre in the Valley of the Tombs of Kings beside that of his father. Like the other mummies found hidden in the cave of Deir el-Bahari, it had been for some reason removed from its original tomb, and probably carried from place to place till finally deposited in the cave where it was so recently discovered.

In 1886, the mummy of this king, the “great Rameses,” the “Sesostris” of the Greeks, was unwound, and showed the body of what must have been a robust old man. The features revealed to view are thus described by Maspero:

"The head is long and small in proportion to the body. The top of the skull is quite bare. On the temple there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about two inches [5.08 centimeters] in length. White at the time of death, they have been dyed a light yellow by the spices used in embalmment. The forehead is low and narrow; the brow-ridge prominent; the eye-brows are thick and white; the eyes are small and close together; the nose is long, thin, arched like the noses of the Bourbons; the temples are sunk; the cheek-bones very prominent; the ears round, standing far out from the head, and pierced, like those of a woman, for the wearing of earrings; the jaw-bone is massive and strong; the chin very prominent; the mouth small, but thick-lipped; the teeth worn and very brittle, but white and well preserved.

The moustache and beard are thin. They seem to have been kept shaven during life, but were probably allowed to grow during the king's last illness, or they may have grown after death. The hairs are white, like those of the head and eyebrows, but are harsh and bristly, and a tenth of an inch [2.54 milimeters] in length. The skin is of an earthy-brown, streaked with black.

Finally, it may be said, the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king. The expression is unintellectual, perhaps slightly animal; but even under the somewhat grotesque disguise of mummification there is plainly to be seen an air of sovereign majesty, of resolve, and of pride."

Both on his father's and his mother's side it has been pretty clearly shown that Rameses had Chaldean or Mesopotamian blood in his veins to such a degree that he might be called an Assyrian. This fact is thought to throw light on Isa. 52:4.

5.  The Pharaoh of the Exodus was probably Menephtah I., the fourteenth and eldest surviving son of Rameses II. He resided at Zoan, where he had the various interviews with Moses and Aaron recorded in the book of Exodus. His mummy was not among those found at Deir el-Bahari. It is still a question, however, whether Seti II. or his father Menephtah was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Some think the balance of evidence to be in favor of the former, whose reign it is known began peacefully, but came to a sudden and disastrous end. The “Harris papyrus,” found at Medinet-Abou in Upper Egypt in 1856, a state document written by Rameses III., the second king of the Twentieth Dynasty, gives at length an account of a great exodus from Egypt, followed by wide-spread confusion and anarchy. This, there is great reason to believe, was the Hebrew exodus, with which the Nineteenth Dynasty of the Pharaohs came to an end. This period of anarchy was brought to a close by Setnekht, the founder of the Twentieth Dynasty.

"In the spring of 1896, Professor Flinders Petrie discovered, among the ruins of the temple of Menephtah at Thebes, a large granite stela, on which is engraved a hymn of victory commemorating the defeat of Libyan invaders who had overrun the Delta. At the end other victories of Menephtah are glanced at, and it is said that 'the Israelites (I-s-y-r-a-e-l-u) are minished so that they have no seed.' Menephtah was son and successor of Rameses II., the builder of Pithom, and Egyptian scholars have long seen in him the Pharaoh of the Exodus.

The Exodus is also placed in his reign by the Egyptian legend of the event preserved by the historian Manetho. In the inscription the name of the Israelites has no determinative of 'country' or 'district' attached to it, as is the case with all the other names (Canaan, Ashkelon, Gezer, Khar or Southern Palestine, etc.) mentioned along with it, and it would therefore appear that at the time the hymn was composed, the Israelites had already been lost to the sight of the Egyptians in the desert. At all events they must have had as yet no fixed home or district of their own. We may therefore see in the reference to them the Pharaoh's version of the Exodus, the disasters which befell the Egyptians being naturally passed over in silence, and only the destruction of the 'men children' of the Israelites being recorded. The statement of the Egyptian poet is a remarkable parallel to Ex. 1:10-22."

6.  The Pharaoh of 1 Kings 11:18-22.

7.  So, king of Egypt (2 Kings 17:4).

8.  The Pharaoh of 1 Chr. 4:18.

9.  Pharaoh, whose daughter Solomon married (1 Kings 3:1; 7:8).

10.  Pharaoh Shabaka, in whom Hezekiah put his trust in his war against Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:21).

The religious reforms of Kings Hezekiah (727–698 B.C.E.) and Josiah (639–608 B.C.E.) of Judah occurred at a time when other Near Eastern civilizations were also carrying out reforms aimed at reviving classical beliefs and traditions.

In Egypt, one manifestation of this neoclassical spirit is the so-called Shabaka Stone. Pharaoh Shabaka (716–695 B.C.E.) ruled during the XXVth Dynasty, while Egypt was under the domination of Nubia (southern Egypt and the Sudan today). Nubia had long been heavily Egyptianized, and the Nubians promoted traditional Egyptian values derived from the cult of Amun, established by Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 B.C.E.) in the upper Nile. Shabaka is said to have discovered a stone with text copied from an ancient papyrus manuscript—“a work of the ancestors which was worm-eaten, so that it could not be understood from beginning to end.”

 The original text purportedly contained ancient Memphite theological and cosmological ideas to be revived and promulgated in eighth- and seventh-century B.C.E. Egypt.

11.  The Pharaoh by whom Josiah was defeated and slain at Megiddo (2 Chr. 35:20-24; 2 Kings 23:29,30).

12.  Pharaoh-hophra, who in vain sought to relieve Jerusalem when it was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar (q.v.), 2 Kings 25:1-4; compare Jer. 37:5-8; Ezek. 17:11-13


Pharisees  One of the three orders or sects of Jews described by Josephus and other ancient sources during the Second Temple period. Originally, an essentially lay group formed from one of the branches of the Hasidim of the Maccabaean age. By the time of John Hyrcanus I there was Pharisaic objection to his usurpation, as a non-Zadokite, of the high priesthood, though they were willing to accept him as the national leader. Eight hundred Pharisees were accused by Alexander Jannaeus of collusion with the Syrian Seleucid king Demetrius III Eucaerus and condemned by Jannaeus to die on the cross. By the time of Josephus they were the largest of the various groups and had the popular support of the people. They were characterized by their "free" interpretation of the Bible, adherence to oral traditions, strict observance of rites and interpretation, belief in future retribution, belief in angels and other spiritual beings, divine providence cooperating with free will, the immortality of the soul, the bodily resurrection of the dead, and a coming Messiah. Some commentators suggest that Jesus was from a Pharisee family and background. Similarities between his teachings, especially the Sermon on the Mount, and those of Pharisee teachers, such as Hillel, seem to support the contention that Jesus 'was himself a Pharisee'.


Phenice  properly Phoenix a palm-tree (as in the R.V.), a town with a harbor on the southern side of Crete (Acts 27:12), west of the Fair Havens

It is now called Lutro.


Phenicia  (Acts 21:2) = Phenice (11:19; 15:3; R.V., Phoenicia), Greek: phoinix, “a palm”, the land of palm-trees; a strip of land of an average breadth of about 20 miles along the shores of the Mediterranean, from the river Eleutherus in the north to the promotory of Carmel in the south, about 120 miles in length

This name is not found in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament it is mentioned only in the passages above referred to.

"In the Egyptian inscriptions Phoenicia is called Keft, the inhabitants being Kefa; and since Keft-ur, or 'Greater Phoenicia,' was the name given to the delta of the Nile from the Phoenician colonies settled upon it, the Philistines who came from Caphtor or Keft-ur must have been of Phoenician origin" (compare Deut. 2:23; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7)., Sayce's Bible and the Monuments.

Phoenicia lay in the very center of the old world, and was the natural entrepot for commerce with foreign nations. It was the “England of antiquity.” "The trade routes from all Asia converged on the Phoenician coast; the centers of commerce on the Euphrates and Tigris forwarding their goods by way of Tyre to the Nile, to Arabia, and to the west; and, on the other hand, the productions of the vast regions bordering the Mediterranean passing through the Canaanite capital to the eastern world." It was "situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles" (Ezek. 27:3, 4). The far-reaching commercial activity of the Phoenicians, especially with Tarshish and the western world, enriched them with vast wealth, which introduced boundless luxury and developed among them a great activity in all manner of arts and manufactures.

The Phoenicians were the most enterprising merchants of the old world, establishing colonies at various places, of which Carthage was the chief. They were a Canaanite branch of the race of Ham, and are frequently called Sidonians, from their principal city of Sidon. None could "skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians" (1 Kings 5:6). King Hiram rendered important service to Solomon in connection with the planning and building of the temple, casting for him all the vessels for the temple service, and the two pillars which stood in the front of the porch, and “the molten sea” (1 Kings 7:21-23). Singular marks have been found by recent exploration on the great stones that form the substructure of the temple. These marks, both painted and engraved, have been regarded as made by the workmen in the quarries, and as probably intended to indicate the place of these stones in the building. "The Biblical account (1 Kings 5:17, 18) is accurately descriptive of the massive masonry now existing at the southeastern angle (of the temple area), and standing on the native rock 80 feet below the present surface. The Royal Engineers found, buried deeply among the rubbish of many centuries, great stones, costly and hewed stones, forming the foundation of the sanctuary wall; while Phoenician fragments of pottery and Phoenician marks painted on the massive blocks seem to proclaim that the stones were prepared in the quarry by the cunning workmen of Hiram, the king of Tyre."

The Phoenicians have been usually regarded as the inventors of alphabetic writing. The Egyptians expressed their thoughts by certain symbols, called “hieroglyphics”, i.e., sacred carvings, so styled because used almost exclusively on sacred subjects. The recent discovery, however, of inscriptions in Southern Arabia (Yemen and Hadramaut), known as Hemyaritic, in connection with various philogical considerations, has led some to the conclusion that the Phoenician alphabet was derived from the Mineans (admitting the antiquity of the kingdom of Ma'in, Judg. 10:12; 2 Chr. 26:7). Thus the Phoenician alphabet ceases to be the mother alphabet. Sayce thinks "it is more than possible that the Egyptians themselves were emigrants from Southern Arabia."

"The Phoenicians were renowned in ancient times for the manufacture of glass, and some of the specimens of this work that have been preserved are still the wonder of mankind&ldots; In the matter of shipping, whether ship-building be thought of or traffic upon the sea, the Phoenicians surpassed all other nations." "The name Phoenicia is of uncertain origin, though it may be derived from Fenkhu, the name given in the Egyptian inscriptions to the natives of Palestine. Among the chief Phoenician cities were Tyre and Sidon, Gebal north of Beirut, Arvad or Arados and Zemar."


Philistine language  The Philistine language is the extinct language of the Philistines, spoken— and rarely inscribed— along the coastal strip of southwestern Canaan. Very little is known about the language, of which a handful of words survive as cultural loan-words in Hebrew, describing specifically Philistine institutions, like the seranim, the "lords" of the Philistine Pentapolis, or the ’argáz receptacle that occurs in 1 Samuel 6 and nowhere else or the title padî.

There is not enough information of the language of the Philistines to relate it securely to any other languages: possible relations to Indo-European languages, even Mycenaean Greek, support the independently-held theory that immigrant Philistines originated among "sea peoples". There are hints of non-Semitic vocabulary and onomastics, but the inscriptions, not clarified by some modern forgeries, are enigmatic: a number of inscribed miniature "anchor seals" have been found at various Philistine sites. On the other hand, evidence from the slender corpus of brief inscriptions from Iron Age IIA-IIB Tell es-Safi demonstrates that at some stage during the local Iron Age, the Philistines started using one of the branches (either Phoenician or Hebrew) of the local Canaanite language and script, which in time masked and replaced the earlier, non-local linguistic traditions, which doubtless became reduced to a linguistic substratum, for it ceased to be recorded in inscriptions. Towards the end of the local Iron Age, in the eighth to seventh centuries BCE, the primary written language in Philistia was a Canaanite dialect that was written in a version of the West Semitic alphabet so distinctive that Frank Moore Cross termed it the Neo-Philistine script.

Thus, to judge from the more numerous later inscriptions alone, it could misleadingly appear that the Philistine language is simply part of the local Canaanite dialect continuum. For instance, the Ekron inscription, identifying the archaeological site securely as the Biblical Ekron, is the first connected body of text to be identified as Philistine. However, it is written in a Canaanite dialect similar to Phœnician.


Philistines  (Hebrew plishtim)

The Philistines were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. Their origin has been debated among scholars. The Philistine language has been identified as a Semitic language but modern archaeology has also suggested early cultural links with the Mycenean world in mainland Greece. Though the Philistines adopted local Canaanite culture and language before leaving any written texts, an Indo-European origin has been suggested for a handful of known Philistine words.


Phoenicia  (Acts 21:2). See Phenicia above


Pietism  Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to begin the Brethren movement. The Pietist movement combined the Lutheranism of the time with the Reformed, and especially Puritan, emphasis on individual piety, and a vigorous Christian life.


Piety  In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue. While different people may understand its meaning differently, it is generally used to refer either to religious devotion or to spirituality, or often, a combination of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility.

The word piety comes from the Latin word pietas, the noun form of the adjective pius, which means "devout" or "good."

It can refer to a way to win the favor or forgiveness of one's God, or gods, (i.e., to propitiate Him/them). According to some, this type of piety does not necessarily require the spiritual piety, while others refrain from distinguishing the two.

It is also used by others to refer only to external signs that result from the spiritual aspect of piety. That is, according to some, if one is "truly" pious (in the spiritual sense), the natural and inevitable result of it will be religious piety. By this definition, then, piety can be either genuine, in that it springs from spiritual piety, or false, in that it is an attempt to exhibit the signs of piety for their own sake, or for some other reason, (such as propitiation or public esteem).

In Catholicism and Anglicanism, piety is one of the Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Piety can be demonstrated by position or state of mind, such as prayer the most famous Piety hand position is Christian Joining of Hands and Muslims bowing down to prayer.


Pirkei Avot   (Hebrew: Ethics of the Fathers)

Pirkei Avot / Ovos  is a tractate of the Mishna composed of ethical maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. It is the second-last tractate in the Mishnaic order Nezikin.

phylactery  a leather container for holding a small scroll containing important Scripture passages that is worn on the arm or forehead in prayer. These phylacteries (tefillin in Hebrew) are still used by orthodox Jewish men. See Deuteronomy 6:8.


physico theological argument
physico-theological argument   Term used by Kant to denote any argument that starts from some facts about the world, and attempts to derive the existence of a deity. The cosmological argument, argument from (or to) design, and the first cause argument are the best known arguments of this kind.

See also Five Ways.


Pison  Babylonian, the current, broad-flowing, one of the "four heads" into which the river which watered the Garden of Eden was divided (Gen. 2:11). Some identify it with the modern Phasis, others with the Halys, others the Jorak or Acampis, others the Jaab, the Indus, the Ganges, etc.

See Pishon


Pishon  The Pishon is one of four rivers (along with the Tigris, Euphrates, and Gihon) mentioned in the Biblical Genesis (2:11). In that passage, these rivers are described as arising within the Garden of Eden. The Pishon is described as encircling "the entire land of Havilah".

Some scholars have questioned English translations that say the rivers sources were in Eden, and claim the Hebrew rendering would allow Eden to be a confluence point for four rivers originating elsewhere.

Together with the Tigris, the river Pishon is briefly mentioned in the book of Ecclesiasticus (24:25), but this reference throws no more light on the location of the river. "Calumet, A. D. 1672-1757, Rosebmuller, 1768-1835, Kell, 1807-1888, and some other scholars believed the source river [for Eden] was a region of springs. The Pishon and Gihon were mountain streams. The former may have been the Phasis or Araxes, and the latter the Oxus."

The Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus, in the beginning of Antiquities of the Jews (1st century AD) identified the Pishon with the Ganges.

David Rohl identified Pishon with the Uizhun and placed Havilah to the northeast of Mesopotamia. The Uizhun is known locally as the Golden River. Rising near Mt. Sahand, it meanders between ancient gold mines and lodes of lapis lazuli before feeding the Caspian Sea. Such natural resources correspond to the ones associated with the land of Havilah in the Genesis account (2:11).


Pithom  Egyptian: Pa-Tum, “house of Tum,” the sun-god

one of the “treasure” cities built for Pharaoh Rameses II. by the Israelites (Ex. 1:11)

It was probably the Patumos of the Greek historian Herodotus. It has now been satisfactorily identified with Tell-el-Maskhuta, about 12 miles west of Ismailia, and 20 east of Tel-el-Kebir, on the southern bank of the present Suez Canal. Here have recently (1883) been discovered the ruins of supposed grain-chambers, and other evidences to show that this was a great “store city.” Its immense ruin-heaps show that it was built of bricks, and partly also of bricks without straw. Succoth (Ex. 12:37) is supposed by some to be the secular name of this city, Pithom being its sacred name. This was the first halting-place of the Israelites in their exodus. It has been argued (Dr. Lansing) that these “store” cities "were residence cities, royal dwellings, such as the Pharaohs of old, the Kings of Israel, and our modern Khedives have ever loved to build, thus giving employment to the superabundant muscle of their enslaved peoples, and making a name for themselves."


Plagues of Egypt   (Hebrew: Makot Mitzrayim)

The Plagues of Egypt, the Biblical Plagues or the Ten Plagues (Hebrew: Eser Ha-Makot) are the ten calamities imposed upon Egypt by God in the Bible (as recounted in the book of Exodus, chapters 7 - 12), in order to convince Pharaoh to let the poorly treated Israelite slaves go

The Plagues of Egypt are recognized by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

The following is a summary of the Biblical account of the plagues which is found in chapters 7-12 of Exodus.


The beginning of the curses (Ex. 5:1 - 5:9, 7:8 - 7:13)

Moses and Aaron approached the Pharaoh, and to deliver God's demand that the Israelite slaves be allowed to leave Egypt so that they could worship God freely. After an initial of refusal by the Pharaoh, God sent Moses and Aaron back to show him a miraculous sign of warning - Aaron's staff turned into a serpent. Pharaoh's sorcerers also turned their staffs into snakes, but Aaron's then proceeded to swallow theirs before turning back to a staff.

Blood (Ex. 7:14 - 7:25)

The first plague was blood. God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to raise his staff over the river Nile; all of its water turned into blood. As a result of the blood, the fish of the Nile died, filling Egypt with an awful stench. Other water resources used by the Egyptians were turned to blood as well (7:19). Pharaoh's sorcerers demonstrated that they too could turn water into blood, and Pharaoh therefore made no concession to Moses' demands.

Frogs (Ex. 7:26-8:11)

The second plague of Egypt was frogs. God commanded Moses to tell Aaron to stretch his staff over the water, and hordes of frogs came and overran Egypt. Pharaoh's  sorcerers were also able to duplicate this plague with their magic. However, since they were unable to remove it, Pharaoh was forced to grant permission for the Israelites to leave so that Moses would agree to remove the frogs. To prove that the plague was actually a divine punishment, Moses let Pharaoh choose the time that it would end. Pharaoh chose the following day, and all the frogs died the next day. Nevertheless, Pharaoh rescinded his permission, and the Israelites stayed in Egypt.

Gnats (Ex. 8:12 - 8:15)

The third plague of Egypt was Kinim, variously translated as Gnats, Lice or Fleas. God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to take his staff and strike at the dust, which turned into a mass of gnats that the Egyptians could not get rid of. The Egyptian sorcerers declared that this act was "the Finger of God", since they were unable to reproduce its effects with their magic.

Beasts (Ex. 8:16 - 8:28)

The fourth plague of Egypt was wild animals, capable of harming people and livestock. The Torah emphasizes that the arov ("swarm") only came against the Egyptians, and that it did not affect the Land of Goshen (where the Israelites lived). Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow the Israelites to worship God in the wilderness. However, after the plague was gone, Pharaoh "hardened his heart" and again refused to keep his promise.

Pestilence (Ex. 9:1 - 9:7)

The fifth plague of Egypt was an epidemic disease which exterminated the Egyptian livestock; that is, horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. The Israelites' cattle were unharmed. Once again, Pharaoh made no concessions.

Incurable boils (Ex. 9:8 - 9:12)

The sixth plague of Egypt was shkhin. The Shkhin was a kind of skin disease, usually translated as "boils". God commanded Moses and Aaron to each take two handfuls of soot from a furnace, which Moses scattered skyward in Pharaoh's presence. The soot induced festering Shkhin eruptions on Egyptian people and livestock. The Egyptian sorcerers were afflicted along with everyone else, and were unable to heal themselves, much less the rest of Egypt.

Hail (Ex. 9:13 - 9:35)

The seventh plague of Egypt was a destructive storm. God commanded Moses to stretch his staff skyward, at which point the storm commenced. It was even more evidently supernatural than the previous plagues, a powerful shower of hail intermixed with fire. The storm heavily damaged Egyptian orchards and crops, as well as men and livestock. The storm struck all of Egypt except for the Land of Goshen. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow the Israelites to worship God in the desert, saying "This time I have sinned; God is righteous, I and my people are wicked." As a show of God's mastery over the world, the hail stopped as soon as Moses began praying to God - hail which was then in the air never reached the ground; it simply disappeared. However, after the storm ceased, Pharaoh again "hardened his heart" and refused to keep his promise.

Locusts (Ex. 10:1 - 10:20)

The eighth plague of Egypt was locusts. Before the plague, God informed Moses that from that point on He would "harden Pharaoh's heart," (as promised earlier in 4:21) so that Pharaoh would not give in, and the remaining miracles (the final plagues and the splitting of the sea) would play out.

As with previous plagues, Moses came to Pharaoh and warned him of the impending plague of locusts. Pharaoh's officials begged him to let the Israelites go rather than suffer the devastating effects of a locust-swarm, but he was still unwilling to give in. He proposed a compromise: the Israelite men would be allowed to go, while women, children and livestock would remain in Egypt. Moses repeated God's demand that every last person and animal should go, but Pharaoh refused.

God then had Moses stretch his staff over Egypt, and a wind picked up from the east. The wind continued until the following day, when it brought a locust swarm. The swarm covered the sky, casting a shadow over Egypt. It consumed all the remaining Egyptian crops, leaving no tree or plant standing. Pharaoh again asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow all the Israelites to worship God in the desert. As promised, God hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not allow the Israelites to leave.

Darkness (Ex. 10:21 - 10:29)

God then commanded Moses to stretch his hands up to the sky, to bring darkness upon Egypt. This darkness was so heavy that an Egyptian could physically feel it. It lasted for three days, during which time there was light in the homes of the Israelites. Pharaoh then called to Moses and offered to let all the Israelites leave, if only the darkness would be removed from his land. However, he required that their sheep and cattle stay. Moses refused, and went on to say that before long, Pharaoh himself would offer to provide animals for sacrifice. Pharaoh, outraged, then threatened to execute Moses if he should again appear before Pharaoh. Moses replied that he would indeed not visit the Pharaoh again.

Death of Firstborn (Ex. 11:1 - 12:36)

The tenth and final plague of Egypt was the death of all Egyptian first born males — no one escaped, from the lowest servant to Pharaoh's own first-born son, including first-born of livestock. This was the hardest and cruelest blow upon Egypt and the plague that finally convinced Pharaoh to submit, and let the Israelites go.

After this, Pharaoh, furious and saddened, ordered the Israelites to go away, taking whatever they wanted. The Israelites didn't hesitate; and at the end of that night Moses led them out of Egypt with "arms upraised."


polygamy  The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage") is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, and sociology. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person has more than one spouse."

In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to more than one spouse simultaneously. Historically, polygamy has been practiced as polygyny (one man having more than one wife), or as polyandry (one woman having more than one husband), or, less commonly as group marriage (husbands having many wives and those wives having many husbands).  In contrast, monogamy is the practice of each person having only one spouse. Like monogamy, the term is often used in a de facto sense, applying regardless of whether the relationships are recognized by the state (see marriage for a discussion on the extent to which states can and do recognize potentially and actually polygamous forms as valid). In sociobiology, polygamy is used in a broad sense to mean any form of multiple mating. In a narrower sense, used by zoologists, polygamy includes a pair bond, perhaps temporary.


polygyny   (which comes from neo-Greek: poly "many" +  gyny "woman")

Polygyny is a specific form of polygamy, where a male individual is recognized to have more than one female sexual partner or wife at the same time. It is distinguished from a man having multiple sexual partners outside marriage, such as concubinage, casual sexual partners, paramours, and recognized secondary partners. Polygyny is the most common form of polygamy. The much rarer practice of a woman having more than one male sexual partner is called polyandry.


polytheism  Belief in many gods. Though Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic, most other religions throughout history have been polytheistic. The numerous gods may be dominated by a supreme god or by a small group of powerful gods. The gods originated as abstractions of the forces of nature such as the sky or the sea and of human and social functions such as love, war, marriage, or the arts. In many religions the sky god is powerful and all-knowing (e.g., Dievs), and the earth goddess is maternal and associated with fertility. Gods of death and the underworld (e.g., Osiris and Hel) are also important. In addition to many gods, polytheistic religions generally also include malevolent or benevolent spiritual forces or powers.

See also God.


Pope  This definition is about the head of the Roman Catholic Church

(from Latin: "papa" or "father" from Greek, pápas, "papa", Papa in Italian)

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City.

The office of the pope is called the Papacy; his ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the "Holy See" (Sancta Sedes in Latin) or "Apostolic See" (the latter on the basis that both St. Peter and St. St. Paul were martyred at Rome). In addition to his spiritual role, the pope is Head of State of the independent sovereign state of the Vatican City, a city-state entirely enclaved by the city of Rome.

Early popes helped spread Christianity and resolve doctrinal disputes. At first, the pope's secular ally was the Roman Emperor. In the 8th century, however, Pope Stephen II was forced to appeal to the Franks for help, beginning a period of close interaction with the rulers of the West. For centuries, the forged Donation of Constantine also provided the basis for the papacy's claim of political supremacy over the entire former Western Roman Empire. In medieval times, popes played powerful roles in Western Europe, often struggling with monarchs for power over wide-ranging affairs of church and state, crowning emperors (Charlemagne was the first emperor crowned by a pope) and regulating disputes among secular rulers.

Gradually forced to give up secular power, popes have come to focus again almost exclusively on spiritual matters. Over the centuries, popes' claims of spiritual authority have been ever more clearly expressed since the first centuries, culminating in the proclamation of the dogma of papal infallibility for those rare occasions the pope speaks ex cathedra (literally "from the chair (of Peter)") when issuing a solemn definition of faith or morals. The last such occasion was in the year 1950 with the definition of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary.

Practical Kabbalah    See Practical Kabbalah Here


Praetorium  Praetorium: the Roman governor's residence and office building, and those who work there.


prakriti  (from Sanskrit language)

Prakrti or Prakriti is, according to Vedanta philosophy, the basic matter of which the Universe consists. It is composed of the three gunas or modes, known as tamas (ignorance), rajas (passion) and sattva (goodness).

It is described in Bhagavad Gita as an inferior type of energy to the living beings (jivas), and to the Supreme Person (Paramatma or Bhagavan). It is closely associated with the concept of Maya within Vedic scripture.

Mulaprakriti is a closer definition of 'basic matter;' plain Prakriti is also just classical earth element, i.e. solid matter; Mulaprakriti includes any and all classical elements, including any considered not discovered yet (some tattvas.)

Devi Prakriti Shakti in the context of Shaktis as forces unifies Kundalini, Kriya, Itcha, Para, Jnana, Mantrika Shaktis. Each is in a chakra.

Prakriti also means nature. Nature can be described as environment. It can also be used to denote the 'feminine' in sense of the 'male' being the purusha.

According to ayurveda our body is made up of three doshas kapha, pitta, vayu. The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti of our body (besides Devi Prakriti in sahasrara chakra.)

 
 prakriti and purusha 

 the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy, material nature and the soul. Prakriti is material nature in its germinal state, eternal and beyond perception. When it comes into contact with the soul or self (purusha), it starts a process of evolution that leads through several stages to the creation of the existing material world. In the Samkhya view, only prakriti is active; the self, trapped in materiality, does nothing but observe and experience. The self escapes from prakriti by recognizing its total difference from and noninvolvement in the material world.


Pratimoksa    Also referred to as the Pratimoksa Sutra, being a set of rules observed by members of the Buddhist Order (Samgha). The derivation of the term is uncertain, perhaps ‘that which should be made binding’, or ‘that which causes one to be released (from suffering)’. The rules are contained in the Sutra Vibha?ga, the first division of the Vinaya Pi?aka. The number of the rules slightly varies in each version of the Vinaya, be it Theravada, Mahasa?ghika, Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka, Sarvastivadin, or Mula-sarvastivadin. In the Theravada Vinaya the rules for monks number 227. Across all schools the rules for monks vary from 218 to 263, and for nuns from 279 to 380. The rules are not all ethical and deal mainly with the behaviour of the members of the order in respects of food, clothes, dwellings, furniture, etc. The rules are arranged in eight sections, in decreasing degree of punishment and therefore roughly corresponding to the degree of importance attached to their observance. These are (1) parajika-dharmas (sexual intercourse, stealing, taking human life, lying about superhuman powers), the penalty for which is lifelong expulsion; (2) sa?ghavase?a dharmas, involving temporary exclusion and probation; (3) aniyata dharmas, undetermined cases relating to sexual matters; (4) nai?sargika-payantika dharmas, requiring expiation and forfeiture; (5) payantika-dharmas, requiring only expiation; (6) pratidesaniya dharmas, miscellaneous matters requiring only confession; (papa-desana) (7) saik?a dharmas, concerning matters of etiquette and deportment; (8) adhikara?a-samatha dharmas, legalistic procedures for settling disputes. Besides the Pratimok?a, the Sutra Vibha?ga contains an old commentary explaining the rules and a new commentary containing further supplementary information concerning them. The rules are divided into two sections: one for the monks (Bhik?u-pratimok?a) and the other for the nuns (Bhik?uni-pratimok?a). The rules are recited at the gatherings of members of the order in their respective districts on po?adha (Pali, uposatha) days (the fifteenth day of the half moon). After reciting each section of the rules, the reciter asks the members of the order who are present if any one of them has infringed any of the rules, if they have not they remain silent. The ceremony thus ensures the collective purity of the assembly.


Prayer   Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a deity or Spirit. Purposes for this may include worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins, as an act of reparation or an expression of one's thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may take the form of intercession, a hymn, incantation or a spontaneous utterance in the person's praying words. Praying can be done in public, as a group, or in private.

Most major religions in the world involve prayer in one way or another in their rituals. Although in many cases the act of prayer is ritualized and must follow a sometimes strict sequence of actions (even going as far as being restrictive on who may perform a prayer ritual), other religions, mainly the Abrahamic Religions, teach that prayer can be done spontaneously by any person at any moment.

Scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured people. The efficacy of prayer in petition for physical healing to a deity has been evaluated in numerous studies, with contradictory results. There has been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.

An act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of the mind to Divine things, not merely to acquire a knowledge of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by acts of praise and thanksgiving, but petition is the principal act of prayer.

The words used to express it in Scripture are:

  • to call up (Genesis 4:26);

  • to intercede (Job 22:10);
  • to mediate (Isaiah 53:10);
  • to consult (1 Samuel 28:6);
  • to beseech (Exodus 32:11);
  • and, very commonly, to cry out to. 

The Fathers speak of it as the elevation of the mind to God with a view to asking proper things from Him (St. John Damascene, On the Orthodox Faith III.24); communing and conversing with God (St. Gregory of Nyssa, "De oratione dom.", in P.G., XLIV, 1125); talking with God (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. xxx in Gen.", n. 5, in P.G., LIII, 280). It is therefore the expression of our desires to God whether for ourselves or others. This expression is not intended to instruct or direct God what to do, but to appeal to His goodness for the things we need; and the appeal is necessary, not because He is ignorant of our needs or sentiments, but to give definite form to our desires, to concentrate our whole attention on what we have to recommend to Him, to help us appreciate our close personal relation with Him. The expression need not be external or vocal; internal or mental is sufficient.


Prayer beads   Prayer beads or Rosaries are used by members of various religions such as Islam, Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Bahá'í to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions. They may also be used for meditation, protection from negative energy, or for relaxation.

Using Prayer beads as a tool of meditation is as old as human history. It is not a coincidence that Prayer beads are present in almost every religion.

 

Prayer beads may have physical, metaphysical and psychological effects on their users. Since the beads are fingered in an automatic manner, they allow the user to keep track of how many prayers have been said with a minimal amount of conscious effort, which in turn allows greater attention to be paid to the prayers themselves.

There are three widely accepted uses for Prayer beads

   1. Repetition of the same devotion a set (usually large) number of times. This is the earliest form of prayer beads (the Japa Mala) and the earliest Christian form (the prayer rope). This is also the type in use by the Bahá'í Faith

   2. Repetition of several different prayers in some pattern, possibly interspersed with or accompanied by meditations.

   3. Meditation on a series of spiritual themes, as in e.g. Islam or Catholicism.

Prayer beads made with precious stones have attracted people with their colors and charming gloss since ancient times. Since then, each stone has gained special meaning. For instance Native Americans believed that the bones of the people wearing Turquoise wouldn’t be broken and they used to engrave this stone onto their shields during war. It is also known that Turquoise was also very important for Aztec culture where the stone was believed to give protection from evil effects. Again, in Native American culture it was believed that the Agate was good to quench thirst and used for this purpose.

In ancient Greek culture, it was believed that Amethyst would prevent people from becoming drunk and goblets were made of this stone.


Prehistory  a term often used to describe the period before written history.

Prehistory can be said to date back to the beginning of the universe itself, although the term is most often used to describe periods when there was life on Earth; dinosaurs can be described as prehistoric animals and cavemen are described as prehistoric people. Furthermore, the word prehistory can be said to have special relevance to the study of the human past, as opposed to, for example, that of other animals or the earth itself, and this nuance can be seen from its usage. In any case, usually the context implies what geologic or prehistoric time period is discussed, f.e. "prehistoric miocene apes", about 23 - 5.5 Million years ago, or "Middle Palaeolithic Homo sapiens", 200,000 - 30,000 years ago.


precepts  (from the Latin præcipere, to teach)

A Precept is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action.

In religion, precepts are usually commands respecting moral conduct.


Christianity

The term is encountered frequently in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures; e.g.:

Thou hast commanded thy precepts to be kept diligently. O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping thy statutes! (Psalm 119(118):4-5, RSV).

The term given in the RSV as "precepts" corresponds with the reading in the Hebrew Bible. The LXX/Septuagint (Samuel Rengster edition) has Greek entolas, which, too, may be rendered with precepts. Roman Catholic Canon law, which is based on Roman Law, makes a distinction between precept and law in Canon 49:

"A singular precept is a decree which directly and legitimately enjoins a specific person or persons to do or omit something, especially in order to urge the observance of law."

Further information: monastic rule


Buddhism 

Buddhism has many sets of precepts, including the fundamental code of ethics known as the Five Precepts (pañca-sila, Pañcasila in Sanskrit, or Pañcasila in Pali), practiced by laypeople, either for a given period of time or for a lifetime.

See Sila


Priest  A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.

Priests and priestesses have been known since the earliest of times and in the simplest societies. They exist in all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, Shintoism, Hinduism, and many other religions, as well, and are generally regarded as having good contact with the deities of the religion to which s/he ascribes, often interpreting the meaning of events, performing the rituals of the religion, and to whom other believers often will turn for advice on spiritual matters.

In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time job, ruling out any other career. In other cases it is a part-time role. For example in the early History of Iceland the chieftains were entitled goði, a word meaning "priest". But as seen in the saga of Hrafnkell Freysgoði, being a priest consisted merely of offering periodic sacrifices to the Norse gods and goddesses. it was not a full time job, nor did it involve ordination.

In some religions, being a priest is by human election or human choice. In others the priesthood is inherited in familial lines.

Women officiating in modern Paganism, Neopagan religions such as Wicca, and various Polytheistic Reconstructionism faiths are referred to as priestesses, however, in contemporary Christian Churches that ordain women, such as those of the Anglican Communion or the Christian Community, ordained women are called priests.


Priesthood    (Latter Day Saints)  In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances (sacraments), and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.

Priesthood denotes elements of both power and authority. As a power, priesthood is said to include the power Jesus gave his Apostles to perform miracles such as the casting out of devils and the healing of sick (Luke 9:1). Latter Day Saints believe that the Biblical miracles performed by prophets and apostles were performed by the power of priesthood, including the miracles of Jesus, whom Latter Day Saints believe was "a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" (Heb. 5:6), and thus that Jesus held the Melchizedek Priesthood.

As an authority, priesthood is considered to be the legitimizing stamp by which a person may perform ecclesiastical acts in the name of God, or to hold clerical positions in the church. Latter Day Saints believe that acts (and in particular, ordinances) performed by one with priesthood authority are recognized by God and are binding in heaven, on earth, and in the afterlife. In addition, Latter Day Saints believe that leadership positions within the church are legitimized by the priesthood authority.

For most of the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, only men were ordained to specific offices in the Priesthood. In 1984, the Community of Christ, the second largest denomination of the movement, began ordaining women to priesthood offices. Many scholars also believe that the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr. endowed women to have power and authority as “priestesses” through the Endowment and through their membership in the Anointed Quorum and Relief Society.


Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)

In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances, and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.

Priesthood denotes elements of both power and authority. As a power, priesthood is said to include the power Jesus gave his Apostles to perform miracles such as the casting out of devils and the healing of sick (Luke 9:1). Latter Day Saints believe that the Biblical miracles performed by prophets and apostles were performed by the power of priesthood, including the miracles of Jesus, whom Latter Day Saints believe was "a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" (Heb. 5:6), and thus that Jesus held the Melchizedek Priesthood.

As an authority, priesthood is considered to be the legitimizing stamp by which a person may perform ecclesiastical acts in the name of God, or to hold clerical positions in the church. Latter Day Saints believe that acts (and in particular, ordinances) performed by one with priesthood authority are recognized by God and are binding in heaven, on earth, and in the afterlife. In addition, Latter Day Saints believe that leadership positions within the church are legitimized by the priesthood authority.

For most of the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, only men were ordained to specific offices in the Priesthood. In 1984, the Community of Christ, the second largest denomination of the movement, began ordaining women to priesthood offices. Many scholars also believe that the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr. endowed women to have power and authority as “priestesses” through the Endowment and through their membership in the Anointed Quorum and Relief Society.


Priestly source  The Priestly Source (P) is posited as the most recent of the four chief sources of the Torah, as postulated by the long-established "standard" Wellhausen (or Graf-Wellhausen) formulation of the Documentary Hypothesis (DH). It is seen as the work of an Aaronid priest and as such reflects, among other characteristics attributable to priests, the rigorous emphasis of censuses and genealogies. It was thought to describe conditions during and after the Babylonian exile, c 550-400 BCE and hence was thought to have been incorporated into the Torah c 400 BCE.

This article describes the opinion of the DH without taking into account alternative opinions; see Documentary Hypothesis  for details on the disputes to this theory.


Problem of evil   The problem of reconciling the imperfect world with the goodness of God. The problem has two forms. One is whether it is consistent to hold that an omnipotent, omniscient, and perfect creator could have made a world in which pain and evil form a prominent part of life, and possibly of life after death (see hell). This is purely a logical question, and frequently if callously answered by citing the supposed extra goodness that a tincture of evil makes possible (see also free will defence). The second and more robust version of the problem is whether, even if such saving hypotheses restore consistency to the theistic position, it could ever be reasonable to take the imperfect creation as itself a sign of divine, i.e. perfect, workmanship. The second argument is deployed by Hume especially effectively against the argument to design, in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion: ‘Here’, says Philo, the sceptic, ‘I triumph.’


Progressive creationism   Progressive creationism is the religious belief that God created new forms of life gradually, over a period of hundreds of millions of years. As a form of Old Earth creationism, it accepts mainstream geological and cosmological estimates for the age of the Earth, but posits that the new "kinds" of plants and animals that have appeared successively over the planet's history represent instances of God directly intervening to create those new types by means outside the realm of science. Progressive creationists generally reject macroevolution as biologically untenable and not supported by the fossil record, and they generally reject the concept of universal descent from a last universal ancestor.


Promised Land    (Hebrew: translit.: ha-Aretz ha-Muvtachat)

 

The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites.

The promise is made to Abraham and the descendants of his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, Abraham's grandson as they are all given promise that their descendants will be given a territory from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates river

Also known as  Holy Land, Canaan, Palestine, Promised Land

See The Divine Promise


Prophecy  (or prediction)

This was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, discern, or conjecture.”

The great predictions which run like a golden thread through the whole contents of the Old Testament are those regarding the coming and work of the Messiah. The great body of Old Testament prophecy relates directly to the advent of the Messiah, beginning with Gen. 3:15, the first great promise, and extending in ever-increasing fulness and clearness all through to the very close of the canon. The Messianic prophecies are too numerous to be quoted here. “To him gave all the prophets witness.” (Compare Micah 5:2; Hag. 2:6-9; Isa. 7:14; 9:6, 7; 11:1, 2; 53; 60:10, 13; Ps. 16:11; 68:18.)

Many predictions also were delivered by Jesus and his Apostles. Those of Christ were very numerous. (Compare Matt. 10:23-24; 11:23; 19:28; 21:43, 44; 24; 25:31-46; 26:17-35, 46, 64; Mark 9:1; 10:30; 13; 11:1-6, 14; 14:12-31, 42, 62; 16:17, etc.)

The great use of prophecy was to perpetuate faith in his coming, and to prepare the world for that event. But there are many subordinate and intermediate prophecies, also, which hold an important place in the great chain of events which illustrate the sovereignty and all-wise overruling providence of God.

Then there are many prophecies regarding the Jewish nation, its founder Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:16; 15:5; 17:2, 4-6, etc.), and his posterity, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants (12:7; 13:14, 15, 17; 15:18-21; Ex. 3:8, 17), which have all been fulfilled.

The twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy contains a series of predictions which are even now in the present day being fulfilled. In the writings of the prophets Isaiah (2:18-21), Jeremiah (27:3-7; 29:11-14), Ezekiel (5:12; 8), Daniel (8; 9:26, 27), Hosea (9:17), there are also many prophecies regarding the events which were to befall that people.

There are also a large number of prophecies relating to those nations with which the Jews came into contact, such as Tyre (Ezek. 26:3-5, 14-21), Egypt (Ezek. 29:10, 15; 30:6, 12, 13), Ethiopia (Nahum 3:8-10), Nineveh (Nahum 1:10; 2:8-13; 3:17-19), Babylon (Isa. 13:4; Jer. 51:7; Isa. 44:27; Jer. 50:38; 51:36, 39, 57), the land of the Philistines (Jer. 47:4-7; Ezek. 25:15-17; Amos 1:6-8; Zeph. 2:4-7; Zech. 9:5-8), and of the four great monarchies (Dan. 2:39, 40; 7:17-24; 8:9).


Prophetess  Meaning: Female prophet

Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14)and Anna (Luke 2:36) are the only others who bear the title of “prophetess,” for the word in Isa. 8:3 means only the prophet's wife.


Prophets   a division of the Old Testament, comprising the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve


Protestant  an adherent of Protestantism

1.  A member of a Western Christian Church whose faith and practice are founded on the principles of the Reformation, especially in the acceptance of the Bible as the sole source of revelation, in justification by faith alone, and in the universal priesthood of all the believers.

2. A member of a Western Christian Church adhering to the theologies of Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli.

3. One of the German princes and cities that supported the doctrines of Luther and protested against the decision of the second Diet of Speyer (1529) to enforce the Edict of Worms (1521) and deny toleration to Lutherans.

The term Protestant is used to refer to any Christian group which developed from the Reformation. Characteristic of most Protestant churches are such dogmas as acceptance of the Bible as the sole source of revelation and authority, justification by faith alone (sola fidei), and the universal priesthood of all the believers.

Contrary to popular perception, the name does not stem directly from the idea of people "protesting" various doctrines and actions of the Catholic Church. Early on in the Reformation, those dissenters were referred to in Germany as Evangelicals (and this is the term still in use today). Peace was established between Evangelicals and Catholics at the Diet of Speier in 1526 because the emperor, Charles V, needed peace at home in order to deal with foreign conflicts.

Once he felt that he had those foreign issues in hand, Charles turned back to the religion issue at home and, at a second Diet of Speier, he revoked the peace along with the concessions given to Evangelicals (which allowed each person to follow their consciences and each prince to handle religious matters in their territory). This may have pleased the Catholic Church, but it infuriated the Evangelicals and they protested his actions - it was at this time that the name Protestant came into widespread use.


Protestant canon     Historically, Protestant churches have recognized the Hebrew canon as their Old Testament, although differently ordered, and with some books divided so that the total number of books is thirty-nine. These books, as arranged in the traditional English Bible, fall into three types of literature: seventeen historical books (Genesis to Esther), five poetical books (Job to Song of Solomon), and seventeen prophetical books. With the addition of another twenty-seven books (the four Gospels, Acts, twenty-one letters, and the book of Revelation), called the New Testament, the Christian scriptures are complete.


Protestant Church - the Protestant churches and denominations collectively

  • Protestants

  • Mass - (Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist
  • Christian Church, church - one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
  • Pentecostal religion - any fundamentalist Protestant Church that uses revivalistic methods to achieve experiences comparable to the Pentecostal experiences of the first Christian disciples
  • Protestant denomination - group of Protestant congregations
  • Protestant - an adherent of Protestantism

Protestant denomination - group of Protestant congregations


Protestant clergy   Clergy in Protestantism fill a wide variety of roles and functions. In many denominations, such as Methodism, Presbyterianism, and Lutheranism, the roles of clergy are similar to Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, in that they hold an ordained pastoral or priestly office, administer the sacraments, proclaim the word, lead a local church or parish, and so forth. The Baptist tradition only recognizes two ordained positions in the church as being the Elders (Pastors) and Deacons as outlined in the third chapter of I Timothy in the Bible.

The process of being designated as a member of the Protestant clergy, as well as that of being assigned to a particular office, varies with the denomination or faith group. Some Protestant denominations, such as Methodism, Presbyterianism, and Lutheranism, are hierarchical in nature; and ordination and assignment to individual pastorates or other ministries are made by the parent denominations. In other traditions, such as the Baptist and other Congregational groups, local churches are free to hire (and often ordain) their own clergy, although the parent denominations typically maintain lists of suitable candidates seeking appointment to local church ministries and encourage local churches to consider these individuals when filling available positions.

Some Protestant denominations require that candidates for ordination be "licensed" to the ministry for a period of time (typically one to three years) prior to being ordained. This period typically is spent performing the duties of ministry under the guidance, supervision, and evaluation of a more senior, ordained minister. In some denominations, however, licensure is a permanent, rather than a transitional state for ministers assigned to certain specialized ministries, such as music ministry or youth ministry.

All Protestant denominations reject the idea (following Luther) that the clergy are a separate category of people, but rather stress the priesthood of all believers. Based on this theological approach, Protestants do not have a sacrament of Ordination like the pre-Reformation Churches. Protestant ordination, therefore, can be viewed more as a public statement by the ordaining body that an individual possesses the theological knowledge, moral fitness, and practical skills required for service in that faith group's ministry.

Some Protestant denominations dislike the word clergy and do not use it of their own leaders. Often they refer to their leaders as pastors or ministers, titles that, if used, sometimes apply to the person only as long as he or she holds a particular office.


Protestantism  Protestantism is a movement within Christianity that originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the three principal traditions within Christianity, together with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Protestantism is associated with the belief that the Bible (rather than church tradition or ecclesiastical interpretations of the Bible) is the final source of authority for Christians. Another salient feature of Protestant theology is its doctrine that salvation comes through faith alone, by the grace of God.

Protestantism has both conservative and liberal theological strands within it. Its style of public worship tends to be simpler and less elaborate than that of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians, sometimes radically so, though there are exceptions to this tendency.

Examples of denominations and movements within Protestantism include the Anglican Communion (which also has a Catholic-leaning element), Lutheranism, Methodism, and the Baptist churches.

The word Protestant is derived from the Latin protestari meaning publicly declare which refers to the letter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the decision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the edict of the Diet of Worms in 1521, banning Luther's documents. Since that time, the term Protestantism has been used in many different senses, often as a general term merely to signify that they are not Roman Catholics.

While churches which historically emerged directly or indirectly from the Protestant Reformation generally constitute traditional Protestantism, in common usage the term is often used to refer to any Christian church other than the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. This usage is imprecise, however, as there are non-Roman Catholic and non-Eastern Orthodox churches which predate the Reformation (notably Oriental Orthodoxy). Anglicans, although historically influenced by the Protestant Reformation in what is called the English Reformation, differs from many Reformation principles and understands itself to be a middle path—a via media—between Roman Catholic and Protestant doctrines. Other groups, such as the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, reject traditional Protestantism as another deviation from Christianity, while perceiving themselves to be restorationists.

Fundamental principles

The three fundamental principles of traditional Protestantism are the following:

* Supremacy of the Bible
       The belief in the Bible as the sole infallible authority.

* Justification by Faith Alone

The subjective principle of the Reformation is justification by faith alone, or, rather, by free grace through faith operative in good works. It has reference to the personal appropriation of the Christian salvation, and aims to give all glory to Christ, by declaring that the sinner is justified before God (i.e. is acquitted of guilt, and declared righteous) solely on the ground of the all-sufficient merits of Christ as apprehended by a living faith, in opposition to the theory — then prevalent, and substantially sanctioned by 'the Council of Trent — which makes faith and good works co-ordinate sources of justification, laying the chief stress upon works. Protestantism does not depreciate good works; but it denies their value as sources or conditions of justification, and insists on them as the necessary fruits of faith, and evidence of justification.


*Universal Priesthood of Believers

The universal priesthood of believers implies the right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in the vernacular, but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system, which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people.

 Forms of Protestantism

Adventist
Anabaptist
Baptist
Evangelicalism
Holiness
Lutheran
Methodist
Pentecostal
Reformed


Protestant Reformation  The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The movement began as an attempt to reform the Catholic Church. Many western Catholics were troubled by what they saw as false doctrines and malpractices within the Church, particularly involving the teaching and sale of indulgences. Another major contention was the practice of buying and selling church positions (simony) and what was seen at the time as considerable corruption within the Church's hierarchy. This corruption was seen by many at the time as systemic, even reaching the position of the Pope.

Martin Luther's spiritual predecessors included men such as John Wycliffe and Johannes Hus, who had attempted to reform the church along similar lines, though their efforts had been largely unsuccessful. The Reformation can be said to have begun in earnest on October 31, 1517, in Wittenberg, Saxony (in present-day Germany). There, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the All Saints' Church, which served as a notice board for university-related announcements. These were points for debate that criticized the Church and the Pope. The most controversial points centered on the practice of selling indulgences and the Church's policy on purgatory. Other reformers, such as Ulrich Zwingli, soon followed. Beliefs and practices under attack by Protestant reformers included purgatory, particular judgment, devotion to Mary (Mariology), the intercession of and devotion to the saints, most of the sacraments, the mandatory celibacy requirement of its clergy (including monasticism), and the authority of the Pope.

The reform movement soon split along certain doctrinal lines. Spiritual disagreements between Luther and Zwingli, and later between Luther and John Calvin, led to the emergence of rival Protestant churches. The most important denominations to emerge directly from the Reformation were the Lutherans, and the Reformed/Calvinists/Presbyterians. The process of reform had decidedly different causes and effects in other countries. In England, where it gave rise to Anglicanism, the period became known as the English Reformation. Subsequent Protestant denominations generally trace their roots back to the initial reforming movements. The reformers also accelerated the Catholic or Counter Reformation within the Catholic Church. The Protestant Reformation is also referred to as the German Reformation, Protestant Revolution or Protestant Revolt.


proverb

 1. a short, traditional saying that expresses some obvious truth or familiar experience; adage; maxim

2. a person or thing that has become commonly recognized as a type of specified characteristics; byword

3. Bible an enigmatic saying in which a profound truth is cloaked

4. One of three Biblical books composed by King Solomon (Song of Songs, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes).

Also see Book of Proverbs


Pruta   The smallest halachically valid coin. Equal in value to one-fortieth of a gram of silver. Today approximately one U.S. penny.
Psalms


Pseudepigrapha   (Greek pseudepigraphos, "falsely ascribed")

Jewish and Christian writings that began to appear about 200 BC and continued to be written well into Christian times; they were attributed by their authors to great religious figures and authorities of the past. Pseudepigrapha were composed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and they include apocalyptic writings, legendary histories, collections of psalms, and wisdom literature. In most cases, Pseudepigrapha are modeled on canonical books of a particular genre: For example, Judith is inspired by the historical books of the Old Testament; Ecclesiaticus, by Proverbs; and the Psalms of Solomon, by the biblical Psalms.

Pseudepigrapha, in the narrow sense of pseudonymous writings, are present in the canon of the Old Testament-for example, Ecclesiastes (traditionally attributed to Solomon), the Song of Solomon, and Daniel. Protestants and Jews, however, customarily use the term Pseudepigrapha to describe those writings that Roman Catholics would term Apocrypha-that is, late Jewish writings that all scholars consider extracanonical. Such works include the Book of Jubilees, the Psalms of Solomon, the Fourth Book of Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, the Fourth Book of Ezra, the Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Testaments of the Twelve patriarchs, all of which are ascribed to canonical worthies of the Old Testament, date from intertestamental times, and have not been preserved in their original Hebrew or Aramaic. Fragments of other, hitherto unknown Pseudepigrapha, preserved in Hebrew or Aramaic, have turned up among the Qumran material (see Dead Sea Scrolls).


Purana  Any of a class of Sanskrit encyclopedic texts containing cosmogonic histories, legends of gods and heroes, and other traditional material.

The Puranas are a body of Vedic Hindu (see Vedic entries, Hinduism entries) texts containing myths, legends, and ritual instructions. Of the many works designated as puranas (“ancient narratives”), only eighteen—the Mahapuratas (“Great Puranas”)—are official. Even they, composed early in the common era, are smrti, or remembered texts, rather than Sruti, the revealed word. The Puranas are often attributed to the sage Vyasa, also said to be the author of the Mahabharata. If a single theme dominates the Puranas it is that of bhakti or proper devotion.


Purgatory   One of the most tenacious myths of the Middle Ages is Purgatory, whither prayer is supposed to send aid to its inhabitants, the moderately sinful Christian dead. In the Middle Ages the threat of purgatorial flames was almost as frightening as the fires of Hell, despite the in-built possibility of self-advancement, of ascending the Mountain of Purgatory through penance and privation to the gates of Heaven. Although the Greek Orthodox Church eschewed the notion, Purgatory entered official Catholic dogma in 1245, and has remained there ever since. ‘Reasonable Purgatory’ has seemed to many believers a sensible stopping point before the Last Judgement.

Purgatory exists as a way-station on the path to heaven. Prayers of the faithful on Earth help lessen the time spent there, and indulgences, or forgiveness, can still be granted by the pope. But the doctrine points out the Catholic view of the seriousness of sin and the purity of God. Even though sin is atoned for by Christ, the results of that sin carry over into actions and attitudes, and these must be dealt with.

The official Church doctrine lists page after page of arguments from the Bible and tradition, but points out that the sixteenth-century Protestant reformers decided that purgatory did not exist. It was a figment of Catholic imagination. As such, it is a doctrine unique to Catholicism.


Puritan   A group of radical English Protestants that arose in the late sixteenth century and became a major force in England during the seventeenth century. Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England by eliminating traces of its origins in the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, they urged a strict moral code and placed a high value on hard work (see work ethic). After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, they controlled the new government, the Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell, who became leader of the Commonwealth, is the best-known Puritan.

  • Many Puritans, persecuted in their homeland, came to America in the 1620s and 1630s, settling colonies that eventually became Massachusetts. (See Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony.)

  • The words puritan and puritanical have come to suggest a zeal for keeping people from enjoying themselves.


Puritans beliefs
Puritan's beliefs

1. Total Depravity - through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is born sinful - concept of Original Sin.

2. Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he wishes - only a few are selected for salvation - concept of predestination.

3. Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone. 

4. Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.

5. Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.


Puritanism   Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose in the late 16th and 17th century that sought to "purify" the Church of England, leading to civil war in England and to the founding of colonies in North America. Many Puritans joined the Parliamentary party during the English Civil War and gained considerable power, but after the Restoration they were once again a dissenting minority. Believing themselves chosen by God to revolutionize history, some Puritans founded settlements in America (see Pilgrims), notably the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans of Massachusetts emphasized the conversion experience, by which the elect experienced the descent of grace. In their theocracy only the elect were allowed to vote and rule, though the privileges of church membership were extended to all baptized and orthodox persons.


Purusha   (Sanskrit "man, Cosmic Man", in Sutra literature also called "man")

The primeval man, considered to be the soul of the universe, which was created out of his body.

In Hinduism, Purusha is the "self" which pervades the universe. The Vedic divinities are considered to be the human mind's interpretation of the many facets of Purusha. According to the Rigvedic Purusha sukta, Purusha was dismembered by the devas -- his mind is the Moon, his eyes are the Sun, and his breath is the wind.

In the Rigveda, Purusha is described as a primeval giant, not unlike the Norse Ymir, that is sacrificed by the gods (see Purushamedha) and from whose body the world and the varnas (castes) are built. He is described as having a thousand heads and a thousand feet. He emanated Viraj, the female creative principle, from which he is reborn in turn before the world was made out of his parts.

In the sacrifice of Purusha, the Vedic chants were first created. The horses and cows were born, the Brahmins were made from Purusha's mouth, the Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his thighs, and the Shudras from his feet. The Moon was born from his spirit, the Sun from his eyes, the heavens from his skull. Indra and Agni emerged from his mouth.

The parallel to Norse Ymir is often considered to reflect the myth's origin in Proto-Indo-European religion.

In Samkhya, a school of Hindu philosophy, Purusha is pure consciousness. It is thought to be our true identity, to be contrasted with Prakrti, or the material world, which contains all of our organs, senses, and intellectual faculties.


 prakriti and purusha 

 the Samkhya school of Indian philosophy, material nature and the soul. Prakriti is material nature in its germinal state, eternal and beyond perception. When it comes into contact with the soul or self (purusha), it starts a process of evolution that leads through several stages to the creation of the existing material world. In the Samkhya view, only prakriti is active; the self, trapped in materiality, does nothing but observe and experience. The self escapes from prakriti by recognizing its total difference from and noninvolvement in the material world.


pyramids   The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.

There are over 100 pyramids in Egypt. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.

The earliest known Egyptian pyramid is the Pyramid of Djoser which was built during the third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect Imhotep, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry.

The best known Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built.

The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence.

See photo of Pyramid of Khufu at Giza here

 

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