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The Greek translation of the Septuagint, made for the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria, and the usage of daimon in the New Testament's original Greek text, caused the Greek word to be applied to a Judeo-Christian spirit by the early 2nd century AD. Then in late antiquity, pagan conceptions and exorcisms, part of the cultural atmosphere, became Christian beliefs and exorcism rituals. The transposition has recently been documented in detail, in North Africa, by Maureen Tilley.
In Plato's Symposium, something intermediate between the human and the divine, although in previous Greek thought just the divine, not personalized as any one particular God. The need for intermediaries between the sublunar world of change and happenstance, and the supralunary or timeless celestial world, becomes a staple of Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism. A daimon can also refer to one's self, or an aspect of oneself: this is the usage that survives in phrases like ‘Van Gogh's artistic demon’. Synonyms: devil, fiend, demon, daemon
To the west of Dan are the southern mountains of the Lebanon range, while to the east and north were the Hermon mountains. Melting snow from the Hermon mountains provides the majority of the water of the Jordan River, and passes through Dan making the immediate area highly fertile. The lush vegetation that results makes the area around Dan seem somewhat out of place in the otherwise arid region around it. According to the archaeological remains of Tel el Qadi, the town was originally occupied in the late Neolithic era (c 4500BC), although at some time in the fourth millennium BC it became abandoned; the abandonment lasting for up to 1000 years. According to the Book of Judges, prior to the Tribe of Dan occupying the land, the town was known as Laish, and allied with the Sidonians; this presumably indicates they were Phoenicians (Sidonians were one of the Phoenician groups), who may or may not have been Canaanite. The alliance had little practical benefit due to the remoteness of the town from Sidon, and the intervening Lebanon mountains. As a consequence of the Hermon mountains, the town was also isolated from the Assyrians and Aram;[4] the Septuagint mentions that the town was unable to have an alliance with the Aramaeans. The masoretic text does not mention the Aramaeans, but instead states that the town had no relationship with any man - textual scholars believe that this is a typographic error, with adham (man) being a mistake for aram. This was the name of the most ancient of Oriental cities, the capital of Syria (Isa. 7:8; 17:3) located about 133 miles north of Jerusalem. The location of this city is said to be the most beautiful of all Western Asia. Damascus is mentioned among the conquests of the Egyptian king Thothmes III. (B.C. 1500), and in the Amarna tablets (B.C. 1400). It is first mentioned in Scripture in connection with Abraham's victory over the confederate kings under Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:15). It was the native place of Abraham's steward (15:2). It is not again noticed till the time of David, when "the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer" (q.v.), 2 Sam. 8:5; 1 Chr. 18:5. In the reign of Solomon, Rezon became leader of a band who revolted from Hadadezer (1 Kings 11:23), and betaking themselves to Damascus, settled there and made their leader king. There was a long war, with varying success, between the Israelites and Syrians, who at a later period became allies of Israel against Judah (2 Kings 15:37). The Syrians were at length subdued by the Assyrians, the city of Damascus was taken and destroyed, and the inhabitants carried captive into Assyria (2 Kings 16:7-9; compare Isa. 7:8). In this, prophecy was fulfilled (Isa. 17:1; Amos 1:4; Jer. 49:24). The kingdom of Syria remained a province of Assyria till the capture of Nineveh by the Medes (B.C. 625), when it fell under the conquerors. After passing through various vicissitudes, Syria was invaded by the Romans (B.C. 64), and Damascus became the seat of the government of the province. In A.D. 37 Aretas, the king of Arabia, became master of Damascus, having driven back Herod Antipas. This city is memorable as the scene of Saul's conversion (Acts 9:1-25). The street called "Straight," in which Judas lived, in whose house Saul was found by Ananias, is known by the name Sultany, or "Queen's Street." It is the principal street of the city. Paul visited Damascus again on his return from Arabia (Gal. 1:16, 17). Christianity was planted here as a center (Acts 9:20), from which it spread to the surrounding regions. In A.D. 634 Damascus was conquered by the growing Islamic power. In A.D. 1516 it fell under the dominion of the Turks, its present rulers.
dark arts of magic See Black magic dark magic See Black magic dark side magic See Black magic
The Davidic Line refers to the tracing of lineage to the King David referred to in the Hebrew Bible , as well as the New Testament. Though this is especially relevant to kings claiming royal lineage and to major leaders in Jewish history, it is also relevant in a general sense to anyone who claims descent from King David.
See End Time Day of the Lord See End Time DBY abbreviation for The Darby Bible
3: one exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful
The Arabs call it Bahr Lut, i.e., the Sea of Lot. It lies about 16 miles in a straight line to the east of Jerusalem. Its surface is 1,292 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. It covers an area of about 300 square miles. Its depth varies from 1,310 to 11 feet. From various phenomena that have been observed, its bottom appears to be still subsiding. It is about 53 miles long, and of an average breadth of 10 miles. It has no outlet, the great heat of that region causing such rapid evaporation that its average depth, notwithstanding the rivers that run into it, is maintained with little variation. The Jordan alone discharges into it no less than six million tons of water every twenty-four hours. The waters of the Dead Sea contain 24.6 per cent. of mineral salts, about seven times as much as in ordinary seawater; thus they are unusually buoyant. Chloride of magnesium is most abundant; next to that chloride of sodium (common salt). But terraces of alluvial deposits in the deep valley of the Jordan show that formerly one great lake extended from the Waters of Merom to the foot of the watershed in the Arabah. The waters were then about 1,400 feet above the present level of the Dead Sea, or slightly above that of the Mediterranean, and at that time were much less salt. Nothing living can exist in this sea. "The fish carried down by the Jordan River at once die, nor can even mussels or corals live in it; but it is a fable that no bird can fly over it, or that there are no living creatures on its banks. Dr. Tristram found on the shores three kinds of kingfishers, gulls, ducks, and grebes, which he says live on the fish which enter the sea in shoals, and presently die. He collected one hundred and eighteen species of birds, some new to science, on the shores, or swimming or flying over the waters. The cane-brakes which fringe it at some parts are the homes of about forty species of mammalia ; and innumerable tropical or semi-tropical plants perfume the atmosphere wherever fresh water can reach. The climate is perfect and most delicious, and indeed there is perhaps no place in the world where a sanatorium could be established with so much prospect of benefit as at Ain Jidi (Engedi).", Geikie's Hours, etc. See also Lake Asphaltitus
The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The texts are of great religious and historical significance, as they include some of the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 AD, and preserve evidence of considerable diversity of belief and practice within late Second Temple Judaism. They are written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, mostly on parchment, but with some written on papyrus. These manuscripts generally date between 150 BC to 70 AD. Publication of the scrolls has taken many decades, and the delay has been a source of academic controversy. As of 2007 two volumes remain to be completed, with the whole series, Discoveries in the Judean Desert, running to thirty nine volumes in total. Many of the scrolls are now housed in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. According to The Oxford Companion to Archeology, "The biblical manuscripts from Qumran, which include at least fragments from every book of the Old Testament, except perhaps for the Book of Esther, provide a far older cross section of scriptural tradition than that available to scholars before. While some of the Qumran biblical manuscripts are nearly identical to the Masoretic, or traditional, Hebrew text of the Old Testament, some manuscripts of the books of Exodus and Samuel found in Cave Four exhibit dramatic differences in both language and content. In their astonishing range of textual variants, the Qumran biblical discoveries have prompted scholars to reconsider the once-accepted theories of the development of the modern biblical text from only three manuscript families: of the Masoretic text, of the Hebrew original of the Septuagint, and of the Samaritan Pentateuch. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the Old Testament scripture was extremely fluid until its canonization around A.D. 100." Six of the Dead Sea Scrolls are currently on exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York City until January 4, 2009, and six are on display at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh until December 28. The Royal Ontario Museum of Toronto will host an exhibition on the scrolls from June 27, 2009 to January 3, 2010.
definite atonement See
Limited atonement
Hence, there is something which ‘causes in all other things their being, their goodness and whatever other perfections they have. And this we call God.’ The argument presupposes a concept of causation as a kind of gift of reality. This idea survived until the 17th century, but is no longer attractive. In addition, the second premise is clearly faulty (one number may be greater than another, but there is no greatest number; similarly one automobile may be better than another without there being a perfect automobile). In so far as the argument depends upon an association of value with degrees of reality, and thence with causation, it is probably best seen as a version of the cosmological argument.
Subordinate god who shapes and arranges the physical world. In his dialogue Timaeus, Plato identified the Demiurge as the force that fashioned the world from the preexisting materials of chaos. In Gnosticism of the early Christian era, the Demiurge is regarded as an inferior deity who had created the imperfect, material world and who belonged to the forces of evil opposing the supreme God of goodness.
In religions worldwide, any of various evil spirits that mediate between the supernatural and human realms. The term comes from the Greek word daimon, a divine or semidivine power that determined a person's fate. Zoroastrianism had a hierarchy of demons, which were in constant battle with Ahura Mazda. In Judaism it was believed that demons inhabited desert wastes, ruins, and graves and inflicted physical and spiritual disorders on humankind. Christianity placed Satan or Beelzebub at the head of the ranks of demons, and Islam designated Iblis or Satan as the leader of a host of evil jinn. Hinduism has many demons, called asuras, who oppose the devas (gods). In Buddhism demons are seen as tempters who prevent the achievement of nirvana. Originally an angel, it joined with Satan to oppose God. Many conservative Christians believe that a person can be possessed by a demon; some think that only non-Christians can be possessed. Mental health professionals abandoned the concept of demonic possession centuries ago. A list compiled in 1589 by a demonologist named Binsfield was considered to be highly authoritative; in it he listed the following major demons and their particular evils:
The widespread and ancient belief in demons is still a strong force in many regions of the world today. See also spiritism and witchcraft
Many cultures and religions contain some concept of demonic possession, but the details vary considerably. The Roma people believe that demons can also possess animals, plants, deceased persons or inanimate objects. The oldest references to demonic possession are from the Sumerians, who believed that all diseases of the body and mind were caused by "sickness demons" called gidim or gid-dim. The priests who practiced exorcisms in these nations were called ashipu (sorcerer) as opposed to an asu (physician) who applied bandages and salves. Many cuneiform tablets contain prayers to certain gods asking for protection from demons, while others ask the gods to expel the demons that have invaded their bodies. Most illustrations portray these spirits as small, gruesome characters with inhuman distinctiveness. Often referenced as a witch’s “familiars” demons and other evil-spirits employed by witches are also displayed as society’s cast-offs or those beings incapable of caring for themselves thus seeking refuge with a witch. Witches would provide shelter and nourishment via the “witch’s teat” in exchange for the valuable services of the familiars in addition to spells, potions and other attempts by a witch to cause evil or “maleficium” over another. Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans perform exorcisms too; in these cultures often diseases are attributed to the presence of a vengeful spirit or (loosely termed) demon in the body of the patient. These spirits are more often the spectres of animals or people wronged by the bearer, the exorcism rites usually being comprised of respectful offerings or sacrificial offerings. The Malleus Maleficarum speaks about some exorcisms that can be done in different cases. Depending on the severity of the alleged possession, solutions range from prayers of deliverance to the Solemn Rite of Exorcism as practiced by the Catholic Church. The study of demons. Belief in or worship of demons. The study of demons or evil spirits; also a branch of magic that deals with such beings. In religious science it has come to indicate knowledge regarding supernatural beings that are not deities. The Greek term daimon originally indicated "genius" or "spirit," and Socrates claimed to have had intercourse with his daimon. However, with the advent of Christianity it came to mean a malevolent spirit entity. Demonology was especially developed during the Middle Ages. Ancient demonology is discussed in the entries Egypt, Semites, Genius, and Devil Worship, and the demonology in pre-industrial societies is examined in the entries on the various countries and peoples of its origin. According to Michael Psellus (1018-ca. 1079), author of De Operatione Daemonum Dialogus, demons are divided into six main bodies: the demons of fire; of the air; of the earth; those of the waters and rivers, who cause tempests and floods; the subterranean who prepare earthquakes and excite volcanic eruptions, and the shadowy ones who are somewhat like ghosts. (St. Augustine (354-430 C.E.) considered all demons under the last category.) Psellus's classification is not unlike the system of the Middle Ages, which divided all spirits into those belonging to the four elements: fire, air, earth, and water (salamanders, sylphs, gnomes, and undines, respectively). denarii plural form of denarius, Roman Republican coins, originally cast in silver and worth 10 asses; known as a "penny" in the New Testament. The Library of Congress exhibition includes coins from the mid-first century BCE.
The tribute penny of the Bible is widely regarded as a denarius of the Emperor Tiberius, who ruled Rome from A.D. 14 to 37. It shows Tiberius on the front and the legend "Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus." The back shows his mother, Livia, seated and the words "High Priest," one of Tiberius' many titles. The denarius was a day's pay for a worker, such as a vineyard laborer (Matthew 20:2).
such as a:
Depravity See Total Depravity
Derekh Eretz Rabbah is one of the minor tractates of the Talmud. In the editions of the latter the tractate Derek Erez consists of three divisions:
This division is correct in that there are really three different works, but the designations "Rabbah" and "Zuta" are misleading, since the divisions so designated are not longer and shorter divisions of one work, but are, in spite of their relationship, independent of each other. The ancient authorities, who have different designations for this treatise, know nothing of the division into "Rabbah" and "Zuta"; the Halakot Gedolot (ed. A. Hildesheimer, p. 647) even includes a large part of the Derek Erez Zuta under the title "Rabbah." Derekh Eretz Zutta is a non-canonical tractate of the Babylonian Talmud. The name is misleading in more than one respect; the word "zuta" (small) would seem to indicate that it is a shorter version of the treatise "Derek Erez Rabbah," which is not the case, the two having little in common. "Derek Erez," moreover, is a very unsuitable name for a collection of ethical teachings such as form the substance of the treatise. Even Rashi, however (Ber. 4a), knows the treatise under this name, calling it "Masseket Derek Erez," while the Tosafists likewise call it "Hilkot Derek Erez" (Bek. 44b). The designation "zuta" is probably of later origin.
The parts of some Christian versions of the Old Testament canon that are found neither in the Protestant Old Testament nor in the Jewish Tanak. Commonly called the apocrypha. The deuterocanon is contrasted to the protocanon, with the events and writing of the protocanon ("first canon") having preceded the "second canon." Here's an explanation of the Old Testament Canon from a Roman Catholic perspective.
The word deuterocanonical comes from the Greek meaning 'belonging to the second canon'. The etymology of the word is misleading, but it does indicate the hesitation with which these books were accepted into the canon by some. Strictly, the term does not mean non-canonical; accordingly, many who do not accept these books as part of the canon of Scripture designate them instead by the term "Apocrypha", and either omit them from the Bible or include them in a section designated Apocrypha. This difference in terminology sometimes causes confusion.
The actual identity of the Deuteronomist is less secure than the body of his editing work: scholars postulate that the author was Baruch (Neriyah's son), Jeremiah's scribe, or possibly Jeremiah, due to the similarities in style between Jeremiah, and the inclusion in Jeremiah of direct (unattributed) quotes of D, as well as the affiliation of Jeremiah to the Shiloh priests, the time period at which Jeremiah lived. This definition describes the opinion of the DH without taking into account alternative opinions;
See also Deuteronomist
Devarim is a Hebrew word, which is the second word of the Book of Deutoronomy, the fifth book of the Torah (the first five books of the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible). It means "Words". When used as a noun, Devarim might refer to:
Devi is, quintessentially, the core form of every Hindu Goddess. As the female manifestation of the supreme lord, she is also called Prakriti, as she balances out the male aspect of the divine addressed Purusha. Devi is the supreme Being in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, while in the Smartha tradition, she is one of the five primary forms of God. In other Hindu traditions of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Devi embodies the active energy and power of male deities (Purushas), such as Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. Vishnu's shakti counterpart is called Lakshmi, with Parvati being the female shakti of Shiva. (South and Central Asian mythology) The great goddess of the Hindus: Mahadevi. The consort of Shiva, she is worshipped in a variety of forms corresponding to her two aspects—benevolence and fierceness. She is Uma, ‘light’; Gauri, ‘yellow or brilliant’; Parvati, ‘the mountaineer’; and Jaganmata, ‘the mother of the world’ in her milder guise. The terrible emanations are Durga, ‘the inaccessible’; Kali, ‘the black’; Chandi, ‘the fierce’; and Bhairavi, ‘the terrible’. Shiva and Devi are regarded as the twofold personalization of Brahman, the primeval substance. Like Vishnu, Shiva has no direct contact with the tangible elements in the universe, and is obliged to emanate a manifestation, a putting forth of energy, sakti, which myth has conceived as a wife or daughter. In Hindu iconography the presence of the sakti of a deity, the female companion, is important, not least for the reason that she attracts and helps the devotee.
Christian synonym for Satan: an all-evil former angel. He is regarded by most progressive Christians as a mythical being who symbolizes evil. He is regarded by most conservative Christians as an extremely powerful personality -- a quasi-deity who is tempting every human to do evil.
In Buddhism, the third set, sixteen of the seventy five sekhiya or rules of training (Sekhiyavatta). See also the Patimokkha A bhikku should train himself thus: I will not teach Dhamma to someone who is not sick and . . .
The Dictionary describes Dharma as: 1. Hinduism & Buddhism.
2. Hinduism. Individual obligation with respect to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred law. 3. Buddhism.
Dhya-na or jha-na in Pa-li refers to a stage of meditation, which is a subset of sama-dhi. It is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Equivalent terms are "Chán" in modern Chinese, "Zen" in Japanese, "Seon" in Korean, "Thien" in Vietnamese, and "Samten" in Tibetan. In Hinduism, dhyana is considered to be an instrument to gain self knowledge, separating maya from reality to help attain the ultimate goal of moksha.
The forced exiles of the Jewish people from Palestine by the Babylonians in the sixth century BCE and by the Roman Empire in the middle of the 2nd century CE was diaspora.
didrachma A didrachma is a Greek silver coin worth 2 drachmas, about as much as 2 Roman denarii, or about 2 days wages. It was commonly used to pay the half-shekel temple tax.
As of January 2009, there are 630 Roman Catholic archdioceses (including 13 patriarchates, 2 catholicates, 536 metropolitan archdioceses, 79 single archdioceses) and 2,167 dioceses in the world. After the Reformation, the Church of England continued and developed the existing diocesan structure in England. This continued throughout the Anglican Communion. In the Eastern Catholic Churches (which recognise papal authority and so are in communion with the Roman Catholic Church), the equivalent unit is called an eparchy; the Orthodox Church calls its dioceses metropoleis in the Greek tradition, Slavic tradition calls their dioceses eparchies.
The Twelve Apostles, sometimes referred to as "The Disciples" The name disciple was sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist (Matt. 9:14), and of the Pharisees (22:16), but principally to the followers of Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who:
In Christianity, the disciples were the students of Jesus during his ministry. Though often restricted to the Twelve Apostles, the gospels and the Book of Acts refer to varying numbers of disciples that range between 70 and 120 and Paul refers to 500. In the book of Acts, the Apostles themselves have disciples. The word disciple is used today as a way of self-identification for those who seek to learn from the life of Jesus. The term disciple is derived from the New Testament, coming to English by way of the Latin discipulus meaning "a learner". Disciple should not be confused with Apostle, meaning "messenger, he that is sent". While a disciple is one who learns from a teacher, a student, an Apostle is sent to deliver those teachings to others. The word disciple appears two hundred and thirty two times in the four gospels and the Book of Acts.
The Seventy Disciples or Seventy-two Disciples were early followers of Jesus mentioned in the gospel of Luke 10:1-24. According to Luke, the only gospel in which they appear, Jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs to spread his message. In Western Christianity it is usual to refer to them as Disciples while in Eastern Christianity they are usually referred to as Apostles.Using the original Greek words, both titles are descriptive as an apostle is one sent on a mission whereas a disciple is a student, but the two traditions differ on the scope of the word apostle.
This anonymous and idealized disciple is often identified as John the Apostle, thought to be also the Evangelist; others have proposed Lazarus or Mark the Evangelist, or supposed him to be a fictitious character. Since the Beloved Disciple does not appear in any of the other New Testament gospels, it has been traditionally seen as a self-reference to John the Evangelist. An issue is the identification of the Evangelist with John the Apostle; that is, whether the apostle is the same man as the evangelist. See also:
Dittography is very common, as anyone whose word processor flags repeated words can attest.
divine See Divinity
Grace is enabling power sufficient for progression. Grace divine is an indispensable gift from God for development, improvement, and character expansion. Without God's grace, there are certain limitations, weaknesses, flaws, impurities, and faults (i.e. carnality) humankind cannot overcome. Therefore, it is necessary to increase in God's grace for added perfection, completeness, and flawlessness. More broadly, divine grace refers to God's gifts to humankind, including life, creation, and salvation. More narrowly but more commonly, grace describes the means by which humans are granted salvation (and to some, saved from original sin). Grace is of central importance in the theology of Christianity, as well as one of the most contentious issues in Christian sectarianism. Grace is often distinguished from mercy in that mercy is seen as not receiving punishment that one deserves to receive, whereas grace is receiving a positive benefit that one does not deserve to receive. Divine Grace also can be defined as God's empowering presence in ones life enabling them to do and be what they were created to do and be.
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates - the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." The verse is said to describe what are known as "Borders of the Land" (Gevulot Ha-aretz). In Jewish tradition these borders define the maximum extent of the land promised to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.
Diyu is the realm of the dead or "hell" in Chinese mythology. It is very loosely based upon the Buddhist concept of Naraka combined with traditional Chinese afterlife beliefs and a variety of popular expansions and re-interpretations of these two traditions. Ruled by Yanluo Wang, the King of Hell, Diyu is a maze of underground levels and chambers where souls are taken to atone for their earthly sins. Incorporating ideas from Taoism and Buddhism as well as traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a kind of purgatory place which serves not only to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation. There are many deities associated with the place, whose names and purposes are the subject of much conflicting information. The exact number of levels in Chinese Hell - and their associated deities - differs according to the Buddhist or Taoist perception. Some speak of three to four 'Courts', other as many as ten. The ten judges are also known as the 10 Kings of Yama. Each Court deals with a different aspect of atonement. For example, murder is punished in one Court, adultery in another. According to some Chinese legends, there are eighteen levels in Hell. Punishment also varies according to belief, but most legends speak of highly imaginative chambers where wrong-doers are sawn in half, beheaded, thrown into pits of filth or forced to climb trees adorned with sharp blades. However, most legends agree that once a soul (usually referred to as a 'ghost') has atoned for their deeds and repented, he or she is given the Drink of Forgetfulness by Meng Po and sent back into the world to be reborn, possibly as an animal or a poor or sick person, for further punishment. One description of Diyu can be found in the Jade Record.
The editor who combined the sources into the final Pentateuch is known as R, for Redactor, and might have been Ezra. "Starting from the simple question of how to reconcile inconsistencies in the text, and refusing to accept forced explanations to harmonize them, scholars eventually arrived at the theory that the Torah was composed of selections woven together from several, at times inconsistent, sources dealing with the same and related subjects. The reasoning followed in this kind of analysis is somewhat similar to that of the Talmudic sages and later rabbis who held that inconsistent clauses and terminology in a single paragraph of the Mishna must have originated with different sages, and who recognized that Moses could not have written passages of the Torah that contain information unavailable to him, such as the last chapter of Deuteronomy, which describes his death and its aftermath." According to Wellhausen, the four sources present a picture of Israel's religious history, which he saw as one of ever-increasing centralization and priestly power. Wellhausen's hypothesis became the dominant view on the origin of the Pentateuch for much of the 20th century. Most contemporary Bible experts accept some form of the documentary hypothesis, and scholars continue to draw on Wellhausen's terminology and insights. In the area of New Testament scholarship, proposed solutions to the synoptic problem often bear a strong resemblance to the documentary hypothesis.
In general, a belief held unquestioningly and with undefended certainty. In the Christian Church, a belief communicated by divine revelation, and defined by the Church. Dogmatism is one possible reaction to skepticism: it selects some set of propositions and insists, apparently arbitrarily, that they be not doubted. At the core of the dogma concept is absolutism, infallibility, irrefutability, unquestioned acceptance (among adherents) and anti-skepticism. These concepts typically invoke criticism from moderate and modulated conceptual approaches, and thus "dogma" is often colloqually used to indicate a doctrine which has the problem of claiming absolute truth, when other concepts may be superior.
See also Dogma
(Roman Catholic) Dogma (Roman Catholic) explains the concept of dogma from a Roman Catholic perspective. Dogma refers to an article of faith revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church presents to be believed. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basic truth from which salvation and life is derived for Christians. Dogmas regulate the language, how the truth of the resurrection is to be believed and communicated. One dogma is only a small particle of the living Christian faith, from which it derives its meaning. Roman Catholic Dogma is thus: "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding" The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: The Church's Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these. The faithful are required to accept with the divine and Catholic faith all, what the Church presents either as solemn decision or as general teaching. Yet not all teachings are dogma. The faithful are only required to accept those teachings as dogma, if the Church clearly and specifically identifies them as infallible dogmas. Not all truth are dogma. The bible contains many sacred truths, which the faithful recognize and agree with, but which the Church has not defined as dogma. Most Church teachings are not dogma. Cardinal Avery Dulles points out that in the 800 pages of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, there is not one new statement, for which infallibility is claimed.
Like the Novatianist schism of the previous century, the Donatists were rigorists, holding that the church must be a church of saints, not sinners, and that sacraments, such as baptism, administered by traditores (Christians who surrendered the Scriptures to the authorities who outlawed possession of them) were invalid. Probably in 311, a new bishop of Carthage was consecrated by someone who had allegedly been a traditor; his opponents consecrated a short-lived rival, who was succeeded by Donatus, after whom the schism was named. In 313, a commission appointed by Pope Miltiades found against the Donatists, but they continued to exist, viewing themselves, and not what was known as the Catholic Church, as the true Church, the only one with valid sacraments. Because of their association with the circumcellions, they brought upon themselves repression by the imperial authorities, but they drew upon African regional sentiment, while the Catholic party had the support of Rome. They were still a force at the time of Saint Augustine of Hippo at the end of the fourth century, and disappeared only after the Arab conquest of the 7th-8th century.
"Doomsday cult" is a term used to describe groups obsessed with Apocalypticism and Millenarianism, and can refer to both groups that prophesy catastrophe and destruction, and those that attempt to bring it about. Doomsday/Destructive/Apocalyptic cults are defined as to being religiously based, very high intensity, controlling groups that have caused or are liable to cause loss of life among their membership or the general public. It is important to realize that out of the tens of thousands of new religious groups worldwide, only a very few meet these criteria. Terrorist groups are not included in the above definition, because their goals are primarily political, not religious. However, groups like Al Quaeda (The Source) do have some points of similarities with destructive religious cults. Some destructive doomsday cults: Homicides directed against the public: Suicides or homicides of their own members:
Religious groups with the possible potential to be destructive: Common Signs of destructive cults a famous pasture-ground where Joseph found his brethren watching their flocks Here, at the suggestion of Judah, they sold him to the Ishmaelite merchants (Gen. 37:17). It is mentioned on monuments in B.C. 1600. It was the residence of Elisha (2 Kings 6:13), and the scene of a remarkable vision of chariots and horses of fire surrounding the mountain on which the city stood. It is identified with the modern Tell-Dothan, on the south side of the plain of Jezreel, about 12 miles north of Samaria, among the hills of Gilboa. The “two wells” are still in existence, one of which bears the name of the “pit of Joseph” (Jubb Yusuf). Douai Bible See Douay-Rheims Bible
Although the Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible (in the United States), the Revised Standard Version, the New Revised Standard Version and the New Jerusalem Bible are the most commonly used in English-speaking Catholic churches, the Challoner revision of the Douay-Rheims is still often the Bible of choice of English-speaking Traditionalist Catholics. Read more on The Douay-Rheims Bible Here
A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives from a similar practice in the Jewish synagogue.
drachma A drachma is a Greek silver coin worth about one Roman denarius, or about a day's wages for an agricultural laborer. An ancient Celtic order of priests, teachers, diviners, and magicians. The name itself is thought to relate to an oak tree or drus. Julius Caesar reports that the Druids met annually at a site believed to be the centre of Gaul; he also mentions a Chief Druid. The only detailed account of a Druidic ceremony we have was recorded by another Roman writer. It occurred at the time determined by the growth of mistletoe on an oak. A druid in a white robe climbed the tree and cut with ‘a golden sickle’ the branch of mistletoe, which was caught as it fell on a white cloak. Two white bulls were then sacrificed, and a feast took place. The meaning of this rite, like much else connected with this priesthood, remains obscure.
Druidism and other Neopagan religions are currently experiencing a rapid growth. Many people are attempting to rediscover their roots, their ancestral heritage. For many people in North America, their ancestors can be traced back to Celtic/Druidic countries. Most modern Druids connect the origin of their religion to the ancient Celtic people. However, historical data is scarce. The Druids may well have been active in Britain and perhaps in northern Europe before the advent of the Celts. Many academics believe that the ancestors of the Celts were the Proto-Indo European culture who lived near the Black Sea circa 4000 BCE. Some migrated in a South-Westerly direction to create the cultures of Thrace and Greece; others moved North-West to form the Baltic, Celtic, Germanic and Slavic cultures. Evidence of a Proto-Celtic Unetice or Urnfield culture has been found in what is now Slovakia circa 1000 BCE. This evolved into a group of loosely linked tribes which formed the Celtic culture circa 800 BCE. By 450 BCE they had expanded into Spain; by 400 BCE they were in Northern Italy, and by 270 BCE, they had migrated into Galatia (central Turkey). By 200 BCE, they had occupied the British Isles, Brittany, much of modern France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, North West Spain, and their isolated Galatia settlement in Turkey. Although the Celts had a written language, it was rarely used. Their religious and philosophical beliefs were preserved in an oral tradition. Little of their early history remains. Most of our information comes from Greek and Roman writers, who may well have been heavily biased (the Celts invaded Rome in 390 BCE and Greece in 279 BCE). Other data comes from the codification (and modification) of Celtic myth cycles by Christian monks. The latter included the Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle, the Cycle of Kings, the Invasion Races Cycle from Ireland, and The Mabinogion from Wales. Unfortunately, much Celtic history and religion has been lost or distorted by an overlay of Christianity. The Christian Church adsorbed much of Celtic religion. Many Pagan Gods and Goddesses have became Christian saints; sacred springs and wells were preserved and associated with saints; many Pagan temple sites became the location of cathedrals. By the 7th Century CE, Druidism itself was destroyed or continued deeply underground throughout most of the formerly Celtic lands. There is some evidence that Pagan religions did survive in isolated areas of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the 20th Century.
The Druze are a fiercely independent religious group with perhaps as many as a million members. They are mainly concentrated in Lebanon around the base of Mount Hermon, and in the mountains behind Beirut and Sidon. They broke away from Islam during the 10th century CE. In the early years of the eleventh century, this religious community came into existence that combined monotheism with beliefs about reincarnation. Relatively small Middle Eastern religious sect. It originated in Egypt in 1017 and is named for one of its founders, Muhammad al-Darazi (d. 1019/20). Strictly monotheistic and based in Islam, particularly Isma'ili Islam, Druze beliefs include an eclectic mixture of elements from Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Judaism, and Iranian religion. At first a secret sect with its own scriptures, The Druze believe in the divinity of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (985 – 1021?), sixth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt, and expect him to return someday to inaugurate a golden age. The sect was tied to their land and based on a close-knit family structure, with members obeying the word of the clan patriarchs. The Druze are divided hierachically into two orders — the sages, who are fully initiated in the beliefs of the religion, and the ignorant, who constitute the uninitiated lay majority. They permit no religious conversion either in or out, insisting on marriage within the group. Their religious system is kept secret from the outside world, and they are permitted to deny their faith if their life is in danger. The ancestry of the Druze is Arab. They split off from Islam when the sect migrated from Egypt to Lebanon. Very quickly they established themselves from Mount Hermon into the Galilee, and all the way to Syria. Today isolated communities may be found around the world. Many, especially in Israel, identify with Christianity, but wherever they are found they are famous for strict loyalty to their host nation. Known as the "Sons of Grace," they believe very strongly in the coexistence of all religions and ethnic groups. In religiously and culturally volatile places like Israel, this notion is becoming more and more difficult. In the early 21st century they numbered about one million, mostly in Syria and Lebanon.
This word is used to denote the phylarch or chief of a tribe (Gen. 36:15-43; Ex. 15:15; 1 Chr. 1:51-54).
The terms "dynamic equivalence" and "formal equivalence" are associated with the translator Eugene Nida, and were originally coined to describe ways of translating the Bible, but the two approaches are applicable to any translation. Theory and practice Because dynamic equivalence eschews strict adherence to the original text in favor of a more natural rendering in the target language, it is sometimes used when the readability of the translation is more important than the preservation of the original wording. Thus a novel might be translated with greater use of dynamic equivalence so that it may read well, while in diplomacy the precise original meaning may be the uppermost consideration, favoring greater adherence to formal equivalence. Completely unambiguous formal translation of larger works is more goal than reality, if only because one language may contain a word for a concept which has no direct equivalent in another language. In such cases a more dynamic translation may be used or a neologism may be created in the target language to represent the concept (sometimes by borrowing a word from the source language). The more the source language differs from the target language, the more difficult it may be to understand a literal translation. On the other hand, formal equivalence can sometimes allow readers familiar with the source language to see how meaning was expressed in the original text, preserving untranslated idioms, rhetorical devices (such as chiastic structures in the Hebrew Bible), and diction. Bible translation The concept of dynamic equivalence, applied to Bible translation, was developed especially by the linguist Eugene A. Nida. Translators of the Bible have taken various approaches in rendering it into English, ranging from an extreme use of formal equivalence, to extreme use of dynamic equivalence.
A balance between dynamic and formal equivalence
Extensive use of dynamic equivalence
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