- Glossary of spirituality-related terms (D-F)
This glossary of spirituality-related terms is based on how they commonly are used in Wikipedia articles. This page contains terms starting with D – F. Select a letter from the table of contents to find terms on other pages.
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Deism : Historical and modern deism is defined by the view thatreason , rather thanrevelation ortradition , should be the basis of belief in God. Deists reject organized religion and promote reason as the essential element in making moral decisions. This "rational" basis was usually founded upon thecosmological argument (first cause argument), theteleological argument (argument from design), and other aspects of what was called "natural religion". Deism has become identified with the classical belief that God created but does not intervene in the world, though this is not a necessary component of deism.*
Deity : (or a god) A postulatedpreternatural being, usually, but not always, of significant power,worship ped, thoughtholy , divine, orsacred , held in high regard, or respected byhuman beings. They assume a variety of forms, but are frequently depicted as having human or animal form. Sometimes it is consideredblasphemous to imagine the deity as having any concrete form. They are usually immortal. They are commonly assumed to have personalities and to possess consciousness, intellects, desires, and emotions much like humans. Such natural phenomena as lightning, floods, storms, other "acts of God”, andmiracle s are attributed to them, and they may be thought to be the authorities or controllers of every aspect of human life (such as birth or theafterlife ). Some deities are asserted to be the directors of time and fate itself, to be the givers of human law and morality, to be the ultimate judges of human worth and behavior, and to be the designers and creators of theEarth or theuniverse . Some of these "gods" have no power at all-they are simply worshipped.* Devotion: In
Christianity has come to mean time spent alone or in a small group of people reading and studying the Bible in a way as it relates to one's spiritual health and well being. It can also mean setting oneself apart in worship and solitude whether inChurch settings or in one's lifestyle to become more committed to and focused on God.* "
Dhammapada :" (Pali, translates as "Path of theDharma ". AlsoPrakrit "Dhamapada",Sanskrit "Dharmapada") A Buddhist religiousscripture , containing 423 verses in 26 categories. According to tradition, these are answers to questions put to the Buddha on various occasions, most of which deal withethics .*
Dharma : (sanskrit , roughly "law" or "way") The way of the higher Truths. Beings that live in harmony with Dharma proceed quicker towards "moksha ",nirvana , or personal liberation, a concept first taught inIndia n religions (Hinduism ,Buddhism ,Jainism andSikhism ).*
Dhikr : Arabic. ("pronouncement", "invocation " or "remembrance ") also spelled "zikr" based on its pronunciation in Turkish and Persian.:Dhikr is the remembrance of God commanded in theQur'an for allMuslims . To engage in dhikr is to have awareness of God according toIslam . Dhikr as a devotional act includes the repetition of divine names, supplications and aphorisms fromhadith literature, and sections of the Qur'an. More generally, any activity in which the Muslim maintains awareness of God is considered dhikr.E
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Emanationism : Technically is ahenotheism component in thecosmology of certain religious or philosophical systems that argue a Supreme Being did not directly create the physicaluniverse , but instead "emanated" lower spiritual beings who created the world.:According to this paradigm, Creation proceeds as an outpouring or even a transformation in the original Absolute orGodhead . The Supreme Light or Consciousness descends through a series of stages, gradations, worlds or hypostases, becoming progressively more material and embodied, before finally turning around to return to the One, retracing its steps through spiritual knowledge, contemplation and ascent.* Enlightenment: As a concept is related to the
Buddhist "Bodhi " but is a cornerstone of religious and spiritual understanding in practically allreligion s. It literally means being illuminated by acquiring new wisdom or understanding. HistoricallyJudaism andChristianity referred to spiritual enlightenment as "divine illumination". The systematic search for enlightenment was a goal of truth "seekers" after they found a master teacher or "guru", who could guide them. However, this formulation was not necessarily spiritual. In earlier times, such as during the Bon period of Tibetan religion, it was essentially magical, which is a pre-scientific stage. After the systematic methods were learned in India, the nations of Asia made pilgrimages to learn them. The relationship between seeker and guru was and remains, in most cases, an essential point for Enlightenment. There are practical signs of such a state, which can be recognized by a guru. Thus there is a practical, even secular component to Enlightenment, which differs from the requirement ofChristian divine grace fromGod , which was essentially mystical or sacred.*
Entheogen : A modern term derived from two Ancient Greek words, ἔνθεος ("entheos") and γενέσθαι ("genesthai"). "Entheos" means literally "in God", more freely translated "inspired". The Greeks used it as a term of praise for poets and other artists. "Genesthai" means "to cause to be". So an entheogen is "that which causes (a person) to be in God". The translation "creating the divine within" that is sometimes given is not quite correct -- "entheogen" implies neither that something is created (as opposed to just perceiving something that is already there) nor that that which is experienced is "within" the user (as opposed to having independent existence).:In its strictest sense the term refers to apsychoactive substance (most often someplant matter) that occasions enlightening spiritual ormystical experience, within the parameters of a cult, in the original non-pejorative sense of "cultus". In a broader sense, the word "entheogen" refers to artificial as well as natural substances that induce alterations of consciousness similar to those documented forritual ingestion of traditional shamanic inebriants, even if it is used in a secular context.* Epigenesis: The
philosophical /theological/esoteric idea that since themind was given to the human being, it is this original creative impulse, epigenesis, which has been the cause of all of mankind's development. :According tospiritual evolution , human beings build upon that which has been already created, but there is also something new due to the activity of the spirit and thus it is that humans become creative intelligences — creators. In order that human being may become an independent, original Creator, it is necessary that his training should include sufficient latitude for the exercise of the individual originality which distinguishes creation fromimitation . When Epigenesis becomes inactive, in the individual or even in a race, evolution ceases anddegeneration commences.* Epiphany: (Greek: "επιφάνεια", "the appearance; miraculous phenomenon") A
Christian feast intended to celebrate the 'shining forth' or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person ofJesus . The observance had its origins in the eastern Christian churches, and included the birth of Jesus; the visit of the three Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) who arrived inBethlehem ; and all of Jesus' childhood events, up to hisbaptism in the Jordan byJohn the Baptist . The feast was initially based on, and viewed as a fulfillment of, the Jewish Feast of Lights. This was fixed onJanuary 6 .*
Eschatology : (from the Greek "eschatos" meaning "last" + "-logy ") A part oftheology concerned with the final events in thehistory of the world or the ultimate fate ofhuman kind , commonly phrased as the end of the world. In manyreligion s, the end of the world is a future event prophesied insacred text s orfolklore . More broadly, eschatology may encompass related concepts such as themessiah or messianic era, theafterlife , and thesoul .*
Esotericism : Refers to knowledge suitable only for the advanced, privileged, or initiated, as opposed to exoteric knowledge, which is public. It is used especially for mystical,occult and spiritual viewpoints.*
Eternal return : (or sometimes eternal recurrence) A concept originating from ancient Egypt and developed in the teachings ofPythagoras . The basic theory is thattime is notinfinite , but is occupied by the set of actions possible in the universe, with all of these actions and events recurring indefinitely, again and again. A large part of eternal recurrence is the idea that the universe has no finalstate , but rather, merely cycles destinationlessly through the same states of matter and time. Time is perceived as circular and cyclical: this is in contrast the Western notion of rectilinear time, such as was developed byAristotle and byJudeo-Christian doctrine.*
Eternity : While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for aninfinite , i.e., limitless, amount oftime , many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside of time. There are a number ofarguments for eternity , by which proponents of the concept, principally,Aristotle , purported to prove that matter, motion, and time must have existed eternally.*
Eutheism, dystheism, and maltheism : Eutheism and dystheism aredialectic opposites within the spectrum of theistic religious beliefs.:* Eutheism is the belief thatGod exists and is good.:* Dystheism is the belief that God exists but is "not" good.:Both dystheism and eutheism are forms oftheism , in that they are belief systems that assert the existence of God or gods in some form. (The opposing viewpoint to theism, of course, isatheism ):Most theistic belief systems that posit aSingular God (monotheism ) are eutheistic, but by no means all of them.Gnosticism ,Satanism , and Maltheism are examples of belief systems with dystheistic tenets. Many polytheistic belief systems assert the existence of a variety of both 'good' and 'bad' deities, but the strict dichotomy of eutheism vs. dystheism is usually (though not always) framed in monotheistic terms.*
Existence : There is no universally accepted theory of what the word existence means. The dominant (though by no means universal) view in twentieth-century and contemporary Anglo-American philosophy is that existence is what is asserted by statements offirst-order logic of the form "for some x Fx". This agrees with the simple and commonsensical view that, in uttering "There is a bridge across the Thames at Hammersmith", or "A bridge crosses the Thames at Hammersmith", we are asserting the "existence" of a bridge across the Thames at Hammersmith. The word "existence", on this view, is simply a way of describing the logical form of ordinary subject-predicate sentence.:Unfortunately, this simple view is vulnerable to a number of philosophical objections, and the so-called problem of existence is one that still exercises the minds of contemporary philosophers. This article is a brief overview of those problems, of the solutions that certain philosophers have offered, and suggestions for further reading.*
Exorcism : The practice of evictingdemon s or other evil spiritual entities which are supposed to have possessed (taken control of) a person or object. The practice, though ancient in roots, is still part of the belief system of manyreligion s. The word "exorcism" means "I cause [someone] to swear," referring to the exorcist forcing the spirit to obey a higher power.:The person performing the exorcism, known as anexorcist , is often apriest , or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use a combination of magical and religious, such as prayers and set formulas, gestures, icons and amulets. The exorcist's goal is to force the evil spirit to vacate.F
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Faith healing : The use of solely spiritual means in treatingdisease , sometimes accompanied with the refusal of modern medical techniques. Another term for this is spiritual healing. Faith healing is a form ofalternative medicine .*
Fasting : The act of willingly abstaining from allfood and in some casesdrink , for a period of time. Depending on the tradition, fasting practices may forbidsexual intercourse , (or any sexual desire),masturbation , as well as refraining from eating certain types or groups of food (e.g.meat ).:Fasting for religious and spiritual reasons has been a part of human custom since pre-history. It is mentioned in theQur'an , in theMahabharata , in theUpanishads , and in theBible , in both the Old andNew Testament .*
Forgiveness : A choice the forgiver makes to let go ofresentment held in the forgiver's mind of a perceived wrong or difference, either actual or imagined. As the choice of forgiveness is made in the mind of the forgiver, it can be made about any resentment, whether toward another, oneself, a group, a situation or even one's God. Forgiveness of another can be granted with or without the other asking for forgiveness. Some believe the choice of forgiveness is only properly exercised if forgiveness is requested. Another view is that forgiveness is a gift the forgiver gives to oneself to free their mind of resentment. Forgiveness does not entail condoning the wrong or difference that occasioned the resentment.:Forgiveness can be seen as a religious value. However, belief in a
deity is not necessary for forgiveness. It can be motivated bylove ,philosophy , appreciation for the forgiveness of others,empathy , or personaltemperament . Even purepragmatism can lead to forgiveness, as it is well documented that people who forgive are happier than those who hold grudges.
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