key words Flashcards
Esoteric
teachings which are only intended to be understood by only a small number of people with specialised knowledge
Manicheism
A form of esoteric Christianity which believed that suffering and evil in the world are not caused by God but Satan [humans have 2 souls - the higher soul that desires God and the lower soul that desires evil]
Platonism [Neoplatonism]
followers of Plato [205-270 AD] Believed the soul can ascend to merge with the ‘One’ [God] where it encounters truth, wisdom and happiness
The Fall
moment described in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and were punished by being expelled from Eden [paradise]
Cupiditas [used by Augustine]
meaning self-love [which drives the will]
Caritas [used by Augustine]
meaning generous love [which drives the will]
Akrasia [used by Plato and Aristotle]
to describe the weakness of the will
Continence
self-restraint - being able to abstain from sexual pleasures
Concupiscence
sexual lust - can also refer to other desires such as craving food, power or money
Post-Lapsarian
the world after the Fall of Adam and Eve [the fallen world]
Original Sin
Christian notion that despite being created in the image of God, all humans fail to fulfil this potential and live in disharmony [human condition]
Ontology
the study of how something exists and the nature of its properties
Grace
God’s generous, underserved and free act of love for the world [expressed supremely in the giving of his son Jesus Christ in order that humans might overcome their sinful natures]
Redemption
when humans are freed from sin, suffering and death. In Christian thought redemption of the world is though Jesus Christ
Post-Enlightenment
refers primarily to the 18th C. thinkers such as Hume, Rousseau and Kant who argued knowledge could only be obtained through human reason and observation and not through divine revelation or other authorities
