Midterm Exam Flashcards
Apostles
12 original followers of Christ
Baptism
Right of admission/adoption into the Church
Easter
Day that Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus
Parables
stories used by Jesus to convey lessons to followers
Trinity
the Christian God has 3 persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in one God
Olorun
(Yoruba) supreme god but is hardly worshipped
Orishas
(Yoruba) 100s of lesser gods, which are the focus of worship
Ife
city where the Yoruba believe that humans originated
Family Ancestors
(Yoruba) gained supernatural powers by being a good person and worshipped only by their family
Deified Ancestors
Ancestors worshipped more broadly
Divination
(Yoruba) practices done to predict the future of a person
Wakan Tanka
(Lakota) the great spirit, grandfather spirit, or great mystery
Axis Mundi
(Lakota) center of the universe is the cottonwood tree during the Sun Dance
Sweat Lodge
(Lakota) a rite of passage where someone gets in a tent that is hot and gets very steamy. The sweat and pressure represent a cleansing of the physical and spiritual person
Sun Dance
(Lakota) Dancing around in a circle around a cottonwood tree. The dance is tribal and festive as they believe the center of the universe revolves around them at that moment. Happens twice a year
Vision Quest
(Lakota) Another rite of passage that turns a child into an adult; person goes out onto a hill and if they don’t get a vision they must die
Indigenous Religion
a religion that is not widespread and is a cultural religion from a group of people. Usually these religions are rich in tradition as their ancestors practiced the same way
Moksha
Hindus ultimate goal of liberation from samsara
Samsara
cycle of birth, life, death, and reincarnation
Yoga
Methodic exertion of the body and mind, has poses and such
Karma
moral law that defines how souls will receive the consequences of their actions in the next life
Dharma
ethical duty based on one’s caste
Brahman
shared common essence of everything in the world
atman
eternal self or soul; each atman together makes up the brahman
Caste System
system based on beliefs that the reincarnation determines a person’s standing, duties, or spiritual level
Shakyamuni
another name for Buddha
Four Passing Sights
old age, disease, death, ascetic man
the Great Going Forth
Buddha renounces his life and goes on to live and ascetic life
Middle Way
rejection of pleasure of sensual indulgences and of self-denial of asceticism
4 Noble Truths
to live is to experience suffering, suffering is cause by desire, suffering can be brought to cessation, solution to suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path
Arhats
worthy ones, basically saints
Nirvana
(Buddhism) state of eternal bliss
Chun-Tzu
ideal person, gentleman
Analects
collection of Confucius’ sayings
Shu
silver rule- “do not do unto others what you do not done unto yourself”
Confucian Sacrifices
Major - by emperor
Middle - by court officials
Minor - by local officials
Lao-Tzu
the founder of Taoism, was conceived at the age of 83, a government archivist, disenchanted to the gov and left town to wander
Tao Te Ching
81 short chapters of advice, known as “a mystical sacred text par excellence”, contains paradoxes
Paradoxes
assertions that seem illogical and contradictory on the surface yet contain deeper truths more accessible through intuition than logic
Chuang Tzu
second founder of Taoism, wrote a text with the central theme of freeing the mind from mere assumption about reality
Yin
negative, female, night, passive
Yang
Positive, Male, Day, Active
tao
“the way”
Wu-Wei
actionless activity or natural non-intervention
Kosher
Jewish dietary and clothing restrictions/laws
Shabbat/Sabbath
day of rest, Saturday
Talmud
vast depository of the oral Torah; translates to “study” or “knowledge”
Shema
central Jewish prayer
The 10 Commandments
ten laws given to Moses which he passes on to the Israelites
Diaspora
the situation of Jews living away from their ancestral homeland
Pesach/Passover
holiday celebrating the passage of Israelites from slavery into freedom
Rosh Hashanah
Jewish New Year
Islam translation
“surrender” or “submission”
Qur’an
primary sacred text
Shahada
profession of faith, “there is no God except God. Muhammad is the messenger of God”
Salat
5 times daily mandatory prayer
Zakat
almsgiving/tithes, 2.5% of yearly wealth
Hajj
annual pilgrimage to Mecca
Sawm
every year during Ramadan, fasting from eating, drinking, smoking, and having sex from sunrise to sunset
Kaaba
Geographically sacred center. means “the cube”
Sikh
“learner” or “disciple”
panth
commune
Gurdwara
the place of worship for Sikhism
Mool Mantra
opening lines of Adi Granth, profession of faith
Sarbat da Bhalla
“welfare unto all”
Seva
daily selfless service to humanity
Vand Chakna
Sharing with the needy
Kirat Karniyee
Honest labor and do not become burden to society
