Revelation is an uncovering or disclosure via communication from the divine of something that has been partially or wholly hidden or unknown. In monotheistic religions, revelation is the process, or act of making divine information known. Revelation in a religious sense is that which God, a god, or other supernatural being such as an angel makes known about divine will, principles, laws and doctrines. Divinity has a number of related uses in the field of religious belief and study. ... In theology, monotheism (Greek μόνος(monos) = single and θεός(theos) = God) is the belief in the existence of one deity or God, or in the oneness of God. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. ...

Most religions have religious texts they view as sacred. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are wholly divine or spiritually inspired in origin. Monotheistic religions often view their sacred texts as the "Word of God", often feeling that the texts are inspired by God. Even non-believers often capitalize the names of Sacred Scriptures as a mark of respect or tradition. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... In various religions, sacred (from Latin, sacrum, sacrifice) or holy, objects, places or concepts are believed by followers to be intimately connected with the supernatural, or divinity, and are thus greatly revered. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In theology, monotheism (Greek μόνος(monos) = single and θεός(theos) = God) is the belief in the existence of one deity or God, or in the oneness of God. ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For any word written in a language whose alphabet has distinct cases (such as the Latin, Greek, or Cyrillic alphabets), capitalization (or capitalisation) is the writing of a word with its first letter as a majuscule (upper case letter) and the remaining letters in minuscules (lower case letters). ... In various religions, sacred (from Latin, sacrum, sacrifice) or holy, objects, places or concepts are believed by followers to be intimately connected with the supernatural, or divinity, and are thus greatly revered. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... The word tradition comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ...

There are a number of ways that religious thinkers have traditionally approached this topic; many widely differing views have been proposed. Generally speaking, one can find all of the following viewpoints in varying segments of Judaism, Christianity and others faiths. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ...

Scriptural hermeneutics

Main articles: Biblical hermeneutics, Pesher, and Tafsir

Throughout religious history, scholars and students of religious texts have sought to mine the wealth of their meanings, by developing a variety of different systems of hermeneutics. Philosophical hermeneutics, in particular, can be seen as a development of scriptural hermeneutics, providing a theoretical backing for various interpretive projects. Thus, philosophical hermeneutics and scriptural hermeneutics can be seen as mutually reinforcing concepts. Biblical Hermeneutics, part of the broader hermeneutical question, relates to the problem of how one is to understand Holy Scripture. ... Pesher is a Hebrew word meaning interpretation in the sense of solution. It became known from one group of the Dead Sea Scrolls. ... A tafsir ( (Arabic: تفسير )tafsīr, also transliterated tafseer, Arabic explanation) is Quranic exegesis or commentary. ...

Rabbi Ishmael of the Amoraic era of Judaism interpreted laws from the Torah through 13 hermeneutic principles. This is the first appearance of hermeneutics in the world, through the exegetic interpretation of Biblical texts. Ishmael ben Elisha (90 - 135 CE, commonly known as Rabbi Ishmael) was a Tanna of the first and second centuries (third tannaitic generation). ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ...

Biblical Hermeneutics refers to methods of interpreting the Bible. Biblical hermeneutics is part of the broader hermeneutical question, relates to the problem of how one is to understand Holy Scripture. By definition, this is a theological act, ie. part of the discourse of a faith-community. This does not mean that it is of no relevance to those who do not consider themselves to be part of that community, but rather that it is an issue that arises out of the particular needs of that community. Hermeneutics may be described as the development and study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of texts. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ...

Therefore, one ought to differentiate between Christian and Jewish Biblical hermeneutics: although there is an overlap between the two (and some form of dialogue), since they share part of their scriptures, they do arise out of different faith traditions and thus developed their own notion of hermeneutics. Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ...

It must also be stressed that theological differences within these faith communities preclude any 'definitive' statement on Biblical hermeneutics.

Pesher is a Hebrew word meaning "interpretation" in the sense of "solution". It became known from one group of texts, numbering some hundreds, among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The pesharim (plural of Pesher) take a book of the Hebrew Bible, often from the prophets, such as Habakkuk, Nahum, or from the Psalms, quote it phrase by phrase, and after each quotation insert an interpretation, preceded by "its Pesher is". Hebrew redirects here. ... The current version of the article or section is written like an essay. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article discusses usage of the term Hebrew Bible. For the article on the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh. ... // The Prophet There is not much biographical information on the prophet Habakkuk; in fact less is known about this prophet than any other. ... The book of Nahum is a book in the Bibles Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

A tafsir ( (Arabic: تفسير) tafsīr, also transliterated tafseer, Arabic "explanation") is Qur'anic exegesis or commentary. Someone who writes tafsir is a mufassir ( (Arabic: مفسر) mufassir, plural (Arabic: مفسرون) mufassirūn). Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... Exegesis (from the Greek to lead out) involves an extensive and critical interpretation of a text, especially of a holy scripture, such as of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Quran, etc. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ...

Divine revelation in Judaism

The origin of the Torah and prophecy

Main article: Jewish principles of faith

There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ...

The Torah and Oral Law

Rabbinic Judaism, and contemporary Orthodox Judaism, hold that the Torah (Pentetuach) extant today is the same one that was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. Maimonides explains: "We do not know exactly how the Torah was transmitted to Moses. But when it was transmitted, Moses merely wrote it down like a secretary taking dictation....(Thus) every verse in the Torah is equally holy, as they all originate from God, and are all part of God's Torah, which is perfect, holy and true." Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law) and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Orthodox Judaism believes that in addition to the written Torah, God also revealed to Moses a set of oral teachings, called the Oral Torah. In addition to this revealed law, Jewish law contains decrees and enactments made by prophets, rabbis, and sages over the course of Jewish history. Haredi Judaism tends to regard even rabbinic decrees as being of divine origin or divinely inspired, while Modern Orthodox Judaism tends to regard them as being more potentially subject to human error. When Moses received all of the laws that would define the Jewish tradition, he also received the explanation of these laws. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Haredi or Charedi Judaism, often referred to as Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ... Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox, also known as Modern Orthodoxy and sometimes abbreviated as MO) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance and values with the secular modern world. ...

Conservative Judaism tends to regard both the Torah and the Oral law as not directly revealed. The Conservative approach tends to regard the Torah as compiled by redactors in a manner similar to the Documentary Hypothesis. However, Conservative Jews tend to regard the authors of the Torah as divinely inspired and many regard at least portions of it as originating with Moses. Conservative Judaism also tends to regard the Oral Law as a whole as divinely inspired but subject to human error. Reform and Reconstructionist Jews also tend to accept the Documentary Hypothesis for the origin of the Torah, and tend to view all of the Oral law as an entirely human creation. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not include all significant viewpoints. ... A relational diagram describing the various versions postulated by the biblical documentary hypothesis. ...

The Prophets

The Nevi'im, the books of the Prophets, are considered divine and true. This does not imply that the books of the prophets are always read literally. Jewish tradition has always held that prophets used metaphors and analogies. There exists a wide range of commentaries explaining and elucidating those verses consisting of metaphor. Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ...

Rabbinic Judaism regards Moses as the greatest of the prophets, and this view is one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of traditional Judaism. Consistent with the view that revelation to Moses was generally clearer than revelation to other prophets, Orthodox views of revelation to prophets other than Moses have included a range of perspectives as to directness. For example, Maimonides in A Guide for the Perplexed said that accounts of revelation in the Nevi'im were not always as literal as in the Torah and that some prophetic accounts reflect allegories rather than literal commands or predictions. Judaism affirms a number of basic principles of faith that one is expected to uphold in order to be said to be in consonance with the Jewish faith. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... A Guide for the Perplexed is a short book by E.F. Schumacher, published in 1977. ... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ...

Conservative Rabbi and philosopher Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) has written that "To convey what the prophets experienced, the Bible could either use terms of descriptions or terms of indication. Any description of the act of revelation in empirical categories would have produced a caricature. That is why all the Bible does is to state that revelation happened. How it happened is something they could only convey in words that are evocative and suggestive." ^[1] The examples and perspective in this article or section may not include all significant viewpoints. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. ... Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907, Warsaw, Poland – December 23, 1972) was considered by many to be one of the most significant Jewish theologians of the 20th century. ...

In his work "God in Search of Man", Heschel discusses the nature of religious thought, how thought becomes faith, and how faith creates responses in the believer. He discusses ways that man can seek God's presence, and the radical amazement that man receives in return. He offers a criticism of nature worship; a study of man's metaphysical loneliness, and his view that we can consider God to be in search of man. In section two of this work, Heschel deals with the idea of revelation, and what it means for one to be a prophet. This section gives his idea of revelation as a process, as opposed to an event. In religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak as if he were a formal representative of God. ...

Heschel wrote a series of articles, originally in Hebrew, on the existence of prophecy in Judaism after the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. These essays were translated into English and published as Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Others by the American Judaica publisher Ktav. Prophecy in a broad sense, is the prediction of future events or the speaking of divine words (divine Revelation) through chosen human messengers (prophets). ...

The publisher of this book states, "The standard Jewish view is that prophecy ended with the ancient prophets, somewhere early in the Second Temple era. Heschel demonstrated that this view is not altogether accurate. Belief in the possibility of continued prophetic inspiration, and in its actual occurrence appear throughout much of the medieval period, and even in modern times...." Prophecy in a broad sense, is the prediction of future events or the speaking of divine words (divine Revelation) through chosen human messengers (prophets). ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Through historical development of faith

In accordance with mainstream Judaism (represented by one of Maimonides' thirteen Principles of Faith), most Jews today understand that the many anthropomorphic references to God (outstretched arm, flaring nostrils, God's face) in the Torah are not intended to be taken literally.

More significantly there are very many references throughout the Torah which suggest that it is not written at one time and in one style (eg different names for God, comments such as 'as it is to this day', contradictory details in repetitions of stories etc) and indicate to many Jews, particularly in Progressive Judaism, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, that the Torah is not entirely a direct revelation from God, but is a beloved, unique and valuable document written by our human ancestors, carrying thousands of years of human understanding and experience, and seeking to answer the question: 'What does God require of us?' (naturally therefore, though it contains many wonderful 'core-truths' about God and humanity, it is also timebound, sexist, primitive, and, sometimes, simply wrong). They believe that God's will is revealed through the interaction of humanity and God throughout history, and so, in that sense, Torah is an important part, but only a part, of an ongoing revelation. Progressive Judaism is an umbrella term for all strands of Judaism which do not view the oral law as binding. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest stream of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern Jewish movement marked by views and practices including: Personal autonomy should generally override traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also take into account communal consensus Modern culture is accepted The view that Judaism is an evolving religious civilization Traditional rabbinic modes of study, as well...

For instance, Rabbi Louis Jacobs proposes that by viewing how the Jewish people have understood God's will throughout history, we see how God has actually influenced the development of Jewish law; it is this process that we should recognize as revelation. For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... Louis Jacobs (born 1920) is a Masorti rabbi in England, the first leader of Masorti Judaism (also known as Conservative Judaism) in the UK, best known as the central focus of events in the early 1960s that came to be known as The Jacobs Affair. Jacobs was ordained as an... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ...

One part of the Talmud declares rabbinic interpretation superior to biblical prophecy: "Rabbi Abdimi of Haifa said: Since the day when the Temple was destroyed, the prophetic gift was taken away from the prophets and given to the Sages. Is a Sage not also a prophet?" The question is rhetorical, the answer clearly is "yes". The Talmud goes on to say: "What Rabbi Abdimi meant to say was this: although it has been taken from the prophets, prophecy has not been taken from the Sages. Amemar said: A Sage is even superior to a prophet, as it says "And a prophet has the heart of wisdom" (Note: The hebrew word for "sage" literally means "wise") Who is usually compared with whom? Is not the smaller compared with the greater?"

The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was the primary resting place of the Gods presence (shechina) in the physical world according to classical Judaism. ... Personification of wisdom (Greek Σοφια) in Celsus Library in Ephesos, Turkey Detail from the Allegory of Wisdom and Strength by Paulo Veronese (c. ...

Divine revelation in Christianity

Scriptural Canon of Christianity

Main article: Bible

Christianity regards the Bible, a collection of canonical books in two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament, as authoritative: written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore the inerrant Word of God.^[2] Protestants believe that the scriptures contain all revealed truth necessary for salvation (See Sola scriptura).^[3] The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... The biblical canon is a list of books written during the formative periods of the Jewish or Christian faiths. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: freed forever from the punishment of sin Revelation 1:5-6 NRSV - also called deliverance;[1] being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God Revelation 1:6 NRSV - also called redemption;[2]) and a process... Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, by scripture alone) is the assertion that the Bible as Gods written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter (Scripture interprets Scripture), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine. ...

The Old Testament contains the entire Jewish Tanakh, though in the Christian canon the books are ordered differently and some books of the Tanakh are divided into several books by the Christian canon. The Catholic and Orthodox canons include the Hebrew Jewish canon and other books (from the Septuagint Greek Jewish canon) which Catholics call Deuterocanonical, while Protestants consider them Apocrypha.^[4] Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... Deuterocanonical books is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Bible, in contrast to the protocanonical books which are contained in the Hebrew Bible. ... The biblical apocrypha includes texts written in the Jewish and Christian religious traditions that either were accepted into the biblical canon by some, but not all, Christian faiths, or are frequently printed in Bibles despite their non-canonical status. ...

The first four books of the New Testament are the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), which recount the life and teachings of Jesus. The first three are often called synoptic because of the amount of material they share. The rest of the New Testament consists of a sequel to Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, which describes the very early history of the Church, a collection of letters from early Christian leaders to congregations or individuals, the Pauline and General epistles, and the apocalyptic Book of Revelation.^[4] John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Mark, ascribed to Mark the Evangelist, is traditionally the second Gospel of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Synoptic Gospels is a term used by modern New Testament scholars for the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke of the New Testament in the Bible. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... General epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. ... Apocalyptic literature was a new genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

Basis on the divine origin of the Bible

In a number of passages the Bible claims divine inspiration for itself. Besides the direct accounts of written revelation, such as Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, the Prophets of the Old Testament frequently claimed that their message was divine by the formula "Thus says the LORD" (for example, 1 Kgs 12:22–24; 1 Chr 17:3–4; Jer 35:13; Ezek 2:4; Zech 7:9; etc.). In the New Testament, Jesus treats the Old Testament as authoritative and says it "cannot be broken" (John 10:34–36). 2 Timothy 3:16 says: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness", and the Second Epistle of Peter claims that "no prophecy of Scripture ... was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet 1:20–21). That epistle also claims divine authority for the Apostles (3:2) and includes Paul's letters as being counted with the Scriptures (3:16). The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... For other uses, see Ten Commandments (disambiguation). ... Prophets may refer to: The Prophets (Neviim), which is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... This article or section should be merged with First Epistle to Timothy The Second Epistle to Timothy is a book of the canonic New Testament, one of the three so-called pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and the Epistle to Titus). ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In politics, authority (Latin auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to potestas and imperium) is often used interchangeably with the term power. However, their meanings differ. ... Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

Biblical theology

Main article: Biblical Theology

Biblical Theology is a discipline within Christian Theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing himself to Man following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. It particularly focuses on the epochs of the writings in order to understand how each part of it ultimately points forward to fulfillment in the life mission of Jesus Christ. Biblical Theology is a discipline within Christian theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing himself to Man following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. ... Biblical Theology is a discipline within Christian theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing himself to Man following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. ... Given the overwhelming influence exercised by Christianity, especially in pre-modern Europe, Christian theology permeates much of Western culture and often reflects that culture. ...

Biblical Theology is sometimes called the "History of Special Revelation" since it deals with the unfolding and expanding nature of revelation as history progresses through the Bible.

An important note that should be made in relation to the concept of progressive revelation is that the Christian Biblical concept differs from the Islamic understanding in which successive revelations of God might annul former revelations completely replacing them with a new truth. The Christian model within Biblical Theology sees the concept of progressive revelation as progressive revelation of new truth which supports, expands and stands upon former revelations of God's truth like brick laying. This progressive revelation ultimately climaxes in Christ, and ends with the New Testament Acts of the Apostles under the direction of the Holy Spirit awaiting the second coming of Christ.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ...

Systematic theology

Main article: Systematic Theology

Systematic Theology is the attempt to formulate a coherent philosophy which is applicable to the component parts of a given faith's system of belief. Inherent to a system of theological thought is that a method is developed, one which can be applied both broadly and particularly. While a systematic theology must take into account the sacred texts of its faith, it also looks to history, philosophy, science, and ethics to produce as full a view and as versatile a philosophical approach as possible. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Significant systematic theologians are:

Thomas Aquinas, Roman Catholic, who believed in two types of revelation from God: general revelation and special revelation. General revelation occurs through observation of the created order. Such observations can logically lead to important conclusions, such as the existence of God. Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

Though one may deduce the existence of God and some of God's attributes through general revelation, certain specifics may be known only through special revelation. In Aquinas's view, special revelation is equivalent to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The major theological components of Christianity, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation,are revealed in the teachings of the Church and the Scriptures and may not otherwise be deduced.

Special revelation and natural revelation are complementary rather than contradictory in nature.

Karl Barth, Reformed (1886-1968), who tries to recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in theology from its putative loss in liberalism. His argument follows from the idea that God is the object of God’s own self-knowledge, and revelation in the Bible means the self-unveiling to humanity of the God who cannot be discovered by humanity simply through its own efforts. Note here that the Bible is not The Revelation; rather, it points to revelation. In Barth's theology, he emphasizes again and again that human concepts can never be considered as identical to God's revelation. In this aspect, Scripture is also written human language, expressing human concepts. It cannot be considered as identical to God's revelation. However, in His freedom and love, God truly reveals Himself through human language and concepts. Thus he claims that Christ is truly presented in Scripture and the preaching of the church. Karl Barth (May 10, 1886–December 10, 1968) (pronounced Bart) was an influential Swiss Reformed Christian theologian. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organizationally independent. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (hypostases, personae): Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit, and thus is sometimes used by Christians as a name for... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

Views on revelation of some branches of Christianism

Main article: Christianity

Christianity continued from Judaism a belief in the existence of a single omnipotent God who created and sustains the universe. Against this background belief in the divinity of Christ and the Holy Spirit was expressed as the doctrine of the Holy Trinity,^[5] which considers that the three persons of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) share a single Divinesubstance. This substance is not considered divided, in the sense that each person has a third of the substance; rather, each person is considered to have the whole substance. The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten, the Son begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding.^[6] The "begetting" does not refer to Mary's conceiving Jesus, but to a divine begetting before Creation. Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Omnipotence (literally, all power) is power with no limits or inexhaustible, in other words, unlimited power. ... Universe is a word derived from the Old French univers, which in turn comes form the Latin roots unus (one) and versus (a form of vertere, to turn). Physicists concept of the Universe is motivated[] by the attempt to describe the whole of space-time, including all matter and energy... Christology is that part of Christian theology which studies and attempts to define Jesus the Christ. ... This article concerns the holy Trinity of Christianity. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Christians were willing to die for their faith because of 3 key ideas that can be noted from their own writings. One: their belief that Jesus was resurrected, two: religious experience, and three: fuller understanding of Old Testament Scriptures. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Look up Resurrection in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In religious experience, or sacred experience, the believer comes in contact with transcendental reality. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

Central to the doctrines of the Catholic Church is Apostolic Succession, the belief that the bishops are the spiritual successors of the original twelve apostles, through the historically unbroken chain of consecration (see: Holy Orders). The New Testament contains warnings against teachings considered to be only masquerading as Christianity,^[7] and shows how reference was made to the leaders of the Church to decide what was true doctrine.^[8] The Catholic Church teaches that it is the continuation of those who remained faithful to the apostolic and episcopal leadership and rejected false teachings. The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor of the Church of the Apostles. ... Two bishops assist at the Exhumation of Saint Hubert, who was a bishop too, at the église Saint-Pierre in Liège. ... Catholic deacon candidates prostrate before the altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles during a 2004 diaconate ordination liturgy Holy Orders in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, and Independent Catholic churches includes three orders: bishop, priest, and deacon. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ...

Whereas Catholics look to the Pope for authority, Protestants, a wide branch of Christian believers look to the Bible for authority. The Protestants characterize the dogma concerning the Pope as Christ's representative head of the Church on earth, the concept of meritorious works, and the Catholic idea of a treasury of the merits of saints, as a denial that Christ is the only mediator between God and man: Solus Christus (Christ alone). The current Pope is Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who was elected at the age of 78 on 19 April 2005. ... In politics, authority (Latin auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to potestas and imperium) is often used interchangeably with the term power. However, their meanings differ. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... In politics, authority (Latin auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to potestas and imperium) is often used interchangeably with the term power. However, their meanings differ. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... From the Five Solas, the statement that Christ alone (Solus Christus, or Solo Christo) was necessary for salvation. ... Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...

Protestants believe that the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church obscure the teachings of the Bible by convoluting it with church history and doctrine: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, by scripture alone) is the assertion that the Bible as Gods written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter (Scripture interprets Scripture), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

Christians believe the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures,^[9] and that his active participation in a believer's life (even to the extent of "indwelling", or in a certain sense taking up residence within, the believer) is essential to living a Christian life.^[10] In Catholic, Orthodox, and some Anglican theology, this indwelling in received through the sacrament called Confirmation or, in the East, Chrismation. Most Protestants believe that the Spirit indwells a new believer at the time of salvation. Pentecostal and Charismatic Protestants believe the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a distinct experience separate from other experiences like conversion. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Confirmation is a rite used in many Christian Churches. ... Chrismation is the name given in Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern_rite Catholic churches to the sacrament known as confirmation in the Latin Rite Catholic churches. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: freed forever from the punishment of sin Revelation 1:5-6 NRSV - also called deliverance;[1] being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God Revelation 1:6 NRSV - also called redemption;[2]) and a process... The Pentecostal movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. ... Charismatic is an umbrella term used to describe those Christians who believe that the manifestations of the Holy Spirit seen in the first century Christian Church, such as healing, miracles and glossolalia, are available to contemporary Christians and ought to be experienced and practiced today. ... According to the New Testament, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is an experience sent by Jesus Christ. ... In general, conversion is the transformation of one thing into another. ...

Pentecostalism is an American offshoot of Methodism. The doctrine of charismatic gifts is a well-known feature of Pentecostalism. Charismatic gifts are extra-normal abilities that are transmitted from the divine to individuals. These gifts include glossolalia (speaking in tongues), healing ability, and prophesy. Such gifts are bestowed upon Pentecostals at baptism, and are a fixture of Pentecostal church services. The ecstatic receipt of charismatic gifts can be accompanied by a loss of motor control, giving Pentecostals the nickname "Holy Rollers." The Pentecostal movement within Evangelical Christianity places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. ... Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... Glossolalia (from the Greek, γλώσσα (glossa), tongue and λαλώ (lalô), I speak) comprises unintelligible utterances, often as part of religious practice. ... For prophecy in the context of revealed religions see Prophet. ... Holy Roller is a term in American English used to describe Pentecostal Christian churchgoers. ...

The Charismatic Movement adopted the Pentecostal doctrines of charismatic gifts: speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc. Many charismatic Christians have gone on to form separate churches and denominations. The charismatic movement began with the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians —specifically what are known as the biblical charisms of Christianity: speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc. ... Glossolalia (from the Greek, γλώσσα (glossa), tongue and λαλώ (lalô), I speak) comprises unintelligible utterances, often as part of religious practice. ... Prophecy, in a broad sense, is the prediction of future events. ...

Current controversies and criticisms

Main article: Criticism of Christianity

See also: Criticism of the Bible

There are many controversies surrounding Christianity as to its influences and history. Over the centuries, Christianity has been criticized by philosophers, journalists, members of other religions, scientists, and other people from all walks of life. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

• A few writers propose that Jesus is a myth ^[11], though historians generally agree that Jesus existed and have aimed at reconstructing the historical Jesus.
• Some writers consider Paul to be the founding figure of Christianity as opposed to Jesus, pointing to the extent of his writings and the scope of his missionary work.^[12] See also Pauline Christianity.
• Members of the Jesus Seminar, and other Biblical scholars, have argued that the historical Jesus never claimed to be divine. They also reject the historicity of the empty tomb and thus a bodily resurrection, and several other events narrated in the gospels. They assert that Gospel accounts describing these things are probably literary fabrications.^[13]
• Adherents of Judaism generally believe that followers of Christianity misinterpret passages from the Old Testament, or Tanakh. (See also Judaism and Christianity.)
• Muslims believe that the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is incompatible with monotheism, and they reject the Christian teaching that Jesus is the Son of God, though they affirm the virgin birth and view him as a prophet preceding Muhammad.^[14] The Qur'an also uses the title "Messiah", though with a different meaning.^[15][16] Muslims also dispute the historical occurrence of the crucifixion of Jesus.^[17]

This article is part of the Jesus and history series of articles. ... The historicity of Jesus concerns the historical authenticity of Jesus of Nazareth. ... This article is about Jesus the person, using historical methods to reconstruct a biography of his life and times. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... Pauline Christianity is an expression which has been used, by those critical of Catholic, Orthodox and traditonal Protestant Christianity, to describe what is regarded as a distortion of the original teachings of Jesus due to the influence of Paul of Tarsus (otherwise St. ... The Jesus Seminar is a research team of about two hundred New Testament scholars founded in 1985 by the late Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Judaism and Christianity are two closely related Abrahamic religions that are in some ways parallel to each other and in other ways fundamentally divergent in theology and practice. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (hypostases, personae): Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit, and thus is sometimes used by Christians as a name for... TawÄ«d (also Tawheed,Tauheed and other spellings; Arabic: ‎ ; Turkish: Tevhid) is the Islamic concept of monotheism In Islam, TawhÄ«d means to assert the unity of God. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering, both physical and mental, of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. ...

Scriptural Canon of the Messianic 'Judaism'

Main article: Messianic Judaism

Messianic believers (who Jews do not consider to be Jewish since they accept Jesus as the Messiah, who in Jewish understanding has not yet arrived) commonly hold the TaNaKh to be divinely inspired. The Tanakh includes the Torah (first five books of Moses), Nevi'im (the Prophets) and Ketuvim (the Writings). The Apostolic Writings (or New Testament) are often considered to also be divinely inspired. Many hold them to be equal in authority to the Tanakh, but this is not universal and can vary from individual to individual even within the same synagogue or Torah study. Some Messianic believers are most often troubled by the writings of Paul (whom they often call Rabbi Sha'ul) and may reject his writings, hold them in less esteem than those of the Gospel writers, or even reject him. Often, the emphasis is on the idea that the Tanakh is the only scripture the Early Church had and that, except for the recorded words of Jesus, the Apostolic Writings were meant as inspired commentary on the Tanakh. For the Jewish religion, see the article Judaism. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ...

Canon:

1. Torah [תורה] meaning one or all of: "The Law"; "Teaching"; "Instruction". Also called the Chumash [חומש] meaning: "The five"; "The five books of Moses". It is the "Pentateuch".
2. Nevi'im [נביאים] meaning: "Prophets"
3. Ketuvim [כתובים] meaning "Writings" or "Hagiographa".
4. Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
5. Acts
6. General epistles of James, Peter, Paul and of the author of Hebrews
7. Revelation

Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Look up Pentateuch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... General epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. ...

Divine Revelation in Islam

Main article: Islam

See also: Muhammad, and Qur'an

Divine Revelation plays a very important role in the Muslim faith. While religious books of most other faiths were recorded by followers of prophets, the Qur'an claims to have been revealed word by word and letter by letter. The Qur'an is therefore, no doubt, a milestone in the development of revelation literature, and historically being so recent that it's authenticity is not seriously questioned. Islam knows different forms and degrees of Divine revelation. See for example ^[18]. Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through Muhammad ibn Abdullah (c. 570 - July 6, 632) via the angel Gabriel.^[19] Muhammad is considered to have been God's final prophet, the "Seal of the Prophets". The revelations Muhammad preached form the holy book of Islam, the Qur'an. The Qur'an is believed to be the flawless final revelation of God to humanity, valid until the day of the Resurrection. A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... 12th-century icon of Archangel Gabriel from Novgorod In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (גַּבְרִיאֵל, Standard Hebrew Gavriʼel, Latin Gabrielus, Greek , Tiberian Hebrew Gaḇrîʼēl, Arabic جبريل Jibrīl or Jibrail, literally Master, of God, i. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... Yawm al-Qīyāmah (Arabic: ‎ literally: Day of the Resurrection) is the Last Judgement in Islam. ...

Muslims hold that the message of Islam - submission to the will of the one God - is the same as the message preached by all the messengers sent by God to humanity since Adam. From an Islamic point of view, Islam is the oldest of the monotheistic religions because it represents both the original and the final revelation of God to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad.^[20][21] Members of all sects of Islam believe that the Qur'an codifies the direct words of God. Michelangelos The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Adam, with Eve in His arm. ... It has been suggested that Abraham (Hebrew Bible) be merged into this article or section. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For other persons named Muhammad, see Muhammad (name). ...

According to Islamic traditions, Muhammad began receiving revelations from God (Arabic: ألله Allah) from the age of 40, delivered through the angel Gabriel over the last 23 years of his life. The content of these revelations, known as the Qur'an,^[22] was memorized and recorded by his followers and compiled into a single volume shortly after his death. The Qur'an, along with the details of Muhammad’s life as recounted by his biographers and his contemporaries, forms the basis of Islamic theology. Within Islam, he is considered the last and most important prophet of God.^[23] Muslims do not regard him as the founder of a new religion but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and other prophets whose messages had become misinterpreted or corrupted over time (only misinterpreted according to some^[24]).^{[25][26][27][28][29]} Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... For other uses, see Allah (disambiguation). ... 12th-century icon of Archangel Gabriel from Novgorod In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (גַּבְרִיאֵל, Standard Hebrew Gavriʼel, Latin Gabrielus, Greek , Tiberian Hebrew Gaḇrîʼēl, Arabic جبريل JibrÄ«l or Jibrail, literally Master, of God, i. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: ‎, literally the recitation; also called The Noble Qurān; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... For the river and also village in Norway named Sira, see Sira, Norway. ... In Islam, the SÌ£aḥābah (Arabic: ‎ companions) were the companions of Muhammad. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... Prophets of Islam are human beings who are regarded by Muslims to be prophets. ... In theology, monotheism (Greek μόνος(monos) = single and θεός(theos) = God) is the belief in the existence of one deity or God, or in the oneness of God. ... Michelangelos The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Adam, with Eve in His arm. ... It has been suggested that Abraham (Hebrew Bible) be merged into this article or section. ... Prophets of Islam are human beings who are regarded by Muslims to be prophets. ...

Similarities between the Qur'ān and the Bible

Main article: Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an

The Qur'ān retells stories of many of the people and events recounted in Jewish and Christian sacred books (Tanakh, Bible) and devotional literature (Apocrypha, Midrash), although it differs in many details. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Heber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Zechariah, Jesus, and John the Baptist are mentioned in the Qur'an as prophets of God (see Prophets of Islam). Muslims believe the common elements or resemblances between the Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings and Islamic dispensations is due to the common divine source, and that the Christian or Jewish texts were authentic divine revelations given to prophets. According to the Qur'ān This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word απόκρυφα meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Michelangelos Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel. ... // For the original Hebrew name, see Hanoch. ... Noahs Ark, Französischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. ... Heber is one of the Minor characters in the Book of Genesis Heber the kenite is mentioned in the Book of Judges 4:17 of the Hebrew Bible as Jaels husband. ... Shelah or Shela (שֵׁלָה Petition, Standard Hebrew Šela, Tiberian Hebrew Šēlāh) is the name of two persons in the Bible: The son of Arpachshad, and thus the grandson of Shem. ... It has been suggested that Abraham (Hebrew Bible) be merged into this article or section. ... Lot is: Place Specific - A French département, see Lot (département) A French river, a tributary of the Garonne, see Lot River A Belgian town, see Lot, Belgium A Polish Airline, see LOT Polish Airlines Character Specific - A Biblical figure, the nephew of Abraham, see Lot (Biblical) Lot, a... Expulsion of Ishmael and His Mother. ... It has been suggested that Ishaq be merged into this article or section. ... Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... Joseph interprets the dream of the Pharaoh. ... William Blakes imagining of Satan inflicting boils on Job. ... Jethro (יִתְרוֹ Standard Hebrew Yitro, Tiberian Hebrew Yiṯrô, Shoaib Arabic Quran His excellence/posterity) is a figure from the Hebrew Bible. ... David and Goliath by Caravaggio, c. ... Artists depiction of Solomons court (Ingobertus, c. ... Elijah (אֱלִיָּהוּ Whose/my God is the Lord, Standard Hebrew Eliyyáhu, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔliyyāhû), also Elias (NT Greek Ἠλίας), is a prophet of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. ... Elisha (אֱלִישַׁע My God is salvation, Standard Hebrew EliÅ¡aÊ¿, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔlîšaÊ¿) is the name of a Biblical prophet. ... Yunus redirects here. ... Aaron (אַהֲרֹן, a word meaning bearer of martyrs in Hebrew(perhaps also, or instead, related to the Egyptian Aha Rw, Warrior Lion), Standard Hebrew Aharon, Tiberian Hebrew ), was one of two brothers who play a unique part in the history of the Hebrew people. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... According to the Gospel of Luke, Zechariah (Zacharias in the King James Version of the Bible) was a priest of the line of Abijah, during the reign of King Herod the Great, and was the father of John the Baptist and husband of Elizabeth, a woman from the priestly family... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Mural depiction of Jesus baptism by the hand of John, Jordan River, Jordan The excavated remains of the baptism site in Bethany beyond the Jordan John the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer, or Yahya the Baptizer) is regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism, and the... Prophets of Islam are human beings who are regarded by Muslims to be prophets. ...

"It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).3:3 "

Muslims claim that those texts were neglected or corrupted (tahrif) by the Jews and Christians and have been replaced by God's final and perfect revelation, which is the Qur'ān.^[30] A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Tahrif (Arabic: ‎ corruption, forgery; the stem-II verbal noun of the consonantal root , to make oblique) is an Arabic term used by Muslims with regard to words, and more specifically with regard to what Jews and Christians are supposed to have done to their respective Scriptures. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ...

However, many Jews and Christians believe that the historical biblical archaeological record refutes this assertion, because the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Tanakh and other Jewish writings which predate the origin of the Qur'an) have been fully translated,^[31] validating the authenticity of the Greek Septuagint.^[32] This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... The current version of the article or section is written like an essay. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The Septuagint: A page from Codex vaticanus, the basis of Sir Launcelot Lee Brentons English translation. ...

Criticism of the Qur'ān

Main article: Criticism of the Qur'an

Due to the rise of Islamic terrorism, the need to understand the motives of suicide bombers has become important to many. Some critics believe that it is not only extremist Islam that preaches violence but Islam itself, a violence critics say is implicit in the Qur'anic text. ^[33][34] In response to criticism, it is generally argued that critics have taken verses out of context. The verses should be read with the whole surah; also the time and circumstances of the verses should be considered.^{[35] [36]} Muslims believe that the Quran is the literal word of God as recited to Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. ... Islamist terrorism, sometimes called Islamic terrorism, is terrorism that is carried out to further the political and religious ambitions of a segment of the Muslim community. ... A suicide bombing is a bomb attack on people or property, committed by a person who knows the explosion will cause his or her own death (see suicide, suicide weapons). ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

Muslims generally argue that the Qur'ān is the literal word of God. Critics reject the idea of a divine origin^[37][38][39] , and base their argument on the problems they see in the Qur'ān, both textually and morally.^[40][41] A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... The Qurān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Divine Revelation in the Bahá'í faith

Main article: Bahá'í literature

Following the progression and spread of literacy in human history, the Central Figures of the Bahá'í Faith were in a position in the 1800's to receive thousands of written enquiries, and to thus write thousands of responses, hundreds of which amount to whole and proper books, while many are the shorter texts, as letters. Additionally survey publications have attempted to broadly review important themes across many dozens of individual texts(see listings in articles below). In addition to the practicality of literacy however, the Bahá'í faith has large works which were divinely revealed in a very short time, as in a night, or a few days[4]. Additionally, because many of the works were first recorded by an amanuensis[5], most were submitted for approval and had corrections added - another milestone in that the final text was personally approved by the revelator. Baháí literature, like much religious text, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. ... Following is a list of members of the Baháí Faith who are in some way prominent. ... Seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, governing body of the Baháís The Baháí Faith is a religion founded by Baháulláh in 19th century Persia. ...

For extended comments on the divine revelation of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and `Abdu'l-Bahá see Number of tablets revealed by Bahá'u'lláh by Robert Stockman and Juan Cole and Numbers and Classifications of Sacred Writings texts by Universal House of Justice. Second-hand notes of the words of the Central Figures of the Bahá'í faith are termed pilgrim notes and have little status.[6] See also the preface of The Bahá'í Revelation, including Selections from the Bahá'í Holy Writings and Talks by 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. Shrine of the Báb at night from above in Haifa, Israel. ... Shrine of Baháulláh Baháulláh (ba-haa-ol-laa Arabic: ‎ Glory of God) (1817 - 1892), born (Persian: ‎ ), was the founder and prophet of the Baháí Faith. ... `Abdul-Bahá `Abdul-Bahá `Abbás Effendí (May 23, 1844 - November 28, 1921) commonly known as `Abdul-Bahá (abdol-ba-haa Arabic: ‎), was the son of Baháulláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháí Faith. ... Seat of The Universal House of Justice For the building, see the Seat of the Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Baháí Faith. ...

Latter Day Saint concept of revelation

The Latter Day Saint concept of revelation includes the belief that revelation from God is available to all those who seek it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations claim to be led by revelation from God to a living prophet, who receives God’s word just as Abraham, Moses, Peter, and other ancient prophets and apostles did. It also believes everyone is entitled to personal revelation with respect to his or her stewardship. Thus, prophets may receive revelation for their people, parents can receive inspiration from God in raising their families, individuals can receive divine inspiration to help them meet personal challenges, church officers may receive revelation for those to whom they serve, etc. The important consequence of this is that each person may receive confirmation that particular doctrines taught by a prophet are true, as well as gain divine insight in using those truths for their own benefit. In the Church, personal revelation is expected and encouraged, and many converts believe that personal revelation from God was instrumental in their conversion.^[42] The term Latter Day Saint most commonly refers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which, its members believe, was founded under the direction of Jesus Christ by the prophet Joseph Smith in 1830. ... The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... It has been suggested that Abraham (Hebrew Bible) be merged into this article or section. ... Look up Peter, peter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In general stewardship is responsibility for taking good care of resources entrusted to one. ...

Joseph F. Smith, the sixth prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, summarized this church's belief concerning revelation by saying, "We believe... in the principle of direct revelation from God to man."^[43] (Smith, 362) He also more specifically detailed the importance of the principle of modern-day revelation to the church he then led: Joseph Fielding Smith, Sr. ...

The gospel cannot be administered, nor the Church of God continue to exist, without it. Christ is the head of his Church and not man, and the connection can only be maintained upon the principle of direct and continued revelation. It… is a living, vital principle to be enjoyed on certain conditions only, namely – through absolute faith in God and obedience to his laws and commandments. The moment this principle is cut off, that moment the Church is adrift, being severed from its ever-living head. In this condition it cannot continue, but must cease to be the Church of God and, like the ship at sea without captain, compass or rudder, is afloat at the mercy of the storms and the waves of ever contending human passions, and worldly interests, pride and folly... (Smith, 362)

James E. Talmage, a noted LDS scholar, attempted to connect this belief with the nature of God and also emphasized the importance of the principle of continuing revelation to his faith: James Edward Talmage (September 21, 1862–July 27, 1933) was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1911 until his death in 1933. ...

It is at once unreasonable, and directly contrary to our conception of the unchangeable justice of God, to believe that He will bless the Church in one dispensation with present living revelation of His will and in another leave [His] Church... to live as best it may according to the laws of a bygone age.

Latter Day Saints believe that God answers prayers. Communicating with God is seen by many Latter Day Saints as an important part of developing faith and coming to know God, resulting in Eternal life. Yet, it is difficult to find anything considred to be "modern revelation" spoken of in their meetings that was not mentioned from over 100 years ago. All that tends to be talked about as far as present day revelation is new rules or rehashing ideas and principles that were revealed over 100 years ago. Many LDS members believe that new revelation or new scripture will be revealed to them eventually once they are worthy of what they recieved in the past. Prayer is an effort to communicate with a God, or to some deity or deities, either to offer praise to the deity, to make a request of the deity, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions to the deity. ...

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader who founded the Latter Day Saint movement, a restorationist movement giving rise to Mormonism. Smith's followers declared him to be the first latter-day prophet, whose mission was to restore the original Christianity, said to have been lost after a Great Apostasy. This restoration included publication of the Book of Mormon and other new scripture to supplement the Bible, and the establishment of the Church of Christ. As leader of his religion, he was also an important political and military leader in the American West. December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement which began in the early 19th century and is generally considered to be founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mormonism is a term used to describe religious, ideological, and cultural aspects of the various Latter Day Saint churches. ... // The End Times are a time of tribulation that will precede the coming of a Messiah figure in many world religions. ... In religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak as if he were a formal representative of God. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... The Great Apostasy is a term of opprobrium used by some religious groups to allege a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, or especially of Catholicism, reformist Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy: that it is not representative of the faith founded by Jesus and promulgated through his twelve Apostles: in short... The Book of Mormon (originally, The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi) is one of the sacred texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, named after the prophet/historian Mormon, who according to the text compiled most... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... The Church of Christ was the original name given to the church formally organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region constituting the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). ...

During his adult life - from the time he began dictating the Book of Mormon in 1827 until his death in 1844 - Smith introduced a large number of religious teachings. Although a number of his teachings are similar to doctrines circulating during his lifetime, several are unique to Smith. The Book of Mormon (originally, The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi) is one of the sacred texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, named after the prophet/historian Mormon, who according to the text compiled most...

Nearly all Smith's teachings had some root in the King James Version of the Bible, or his interpretation or elaboration of it. However, he believed in other scripture, and that in some instances, the Bible was translated incorrectly.^[44] Thus, he "restored" temples, orders of priesthood, and other elements of the Bible that he felt had been wrongly abandoned by mainstream Christianity as part of a Great Apostasy. This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... The Salt Lake Temple is the most well-known Mormon Temple. ... In Mormonism, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority to act in the name of God, including the performance of sacred rites and ordinances, and the performance of miracles. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... The Great Apostasy is a term of opprobrium used by some religious groups to allege a general fallen state of traditional Christianity, or especially of Catholicism, reformist Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy: that it is not representative of the faith founded by Jesus and promulgated through his twelve Apostles: in short...

In many cases, Smith's doctrines or interpretations of the Bible, as well as his own claimed revelations, placed him at odds with mainstream Christianity. For example, Smith rejected mainstream Christianity's long-standing formulation of the Trinity as recorded in the 4th Century Nicene Creed. The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (hypostases, personae): Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit, and thus is sometimes used by Christians as a name for... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ...

Joseph Smith taught that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all three separate personages, with Heavenly Father and Jesus having physical bodies^[45] of "flesh and bone", while the Holy Ghost has only a spiritual body. God is the Heavenly Father of all mankind and that mankind is made in His express image (simply put, that humans look like Heavenly Father). In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Holy Spirit, from the Christian viewpoint, while related to Gods will, is not Gods will personified. ... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ...

Smith's claim to be a prophet of God has led to much controversy. Smith was a polarizing figure in his time, and he continues to be a focus of controversy between his millions of followers, most of whom revere him as a prophet with the same authority as prophets in the standard Christian canon, and opponents of Mormonism, who believe he was either delusional or fraudulent. In religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak as if he were a formal representative of God. ... Mormonism is a term used to describe religious, ideological, and cultural aspects of the various Latter Day Saint churches. ... A delusion is commonly defined as a fixed false belief and is used in everyday language to describe a belief that is either false, fanciful or derived from deception. ... In the broadest sense, a fraud is a deception made for personal gain. ...

Mormonism and Christianity

Traditional Christians believe that the canon of scripture is closed, making the Bible the only sacred text for Christians. However, the precise list of books in the Bible is disputed among Christian denominations depending upon the acceptance of the deuterocanonical books.^[46]. Catholics subscribe, de facto, to Prima scriptura (the Bible above all) and give equal weight to Sacred Tradition. Some Protestants consider their Bible the only infallible authority, a doctrine called Sola scriptura, though different Protestant faiths consider different versions of the Bible to be the "infallible" one. However, the clear primacy of the Bible, despite the dispute of the exact books of the canon, has resulted in basic beliefs that are largely shared between these churches. A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ... Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts (or scriptures) are the Word of God, often feeling that the texts are wholly divine or spiritually inspired in origin. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... Deuterocanonical books is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Bible, in contrast to the protocanonical books which are contained in the Hebrew Bible. ... The Bible is considered as first or above all sources of divine revelation. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, by scripture alone) is the assertion that the Bible as Gods written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter (Scripture interprets Scripture), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Bible has been translated into many languages. ...

Latter Day Saints believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. They also believe that the Book of Mormon is a sacred text that testifies of Jesus Christ. It is believed to represent a history of God's dealings with some of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. A Latter Day Saint (LDS) is a person who identifies with the Latter Day Saint movement and is a follower of Mormonism. ... The Book of Mormon (originally, The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi) is one of the sacred texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, named after the prophet/historian Mormon, who according to the text compiled most... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

In addition, Latter Day Saints also have additional books of scripture: the Doctrine and Covenants, which contains revelations of modern day prophets and the Pearl of Great Price. The Pearl of Great Price, which contains additional important Latter-day Saint scriptures such as the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham is not accepted by all denominations. Each denomination has their own version of the Doctrine and Covenants, which differ on the number of modern day revelations accepted as canon. A Latter Day Saint (LDS) is a person who identifies with the Latter Day Saint movement and is a follower of Mormonism. ... Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes referred to as the D&C) is a part of the open scriptural canon of Mormonism. ... For other uses of Pearl of Great Price, see the Pearl of Great Price page. ... The Book of Moses is a text published by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The Book of Abraham is a text published as part of the Pearl of Great Price, one of the four canonical scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ...

Church leaders (from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) have taught during General Conference that conference talks which are "…[spoken ad] moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture…".^[47] In addition, many Mormons believe that there were also ancient prophets in other regions of the world that received revelations that resulted in additional scriptures that have been lost and may, one day, be forthcoming. Hence, the belief in continuing revelation (i.e., the canon remains open). The current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the LDS Church. ... In Mormonism, a general conference is a meeting open to all members of a particular Latter Day Saint denomination. ...

Divine revelation in the Jehovah's Witnesses concept

Main article: Jehovah's Witnesses

The publishing arm of Jehovah's Witnesses, known as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania engages in extensive publication work. In addition to their two magazines -'The Watchtower' and 'Awake!'- they also publish many brochures, tracts and books including the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. WT-Logo The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, headquartered in New York City, is the corporate entity of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion. ... The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a modern-language translation of the Bible published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. ...

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is a translation of the Protestant canon. This Bible is distinct in its extensive use of the name Jehovah, an English version of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, also replacing the Greek word for "Lord" over 200 times in the New Testament. The translators have opted to remain anonymous but others have identified them as being prominent leaders of the movement.^[48] The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a modern-language translation of the Bible published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The biblical canon is a list of books written during the formative periods of the Jewish or Christian faiths. ... The Tetragrammaton (Greek: ; word with four letters) is the usual reference to the Hebrew name for God, which is spelled (in the Hebrew alphabet): ‎ (yodh) ‎ (heh) ‎ (vav) ‎ (heh) or ‎ (reading right to left = YHWH). ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ...

Frederick William Franz became the leading theologian, and is believed to have been the principal translator of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.^[49] Also produced were a Greek-English New Testament interlinear (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures) and a Bible dictionary (Aid to Bible Understanding).^[50] Frederick William Franz - (September 12, 1893-December 22, 1992) was an important figure in the organization of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ... The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a modern-language translation of the Bible published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. ... The Aid to Bible Understanding was a Bible encyclopedia published by the Jehovahs Witnesses, now out of print and superseded by the larger and more up-to-date work Insight on the Scriptures. ...

Main article: Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

It has been suggested that Practices of Jehovahs Witnesses be merged into this article or section. ...

Overview

Jehovah's Witnesses originated with the religious movement known as Bible Students, which was founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell. Charles Russell in 1911 The Bible Student movement is a religious movement that sprang from the teachings and ministry of Pastor Charles Taze Russell, whose followers generally call themselves Bible Students. Following a schism after Russell’s death, several offshoot groups formed, some of which have today moved away from... Charles Russell in 1911 Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), known as Pastor Russell, was an American evangelist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who founded what is known as the Bible Student movement. ...

The entire Biblical canon, excluding the Apocrypha, is considered the inspired word of God. A literal interpretation of the Bible is followed, though it is acknowledged that biblical writers and characters also employed symbolism, parable, figures of speech, and poeticism.^[51] Only the Bible should be used for determining issues of doctrine. Interpretation of Scripture and codification of doctrines is the responsibility of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses.^[52] The biblical canon is a list of books written during the formative periods of the Jewish or Christian faiths. ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word απόκρυφα meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... An ill digested lesson The Governess. ... Interpretation, or interpreting, is an activity that consists of establishing, either simultaneously or consecutively, oral or gestural communications between two or more speakers who are not speaking (or signing) the same language. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... The Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses is a body of elders that oversees all the activities of Jehovahs Witnesses. ...

The Tetragrammaton

God is the creator and supreme being, sovereign of the universe. Using God's name, Jehovah (a derivative of the Tetragrammaton^[53]), is a requirement for true worship.^[54] Jesus is God's first creation, used by God to create everything else.^[55] Jesus is literally the only begotten Son of God, and received his life from God. He is the means through whom to approach God in prayer, and is also the means of salvation for all worthy mankind.^[56] His role as mediator of the "new covenant" is limited to those going to heaven,^[57] whose number totals 144,000. The vast majority of Jehovahs' Witnesses will live on a renewed paradise on Earth.^[58] They believe that Jesus did not die on a cross but on a "torture stake".^[59] The holy spirit is not a person but is God's active force.^[60] Image File history File links Tetragrammaton. ... Image File history File links Tetragrammaton. ... The Tetragrammaton (Greek: ; word with four letters) is the usual reference to the Hebrew name for God, which is spelled (in the Hebrew alphabet): ‎ (yodh) ‎ (heh) ‎ (vav) ‎ (heh) or ‎ (reading right to left = YHWH). ... Jehovah is an English transcription of יְהֹוָה, a specific vocalized spelling of יהוה which is found in the Masoretic Text. ... The Tetragrammaton (Greek: ; word with four letters) is the usual reference to the Hebrew name for God, which is spelled (in the Hebrew alphabet): ‎ (yodh) ‎ (heh) ‎ (vav) ‎ (heh) or ‎ (reading right to left = YHWH). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Look up Creation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Son of God is a biblical phrase from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and the New Testament. ... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... 144,000 is a positive whole integer between 100,000 and 200,000. ... The traditional form of the Western Christian cross, known as the Latin cross. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ...

An emphasis on house-to-house preaching began in 1922.^[61] The period from 1925-1933 saw many significant changes in doctrine. Attendance at their yearly Memorial dropped from a high of 90,434 in 1925^[62] down to 17,380 in 1928^[63], due to the previous power struggle, the failed prophesies for the year 1925,^[64] and the evolving doctrinal changes which alienated those who sided with Russell's views.^[65] By 1933, 1914 was seen as the beginning of Christ's presence, his enthronement as king, and the start of the "last days" instead of being considered the terminal date in their chronology.^[66] It has been suggested that Practices of Jehovahs Witnesses be merged into this article or section. ... This article refers to the topic of prophecy as the purported telling of future events or supernatural revelations. ...

During the 1960s^[67] and early 1970s, various references were made in Witnesses' literature and at assemblies, implying that Christ's thousand-year millennial reign might begin by 1975.^[68] The chronology pointing to 1975 was noted in the secular media at the time.^[69] From 1975 to 1980, there was a drop in membership following the failure of this prediction.^[70] In 1980, the Watchtower Society admitted its responsibility in building up hope regarding the year 1975.^[71]

In 1976, the leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses was reorganized, and the power of the presidency passed on to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. Witnesses no longer teach that the generation of people alive in 1914 will survive until Armageddon,^[72] but they continue to emphasize its nearness.^[73] The Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses is a body of elders that oversees all the activities of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... The evangelist John of Patmos writes the Book of Revelation. ...

Jehovah's Witnesses reject traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, eternal torment in hell and the immortality of the soul. The central theme of their preaching is God’s Kingdom (that is, God's rule over the Earth) with Jesus Christ as its king. The Witnesses believe this rule began with the Second Coming or presence of Christ. Originally, this was believed to have occurred invisibly in 1874, but this date was later revised to 1914. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (hypostases, personae): Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit, and thus is sometimes used by Christians as a name for... Sad redirects here; for the three letter acronym, see SAD. Suffering is any unwanted condition and the corresponding negative emotion. ... Perdition redirects here, for the play see Perdition (play). ... The soul, acording to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self-aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... The Kingdom of God or Reign of God (Greek basileia tou theou,[1]) is a foundational concept in Christianity, as it is the central theme of Jesus of Nazareths message in the synoptic Gospels. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Second Coming or Last Coming refers to the Christian and Islamic belief in the coming or return of Jesus Christ to fulfill Messianic prophecy, such as the resurrection of the dead, last judgment and full establishment of the Kingdom of God (also called the Reign of God), including the... Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...

Tetragrammaton

Main article: Yahweh

When Christians, unaware of the Jewish tradition, started to read the Hebrew Bible, they read יְהֹוָה‎ with the Masoretic vowels together with the consonants as written, and obtained Iehouah. Today this transcription is generally recognized as mistaken. Many religious groups continue to use the form Jehovah, because it is familiar and because the correct pronunciation of יהוה‎ is unknown. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Tetragrammaton. ...

Various proposals exist for a vocalization of יהוה‎. Current convention is יַהְוֶה‎, that is, Yahweh. The 'Yah' part seems fairly certain, for example from Biblical proper names ending in -ia(h) or -yahu. Early Christian literature written in Greek used spellings like Ιαβε that can be transcribed by 'Yahweh'. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Tetragrammaton. ...

Today many scholars accept this proposal.^[74] (Here 'accept' does not necessarily mean that they actually believe that it describes the truth, but rather that among the many vocalizations that have been proposed, none is clearly superior. That is, 'Yahweh' is the scholarly convention, rather than the scholarly consensus.)

Existentialism

In the 20th century, religious existentialists proposed that revelation held no content in of itself; rather, they hold that God inspired people with His presence by coming into contact with them. In this view the Bible is a human response that records how we responded to God. The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ...

Revelation or information from a supernatural source is of much lesser importance in some other religious traditions. It is not of great importance in the Asian religions Taoism, and Confucianism but similarities have been noted between the Abrahamic view of revelation and the Buddhist principle of Enlightenment. Taoism (pronounced and often written as Daoism (dow-ism)) is the English name for a religious and philosophical tradition in China. ... Confucian temple in Jiading district, Shanghai. ... hi guys if you are reading this it means you are very gay and geekish so i suggest you get of this site ... Bodhi, the Pāli and Sanskrit word for awakening or enlightenment, is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root budh (awake, become aware, notice, know or understand), corresponding to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati or budhyate (Sanskrit). ...

Paul Johannes Tillich (1886–1965) was a theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was, along with contemporary Karl Barth, one of the more influential Protestant theologians of the twentieth century. Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 - October 22, 1965) was a German-born American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. ...

Tillich's approach to Protestant theology was highly systematic. He sought to correlate culture and faith such that "faith need not be unacceptable to contemporary culture and contemporary culture need not be unacceptable to faith". Consequently, Tillich's orientation is apologetic, seeking to make concrete theological answers that are applicable to ordinary daily life. This contributed to his popularity because it made him easily accessible to lay readers. In a broader perspective, revelation is understood as the fountainhead of religion. Tillich sought to reconcile revelation and reason by arguing that revelation never runs counter to reason (affirming Thomas Aquinas who said that faith is eminently rational), but both poles of the subjective human experience are complementary. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ...

Tillich's radical departure from traditional Christian theology is his view of Christ. According to Tillich, Christ is the "New Being", who rectifies in himself the alienation between essence and existence. Essence fully shows itself within Christ, but Christ is also a finite man. This indicates, for Tillich, a revolution in the very nature of being. The gap is healed and essence can now be found within existence. Thus for Tillich, Christ is not God per se in himself, but Christ is the revelation of God. Whereas traditional Christianity regards Christ as wholly man and wholly God, Tillich believed that Christ was the emblem of the highest goal of man, what God wants men to become. Thus to be a Christian is to make oneself progressively "Christ-like", a very possible goal in Tillich's eyes. In other words, Christ is not God in the traditional sense, but reveals the essence inherent in all existence, including mine and your own. Thus Christ is not different from you or me except insofar as he fully reveals God within his own finitude, something you and I can also do in principle. Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ...

"God does not exist. He is being itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him."

Visitation

An experience of presence or communication between the recently deceased and their spouse or progeny is called visitation. This experience may be interpreted by some persons as revealing the will of God. Such experiences are deemed normative and not pathological according to the DSM IV (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association). Visitation can mean several things: In the United States, visitation is the legal term for the right of a non-custodial parent to visit with their children: see contact. ... The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States and other countries. ...

Caveats and criticism

In the Age of Reason Thomas Paine maintained that revelation can only be considered valid for the original recipient and when subsequently communicated by the recipient to a second person it ceases to be a revelation but rather becomes a hearsay second hand account, and consequently they are not obliged to believe it. The Age of Reason is either Thomas Paines book The Age of Reason. ... Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737, Thetford, Norfolk, England – June 8, 1809, New York City) was a pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical intellectual, and deist. ...

Many philosophies and some religions reject revelation as a valid method of learning the true nature of the universe or human spirituality. Humanism bases its ethics and morality on "universal morality." Rationalism asserts that the truth can best be discovered by reason and factual analysis. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Moral universalism is a humanist view that claims that the fundamental basis for a universalist ethic—universally applicable to all humanity—can be derived or inferred from what is common among existing moral codes. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey, 286). ...

Notes and references

• The Newsletter of the Foundation for Ancient Research & Mormon Studies (FARMS) at Brigham Young University Insights! volume 25 | 2005, Number 4, p.5

July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Prof. ... The Jews of Islam is a book written by Middle-East historian and scholar Bernard Lewis. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Wentworth letter was a letter written in 1842 by Latter Day Saint founder Joseph Smith, Jr. ... The canonical list of the Books of the Bible differs among Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Christians, even though there is a great deal of overlap. ... The biblical canon is a list of books written during the formative periods of the Jewish or Christian faiths. ... Raymond Franz, circa 1980 Raymond Franz was a member of the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses from 1971 until 1980, and served at the organizations world headquarters for fifteen years, from 1965 until 1980. ... Frederick William Franz - (12 September 1893–22 December 1992) served as the President of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, the Legal organization used to direct the work of Jehovahs Witnesses. ... Nathan Homer Knorr (April 23, 1905 - June 8, 1977) was the third president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society doing so on January 13, 1942, replacing Joseph Franklin Rutherford, who had served in the position since 1916. ... Look up eschatology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Prophet
• Inspiration
• Biblical inspiration
• Theology
• Prophecy
• Charismatic movement
• Occam's Razor
• Synchronicity
• Óðr
• oracle

In religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak as if he were a formal representative of God. ... Look up inspiration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible and what the Bible teaches about itself. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ... Prophecy in a broad sense, is the prediction of future events or the speaking of divine words (divine Revelation) through chosen human messengers (prophets). ... The charismatic movement began with the adoption of certain beliefs typical of those held by Pentecostal Christians —specifically what are known as the biblical charisms of Christianity: speaking in tongues, prophesying, etc. ... William of Ockham. ... For other uses, see Synchronicity (disambiguation). ... Ódr (ON: Óðr) is the husband of Freyja in Norse mythology. ... Consulting the Oracle by John William Waterhouse, showing eight priestesses in a temple of prophecy An oracle is a person or persons considered to be the source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ...

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Apocalypse
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Revelation (Book of)
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Book of Revelation
• North Central London Revelation Church