The Case for God

by Karen Armstrong

  dialectic (Greek derivation). The art of critical examination into the truth of an opinion or statement; sometimes applied to a process of thought whereby contradictions are seen to merge in a higher truth that transcends them.

  din (Arabic). “Religion;” “way of life.”

  dogma (Greek). The Greek fathers of the church distinguished this “teaching” from kerygma, the public, readily explicable and overt message of the gospel.

  Dogma could not be expressed verbally but could be suggested and intuited in the symbolic gestures of the liturgy and in silent, apophatic contemplation.

  Dogma was only comprehensible after years of immersion in the ritual and liturgy; it represented the tacit tradition of the Church that was not fixed or static but changed as the worshipping community deepened its understanding of revealed truth.

  dunamis (Greek). The “powers” of God, a term used by Greeks to denote God’s activity in the world that was quite distinct from the indescribable and unknowable essence (ousia) of God.

  ekstasis (Greek). Ecstasy; literally “stepping out;” going beyond the self; transcending normal experience.

  ellu (Akkadian). Holiness, literally “cleanliness; brilliance; luminosity;” related to the Hebrew elohim. The gods were not the source of this holiness but merely participated in it to a high degree; they were known as the “holy ones.”

  Elohim (Hebrew). The term denoting the God of the Bible; usually translated “God,” but more accurately, it refers to everything that the gods could mean for human beings.

  En Sof (Hebrew). “Without end;” the inaccessible and unknowable essence of the Godhead in Kabbalah.

  energeiai (Greek). “Energies;” the term used to distinguish God’s “activities” or “manifestations” in the world, which enable us to glimpse something of the otherwise inaccessible divine. Like dunamis, it is used to distinguish the human perception of God from the ineffable, unknown reality itself. The Greek fathers saw the Logos and the Holy Spirit as the energeiai that had, as it were, translated the divine into terms that human beings could to an extent grasp and comprehend.

  Enuma Elish. The Babylonian epic recounting the creation of the world chanted annually in the temple of Esagila during the New Year festival.

  eschatology. Derived from the Greek eschaton, “the end.” The study of the last days.

  exegesis (Greek derivation). “To guide; lead out;” the art of interpreting and explaining the text of scripture.

  ex nihilo (Latin). “Out of nothing;” the phrase used to distinguish the new doctrine of creation that emerged in the Christian world during the fourth century and stated that God had created the world out of absolute nothingness. This cosmology had been unknown in the ancient world. Hitherto the gods had been regarded as created beings; they could only assist a creation process that was already under way and, as it were, work on the raw materials of the universe and finish it off.

  faith. Trust; loyalty; the English translation of the Latin fides (“loyalty;” “fealty”) and the Greek pistis. It did not originally mean acceptance of orthodox theology. See belief.

  falsafah (Arabic). “Philosophy;” the attempt by Muslim scientists, known as the faylasufs (“philosophers”), to interpret Islam according to Greek philosophical rationalism.

  Golah (Hebrew). The community of the exiles who returned from Babylon to Judaea.

  gospel (derived from the Anglo-Saxon god spel). “Good news;” the proclamation (Greek: evangelion) of the early church.

  goyim (Hebrew). The “foreign nations;” non-Jews; when translated into Latin, this became gentes, hence the English “gentiles.”

  halakah (Hebrew). A rabbinical legal ruling.

  hasid(Hebrew); plural hasidim. A devout Jew; a holy man.

  hesychia (Greek); adj.

  hesychast. “Inner tranquillity; interior silence;” a contemplative, apophatic spirituality that stripped the mind of theological ideas and tried to rise above words, concepts, and sensations.

  High God. A supreme deity, worshipped in remote antiquity and still remembered in indigenous communities today, who was thought to have created the world single-handedly; he was so elevated that he had no cult and gradually faded from the minds and hearts of his worshippers. He was usually superseded by more immediate and dynamic deities.

  hilm (Arabic). Forbearance; mercy; patience; tranquillity.

  Holy Spirit. Translation of the Hebrew ruach (“spirit”); term used by the rabbis, often interchangeably with Shekhinah, to refer to God’s presence on earth; distinct from God itself, the essence of the Godhead that exceeded human understanding or experience. The early Jewish Christians used the term to describe the immanent divine force within them that filled them with an empowering energy and enabled them to understand the deeper meaning of Jesus’s mission.

  hypostasis (Greek); plural hypostases. Used in a secular context to express the exterior expression of a person’s inner nature; an object or person viewed from the outside; the Greeks used the term to describe the external, earthly manifestations of the unknown God as Logos and Holy Spirit.

  hypothesis (Greek derivation). A proposition put forward as the basis for discussion; a supposition or conjecture that accounts for known facts and serves as a starting point for further investigation that may or may not be proved.

  idolatry. The worship or veneration of a human or humanly constructed reality instead of the transcendent God.

  ilam (Akkadian). “Divinity,” which, in Mesopotamia, referred to a radiant power that lay beyond the gods and transcended any particular deity; a fundamental reality that could not be tied to a distinct form. The gods were not the source of ilam, but like all other creatures, they participated in this holiness.

  iman (Arabic). Translated as “faith,” but this does not mean “belief” in the modern sense. The mu’min (“faithful,” often misleadingly translated “believers”) are those who live up to the Muslim ideal, pray regularly, give alms, help the poor, perform the works of justice, and free their slaves.

  incarnation (Latin derivation). The embodiment of the divine in a human bodily form; see avatar.

  intellectus (Latin). “Intellect,” the most refined region of our reasoning powers, where reason, pushed as far as it can go, subverts itself and experiences the divine. Not dissimilar to buddhi.

  Islam (Arabic). An existential “surrender” of one’s entire being to God.

  jahiliyyah (Arabic). Traditionally translated as “time of ignorance” and used in Muslim sources to refer to the pre-Islamic period in Arabia. In English translations of the Qur’an, the noun jahl and the adjective jahili are often rendered as “unbelief” or “unbelieving.” This is not accurate. In the early sources, the primary meaning is violent and explosive; irascible; arrogant; chauvinist.

  jihad (Arabic). Struggle; endeavor; effort.

  Kabbalah (Hebrew). “Inherited tradition;” the mystical tradition of Judaism.

  kaddosh (Hebrew). Holy; literally “separate; other.”

  kafir (Arabic); plural kafirun. Traditionally translated as “unbeliever;” but more accurately it refers to somebody who ungratefully, churlishly, and aggressively rejects God; refuses to translate his belief in God’s creation of the world into benevolent and generous action; hoards wealth to build up a private fortune; and does not care for the poor and deprived. Kufr is not “unbelief” but “ingratitude” and “insolence.”

  kenosis (Greek). “Emptying;” the emptying of the self; the dismantling of egotism.

  kerygma (Greek). The public teaching of the Church, that, unlike dogma, can be expressed clearly and rationally and understood by people who do not participate in the rituals and ethical practices of Christianity.

  lectio divina (Latin). “Sacred study;” the monastic practice of reading scripture slowly and meditatively, identifying with the action, and experiencing moments of ekstasis.

  logos (Greek). “Dialogue speech;” reasoned, logical, and scientific thought. Ancient Greek philosophers us
ed the term to denote the pragmatic, accurate mode of thought that was distinct from mythos. In Stoicism, Logos referred to the underlying rational, ruling processes of nature that were also called “God” or “Spirit.” Christians identified the Logos with the Word and Wisdom of God that brought everything into being and had given human beings intimations of the divine throughout history. In the prologue to his gospel, Saint John claimed that the Logos (“Word”) had taken flesh in the person of Jesus. As Christian theology developed, the Logos would become one of the hypostases, prosopoi, dunamis, and energeiai of the otherwise unknown and unknowable God.

  messiah. From the Hebrew messhiach (“anointed one”); originally the term referred to the king of Israel, who was anointed during the coronation ceremony and achieved a special, cultic intimacy with God. He became a “son of God” and had a particular divine task. Priests and prophets were also given this title to denote their special mandate and closeness to Yahweh. By the time of Jesus, some Jews were looking forward to a future redeemer, possibly a king in the line of King David, who would usher in the Kingdom of God, an era of peace and justice.

  midrash (Hebrew). Jewish exegesis; derived from the verb darash (“to study, investigate, go in search of”). Jewish interpretation always retained the sense of a quest for something fresh, expectant inquiry; the investigation of something that was not immediately self-evident.

  miqra (Hebrew). “Call to action;” the early rabbis’ name for the scripture.

  Mishnah (Hebrew). Literally “learning by repetition;” a Jewish scripture composed between 135 and 200 CE that consisted of a collection of oral traditions and rabbinical legal rulings.

  monotheism. The form of religion that has only a single god as its chief symbol of the divine.

  Muslim (Arabic). A man or woman who has made the surrender of islam. musterion (Greek). “Mystery;” derived from the verb muein (“to close the eyes or the mouth”), it refers to an obscure reality, hidden from ordinary sight, that exists beyond the reach of language. It was also linked to the related word myein (“to initiate”) and myesis (“initiation”), hence the Mystery Cults that developed in the Greek world during the sixth century BCE, notably at Eleusis, secret rites that gave participants an overwhelming experience of the sacred. The term musterion was later applied by Greek Christians to describe the initiations of baptism and the Eucharist. Exegesis, the quest for the hidden meaning of scripture, was also a musterion, a transformative, initiatory process. Therefore musterion was not something that one was obliged to think and “believe” (in the modern sense) but was something that one did. This was particularly evident in the dogma of the Trinity, which was not simply a doctrinal formulation but also a meditative exercise.

  mystes (Greek); plural, mystai. An “initiate;” somebody who takes part in a Mystery (musterion).

  mythos (Greek); plural mythoi. Myth; a story that was not meant to be historical or factual but expressed the meaning of an event or narrative and encapsulated its timeless, eternal dimension. A myth can be described as an occurrence that in some sense happened once but also happens all the time. Myth can also be seen as an early form of psychology, describing the labyrinthine and obscure world of the psyche. Derived from the verb muein (“to close the eyes or the mouth”), it is related to “mystery” and “mysticism” and has connotations of darkness and silence. It refers to experiences and convictions that cannot be easily put into words, that elude the clarity of logos and are different from the discourse and thought habits of practical, everyday reality.

  Nirvana (Sanskrit). “Extinction;” “blowing out;” the extinction of the self in Buddhism that brings enlightenment and liberation from pain and suffering; a sacred haven of peace discovered in the depths of the self; an indefinable reality, because it corresponds to no concept and is incomprehensible to those still enmeshed in the toils of selfishness and egotism.

  nous (Greek). “Mind.”

  ontos (Greek). “Being;” “nature.” Hence the ontological proof of Saint Anselm, which argues from an examination of the workings of human nature and the nature of the divine.

  orthodox; orthodoxy (Greek derivation). “Right teaching.”

  otiosus (Latin). “Useless;” “superfluous.”

  ousia (Greek). Essence; nature; that which makes a thing what it is; a person or object seen from within; when applied to what we call God, the term denotes that divine essence, nature, or substance that will always elude human understanding or experience.

  Pentateuch (Greek derivation). The first five books of the Bible, also called the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

  persona (Latin); plural

  personae. “Mask;” “face;” the translation of the Greek prosopon; the mask worn by an actor to enable the audience to recognize his character and make his voice audible (the “sound” [sonus] was amplified as it went “through” [per] it). Hence in English, the hypostases of the Trinity have been called the three divine “persons.”

  pesher (Hebrew). “Deciphering;” a form of exegesis used by the Qumran sect and by the early Christians, who saw the whole of scripture as a code, referring to their own community in the last days.

  philosophia (Greek). “The love of wisdom” (sophia).

  phusikoi (Greek). The “naturalists” of Miletus and Elea, who developed a purely physical and material vision of the cosmos and laid the foundations of Western science.

  pistis (Greek); verbal form pisteuo. Trust; loyalty; commitment; often translated as “faith.”

  polis (Greek). The Greek city-state.

  prosopon (Greek); plural prosopoi. “Face;” “mask;” also used of a facial expression that reveals one’s inner thoughts or a role that one has decided to play in either life or the theater. Often used by the Greek fathers as an alternative to hypostasis.

  Purusha (Sanskrit). “Person;” the term was first applied to the primordial human “Person” who voluntarily allowed the gods to sacrifice him in order to bring the world into being.

  ren (Chinese). Originally “human being.” Confucius gave the word new significance, but refused to describe it because it transcended any of the intellectual categories of his time. It was a transcendent value, the highest good. Ren would always be associated with the concept of humanity and has been translated as “human-heartedness.” Later Confucians specifically associated ren with compassion and benevolence.

  revelation (Latin derivation). “Unveiling;” the Latin translation of apokalypsis; it was not regarded as a set of unalterable truths, doctrines, or propositions, but as an ongoing process that depended on human ingenuity and innovation.

  Rig Veda (Sanskrit). “Knowledge in Verse;” the most sacred part of the Vedic scriptures of the Aryans, consisting of over a thousand inspired hymns.

  rishi (Sanskrit). “Seer;” the term applied to the inspired poets of the Rig Veda; also a visionary, mystic, or sage.

  secundum imaginationem (Latin). “According to the imagination;” an idea presented hypothetically.

  sefer torah (Hebrew). The “Scroll of the Law,” discovered by the seventh-century reformers in the time of Josiah, which purported to be the document written by Moses on Mount Sinai.

  shalom (Hebrew). Often translated as “peace,” but more accurately “wholeness; completion.”

  Shekhinah (Hebrew). From the Hebrew verb shakan (“to pitch one’s tent”); the rabbinic term for God’s presence on earth, distinguishing a Jew’s experience of God from the ineffable reality itself. Originally the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence had been enshrined in the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem temple; after the temple’s destruction in 70 CE, the rabbis taught Jews to experience the Shekhinah when two or three sat together and studied the Torah. Jewish Christians experienced the Shekhinah in the person of Jesus when they studied scripture together and in the Eucharist.

  Sky God. See High God.

  symbol (Greek derivation). A material object, person, icon, or idea that stands for something immaterial. The G
reek symbalon indicates something that is “thrown together.” Human beings have never experienced the unknowable reality that we call God directly but always in an earthly object, such as a human person, a scripture, a law code, a mountain, a temple, an idea, or a doctrine. The creeds of the Church were originally called “symbols.” In the premodern world, the earthly symbol and the reality to which it pointed were experienced as inseparable. They had indeed been “thrown together” and fused, like gin and tonic in a cocktail. In the sixteenth century, however, as the scientific quest for accuracy and univocity took hold, people started to see the symbol as distinct from the transcendent reality to which it pointed. Thus the Protestant reformers claimed that the Eucharist was only a symbol. The gods and devas were “symbols” of the transcendent reality of Being. The idea of God was also a symbol, directing our attention to a transcendent reality beyond itself.

  Talmud (Hebrew). “Teaching; study;” the term refers to two scriptures, the Jerusalem Talmud, completed in the early fifth century CE, and the Bavli, the Babylonian Talmud, completed in the sixth century CE. Both took the form of a gemara (“commentary”) on the Mishnah.

  theoria (Greek). “Contemplation;” in the modern West, a “theory” is a mental construct; a hypothesis.

  Torah (Hebrew). “Teaching;” often translated as “law;” in the Bible, the word torah included God’s perceived guidance in the world and the words he used to formulate it. Thus the Torah often refers to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, which contains stories about God’s guidance and care. Later Torah was linked with God’s Wisdom and the Word that brought the world into being and became synonymous with the highest knowledge and with transcendent goodness.