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[German Version] I. Comparative Religion In differentiated religious systems or cultures, the categories of clean and unclean, or purity and impurity, represent a key classificatory-communicative distinction which determines the course of inner boundaries (e.g. those between clergy and laity or women and men) and outer boundaries (e.g. between believers and “pagans,” in-group/out-group). It enjoys particular plausibility in the context of dualistic models such as Zoroastrianism, for example (Zarathustra; Williams). Its normative, somet…

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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Christianity – V. Judaism – VI. Islam – VII. Buddhism – VIII. Indian Religions I. Religious Studies A human society's dietary laws and prohibitions give us an excellent insight into its symbolic and ritu…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Church History – III. Practical Theology – IV. Liturgics – V. Law – VI. Orthodox Church – VII. Judaism – VIII. Islam I. History of Religion In Christendom marriage was considered a secular act until well into the Middle Ages, before it was declared a sacrament in 1184. Many religions view marriage as a religious duty, and nuptial rites (Rites of passage; see III below) often have sacral character, but civil marriages are also obligatory in certain countries. Regulations govern the choice of a mate (endogamy/exogamy), marital age, the form of the ceremony, the bride price or dowry, nuptial contacts, witnesses, etc. Marriage is tradit…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Sociology – VI. Systematic Theology – VII. Law – VIII. Practical Theology – IX. Judaism – X. Islam I. Religious Studies…

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. New Testament – III. Dogmatics – IV. Judaism I. Old Testament Election, especially in compounds such as doctrine of election, election idea, election tradition, is a term from biblical theology based on the theological use of the Heb. verb …

[German Version] I. Antiquity 1. The Greek word συναγωγή/ synagōgḗ (cf. LXX), like כְּנֶסֶת/ kneset, orig. meant “assembly”; only later did it come to mean “place of assembly” (Heb. בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת/ bet ha-kneset). It is therefore uncertain, for example, whether Acts 6:9 refers to congregations of Hellenistic Jews or their synagogues. Other synonymous terms were also common: προσευχή/ proseuchḗ (“prayer/place of prayers”) – found almost exclusively in the Greek Diaspora – and (ἅγιος) τόπος/( hágios) tópos or Aramaic אַתרָא קְדִישָׁא/ʾ atra qedisha (“holy place”) – found pri…

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. New Testament – III. Christianity – IV. Judaism I. Old Testament The Hebrew Bible can designate both individuals and groups as children (cf. e.g. Deut 32:5) or as sons and daughters of YHWH (cf. e.g. Deut 32:19). This usage occurs elsewhere in the ancient Near East to describe members of a deity's cultic community. The concept of childhood should be understood as mediated through creation (Deut 32:6; Isa 45:11; 64:8) or covenant (Isa 1:2, 4; Mal …

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. New Testament – III.  Christianity – IV.  Judaism – V. Islam I. Old Testament In the OT, fear of God occurs in various reactions to the encounter with God. Fear of God encompasses both the immediate reaction of a person gripped by horror before the holy God (the numinous) and the behavior of the pious person toward God in the form of obedience and praise. Consequently, fear of God can also designate veneration of God and piety (religion). The scope of the fear of God corresponds to the breadth of the concept of God (God: II). The God of Israel is not only a nume…

[German Version] I. Terminology Sin is a human breach of relationship with God. The term is emptied of content if it is used only for moral lapses. Only if a moral transgression in the mundane world is understood as a dimension of human alienation from God can it properly be called sin. The fundamental act of sin is unfaith (Unbelief ). In unfaith we close our eyes to the fact that we owe our existence to God and that he turns to us in love. We resist the idea that he determines our lives totally. T…