DEFINITIONS

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDWARD WATSONS WEBWORLD"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>EDWARD WATS</B><B>ON'S WEBWORLD</B></FONT></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> DEFINITIONS</div> <div> <A HREF="id139.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WARNING TO MORMONS"><U><B><U>WARNING TO MORMONS</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id140.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WARNING TO NONMORMONS"><U><B><U>WARNING TO NON-MORMONS</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id141.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS"><U><B><U>ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id144.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DEDICATION"><U><B><U>DEDICATION</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id145.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LEHIS DREAM"><U><B><U>LEHI'S DREAM</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id146.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABBREVIATIONS"><U><B><U>ABBREVIATIONS</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id142.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DEFINITIONS"><U><B><U>DEFINITIONS</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INTRO"><U><B><U>INTRODUCTION</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HEAVENLY FATHER"><U><B><U>SECTION 1: HEAVENLY FATHER</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JESUS CHRIST"><U><B><U>SECTION 2: JESUS CHRIST</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOLY GHOST"><U><B><U>SECTION 3: HOLY GHOST</U></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id134.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CONCLUSION"><U><B><U>CONCLUSION</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>[MORMONISM. The Faith of the Twenty-first Century. Volume 1. Edward K. Watson. (Liahona Publications. Copyright © 1998 Edward K. Watson.) pp. xlvii-l. MORMONISM: Definitions. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>DEFINITIONS</B></div> <bR> <div> [Here are some clarifications of how I use certain words]</div> <bR> <div> anthropomorphic- The idea of having human characteristics, such as emotions (love, mercy, anger, etc.) rational intelligence and especially form. The description of God being in “anthropomorphic form” means God having a shape or image of a human (with a head, torso, limbs, etc. [humanoid in appearance]).</div> <div> apologetic- [From the Greek word <I>apolog</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="WP MultinationalA Roman" ><I>‘</I></FONT><I>tikos</I>] A systematic defense to outsiders. Those who do so are called “apologists.” Not to be confused with the “Apologists” who were second and third century Christian philosophers who defended and promoted Christianity.</div> <div> atone- To pay for. The atonement of Jesus Christ paid the consequence of all the sins of mankind and all who are his true followers receive the blessings of his sacrifice.</div> <div> causality- The relationship of cause and effect. </div> <div> charismatic leaders- The leaders of the church whose primary function is to bestow spiritual gifts and messages such as the prophets, apostles, seventy, patriarchs and missionaries.</div> <div> corporeal- (1) Possessing a material form. (2) Possessing a physical body.</div> <div> cosmology- The view of reality which includes the inter-relationship of God and man as well as the material world.</div> <div> ecclesiastical leaders- The leaders of the church whose primary function is to administrate and shepherd such as the stake presidents, bishops, branch presidents, auxiliary leaders, high priests, elders, priests, teachers, deacons, the councillors of all levels, etc.</div> <div> exegesis- Analytical examination of the Scriptures.</div> <div> <I>ex nihilo</I>- The concept of creating out of nothing. Nothing pre-existed the creation of an object (e.g., creating a vase without clay, a wooden chair without wood, etc.). </div> <div> fallible- Capable of making mistakes.</div> <div> free-agency- Also called “free-will.” The freedom to choose right or wrong, good or evil.</div> <div> functional omnipresence of God- The idea of God being in humanoid form but because of his power (not state of being) can be everywhere present in two ways: (1) He has the power to warp spacetime so that his person can simultaneously be in as many places as he wishes (similar to a pin can simultaneously fill numerous holes on a sheet of paper). This can also be called the “Effective Omnipresence of God.” (2) Because of God’s control over the omnipresent “light” that fills the universe, he has an omnipresent omniscience (he knows everything that can be known anywhere or at any time in the universe) and an omnipresent omnipotence (he can influence anything that can be influenced anywhere or at any time within the universe). In other words, his knowledge and power fills the universe.</div> <div> Fundamentalist- An extremely conservative member of a religious group who attacks any view deviating from what he believes. Fundamentalism transcends all religious groups and is also characterized by its rejection of modern scriptural studies and intolerance of plurality.</div> <div> henotheistic universe- The belief that many Gods exist in the universe but we only worship one of them. Mormonism is erroneously accused of having such a cosmology.</div> <div> immaterial- (1) Matter in a tenuous state such as air, spider webs, aerogels, etc. (2) Not containing matter.</div> <div> incorporeal- Without a physical body. Specifically, a <I>material</I> spirit that doesn’t possess a physical body. </div> <div> infallible- Incapable of making mistakes.</div> <div> intelligence- The portion of our being that is indivisible, indestructible and co-eternal with God. It is the core that God used to build our spirit bodies around just like a pearl is built around a single grain of sand. It is the source of our nature. This is not to be confused with our intelligence (smartness) that is due to our brains.</div> <div> interpenetration- The mutual indwelling the true followers of Jesus have with Jesus, Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost. A unity so strong that we “live” in them and they “live” in us. This isn’t an ontological state but a power since it is conditional upon the righteousness of the members who share such unity.</div> <div> kerygma- [Plural is “kerygmata”] The original preaching and message of the first century church.</div> <div> Law of Consecration- Giving all of one’s property to the church which is used to evenly support all the participating membership.</div> <div> methodology- The systematic method of rules, processes, concepts and techniques laid out in such a way to make a whole or achieve a goal.</div> <div> Modalism- The false doctrine that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are in reality the same person. This is not to be confused with the Traditional Trinity which teaches they are the same God but are different persons.</div> <div> moral evil- Violations of divine law and events that cause pain, fear, suffering and death upon living things, that are solely due to the will and deliberate actions of men (e.g., murders, assaults, deception, rape, theft, etc.).</div> <div> multiversal cosmology- The belief that individual entities called “Gods” have sole dominion over entire universes within the Multiverse. This concept avoids the problems inherent in the henotheistic universe cosmology.</div> <div> Multiverse- The collection of an infinite number of universes that never had a beginning and will never have an end.</div> <div> nature- (1) The essence/make up/what makes a thing that kind of thing/species/ontological characteristics. (2) The inner desire and character of man. It is why we like certain things or act a certain way.</div> <div> nonmaterial- Not comprising matter. Not made of protons, neutrons and electrons or any subatomic particle.</div> <div> omnipotent- The ability of God to be all-powerful. He can control all available power. If no power exists that can do something God can’t do, his inability to do the same thing can’t negate from God’s omnipotence. </div> <div> omniscient- The ability of God to know everything. He knows all things in the past, present and future. If no entity can know something God can’t know, his inability to know the same thing can’t negate from his omniscience.</div> <div> omnibenevolent- All-good.</div> <div> ontological- State of being. All entities have their own state of being in two ways, (1) each person is a separate entity. My wife and I are separate beings, meaning, we aren’t the same person. (2) As a species classification. We belong to the human race or are ontologically “human.” Dalmatians belong to the dog race, or are ontologically “dog,” etc.</div> <div> ontological omnipresence of God- The idea that God’s person or being is everywhere present.</div> <div> orthodox- Accepted. Conventional. Harmonious with.</div> <div> paraphernalia- Personal belongings such as books, videos, pamphlets, booklets, etc.</div> <div> physical evil- Events that cause pain, fear, suffering and death upon living things, that aren’t due to the will and intentional actions of men (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, carnivores, etc.). Catastrophic events aren’t physical evils if life isn’t negatively affected in any way.</div> <div> pluralistic society- A society that separates the powers of the church and state and allows the existence of numerous conflicting belief systems.</div> <div> Pre-existence- The place that we existed as adult spirit entities with God prior to being born on the earth. We don’t remember this period in order for us to act according to our uncreated natures, to learn faith and obedience and for us to be educated to become like God.</div> <div> secular- The world outside the religious groups.</div> <div> space- The positioning of an object compared to another object <I>within</I> the universe.</div> <div> spatial- Relating to space. Every object occupies space. Distance between objects signifies a spatial separation.</div> <div> time- The duration of events on an object relative to its velocity or the gravitational intensity it experiences <I>within</I> the universe.</div> <div> Traditional Theism- Belief systems that believe in the existence of a single mathematical God. This refers to Judaism, non-Mormon Christianity and Islam.</div> <div> theocracy- A state or country governed by a religious body. It could also apply to a country where one religion so completely dominates that others can’t exist or function adequately, making the country essentially a theocracy.</div> <div> theodicy- (1) The relationship of God with the existence of evil. (2) The different concepts that attempt to resolve the reality of God with the existence of evil.</div> <div> theology- The systematic beliefs and practices of a religious body.</div> <div> theomorphic- The concept that man is created in the image of God.</div> <div> theophany- The appearance of God to men, either in humanoid form or in nature (thunderclouds, fire, etc.).</div> <div> transcendence- The superiority of God above men in all non-evil and non-fallible things.</div> <div> worldview- [From the German “weltanschauung” or “world view”] How one looks at the world or reality. </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca"><U>e-mail me!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>