I'm not a Christian but I've read that some Christians believe the Rapture will happen before the Tribulations and some think it will happen as part of the overall 'End of the World' and the establishment of 'God's Kingdom on Earth'. Maybe a Christian will pop in and set me straight. I'll admit that Tribulation, Apocalypse, Rapture, Armageddon, Second Coming, Anti-Christ, Raising of the Dead, etc. etc. are all mixed up in my heathen brain.
They're all mixed up in everyone's brain. The concept of "the rapture" was taken from part of a verse in an apocryphal book that isn't even in the modern Christian bible. It was only believed by a very small sect of extremely fundamentalist Christians until the "Left Behind" series of books and movies came out and introduced it to popular culture.
thejoshgray, I don't know what your agenda is, but you couldn't be more wrong. The rapture is spoken of throughout the New Testament, though the term "rapture" isn't specifically used. I realize a quiz site isn't the place for a theology discussion, but your statement is ignorant of what the Bible actually teaches.
The Tribulation is a seven-year period where the world is united under a man whom we know as the "Antichrist". This man, who is led by Satan, establishes peace and order as the world completely decays morally. God, during this period, and especially in the second half, pours out His wrath on the world, culminating with the Battle of Armageddon, where the Antichrist leads a giant army to crush the State of Israel (and utterly fails in his attempt due to a timely intervention by Christ and His soldiers). The Rapture is the Christian's way to escape this coming wrath; the apostle Paul states that "we are not appointed to wrath", and also that the Rapture comes without warning, another way we can tell it is before the Tribulation. Jesus, however, expects Christians to know the time in which He returns, and the signs about which He warned are present across the world today.
thejoshgray, I don't know what your agenda is but I'm going to tell you what it is anyway. ;-)
No, rgc1600, the Rapture isn't spoken of throughout the NT. It's possibly alluded to once in 1 Thessalonians and I don't think it's an accurate reading of what's on there but I know that many disagree with me and that's fine.
And, there are different views of when it occurs in relationship to all the bad stuff. Some believe that believers will be raptured before the crap, some say in the middle of the crap and some say after the crap.
@thejoshgray: Actually the rapture is mentioned in the book 1 Thessalonians 4:17. While the term "rapture" isn't specifically mentioned (and it wouldn't have been used in the original translation anyway) the description of the rapture is detailed there.
And by the way it is not just "alluded to" as one person here said, it is actually described in detail. Maybe you need more to be convinced, but it is enough to convince me.
@ctleng76: I'm the one who's guilty of saying that 1 Thessalonians alluded to the rapture. The reason I said that is because the rapture is the belief that those believers on earth will escape the earth to dwell in heaven by means of the rapture. But this statement in 1 Thessalonians says nothing about going to heaven. All it says is that they'll meet the Lord in the air. Until the past couple centuries it was rare for anyone to assume that after this initial meeting that the next stage was going to heaven. What if the believers are meeting him in the air and then returning to earth? Or meeting in the air and flying around for a while? Or meeting in the air and then creating a new settlement on one of the bigger clouds up there?
The doctrine of the rapture is alluded to here, it's not explicit. And I happen to think that it's not teaching the rapture at all but the point of this thread isn't to argue for its truth.
Now I get to be a know-it-all I guess. Sorry about that.
Um... cintnuh, it's not the righteous, it's those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior. Like me. The Tribulation is only 7 years long, and the final battle is more commonly known as Armageddon. I don't even know where the word apocalypse came from.
Armageddon is a place, the site of the final battle. Apocalypse is from the Greek and means 'revelation'. I'm not religious, so I don't know what interpretation religious persons have placed on these things.
Also, I groan when people go on and on about how the signs from Revelation are upon us. Most of the signs they point out have been occurring to varying degrees since the scriptures were written. Doesn't the Bible teach that no person will know the day or the hour?
Yes, that is indeed the funny part. Not even the Son knows any of the details except that it hasn't happened yet. God isn't going to let anyone call it for all eternity, so you can guarantee that the end times won't happen in 2024, because someone said it would.
Just having "a Christian" pop in to straighten things out won't help since we all have different beliefs. I'm a Methodist and we focus more on following Christ's teachings for the world of today. The church is inclusive, and some believe in the Rapture, some don't, some think it already happened, and some don't care one way or the other because they figure if they live life as they should now they won't have to worry about it. I've never heard a sermon devoted to it but individuals will discuss it, especially after seeing movies such as Left Behind. My husband was an American Baptist when young, and he said they once had a preacher who was called in to settle a dispute among three members who were arguing whether the Rapture would occur before, during, or after tribulation, and the pastor told them, "I can make a case for any of the three ways." I prefer to tell people how following Christ has changed my life for the better, and sharing why I believe and remain strong in my faith.
This is one of the most debated areas of Protestant theology, especially among the flavors of Protestantism referred to as "dispensational" (e.g. Pentecostals, some Baptists). Basically, some believe that Christians will be "raptured" first, while nonbelievers will face assorted tribulations. Then, after other events whose order and significance are debated, the world will end. As I understand it, the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches have never believed in this sort of progression/ timeline. They assert that the return of Jesus signals both the ascension of Christians into heaven, the Last Judgment, and all the other apocalyptic phenomena all at once.
Contrary to popular belief, the apocalypse is not the tribulation. "Apocalypse" simply means "unveiling", so in my opinion, it is the same thing as the second coming of Christ. I also tried "advent." I don't usually use the term "rapture" since it is usually used in association with the belief that the believers will be taken to heaven before the tribulation, and I don't believe that. I believe that the rapture/second advent (the first advent being when Jesus was born as a baby) will come after the tribulation and all of the believers will be taken to heaven at once. I'm not sure I've explained this very well.... Well, I tried. lol
Strictly the apocalypse has happened. It's the vision granted to John that makes up the Book of Revelations (apocalypse - αποκάλυψις -means revelation in Greek).
I agree that transmigration should be added. Many religious encyclopedias use the term, and Merriam-Webster lists one definition of transmigration as "to pass at death from one body or being into another": http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transmigrate
So...the other thread got out of hand on "rapture"....but to get back to the point, are there other terms that could be accepted here, since a rapture is not a part of Christian doctrine that is widely accepted (for one, Catholics don't believe in it)? Perhaps "second coming" would be an answer that more people could get behind.
It's called a papal bull. The term came from the bulla (seal) that was attached at the end. I learned about them eons ago while doing a term paper on Martin Luther - he famously burned the one that excommunicated him.
I put dalai lama instead of just lama. What is the difference? Also, for a papal decree, I kept putting in encyclical and it wasn't accepted. Finally I thought of bull. Can you accept encyclical too?
If I recall correctly (I had fairly little (no) interest in religion classes at school) that's the step before canonization. Beatification requires only one attested miracle, while canonization requires two.
Nah, because not all paradoxes are koans. Koans are very specific dharmic teachings, given by a teacher to their student as a contemplative practice to help further the student on their spiritual path. So koans aren’t just any ol’ riddle or problem;for instance, Fermi’s Paradox, while certainly… paradoxical… is not therefore automatically a koan.
Aside to Dan: Using the adjective “doubt-provoking” on its own here gives the wrong impression I think. It’s not supposed to instill a general sense of doubt in oneself or the teachings, it is only supposed to free the student from thinking that logic and reason is the be-all and end-all of understanding and wisdom, when it is only the beginning.
God's mercy: the unearned withholding of punishment. God's grace: unearned favor. The quiz definition could use some tweaking, but it's no big deal. (but it is)
You haven't had anyone be picky about the Buddhist question yet, so I'll jump right in! :-D The second definition given for "lama" as "head of a monastery" is problematic (although "spiritual leader" is fine). It dates back to the time of total Western misunderstanding of what lamas actual were in Tibetan Buddhism (as evidenced by its early misnomer of "Lamaism"). Monastery abbots are all lamas, but not all lamas are abbots. A better definition would be "spiritual leader, or guru, in Tibetan Buddhism". And if you take my advice this won't matter, but monastery is spelled wrong ;-). Thank you for being so patient and such a good sport toward all of us!
I respectfully (and annoyingly) renew my comment about lamas not being synonymous with heads of monasteries; there are multiple orders of magnitude more lamas in the world than there are monasteries. (We just call heads of monasteries “abbots”.) Phrasing like this would be very precisely accurate: “A spiritual leader or respected dharma teacher in Tibetan Buddhism”. If you wanted, you could also add “guru” as a sorta-synonym; it’s not a perfect translation (gurus are VERY high lamas,), but it might make the question a little easier (maybe?).
It looks like you got your definition from Brittanica, but I’m going to argue that my source is better :-) I have been a Tibetan Buddhist most of my life, and actually lived in a monastery (as an ordained monastic!) for a couple of years!
But in the likelihood that you’re not gonna change the clue, maybe at least correct the spelling of monastery? Yer a peach. ;-D
serious question; what gets reincarnated according to them then? obviously not the body and if not the soul then what? If nothing returns is it not just a "fresh" birth?
Maybe it is about the word soul here? and how that is interpreted?
Ps reincarnate literally means to be made flesh again/given a body again. So something has to be made flesh again. (And the general definition for soul is everything besides the body, your carnal/physical form)
and if it is just about basic energy or similar concepts, maybe a better word would be re-purposing? ;)
Does the test a first time. Then tries to learn some stuff (without checking every answer just yet). Does it couple times more. Then checks his stats on the test.....the first one i know, right from the start, is appearently the least guessed one (of those I knew), the papal bull. Makes complete sense. xD
Can't help wondering though, if out of my interest in religion from a social perspective (I am personally atheist/anti-theist) helps me know more terms? Most people i know who are religous hardly know any of the words from their own or others faiths (except for ones we have gotten to know all to well over the last decades, because of over-exposure of such terms such as jihad).
Can you change the hint for "Messiah"? I thought you were talking about Elijah the Prophet, and messiah is neither a concept nor a word that is exclusive to Judaism.
Not sure what you are trying to say here with your stripey horse nonsense, but I agree with CrazeddRabbi. The question is phrased as if they are looking for a specific person or name, not just the generic term "Messiah".
The Pope might make declarations through a number of different documents, each of which are promulgated for specific purposes: Apostolic Constitutions, Encyclicals, Motu Proprios, Apostolic Exhortations, Bulls or Decretals, Addresses, Rescripts, or Briefs.
The Indian religious belief has a couple issues. It lines up more to the western bastardization of the word than representing what it really means. I'd argue that word is inextricably linked to the concept of rebirth, with bad or good intentions leading to bad or good rebirths, respectively. "What goes around comes around" is really not an accurate portrayal of it, but a Western oversimplification of the concept. Also, more countries than just India have religions that have this concept. It's debatable whether this was originally from Hinduism at all.
Great quiz! For "Ramadan", could I suggest accepting other possible spellings as mentioned in the Wikipedia article: Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan, or Ramathan.
tl;dr the rapture isn't in the bible.
No, rgc1600, the Rapture isn't spoken of throughout the NT. It's possibly alluded to once in 1 Thessalonians and I don't think it's an accurate reading of what's on there but I know that many disagree with me and that's fine.
And, there are different views of when it occurs in relationship to all the bad stuff. Some believe that believers will be raptured before the crap, some say in the middle of the crap and some say after the crap.
And by the way it is not just "alluded to" as one person here said, it is actually described in detail. Maybe you need more to be convinced, but it is enough to convince me.
The doctrine of the rapture is alluded to here, it's not explicit. And I happen to think that it's not teaching the rapture at all but the point of this thread isn't to argue for its truth.
Now I get to be a know-it-all I guess. Sorry about that.
Perhaps accept paradox for the Koan question?
Aside to Dan: Using the adjective “doubt-provoking” on its own here gives the wrong impression I think. It’s not supposed to instill a general sense of doubt in oneself or the teachings, it is only supposed to free the student from thinking that logic and reason is the be-all and end-all of understanding and wisdom, when it is only the beginning.
It looks like you got your definition from Brittanica, but I’m going to argue that my source is better :-) I have been a Tibetan Buddhist most of my life, and actually lived in a monastery (as an ordained monastic!) for a couple of years!
But in the likelihood that you’re not gonna change the clue, maybe at least correct the spelling of monastery? Yer a peach. ;-D
You see, the Dalai Lama is a jolly lama because he's the highest lama of them all.
I hope this clears up all of your melancholy lama drama.
Also maybe the rebirth questions could be rephrased, as most Buddhist schools believe in reincarnation but not in souls.
Maybe it is about the word soul here? and how that is interpreted?
Ps reincarnate literally means to be made flesh again/given a body again. So something has to be made flesh again. (And the general definition for soul is everything besides the body, your carnal/physical form)
and if it is just about basic energy or similar concepts, maybe a better word would be re-purposing? ;)
Can't help wondering though, if out of my interest in religion from a social perspective (I am personally atheist/anti-theist) helps me know more terms? Most people i know who are religous hardly know any of the words from their own or others faiths (except for ones we have gotten to know all to well over the last decades, because of over-exposure of such terms such as jihad).
"but a horse is not the only animal that exists!""It is not even the only animal with stripes" ...
Accept "metempsychosis" for "reincarnation".
Accept the spellings "mashiach" and "moshiach" for "messiah".