The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (980 page)

(1583–1648).
First Lord Herbert of Cherbury, religious philosopher and early advocate of the idea that there is a universal religion natural to human beings. He went to Paris as ambassador in 1619, where he published, in 1624,
De Veritate
… laying the foundations for his views on a common or natural religion, which he developed further in
De Religione Laici
(1645) and
De Religione Gentilium
(1663). He held that there are five beliefs which are innate and which are common to all people:

(i) that there is a Supreme Being;
(ii) that he is worthy of our worship;
(iii) that virtue is the true mode of that worship or relationship;
(iv) that sin is to be recognized and repented of;

and

(v) that justice demands that we receive a due reward or punishment after death for what we have done during this life.

Since these beliefs are innate and universal, there is no need for revelation, and for this reason Herbert has been called ‘the father of the
Deists’
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(1593–1633).
Anglican
priest and
Metaphysical poet
. In 1630 he was ordained priest and became rector of Bemerton. His
Priest to the Temple
presents an ideal of Anglican pastoral ministry; his collection of poems,
The Temple
, depicts the inner engagement between his soul and God.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Here I stand
(Luther's commitment)
:

see
WORMS, DIET OF
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(Heb., ‘ban’). Excommunication from the Jewish community. Derived from the isolation of holy items in biblical times, the first reference to excommunication is in Ezra 10. 8. In the period of the
Talmud
, four types of excommunication had developed:

(i) 
nezifah
, a rebuke, an expulsion for seven days;
(ii) 
shamta
, now of uncertain meaning;
(iii) 
niddui
, ‘separation’, thirty days in
Erez Israel
, seven in the
diaspora
, but renewable without reform of ways;
(iv) 
erem, isolation: such a person was forbidden to hear or teach
Torah
, and had to observe the laws of mourning. It is now little used in that way except by the extreme Orthodox in Israel.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(Gk.,
hairesis
, ‘choice’). The adoption of false views and practices. Basically, the Gk. word may mean simply the adoption of a particular opinion or school of thought (e.g. Acts 5.17), but in religious terms it is usually a choice of belief which is held to be aberrant (i.e. heretical) by the main continuing body of believers. A heresiarch is the originator of a heresy or heretical movement. In Christianity, where the term is essentially located,
Roman Catholic
theologians distinguish ‘formal heresy’ (the grave sin of wilful persistence in error) and ‘material heresy’ (the holding of heretical doctrines through no fault of one's own).
In other religions, the term is not formally appropriate, but similar considerations, derived from the necessity for systems to have boundaries, can be found. Thus in Judaism, neither Bible nor
Talmud
present creeds or dogmas to which Jews must conform. However, Deuteronomy 17. 8–13 isolates the
zaqen mamre
, the obstinate teacher (
rebellious elder
). Already in the
Mishnah
serious aberrancy is recognized. Heresy now is belief in ideas condemned by the Orthodox religious authorities. In Judaism, a heretic is still considered to be a
Jew
, and is described by a number of terms such as
min
,
apikoros
, and
kofer
(cf.
k
fir
).
The nearest equivalent in Islam is
il
d
, ‘deviation’. Heretics are called
mal
idah
. Right practice (
sunna
) is as important as right belief, but in any case the heretic is, quintessentially, one who denies the reality of God. Thus the major offences in Islam are
shirk
and
bid‘a
. One who forsakes Islam is an apostate (
murtadd
), and if he turns against Islam in public attack, he should be executed.
In E. religions, it might seem, superficially, that there is little room for a concept equivalent to heresy. ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Buddhism’ contain diversities of an even more spectacular kind than Christianity. Hinduism as
san
tana dharma
is able to include conceptually even those breakaway religious movements, such as the Jains and Buddhists, which are usually described as separate religions. They are interpretations (
dar
ana
) of the revelation in the
Vedas
, but unorthodox ones—
n
stika
as opposed to
stika. In a sense which is now eroded, the orthodox is defined geographically: it is the area in which
dharma
can be observed. Thus
Manusm
ti
:
The land between the two sacred rivers Sarasvati and Drsadvati, this land created by divine powers, is the Brahmavarta. The customs prevailing in this land, passed on from one generation to another, constitute right behaviour (
sad
c
ra