Numinous is an English adjective describing the power or presence of a divinity. The word was popularized in the early twentieth century by the German theologian Rudolf Otto in his influential book Das Heilige. According to Otto the numinous experience has two aspects: mysterium tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling; and mysterium fascinans, the tendency to attract, fascinate and compel.

The numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, in that the person feels to be in communion with a wholly other. The numinous experience can lead in different cases to belief in deities, the supernatural, the sacred, the holy, and the transcendent.

Mysterium tremendum is described in The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley in the following terms:
“The literature of religious experience abounds in references to the pains and terrors overwhelming those who have come, too suddenly, face to face with some manifestation of the mysterium tremendum. In theological language, this fear is due to the incompatibility between man’s egotism and the divine purity, between man’s self-aggravated separateness and the infinity of God.”

Nostalgia for paradise was a term used by Mircea Eliade to help bring understanding to the numinous. This idea was based on the theory that a person has a sort of longing for perfection or paradise, which creates a platform for experience of the numinous.

Carlos Castaneda deals with a related concept in his books dealing with a particular Native American tradition of sorcery. According to the teacher Don Juan, there is just such an inconceivable dimension of human existence whose presence may be sensed but neither grasped by the senses or any rational framework. He refers to this as the Nagual. This Nagual is a power that may be harnessed by a man of knowledge, the shaman or sorcerer who has undergone an arduous spiritual training.

It may be viewed as the intense feeling of unknowingly knowing that there is something which cannot be seen. This knowing can befall or overcome a person at any time and in any place – in a cathedral; next to a silent stream; on a lonely road; early in the morning or in the face of a beautiful sunset.

Kenosis is a Greek word for emptiness, which is used as a theological term. It is the concept of the self-emptying of one’s own will and becoming entirely receptive to God and its perfect will. It is used both as an explanation of the Incarnation, and an indication of the nature of God’s activity and condescension.

An apparent dilemma arises when Christian theology posits a God outside of time and space, who enters into time and space to become human. The doctrine of Kenosis attempts to explain what the Son of God chose to give up in terms of his divine attributes in order to assume human nature. Since the incarnate Jesus is simultaneously fully human and fully divine, Kenosis holds that these changes were temporarily assumed by God in his incarnation, and that when Jesus ascended back into heaven following the resurrection, he fully reassumed all of his original attributes and divinity.

Specifically it refers to attributes of God that are thought to be incompatible with becoming fully human. For example, God’s omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience as well as his aseity, eternity, infinity, impassibility and immutability. The Orthodox Mystical Theology of the East emphasises following the example of Christ. Kenosis is only possible through humility and presupposes that one seeks union with God. The Poustinia tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church is one major expression of this search.

Kenosis is not only a Christological issue in Orthodox theology, it has moreover to do with Pneumatology, namely to do with the Holy Spirit. Kenosis, relative to the human nature, denotes the continual epiklesis and self-denial of one’s own human will and desire. With regards to Christ, there is a kenosis of the Son of God, a condescension and self sacrifice for the redemption and salvation of all humanity. Humanity can also participate in God’s saving work through theosis; becoming holy by grace.

Another perspective is the idea that God is self-emptying. He poured out himself to create the cosmos and the universe, and everything within it. Therefore, it is our duty to pour out ourselves. This is similar to C.S. Lewis’s statement in Mere Christianity that a painter pours his ideas out in his work, and yet remains quite a distinct being from his painting. In so doing, we become deified like God. Another term for this process is theosis.

A miracle is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker. Many folktales, religious texts, and people claim various events they refer to as miraculous. People in different cultures have substantially different definitions of the word miracle. Even within a specific religion there is often more than one of the term. Sometimes the term miracle may refer to the action of a supernatural being that is not a god. Thus, the term divine intervention, by contrast, would refer specifically to the direct involvement of a deity.

In casual usage, miracle may also refer to any statistically unlikely but beneficial event, such as the survival of a natural disaster, or even that regarded as wonderful regardless of its likelihood, such as birth. Other miracles might be survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or beating the odds.

In this view, a miracle is a violation of normal laws of nature by some supernatural entity or unknown, outside force. Some scientist-theologians like Polkinghorne suggest that miracles are not violations of the laws of nature but exploration of a new regime of physical experience.

The logic behind an event being deemed a miracle varies significantly. Often a religious text, such as the Bible or Quran, states that a miracle occurred, and believers accept this as a fact. However, C.S. Lewis noted that one cannot believe a miracle occurred if one had already drawn a conclusion in one’s mind that miracles are not possible at all. He cites the example of a woman he knew who had seen a ghost and had discounted her experience, claiming it to be some sort of hallucination.

Many conservative religious believers hold that in the absence of a plausible, parsimonious scientific theory, the best explanation for these events is that they were performed by a supernatural being, and cite this as evidence for the existence of a god or gods. Some adherents of monotheistic religions assert that miracles, if established, are evidence for the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent God.

Followers of the Indian gurus Sathya Sai Baba and Swami Premananda claim that they routinely perform miracles. The dominant view among skeptics is that these are predominantly sleight of hand or elaborate magic tricks.

Some modern religious groups claim ongoing occurrence of miraculous events. While some miracles have been proven to be fraudulent, others such as the Paschal Fire in Jerusalem have not proven susceptible to analysis. Some groups are far more cautious about proclaiming apparent miracles genuine than others, although official sanction, or the lack thereof, rarely has much effect on popular belief.

A cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term meaning order and is the opposite of chaos. Today the word is generally used as a synonym of the word universe. The words cosmetics and cosmetology originate from the same root. In Russian, the word cosmos simply means space. The cosmos as originated by Pythagoras is parallel to the Zoroastrian term asa, the concept of a divine order, or divinely ordered creation.

In philosophy and metaphysics, cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time and all phenomena. Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was founded in religion. The ancient Greeks did not draw a distinction between this use and their model for the cosmos. However, in modern use it addresses questions about the Universe which are beyond the scope of science. 

Cosmology is study of the universe in its totality, and by extension, humanity’s place in it. In recent times, physics and astrophysics have to play a central role in shaping the understanding of the universe through scientific observation and experiment. What is known as physical cosmology shaped through both mathematics and observation in the analysis of the whole universe. In other words, in this discipline, which focuses on the universe as it exists on the largest scale and at the earliest moments, is generally understood to begin with an expansion of space from which the universe itself is thought to have emerged.

Metaphysical cosmology has also been observed as the placing of man in the universe in relationship to all other entities. This is demonstrated by the observation made by Marcus Aurelius of a man’s place in that relationship when he states, “He who does not know what the world is does not know where he is, and he who does not know for what purpose the world exists, does not know who he is, nor what the world is.”

It is distinguished from religious cosmology in that it approaches these questions using philosophical methods. Modern metaphysical cosmology tries to address questions such as: What is the origin of the Universe? What is its first cause? Is its existence necessary? What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the Universe? Does it have a purpose?

From its violent beginnings and until its various speculative ends, cosmologists propose that the history of the universe has been governed entirely by physical laws. Between the domains of religion and science, stands the philosophical perspective of metaphysical cosmology. This ancient field of study seeks to draw intuitive conclusions about the nature of the universe, man, god and their relationships based on the extension of presumed facts borrowed from spiritual experience and observation.

Cosmology is often an important aspect of the creation myths of religions that seek to explain the existence and nature of reality. In some cases, views about the creation and destruction of the universe play a central role in shaping a framework of religious cosmology for understanding humanity’s role in the universe.

A more contemporary distinction between religion and philosophy, esoteric cosmology is distinguished from religion in its less tradition bound construction and reliance on modern intellectual understanding rather than faith, and from philosophy in its emphasis on spirituality as a formative concept.

The philosopher Ken Wilber uses the term kosmos to refer to all of manifest existence, including various realms of consciousness. The term kosmos distinguishes a nondual universe which, in his view, includes both noetic and physical aspects, from the strictly physical universe that is the concern of the traditional sciences.

Miraculous resurrection of one type or another has been a recurrent theme or central doctrine of many religions. The accounts represent the resurrection of individuals, as well as a general resurrection of humanity. Christianity also uses the term to refer to God’s resurrection of Jesus. Accounts of resurrection also occur in other religious traditions.

The earliest known recurrent theme of resurrection was in ancient Egyptian religion and it was especially focused upon an individual in the cults of Isis and Osiris. A cyclic dying-and-rising god motif was prevalent throughout ancient Mesopotamian and classical literature and practice.

There are stories in Buddhism where the power of resurrection has been demonstrated on at least two famous occasions in Chan or Zen Buddhist tradition. One is the famous resurrection story of Bodhidharma, the Indian master who brought the Ekayana school of India to China that subsequently became Chan Buddhism.

In the literal sense of the word, resurrection refers to the event of a dead person completely returning to life. Thus, it is not to be confused with things like immortality in which the soul continues to live after death, free of the body.

The resurrection of Jesus is the central doctrine in Christianity. The day of Jesus’ resurrection is actually the 3rd day after Passover, which was the day that Jesus died, fullfilling all of the prophesies concerning the Lamb of God that would pay the cost for the sins of the world. Passover was the day when the Hebrew people would bring a lamb for sacrifice that would attone for the sins of their households.

The word Easter is not from any accurate translaltion, as it was placed into the bible by the Roman government during their inaccuate translation concerning the resurrection. Cultural elements, such as the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts, have become part of the holiday’s modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many non-Christians as well. There are also some Christian denominations that do not celebrate Easter.

The resurrected Jesus Christ commissioned his followers to, among other things, raise the dead. Throughout Christian history up to the present day there have been various accounts of Christians raising people from the dead. In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus is said to have raised several persons from death, including the daughter of Jairus shortly after death, a young man in the midst of his own funeral procession, and Lazarus, who had been buried for four days.

Traditionally, Easter eggs, hard-boiled eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked together to celebrate the opening of the Tomb of Christ.

Agape is one of several Greek words translated into English as love. The word has been used in different ways by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including Biblical authors. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love.

Greek philosophers at the time of Plato and other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity. This is in contrast to philia, an affection that could denote either brotherhood or generally non-sexual affection, and eros, an affection of a sexual nature.

The term agape is rarely used in ancient manuscripts, but was used by the early Christians to refer to the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another.

The word has been expounded on by many Christian writers in a specifically Christian context. Thomas Jay Oord has defined agape as an intentional response to promote well-being when responding to that which has generated ill-being. Oord also argues that agape is not the only form of Christian love. Philia and eros can also be forms of love appropriate for Christians to express.

Agape received a broader usage under later Christian writers as the word that specifically denoted Christian love or charity. The New Testament provides a number of definitions and examples of agape that generally expand on the meanings derived from ancient texts, denoting brotherly love, love of one’s spouse or children, and the love of God for all people.

In the New Testament the noun agape is often used to describe God’s love. However, the verb form agapao is at times used in a negative sense, where it retains its more general meaning of affection rather than divine love. The word agape in its plural form is used in the New Testament to describe a meal or feast eaten by early Christians. It is sometimes believed to be either related to the Eucharist, or another term used for the Eucharist.

Interconnectedness is part of the terminology of a worldview which sees a oneness in all things. A similar term, interdependence, is sometimes used instead, although there are slightly different connotations. Both terms tend to refer to the idea that all things are of a single underlying substance and reality, and that there is no true separation deeper than appearances. Some feel that interconnectedness and similar terms are part of a contemporary lexicon of mysticism, which is based on the same core idea of universal oneness.

The mystics have related this as the notion of “all in one and one in all”, which in turn relates to the theological concept of panentheism, but in the most thorough meaning of that term. Not that all is within God, as your breakfast might be within you, or that God is solely within all, but, rather that the two, God and the creation are all one within one another.

In terms of religion, spirituality, personal world views and paradigms, the theology of God present within every human being, a concept familiar to Quakers and to Lutherans, might help to explain various life actions such as the rejection of human slavery. To own a slave would, in this cosmo-theological world view, be to claim ownership of the God present within the slave.

In global political, social, and ecological terms, the concept of co-relational “all in one, one in all” panentheistic interconnectedness will doubtless have significant economic, distributional, moral, ethical, political, personal, social, and ecological ramifications. By acknowledging the relationship to all things, interconnected behaviours are said to have the potential to change the world.

Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. It affirms that God is working in all persons to actualize potentialities. Thus, each religious manifestation is the Divine working in a unique way to bring out the beautiful and the good. Additionally, scripture and religion represent human interpretations of the divine.

Whitehead enumerated three essential natures of God. First, the primordial nature of God consists of all potentialities of existence for actual occasions, which Whitehead dubbed eternal objects. Second, God can offer possibilities by ordering the relevance of eternal objects. The consequent nature of God prehends everything that happens in reality. As such, God experiences all of reality in a sentient manner. The last nature is the superjective. This is the way in which God’s synthesis becomes a foundation for other actual entities. In some sense, God is prehended by existing actual entities.

Process theology gives God a special place in the universe of occasions of experience. God encompasses all the other occasions of experience but also transcends them. Since, it is argued, free will is inherent to the nature of the universe, God is not omnipotent in the sense of being coercive. The divine has a power of persuasion rather than coercion. God’s role is to offer enhanced occasions of experience. It participates in the evolution of the universe by offering possibilities, which may be accepted or rejected. 

In this philosophy, reality is not made up of material substances that endure through time, but sequenced events which are experiential in nature. These events have both a physical and mental aspect. All experience is important and contributes to the ongoing and interrelated process of reality.

The universe is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of free will. Self determination characterizes everything in the universe, not just human beings. God cannot totally control any series of events or any individual, but God influences the creaturely exercise of this universal free will by offering possibilities. To say it another way, God has a will in everything, but not everything that occurs is God’s will.

Because God interacts with the changing universe, God is changeable. That is to say, God is affected by the actions that take place in the universe over the course of time. However, the abstract elements of God such as goodness and wisdom remain eternally solid.

A liberative theology is very easily constructed in process theology. There is a relational character to the divine which allows God to experience both the joy and suffering of humanity. God suffers just as those who experience oppression, and God seeks to actualize all positive and beautiful potentials. God must, therefore, be in solidarity with the oppressed and must also work for their liberation.

Therefore, God is not omnipotent in the classical sense, and so God does not provide support for the status quo, but rather seeks the actualization of greater good. God exercises relational power and not unilateral control. In this way God cannot instantly end evil and oppression in the world. God works in relational ways to help guide persons to liberation.