Torah
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
Tanakh
the Jewish scriptures which consist of three divisions--the Torah and the Prophets and the Writings
covenant
(Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return
atheist
someone who denies the existence of god
agnostic
a person who claims that they cannot have true knowledge about the existence of God (but does not deny that God might exist)
retribution
the act of correcting for your wrongdoing
inferno
any place of pain and turmoil
Veda
(from the Sanskrit word for `knowledge') any of the most ancient sacred writings of Hinduism written in early Sanskrit; traditionally believed to comprise the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads
Rig-Veda
a Veda consisting of a collection of Hindu poems dating from before 2000 BC
Vedism
the form of Hinduism that revolves primarily around the mythic version and ritual ideologies in the Vedas
hymn
a song of praise (to God or to a saint or to a nation)
deity
any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force
Mecca
joint capital (with Riyadh) of Saudi Arabia; located in western Saudi Arabia; as the birthplace of Muhammad it is the holiest city of Islam
sura
one of the sections (or chapters) in the Koran
archetype
something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies
myth
a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people
