.... Paine believed that the mind is the church. Deists also believed that the bible was hearsay. Thomas Paine thought that a revelation could only effect the person that it was directed to because after that the people that listen to the revelation have the right not to believe it because it can not be proven. The Deists also believe that through nature God is revealed. Puritanism is a religion and believe that god is active. They also believe in providence. They believe that god guides them through life. They also believe in predestination. The puritans think that people .....

.... defines the characteristics of a community in a number of ways. For one, he claims that some sort of initiation or "entrance ritual" needs to occur in order to mark the acceptance of an individual into the community as a whole. In addition to these entrance rituals, the individual will, most likely, participate in other types of rituals throughout his life. This may include his eventual departure from the community, such as death. Secondly, the author emphasizes the fact that communities often possess clearly defined ritual activities that are unique to their own particul .....

.... of the main things which separated the Gnostics from orthodox Christians was the mysticism of their beliefs. It began with their views of God and creation. They viewed the One which they called the true God as having a feminine part which was the Spirit. In accord, they also held that Jesus came from God and the Spirit to form the Trinity. In the Gnostic version of creation of the world the Spirit of God is referred to as the Wisdom of God or Sophia who is also a feminine creative force. It seems she wished to give birth to a creature like herself. She did so without the per .....

.... There is only one place to get that knowledge. Within the God’s Written word. ”For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” That spirit can be compared with God for man was made in His image. Man’s spirit can not be seen, or felt, weighed or measured. We really can’t explain what a spirit is, in all honesty, because it is mystery that eludes precise definition or description. What is important is that when we confess that God is a Spirit, we deny His material Subst .....

.... dishware allowed. Kitchen utensils and dishware normally used in the home are not be used during Passover. Special dishes and utensils for the Passover holiday are taken out of storage, cleaned and used. Only foods that are "Kosher for Passover" are allowed. No leavened (containing yeast) foods or grains are eaten. In their place matzoh and foods containing matzoh are eaten. This is to commemorate the Israelites who fled quickly into the desert with no time for their breads to rise and were forced to bake the dough into hard crackers in the desert sun. All foods prohibited d .....

.... to South Carolina for the City Hall service. At the end, the lady who'd married us said, "You can kiss the bride." My husband and I were so embarrassed we could barely look at each other. Then we headed back to the house where we had our religious ceremony. Following Greek Orthodox custom, I went home afterward with my parents. The next day, my father drove Emanual, my husband, and me to a hotel. When we got to the room, I almost jumped for joy. There were two single beds. My father kissed me goodbye and left. Then a manager came by and said, "We gave you the wrong r .....

.... what he believed and taught. His accusers said that his recanting was a proof of his guilt. What were real motives why Molinos admitted his "guilt"? Molinos once said: "The true quietists are always quiet, serene and eve-minded in Graces and in extraordinary favors as also in the most rigorous and bitter torments. No news causes them to rejoice, no event saddens them". Was Miguel de Molinos trying to be consistent way with his mystical teachings of total passivity?, or was he really guilty as charged? Was Molinos a victim of the jealousy of the Jesuits? Was his fall caused .....

.... then he created all over again. And, as if two first men were not enough, we also have Noah in chapter eight.” A quote from the bible that states “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord.” The German Theologian says that “God against the world and the world itself for ever dividing into opposites on either side: male and female, living and dead, good and evil, first and last.” In a different example Edmund Leach stated that “Solomon the wise, the great king, the builder of the temple, nevertheless is a sinner in that he loved many strange wom .....