What are the most popular names for popes?
Pope John, Gregory, Benedict, and Clement, in that order.
There have been 23 Johns (and 2 John Pauls), 16 Gregorys, 15 Benedicts, and 14 Clements.
Yes, Jews can be excommunicated. The Hebrew word for excommunication is herem. it involves the cutting of all religious, social, and business ties with someone considered dangerous to the community. One of the most famous cases of herem involved the seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Spinoza.
Gehenna is the Greek form of the Hebrew Ge Hinnom, or “Valley of Hinnom.” This was a valley west and south of Jerusalem where children were sacrificed in flames to the Ammonite god Moloch from the tenth through seventh centuries B.C. In Jewish and Christian thought, it became another name for the place where the…
The Immaculate Conception does not refer to Christ’s being born of a virgin. Instead, it is the Roman Catholic belief that Mary was without original sin from the moment of her conception.
Genesis 4:13-15 explains that the mark was placed on Cain to protect him from anyone who might want to kill him in retaliation for his murder of Abel. The mark was not itself meant as a punishment.
Muslims of central and western Asia use prayer rugs to cover the ground while they pray. The rugs feature a distinctive arch-shaped design, a prayer niche, or mihrtib, on one end of the carpet. The mihrab must be pointed toward Mecca while the person is praying.
The official name of the celibate sect the Shakers is the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing. Derived from the Quakers, the “Shaking Quaker” sect was established in America in 1774 by Ann Lee and reached its height, in the 1840s with a membership of 6,000. Shaker refers to the involuntary movements made…