Monday, January 15, 2007

Anathema!

a·nath·e·ma /ənæθəmə

–noun, plural -mas.
1. a person or thing detested or loathed: That subject is anathema to him.
2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.
3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.
4. any imprecation of divine punishment.
5. a curse; execration.

[Origin: 1520–30; <>]

a·pos·tate /ə pɒsteɪt, -tɪt/

–noun
1. a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
–adjective
2. of or characterized by apostasy.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME <>]

hea·then /hiðən/

–noun
1. an unconverted individual of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a person who is neither a Jew, Christian, nor Muslim; pagan.
2. an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.

–adjective
3. of or pertaining to heathens; pagan.
4. irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME hethen, OE hǣthen, akin to G Heide, heidnisch (adj.), ON heithingi (n.), heithinn (adj.), Goth haithno (n.); perh. akin to heath]

her·e·tic /n. hɛrɪtɪk; adj. hɛrɪtɪk, hərɛtɪk/

–noun
1. a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.
2. Roman Catholic Church. a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.
3. anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.
–adjective
4. heretical.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME heretik <>ǐn to choose) + -ikos -ic]

pa·gan /peɪgən/

–noun
1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.
2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.
3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.
–adjective
4. pertaining to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim.
5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of pagans.
6. irreligious or hedonistic.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME <>]

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Get the matches!

7:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Really now, Father. Feeling a bit cranky, are we?

7:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

At the church I attend, a deacon recently gave a sermon about the DaVinci Code. He said that anyone who READS the book is a heretic. He also said that people who take the book out of the library will be "on a list."

The heretic is the deacon who frightened devout elderly ladies in my book group who had checked the book out of the library.

The DaVinci Code is a book. It is fiction. Heavens.

8:05 PM  
Blogger Fr LWG said...

I ran out of meds.

8:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In the New Oxford Review there is a story about younger Catholics being drawn to the beauty of the Latin Mass.

Also, as I understand it, blood pressure medicine in nothing to fool around with.

6:05 AM  

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