There is a glossary of difficult words in the books for the course. Inevitably, however, some unusual words are missed out. So I suggest we extend the glossary here as our discussions develop:

Parousia: A Greek term, which literally means "coming" or "arrival", used to refer to the second coming of Christ. The notion of the parousia is an important aspect of Christian understandings of the "last things".

Note: This definition was found on an internet site:

http://www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/RELIGION/Glossary.htm

Any other words that need definition?

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002