Glossary

The Bible: The books (in Greek, biblia) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ.  

The languages of the Bible: Mostly ancient Hebrew for the Old Testament (Aramaic for half of Daniel), ancient Greek for the New.  

The Old Testament: Those books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings.

The New Testament: The 27 authoritative books of the apostolic writings: the four Gospels about the life and teachings of Christ, Acts (Church history), 21 apostolic letters and the book of Revelation.

Oracles: In the New Testament the term means divine sayings or utterances and generally refers to the entire Old Testament or specific parts of it.  

The Scripture(s): The divinely inspired writings of both the Old and New Testaments. The term Scripture is used in the New Testament to refer to both the Hebrew Bible (Luke 24:44-45) and the new apostolic writings accepted as inspired (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18).  

Secularism: The rejection of religion and the supernatural in public life.