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Common Acronyms
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OP
- original post(er)
OT - off topic or "Old Testament"
NT - "New Testament"
PBUH - "peace be upon him"
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Q.
Everyone keeps saying "op" - what does this mean? What about "ot"?
A. It means original post, and
is used to skip out on quoting a long original message. There is no problem with
this unless you do it months after the OP has been posted. A better suggestion
would be to just quote the subject line, or both. "OT" usually
means either "off topic" or "Old Testament," depending on
the context. "NT" is New Testament.
Q. Who are "People
of the Book?"
A. Christians and Jews, as called
by the Qur'an -- the religious scriptures of Muslims.
Q. What is a
"fluff-bunny"?
A. "Fluff-bunny" is
a nickname given to posters -- particularly Wiccans and neo-pagans -- who do not
acknowledge the darker aspects of their faith. The term may also be used
to refer to ignorant or annoying posters.
Q. Someone keeps
saying "PBUH" - what does this mean?
A. "PBUH" stands for
"peace be upon him," and is said by Muslims after the name of a prophet
(which would include Jesus, since they view him as such), as well as the virign
Mary. There are various ways of saying this, also "upon him, be peace"
and "peace upon him," and is a sign of respect.
Q. What is a
"playgan?"
A. Entertainment. Actually, a
"playgan" is slang for a wannabe-Pagan. Usually a teenybopper Wiccan
(though there are some adults) who run around casting "love spells"
and "curses" on people, and pretending they know the religion. They're
quite disgraceful to the religion, but they are funny.
Q. What does
is mean when Jews write "G-d" or "GD" instead of God?
A. The reason this is done is
because many Jews believe that "God," even though it is not actually
his name, is sacred and Holy. Therefore, should it be destroyed, it would be disrespectful
and even a sin against God. So, to prevent "God" from being destroyed
(either by being written down and thrown away or deleted in a message board post),
people who believe this chose to write an abbreviated form of "God."
Q. Tell me about
"jihad" which, I think, means "holy war"?
A. The word "jihad"
does not necessarily mean "holy war." On the simplest level, "jihad"
just means "stuggle." To Muslims, there are two types of jihad.
The greater kind is the internal struggle of faith that many people go through.
Most Muslims in the world use the word in this way. However, "jihad"
can also mean "holy war" -- though it often comes from extremists who
do not represent the majority of Muslims
Q. What in the
bloody hell is a fundie?
A. Originally, "fundie"
was a slang term for a fundamentalist who is rude and intolerant. Not all fundamentalists
are rude and intolerant, and not all rude and intolerant people are fundamentalists
(the term "fundie" does not imply either). It's become more of a slang
for anyone who is untolerant and rude on the boards, whether they're a fundamentalist
or not, and can apply to anyone from militant atheists to lukewarm Christians.
Q. What is a
"troll?" Am I one?
A. Trolls are evil, vile creatures
who lurk on message boards, posting rude or controversial things simply to get
people riled up. They serve no other purpose other than to get off on your personal
anger.
Q. Why is there
a 'k' in the word 'magic' suddenly?
A. Some witches differenciate
their magic from stage-magic by spelling it uniquely. The most common variant
of the word is "magick".
Q. Who the heck
is "Allah" and why do some people worship him?
A. "Allah" refers to
the God of the Abramic Religions, and is mostly commonly associated with Muslims
because "Allah" is an Arabic word, which is the language their holy
text, the Qur'an, was written in. The word is also used by Arabic Christians and
Jews, though, and is not specifically designated for Muslims.
Q. What is the
difference between and atheist and an agnostic?
A. Atheists believe there is
no God. Agnostics feel that there is not sufficiate evidence to form an opinion
either way.
Q. Please tell
me what a deist is? I've heard of a theist and an atheist, but never a deist.
A. A deist is a
person who believes that there is a Creator God that is responsible for our world
and life. However, deists believe that after creation, God stepped back
and stopped being active in the live's of man. The "Father of Deism,"
Lord Herbert of Cherbury, states the five Deist Fundamentals: (1) There
is a Creator (2)
God deserves to be worshipped
(3) Virtue and good
ethics are the best form of worship
(4) Man abhores evil
and is obligated to repent for sins and wrongdoings
(5) After death there
will be a judgment with consequent rewards and punishments. Deism
was very popular during the Enlightenment era (some of our Founding Fathers were
deists or heavily influenced by deism), but fell out of favour because the belief
system essentially made God irrelevant