Misplaced Pages

Infidel

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bless sins (talk | contribs) at 19:19, 12 April 2008 (→Modern English). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 19:19, 12 April 2008 by Bless sins (talk | contribs) (→Modern English)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For other uses, see Infidel (disambiguation).

Infidel is a traditional ecclesiastical term, used by Roman Catholics, referring to one who does not believe in the divinity of Jesus but also knowingly holds beliefs that contradict Catholic dogma, or one who has not been baptized.

Current English speaking ecclesiastical usage however distinguishes between non-Christians and non-believers (persons without religious affiliations or beliefs). The preference for these terms over the pejorative "infidel" reflects the Roman Catholic Church's commitment to engage in dialog with person of other or no faith.

Etymology

First used in Middle English circa 1460 (adjective, noun), from the Middle French infidèle, and from Latin infidelis "unfaithful," later "unbelieving," In the 15c. meaning "a non-Christian" (especially a Saracen); later "one who does not believe in religion" (1526).Infidel has been used by Christians to name the people outside their religious group, the ones who do not have faith (fides in Latin).

Implications in Canon Law

  1. Infidels are deemed incapable of receiving the sacraments.
  2. Marriage between the faithful (Christians) and Infidels forbidden and deemed null and void unless a dispensation has been granted.

Influence upon medieval civil law

Laws passed by the Catholic Church governed not just the laws between Christians and Infidels in matters of religious affairs, but also civil affairs. They were prohibited from participating or aiding in infidel religious rites, such as circumcisions or wearing images of acknowledge non-Christian religious significance.

In the Early Middle Ages, based on the idea of the superiority of Christians to infidels regulations, came into place such against Jews forbidding them to have Christian slaves; the laws of the decretals further forbade Christians from entering the service of Jews, or Christian women to act as their nurses or midwives; Christians when ill were forbidden from employing Jewish physicians, Jews were restricted to definite quarters of the towns into which they were admitted, and had to wear a dress by which they might be recognized.

These rules have given way and in modern legislation and Catholics, in civil life, are no longer governed by ecclesiastical law.

Modern English

In English infidel (literally "one without faith") is an word meaning "one who doubts or rejects central tenets of a religion or has no religious beliefs", especially in reference to Christianity or Islam.

Infidel is also commonly used to translate the Arabic word, kafir (كافر) , from a root meaning "to disbelieve, to deny," In Islam, the Arabic word kafir refers to a person who inwardly or outwardly denies Allah and/or the Islamic prophet Muhammad,(literally "one who denies the blessings of God") in reference to those who deny the existence of God, worship more than one god, or worship something else other than God. The word "Kafir", however, excludes "Ahlul Kitab" (People of the Book/Holy Scripture): the Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians.

Both "Infidel" and "kafir" are often regarded as offensive.

See also

References

  1. ^ 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia
  2. ^ Russell B. Shaw, Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0879736690 pg. 535
  3. George Weckman, "The Language of the Study of Religion: A Handbook", 2001, Xlibris Corporation ISBN 0738851051 pg. 64-65.
  4. "Infidel", The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
  5. "Infidel", Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
  6. "infidel." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 23 Jul. 2007.
  7. ^ Etymology of "infidel" by the Online Etymology Dictionary
  8. Etymology of "kaffir" by the Online Etymology Dictionary
  9. Quastions about Ahl-e Kitab by the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

External links

Category: