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Devil's Advocate
The (Latin for Devil's advocate) is a former official position within the Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith: one who "argued against the canonization (sainthood) of a candidate to uncover any character flaws or misrepresentation of the evidence favoring canonization". In common parlance, the phrase "playing devil's advocate" describes a situation where someone, given a certain point of view, takes a position they do not necessarily agree with (or simply an alternative position from the accepted norm), for the sake of debate or to explore the thought further using valid reasoning that both disagrees with the subject at hand and proves their own point valid. Despite being medieval in origin, this idiomatic expression is one of the most popular present-day English idioms used to express the concept of arguing against something without actually being committed to the contrary view. Playing devil's advocate is considered a form of the Socratic method. Origin and history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesiastical Latin
Ecclesiastical Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian theology, Christian thought in Late antiquity and used in Christianity, Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration to the present day, especially in the Catholic Church. It includes words from Vulgar Latin and Classical Latin (as well as Greek language, Greek and Hebrew language, Hebrew) re-purposed with Christian meaning. It is less stylized and rigid in form than Classical Latin, sharing vocabulary, forms, and syntax, while at the same time incorporating informal elements which had always been with the language but which were excluded by the literary authors of Classical Latin. Its pronunciation was partly standardized in the late 8th century during the Carolingian Renaissance as part of Charlemagne's educational reforms, and this new letter-by-letter pronunciation, used in France and England, was adopted in Iberia and Italy a couple of centuries aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beatification
Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the plural form, referring to those who have undergone the process of beatification; they possess the title of "Blessed" () (abbreviation "Bl.") before their names and are often referred to in English as "a Blessed" or, plurally, "Blesseds". It is the third stage of the ordinary process of Canonization#Since 1983, official recognitions for Catholic saints: Servant of God, Venerable#Catholic, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint. History Local Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops had the power of beatifying until 1634, when Pope Urban VIII, in the apostolic constitution ''Cœlestis Jerusalem'' of 6 July, reserved the power of beatifying to the Holy See. Since the reforms of 1983, as a rule, (for non-martyred Venerables) one Miracle, miracle must ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English-language Idioms
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; ''i.e.'' the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "''kick the bucket''" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. For example, an English language, English speaker would understand the phrase "''kick the bucket''" to mean "''to die''" and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context. To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "''kick a buc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicastery For The Causes Of Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passing through the steps of a declaration of "heroic virtues" and beatification. After preparing a case, including the approval of miracles, the case is presented to the pope, who decides whether or not to proceed with beatification or canonization. History Early history Saints were recognised by popular acclamation until the 12th century. After controversial cases, Pope Alexander III in 1170 required all candidates for sainthood to be approved by the Vatican. The papacy took total authority over the process in the 17th century. Sacred Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation for Rites was created by Pope Sixtus V on 22 January 1588 in the bull '' Immensa aeterni Dei''. The congregation dealt both with regulating divine worship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tribunals Of The Roman Curia
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single judge could describe that judge as "their tribunal". Many governmental bodies are titled "tribunals" to emphasize that they are not courts of normal jurisdiction. For instance, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda was a body specially constituted under international law; in Great Britain, employment tribunals are bodies set up to hear specific employment disputes. In many but not all cases, ''tribunal'' implies a judicial or quasi-judicial body with a lesser degree of formality than a court, in which the normal rules of evidence and procedure may not apply, and whose presiding officers are frequently neither judges nor magistrates. Private judicial bodies are also often-styled tribunals. ''Tribunal'' is not conclusive of a bod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strawman
A straw man fallacy (sometimes written as strawman) is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction. One who engages in this fallacy is said to be "attacking a straw man". The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition through the covert replacement of it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and the subsequent refutation of that false argument ("knock down a straw man"), instead of the opponent's proposition. Straw man arguments have been used throughout history in polemical debate, particularly regarding highly charged emotional subjects. Straw man tactics in the United Kingdom may also be known as an Aunt Sally, after a pub game of the same name, where patrons throw sticks or battens at a post to knock off a skittle balanced on top. Overview The straw man fallacy occurs in the following p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Gadfly
A gadfly is a person who interferes with the ''status quo'' of a society or community by posing novel, potentially upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities. The term has a modern use but it was originally associated with the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, as portrayed in Plato's ''Apology'' when Socrates was on trial for his life. History Socrates The term "gadfly" (, ''mýops'') was used by Plato in the ''Apology'' to describe Socrates' acting as an uncomfortable goad to the Athenian political scene, like a spur or biting fly arousing a sluggish horse. During his defense when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato's account, pointed out that dissent, like the gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high: "If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me" because his role was comparable to that of a gadfly: "to sting people and whip them into a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Rota
The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic members and is the highest ecclesiastical court constituted by the Holy See related to judicial trials conducted in the Catholic Church. An appeal may be had to the pope himself, who is the supreme ecclesiastical judge. The Catholic Church has a complete legal system, which is the oldest in the West still in use. The court is named '' Rota'' (wheel) because the judges, called ''auditors'', originally met in a round room to hear cases. The Rota emerged from the Apostolic Chancery starting in the 12th century. Constitution The pope appoints the auditors of the Rota and designates one of them the dean. On September 22, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation, for reasons of age, of Bishop Antoni Stankiewicz as dean and appointed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Team
A red team is a group that simulates an adversary, attempts a physical or digital intrusion against an organization at the direction of that organization, then reports back so that the organization can improve their defenses. Red teams work for the organization or are hired by the organization. Their work is legal, but it can surprise some employees who may not know that red teaming is occurring, or who may be deceived by the red team. Some definitions of red team are broader, and they include any group within an organization that is directed to think outside the box and look at alternative scenarios that are considered less plausible. This directive can be an important defense against false assumptions and groupthink. The term ''red teaming'' originated in the 1960s in the United States. Technical red teaming focuses on compromising networks and computers digitally. There may also be a Blue team (computer security), blue team, a term for cybersecurity employees who are respons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polemic
Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial topics. A person who writes polemics, or speaks polemically, is called a polemicist. The word derives , . Polemics often concern questions in religion or politics. A polemical style of writing was common in Ancient Greece, as in the writings of the historian Polybius. Polemic again became common in medieval and early modern times. Since then, famous polemicists have included satirist Jonathan Swift, Italian physicist and mathematician Galileo, French theologian Jean Calvin, French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher Voltaire, Russian author Leo Tolstoy, socialist philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, novelist George Orwell, playwright George Bernard Shaw, communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, linguist Noam Chomsky, so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder Board
A murder board, also known as a "scrub-down", is a committee of questioners set up to critically review a proposal and/or help someone prepare for a difficult oral examination. The term originated in the U.S. military, specifically from the Pentagon, but has spread to academic and government appointment contexts. NASA contends the murder board was created by Hans Mark, Director of Ames Research Center from 1969 to 1977, derived from the earlier concept of the tiger team. In highly risk-averse, technical endeavors where extreme efforts are taken to prevent mistakes (e.g. satellite operations), murder boards are used to aggressively review, without constraint or pleasantries, a situation's problem, assumptions, constraints, mitigations, and the proposed solution. The board's goal is to kill the well-prepared proposal on technical merit; holding back even the least suspicion of a problem is not tolerated. Such argumentative murder boards consist of many subject matter experts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawsuits Against The Devil
Lawsuits against supernatural beings, such as God or the devil, have occurred in real life and in fiction. Issues debated in the actions include the problem of evil and harmful " acts of God". Actual suits Betty Penrose In 1969, Arizonan lawyer Russel T. Tansie filed a suit against God on behalf of his secretary, Betty Penrose, seeking $100,000 in damages. Penrose blamed God for his "negligence" in allowing a lightning bolt to strike her house. The lawsuit was filed in a Californian court under the argument that God owned property in Sonoma County, California, due to the Limeliters singer Lou Gottlieb transferring the deed of his Morning Star Ranch to God about a week before. The deed was ruled invalid, due to God not being able to take possession of the property, and hence Penrose's lawsuit was also ruled invalid. Gerald Mayo '' United States ex rel. Gerald Mayo v. Satan and His Staff'' was a 1971 case filed before the United States district court for the Western Distr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
