The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1781 page)

 
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Paracelsus
(Theophrastus Baumastus von Hohenheim
,

1493–1541).
Alchemist
and physician. He was born in Switzerland and travelled extensively throughout Europe, gaining a reputation as the leading figure in the Renaissance quest for interior meanings and transformations of nature.

 
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Paraclete
.

A figure mentioned by Jesus in the gospel of John (chs. 14–16), as coming after his own departure, to be with his disciples. The Gk. word
parakl
tos
may mean ‘comforter’, ‘counsellor’, ‘advocate’, but none of these translations entirely matches the range of functions ascribed to him. He is once identified with the
Holy Spirit
(14. 26), and it is easy to see why Christian tradition took up this identification. In Islam, the (Arab.)
faraql
t
is identified with Mu
ammad as the one who was promised (John 16. 7).

 
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(Gk., possibly from Pers.
pardes/pairidaeza
, ‘enclosure, park’, hence ‘garden’). Idyllic state in the presence of God, especially after death, hence often a synonym for heaven. The
Septuagint
uses the word of a literal
garden
(Ecclesiastes 2. 5; Song of Songs 4. 12), but the reference is more often the Garden of Eden (Paradise Lost) or the restored Garden (e.g. Ezekiel 36. 35, 47. 12; Isaiah 51. 3—Paradise Regained).

 
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see
RED HEIFER
.

 
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