The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2515 page)

Toronto Blessing
.

The term was first coined by British churches for the claimed experience of a new wave of the Holy Spirit beginning in 1994. At the end of Jan. 1994 a small
charismatic
church in Toronto, of the Vineyard denomination (the ‘Airport Vineyard’) experienced what they believed to be a new and concentrated outpouring of the Spirit night after night. The Airport Vineyard church has since been recognized as ‘a worldwide renewal centre’. Various manifestations deemed to be evidence of the presence of the Spirit have become synonymous with ‘Toronto’: they include falling or resting in the Spirit, laughter, shaking, and crying. In Dec. 1995, the founder and overseer of the Vineyard churches, John Wimber, released the Airport Vineyard from the Vineyard denomination for reasons of growing unhappiness with the emphasis on the extraordinary manifestations of the Spirit, and because he no longer felt able to exercise oversight over the Church and its activities. After Jan. 1996, the church continued to exist as an independent church. Despite the controversy, testimony continued strongly of those claiming to have been greatly blessed by God.

 
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(1420–98).
Grand Inquisitor in Spain. A
Dominican
, he joined the
Inquisition
in 1482, and was responsible for about 2,000 executions and for the expulsion of those Jews from Spain (in 1492) who refused
baptism
. His methods were summarized in the handbook,
Instrucciones de la santa Inquisición
(1484).

 
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see
THEOLOGY
.

 
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Tortoise oracle
.

Ancient Chinese method of divination, similar in antiquity and use to the
oracle bones
. Unlike the latter, however, the tortoise oracle was not forgotten to later Chinese history and in fact enjoyed considerable fame in art, literature, and philosophy. The cosmic tortoise is known from ancient myths as the foundation of the world, but it is from traditions which coalesced around the
I Ching
(Book of Changes) that the sacred and mysterious significance of the tortoise is largely derived. The legend that the earth is supported by a tortoise is apparently attributable to the
Lieh-Tzu
; other legends explain the symbolism of the tortoise as more fully cosmic, since the round and vaulted shell represents the heavens, the flat underside the square earth with the four legs denoting the four quarters of earth.

 
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Tortosa, Disputation of
.

A Jewish–Christian disputation held in Tortosa in 1413–14. The disputation was the longest of the medieval disputations. It was presided over by the
pope
and was predominantly a missionary exercise on the part of the Christians. The Christian side was led by the
apostate
, Geronimo de Santa Fé, who was always allowed to conclude the discussion. Jewish participants included Zerahiah ha-Levi, Astruc ha-Levi, Joseph
Albo
, and Mattathias ha-Yizhari. Many Jews were baptized as a consequence.

 
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(Heb., ‘additions’). Collections of comments on the Jewish
Talmud
. The tosafot grew out of the French and German schools which aimed to develop and enlarge the Talmudic commentaries of
Rashi
. The tosafot are records of discussions between teachers and pupils in the
yeshivot
. The tosafot literature is vast: it extended to commentary on
Pentateuch
commentary and even on the
halakhot
of
Alfasi
. It is normally included in editions of the Talmud so ‘a page of
gem
ra
’ means the text,
Rashi's
commentary (known as
perush
), and tosafot (collectively described by the acronym GaPaT).