word of the day : simony
simony (SY-muh-nee, SIM-)
noun: Profiting from holy things, especially buying and selling of holy positions and pardons.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Simon Magus, Samaritan sorcerer in the Bible, who wanted to buy spiritual powers -- the ability to transfer the "Holy Spirit" by putting hands on someone -- from Peter.
USAGE:
"A related theme -- the preacher or moraliser unmasked -- has been richly illustrated in recent years by examples from real life: a string of corrupt American televangelists, self-appointed 'men of God', who revelled in greed, lust, and simony, the very things they were thought to be railing against."
Gilchrist; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 19, 1994.
noun: Profiting from holy things, especially buying and selling of holy positions and pardons.
ETYMOLOGY:
After Simon Magus, Samaritan sorcerer in the Bible, who wanted to buy spiritual powers -- the ability to transfer the "Holy Spirit" by putting hands on someone -- from Peter.
USAGE:
"A related theme -- the preacher or moraliser unmasked -- has been richly illustrated in recent years by examples from real life: a string of corrupt American televangelists, self-appointed 'men of God', who revelled in greed, lust, and simony, the very things they were thought to be railing against."
Gilchrist; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 19, 1994.