34BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ
BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ. Sanskrit, gita +
Bhagavat, “song of the blessed one.”
The Bhagavad Gita is the most famous
section of the great Hindu epic poem, the
Mahabharata, which is highly esteemed
among Hindus. At the heart of the poem,
the warrior Arjuna is counseled about his
duty, the soul, and the divine by his chari-
oteer, Lord Krishna. See also HINDUISM.
BHAKTI. Sanskrit, “devotion.” A devo-
tional movement in Hinduism that flour-
ished in South India beginning in the
seventh century CE and in North India
during the twelfth and thirteenth centu-
ries. It rejected the sacrificial ritualism
and Brahminical (upper-caste) hegemony
of the Vedic tradition, opening the door
for women and members of lower castes
to engage in devotional music and dance
in pursuit of a mystical union with the
divine. See also HINDUISM.
BIBLE. From the Greek biblia for
“book.” The Jewish Bible, or Tanakh,
consists of the To r a h (“Teaching”), the
Nevi’im (“Prophets”), and the Ketuvim
(“Writings”). The Christian Bible includes
the aforementioned books (which it
calls the Old Testament) as well as the
Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and
the Epistles (which together comprise the
New Testament).
BISHOP. A member of the Christian
clergy consecrated for the governance
of a diocese. Bishops have authority
over priests and are often themselves
governed by archbishops. The English
word “bishop” is derived from the Greek
episkopos, meaning “overseer” or “supervi-
sor.” Episkopos is used in the earliest
Christian writings, but the development
of the offices of pastoral ministry
occurred unevenly in the first centuries
of Christianity. Many well-known philos-
ophers have also been bishops, including
St. Augustine of Hippo, Clement of
Alexandria, Robert Grosseteste, Anselm
of Canterbury, Joseph Butler, William
Paley, and George Berkeley.BIVALENCE, PRINCIPLE (OR LAW)
OF. Every proposition is either true or
false. The principle is sometimes symbol-
ized as everything is either A (where “A”
stands for any predicate such as “red” or
“student”) or—A (not A), whereas the law
of identity is A is A, and the law of non-
contradiction is A is not—A (i.e., not not
A). The principle has relevance in debates
over divine omniscience. Some argue
that God’s knowledge does not extend to
the future because with respect to future
contingent events (e.g., those involving
free choices) prior to those events pro-
positions about them are neither true
nor false. Some philosophers also object
to the principle on the grounds that some
concepts and propositions are vague; e.g.,
it may not be true or false that “a person is
middle aged” because “middle aged” is not
precisely defined.