Adiaphora

Adiaphoron (ædɪˈæfərɒn,_ædiˈæfərɒn; plural: adiaphora; from the Greek ἀδιάφορον (pl. ἀδιάφορα), meaning "not different or differentiable") is the negation of διαφορά diaphora, "difference". In Cynicism, adiaphora represents indifference to the s of life through ascetic practices which help one become free from influences – such as wealth, fame, and power – that have no value in nature. Examples include Diogenes' practice of living in a tub and walking barefoot in winter. Similarly, the Stoics distinguish all the objects of human pursuit into three classes: good, bad, and adiaphora (indifferent). Virtue, wisdom, justice, temperance, and the like, are denominated good; their opposites were bad. Besides these there are many other objects of pursuit such as wealth, fame, etc. of themselves neither good nor bad. These are thought therefore in ethics to occupy neutral territory, and are denominated "adiaphora". This distinction amounts practically to an exclusion of the adiaphora from the field of morals. In the context of Stoicism adiaphora is usually translated as "indifference". Unlike in Stoicism and Cynicism, In Pyrrhonism adiaphora has no specific connection to morality, but indicates things that cannot be logically differentiated, while Aristotle uses "adiaphora" to mean "undifferentiated by a logical διαφορά/differentia." In Christianity, adiaphora are matters not regarded as essential to faith, but nevertheless as permissible for Christians or allowed in the church. What is specifically considered adiaphora depends on the specific theology in view. Law and Gospel and Antinomianism#Lutheranism The issue of what constituted adiaphora became a major dispute during the Protestant Reformation. In 1548, two years after the death of Martin Luther, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V tried to unite Catholics and Protestants in his realm with a law called the Augsburg Interim. This law was rejected by Philipp Melanchthon, because it did not ensure justification by faith as a fundamental doctrine.