What's the difference between apostate and backslider?

Apostate


Definition:

  • (n.) One who has forsaken the faith, principles, or party, to which he before adhered; esp., one who has forsaken his religion for another; a pervert; a renegade.
  • (n.) One who, after having received sacred orders, renounces his clerical profession.
  • (a.) Pertaining to, or characterized by, apostasy; faithless to moral allegiance; renegade.
  • (v. i.) To apostatize.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Ellen Mouravieff-Apostal was a social worker, a leader in the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and with her husband Andrew the force that grew international social work.
  • (2) Isis is a Sunni extremist group that targets non-Sunnis as apostates, in some cases with sympathy or even the support of non-jihadi Sunni groups and leaders.
  • (3) They and other ideologues in the extremist movement saw this lack of unity – rather than the US, "hypocrite, apostate" regimes in the Middle East or the supposed lack of faith of other Muslims – as their biggest problem, at least in the short term.
  • (4) He is a former Republican Senator and Governor of Rhode Island who went apostate in the 2000s, the only Republican Senator to vote against Iraq War II, and he is pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, pro-gun control and pro-progressive taxation.
  • (5) He’s the one who has drawn radical protests at the mosque, been called an apostate, awarded a fatwah for backing same-sex marriage.
  • (6) The hearts of America and its allies were broken by the Islamic State when it cut off the rotten heads of some agents, spies, and apostates.” In recent months Isis extremists have killed a number of western journalists and aid workers , filming the act and posting it online.
  • (7) Most Afghans are Sunni, and Isis regards Shias as apostates.
  • (8) Writing about this at the time, Hossam Bahgat saw it as an attempt by the Mubarak regime to undercut Islamist opposition by portraying the state as the guardian of public virtue: “To counter this ascending [Islamist] power, the state resorts to sensational prosecutions, in which the regime steps in to protect Islam from evil apostates.
  • (9) The men, aged 25 to 40, are all labelled in the Isis propaganda video as murtad – meaning apostate in Arabic – and wear orange jumpsuits.
  • (10) It will be harder for Iran to blame the Saudis for “incubating” the Isis takfiri doctrine – sanctioning the killing of apostates – if its own Shia allies are behaving in a brutally sectarian way.
  • (11) The men are all labelled as murtad in the footage – meaning apostate in Arabic.
  • (12) National security adviser Michael Flynn has written : “I’m totally convinced that, without a proper sense of urgency, we will be eventually defeated, dominated, and very likely destroyed,” adding: “Do you want to be ruled by men who eagerly drink the blood of their dying enemies?” Flynn’s deputy, KT Macfarland argued that, without American leadership, global jihadism will “usher in its version of paradise – the destruction of the apostates and unbelievers and the triumph of the caliphate”.
  • (13) The intrusion of such sentiments at all levels has led to instances such as an imam in a mosque in the capital referring to Shia Muslims as apostates, or a national cricketer compelled to remove a photo of goddess Durga from his Facebook page after protests that he had offended Muslim sentiments.
  • (14) The difficult position of the heretic as a challenger to an entrenched orthodoxy is described, particularly the attempt of heretics to assert their allegiance to the discourse itself while the orthodoxy attempts to portray them as traitors or apostates.
  • (15) But Batten's document even goes so far as to say that anyone who "deviates from the path of this charter … would be regarded as an outcast from the religion of Islam" and that these apostates would be "denounced as a non-Muslim and find no protection in the Muslim community".
  • (16) How had such a reviled capitalist institution fallen into such an apostate land?
  • (17) But another fighter who appeared to be from a European country, judging from his accent in Arabic, described their aim “to liberate the land from the fifth of the apostates, the PKK and others”, referring to Kurdish secular fighters who are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim as apostates.
  • (18) He can be sentenced as an apostate, and the same can be done to Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Taslima Nasreen [the Bangladeshi novelist under threat of decapitation who has just been offered refuge in Paris].
  • (19) Abdel Wahab also revived interest in the works of the 13th-century scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, who came to be seen as the mentor of the Salafi-jihadi world view, and the doctrine of takfir – permitting the killing of anyone deemed to be an apostate.
  • (20) The Isis statement on Twitter said the bomber had targeted a “temple of the apostates”.

Backslider


Definition:

  • (n.) One who backslides.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Yet what has been unfolding in the past 15 months or so should make even the most ardent pro-European think about an orderly mechanism for making member states exit: the euro crisis and, less obviously, Hungary's backsliding from liberal democracy to a soft form of authoritarianism, or what an American paper recently called " Lukashenko lite ".
  • (2) Nasheed clearly understood the need to commune with power – but he also talked about the best way of pushing backsliding politicians in the right direction.
  • (3) In what appeared to be a concerted Conservative attack, Johnson began by accusing Labour of backsliding over wiping existing tuition fee debts.
  • (4) A populist government whose democratic backsliding has been ringing alarm bells in Europe will embrace a US president who shares its illiberal views and hostility to migrants.
  • (5) And how would citizens enforce their rights if there is backsliding, either by the UK for EU residents or by Spain, Germany or any of the other 27 EU member states in the case of UK citizens?
  • (6) The prime minister was accused of backsliding on promises made by Vote Leave after she cast doubt on the effectiveness of a system admitting people on the basis of their skills and refused to commit an extra £100m to the NHS.
  • (7) Alex is a hard act to follow but I am determined to lead the SNP – and the country – from strength to strength.” Reiterating her determination to ensure that Holyrood secures the powers promised to Scotland by the pro-union parties before the referendum, she said: “I will always make the case for Scotland to be an independent country, but with the Westminster parties already backsliding on the delivery of new powers, my immediate job will be to hold them firmly to account – and I am today putting them on notice that I intend to do just that.” Sturgeon also announced a speaking tour of cities across Scotland to rally the thousands of new members who have joined the SNP since the referendum on 18 September.
  • (8) African leaders said ahead of today's talks that they would raise concerns about G8 backsliding.
  • (9) China was accused of trying to backslide on agreements made last year, by reinstating text that had been left out by previous agreement.
  • (10) Unions have accused the government of “total betrayal” as it emerged that up to 800 redundancies from Clydeside shipyards could result from backsliding on David Cameron’s pledge to provide a steady stream of orders to safeguard the industry.
  • (11) The European parliament recently expressed serious concern about “serious backsliding” in Turkey over rights and press freedom , part of a perceived anti-democratic trend under Erdoğan’s presidency.
  • (12) The AidWatch report singled out the two biggest countries in the eurozone – Germany and France – for backsliding on commitments they had made, and said it was worried that 14% of EU aid – €7.35bn – did not reach developing countries.
  • (13) Earlier this week Yvo de Boer, the UN's senior climate change official, accused the EU of backsliding on promises it made at a 2007 summit in Bali.
  • (14) But America is constant paradox; we are backsliding into something insidious, ignoring the civil liberties of black people, denying the basic respect of recognizing the humanity and possibility of black lives.
  • (15) It may be because Britain has been the international poster child for austerity over the past couple of years and it would encourage backsliding by other, less determined, governments if the Fund gave Osborne the signal to let up.
  • (16) I think they might backslide on Brexit and I think they will be pushing forward with very, very unpopular policies, raising taxes, penalising small businesses, taking an even bigger stick than they have already to the poorest people on benefits.” Matthew Goodwin, a senior fellow at Chatham House, had predicted that less than half of those who backed Ukip under Farage in the 2015 general election would do so again, with a third moving to the Conservatives.
  • (17) By their backsliding on gay equality, the Conservatives are missing out on lots of potential pink votes.
  • (18) It is ridiculously low.” Javadekar said the pledges to the green climate fund amounted to backsliding.
  • (19) The foreign secretary, David Miliband, said that, far from backsliding, "the EU is going into the final nine months before Copenhagen stronger and stronger".
  • (20) This meeting is still likely to end with a feel-good statement that some form of progress has been made towards the 2015 goal, but the danger is that between now and that crucial date any further upsets, backsliding, failure to agree finance or deepening rifts between rich and poor could derail the whole process.

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