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Deus Otiosus
In theology, a ''deus otiosus'' or "idle god" is a creator god who largely retires from the world and is no longer involved in its daily operation, a central tenet of Deism. Similarity to ''deus absconditus'' A similar concept is that of the ''deus absconditus'' or "hidden god" of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) and Nicolaus Cusanus. Although Aquinas was a Catholic and not a deist, the concept of the "idle god" refers to a deity whose existence is not readily knowable by humans solely through contemplation or through the examination of divine actions. The concept of ''deus otiosus'' often suggests a god who has grown weary from involvement in this world and who has been replaced by younger, more active gods, whereas ''deus absconditus'' suggests a god who has consciously left this world to hide elsewhere. Examples * In Sumer, the younger gods Enlil and Enki replace the ''deus otiosus'' Anu. * In Greek mythology, the older gods like Uranus and Gaia make way for Cronos and R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the supernatural, but also deals with religious epistemology, asks and seeks to answer the question of revelation. Revelation pertains to the acceptance of God, gods, or deities, as not only transcendent or above the natural world, but also willing and able to interact with the natural world and, in particular, to reveal themselves to humankind. While theology has turned into a secular field , religious adherents still consider theology to be a discipline that helps them live and understand concepts such as life and love and that helps them lead lives of obedience to the deities they follow or worship. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument ( experiential, philosophical, ethnographic, historical, and others) to help understa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shakti
Mahadevi ( sa, महादेवी, ), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, Adi Shakti, and Abhaya Shakti, is the supreme goddess in the Shaktism sect of Hinduism. According to this tradition, all Hindu goddesses are considered to be manifestations of this single great Goddess, who is comparable to the deities Vishnu and Shiva as Para Brahman. Vaishnavas consider her to be Lakshmi, Shaivas consider her to be Parvati, Durga, and Mahakali, while Shaktas consider her to be Durga, Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneswari, and Kali. Author Helen T. Boursier says: "In Hindu philosophy, both Lakshmi and Parvati are identified with the great goddess Mahadevi and the Shakti or divine power". Vaishnavism The goddess Lakshmi is revered as Mahadevi in the Vaishnavite tradition, extolled to possess a thousand names and qualities such as The Bestower of Prosperity, The Lotus-eyed One, The Omniscient One, The One Who Meditates On The Ultimate Reality, as well as The One With The Cosmic Form. Var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. In its religious context the word is used to mean a god, deity, or divine being in human or animal form on Earth. Abrahamic religions Christianity The incarnation of Christ is the central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, assumed a human nature, and became a man in the form of Jesus, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity. This foundational Christian position holds that the divine nature of the Son of God was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person, Jesus, making him both truly God and truly human. The theological term for this is hypostatic union: the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, became flesh when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ... and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (''gnosis'') above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent demiurge, lesser divinity (sometimes associated with the Yahweh of the Old Testament) who is responsible for creating the nature, material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cessationism
Cessationism versus continuationism involves a Christian theological dispute as to whether spiritual gifts remain available to the church, or whether their operation ceased with the Apostolic Age of the church (or soon thereafter). The cessationist doctrine arose in the Reformed theology, initially in response to claims of Roman Catholic miracles. Modern discussions focus more on the use of spiritual gifts in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, though this emphasis has been taught in traditions that arose earlier, such as Methodism. Cessationism is a doctrine that spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing ceased with the Apostolic Age. The doctrine was developed in the reformation and is particularly associated with the Calvinists. More recent development has tended to focus on other spiritual gifts too, owing to the advent of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement that have popularised continuationism – the position that the spiritual gift ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comparative Mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalysis, psychoanalytical theories. The comparative study of mythologies reveals the trans-national motifs that unify spiritual understanding globally. The significance of this study generates a "broad, sympathetic understanding of these "stories" in human history". The similarities of myth which remind humanity of the universality in the human experience. Background Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton defined comparative mythology as "the systematic comparison of myths and mythic themes drawn from a wide variety of cultures". By comparing different cultures' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Klaus Klostermaier
Klaus K. Klostermaier (born 1933) is a Catholic priest and scholar of Hinduism, Indian history and culture. Life and career Klostermaier obtained a PhD in philosophy from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1961, and another in "Ancient Indian History and Culture" from the University of Bombay in 1969. An ordained Catholic priest, Klostermaier was a missionary and theology teacher for nine years in India in the 1960s. His study of Hindu texts and scholarship, while living with practicing Vaishnava Hindus there, resulted in his ''Der Hinduismus'' published in 1965. The expertise he gained then, led to him being appointed advisor to the Papal office, in the Vatican, on non-Christian religions.Karel Werner (1986), Review: Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland (New Series), Volume 118, Issue 01, pages 132-134 He joined the Department of Religion at the University of Manitoba (Canada) in 1970. He received a Rh-In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deva (Hinduism)
''Deva'' (; Sanskrit: , ) means "shiny", "exalted", "heavenly being", "divine being", "anything of excellence", and is also one of the Sanskrit terms used to indicate a deity in Hinduism.Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary” Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, page 492 ''Deva'' is a masculine term; the feminine equivalent is '' Devi''. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called ''Devas''George Williams (2008), A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , pages 90, 112 and ''Asuras''. The concepts and legends evolved in ancient Indian literature, and by the late Vedic period, benevolent supernatural beings are referred to as ''Deva-Asuras''. In post-Vedic Hindu texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas of Hinduism, the ''Devas'' represent the good, and the ''Asuras'' the bad. In some medieval works of Indian literature, ''Devas'' are also referred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atomism
Atomism (from Greek , ''atomon'', i.e. "uncuttable, indivisible") is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its atoms appeared in both ancient Greek and ancient Indian philosophical traditions. Leucippus is the earliest figure whose commitment to atomism is well attested and he is usually credited with inventing atomism. He and other ancient Greek atomists theorized that nature consists of two fundamental principles: ''atom'' and ''void''. Clusters of different shapes, arrangements, and positions give rise to the various macroscopic substances in the world.Berryman, Sylvia, "Ancient Atomism", ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)online/ref> The particles of chemical matter for which chemists and other natural philosophers of the early 19th century found experimental evidence were thought to be indivisibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishvara
''Ishvara'' () is a concept in Hinduism, with a wide range of meanings that depend on the era and the school of Hinduism.Monier Monier Williams, Sanskrit-English dictionarySearch for Izvara University of Cologne, Germany In ancient texts of Hindu philosophy, depending on the context, ''Ishvara'' can mean supreme Self, ruler, lord, king, queen or husband. In medieval era Hindu texts, depending on the school of Hinduism, ''Ishvara'' means God, Supreme Being, personal God, or special Self. ''Ishvara'' is primarily an epithet of Shiva.James Lochtefeld, "Ishvara", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. , page 306 In Shaivism, ''Ishvara'' is an epithet of Shiva. For many Vaishnavas, it is synonymous with Vishnu, like in his epithet of Venkateswara. In traditional Bhakti movements, ''Ishvara'' is one or more deities of an individual's preference ( Iṣṭa-devatā) from Hinduism's polytheistic canon of deities. In modern-day sectarian movements suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika ( sa, वैशेषिक) is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and soteriology. Over time, the Vaiśeṣika system became similar in its philosophical procedures, ethical conclusions and soteriology to the Nyāya school of Hinduism, but retained its difference in epistemology and metaphysics. The epistemology of the Vaiśeṣika school of Hinduism, like Buddhism, accepted only two reliable means to knowledge: direct observation and inference. the Vaiśeṣika school and Buddhism both consider their respective scriptures as indisputable and valid means to knowledge, the difference being that the scriptures held to be a valid and reliable source by Vaiśeṣikas were the Vedas. The Vaisheshika school is known for its insights in naturalism.Kak, S. 'Matter and Mind: The Vaisheshika S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutheranism. Luther was ordained to the Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church; in particular, he disputed the view on indulgences. Luther proposed an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his ''Ninety-five Theses'' of 1517. His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his Excommunication (Catholic Church)#History, excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an Outlaw#In other countries, outlaw by the Holy Roman Emper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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