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Misotheism
Misotheism is the "hatred of God" or "hatred of the Deity, gods" (from the Ancient Greek, Greek adjective () "hating the gods" or "God-hating" – a compound of, , "hatred" and, , "god"). A related concept is dystheism (, "bad god"), the belief that a god is not wholly good and evil, good, and is evil. Trickster gods found in polytheistic belief systems often have a dystheistic nature. One example is Eshu, a trickster god from Yoruba religion who deliberately fostered violence between groups of people for his own deeds, saying that "causing ire is my greatest happiness." Many polytheism, polytheistic deities since prehistoric times have been assumed to be neither good nor evil (or to have both qualities). Likewise, the concept of the demiurge in some versions of ancient Gnosticism is often portrayed as a generally evil entity. In conceptions of God as the summum bonum (the highest good), the proposition of God not being wholly good would be an oxymoron. Nevertheless, in monotheism ...
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Theodicy
In the philosophy of religion, a theodicy (; meaning 'vindication of God', from Ancient Greek θεός ''theos'', "god" and δίκη ''dikē'', "justice") is an argument that attempts to resolve the problem of evil that arises when all power and all goodness are simultaneously ascribed to God. Unlike a ''defence'', which merely tries to demonstrate that the coexistence of God and evil is logically possible, a theodicy additionally provides a framework wherein God and evil's existence is considered plausible. The German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz coined the term "theodicy" in 1710 in his work , though numerous responses to the problem of evil had previously been proposed. Similar to a theodicy, a cosmodicy attempts to justify the fundamental goodness of the universe, and an anthropodicy attempts to justify the goodness of humanity. Definition and etymology As defined by Alvin Plantinga, a theodicy is "an answer to the question of why God permits evi ...
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Dystheism
Dystheism (from ; ) is the belief that a god is not wholly good and can even be considered evil. Definitions of the term somewhat vary, with one author defining it as "where God decides to become malevolent". The broad theme of dystheism has existed for millennia, as shown by tricksters found in ethnic religions and by various interpretations of the Supreme Being of monotheistic religions. For example, the Abrahamic creator deity, when evaluated from outside the perspective of the Abrahamic religions, can be seen as inappropriately cruel, vengeful and hypocritical. Background and details The concept has been used frequently in popular culture and is a part of several religious traditions in the world. Tricksters found in ethnic religions often have a dystheistic nature. One example is Eshu, a trickster in Yoruba religion who deliberately fostered violence between groups of people for his amusement. Another example is Loki in old Norse religion, though Odin has these qualities a ...
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Prometheus (Goethe)
"Prometheus" is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in which the character of the mythic Prometheus addresses God (as Zeus) in misotheist accusation and defiance. The poem was written between 1772 and 1774 and first published in 1789. Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi published an anonymous and unauthorised version in 1785. It is an important work of the German ''Sturm und Drang'' movement. In early editions of the ''Collected Works'' of Goethe, it appeared in Volume II of his poems in a section of ' (assorted poems), shortly following the "", and the '' Harzreise im Winter''. It is immediately followed by "Ganymed", and the two poems together should be understood as a pair. Both belong to the period 1770 to 1775. ''Prometheus'' (1774) was planned as a drama but not completed; this poem draws upon that original vision. Prometheus is the creative and rebellious spirit which, rejected by God, angrily defies him and asserts itself; Ganymede is the boyish self that is adored and seduced ...
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Problem Of Evil
The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an Omnipotence, omnipotent, Omnibenevolence, omnibenevolent, and Omniscience, omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,The Problem of Evil, Michael TooleyThe Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,, Nick Trakakis There are currently differing definitions of these concepts. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurean paradox, Epicurus. Besides the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is also important to the fields of theology and ethics. There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics and evolutionary ethics. But as usually understood, the problem of evil is posed in a theological context. Religious responses to the problem of evil, Responses to the problem of evil have traditionally been in three types: refutations, defenses, and Theo ...
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Freyr
Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Yngling, Swedish royal house. According to Adam of Bremen, Freyr was associated with peace and pleasure, and was represented with a phallus, phallic statue in the Temple at Uppsala. According to Snorri Sturluson, Freyr was "the most renowned of the æsir", and was venerated for good harvest and peace. In the mythological stories in the Icelandic books the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'', Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the god Njörðr and Sister-wife of Njörðr, his sister-wife, as well as the twin brother of the goddess Freyja. The gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Álfar, Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining Norse dwarves, ...
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Hrafnkels Saga
''Hrafnkels saga'' (; ) or ''Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða'' (O.N.: ; Ice.: ) is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It tells of struggles between chieftains and farmers in the east of Iceland in the 10th century. The eponymous main character, Hrafnkell, starts out his career as a fearsome duelist and a dedicated worshiper of the god Freyr. After suffering defeat, humiliation, and the destruction of his Hörgr, temple, he becomes an Atheism, atheist. His character changes and he becomes more peaceful in dealing with others. After gradually rebuilding his power base for several years, he achieves revenge against his enemies and lives out the rest of his life as a powerful and respected chieftain. The saga has been interpreted as the story of a man who arrives at the conclusion that the true basis of power does not lie in the favor of the gods but in the loyalty of one's subordinates. The saga remains widely read today and is appreciated for its logical structure, plausibility, and vivid chara ...
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Richard Kennington
Richard H. Kennington (1921 in Worcester, Massachusetts - September 10, 1999 in Annapolis, Maryland) was an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at Pennsylvania State University and the Catholic University of America. He is known for his research on early modern philosophy and his translation of Descartes' ''Discourse on the Method''. Books * ''On Modern Origins: Essays in Early Modern Philosophy'' (Applications of Political Theory), Pamela Kraus and Frank Hunt (eds), Lexington Books 2004, * ''Discourse on Method ''Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences'' () is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise published by René Descartes in 1637. It is best known as the source of the famous quotation ...'' (Focus Philosophical Library), Translated by Richard Kennington; Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Pamela Kraus and Frank Hunt, Focus Publishing 2007, References External links Kennington's pape ...
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Blasphemy
Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic ones, regard blasphemy as a crime, including insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, speaking the Names of God in Judaism, sacred name in Judaism, and blasphemy of God's Holy Spirit in Christianity, Holy Spirit is an eternal sin in Christianity. It was also a crime under English law, English common law, and it is still a crime under Italian law (Art. 724 del Codice Penale). In the early history of the Church, blasphemy "was considered to show active disrespect to God and to involve the use of profane cursing or mockery of his powers". In the medieval world, those who committed blasphemy were seen as needing discipline. By the 17th century, several historically Christianity, Christian countries had Blasphemy laws, legislation agains ...
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Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae, five ''solae'' summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism. Protestants follow the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began in the 16th century with the goal of reforming the Catholic Church from perceived Criticism of the Catholic Church, errors, abuses, and discrepancies. The Reformation began in the Holy Roman Empire in 1517, when Martin Luther published his ''Ninety-five Theses'' as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, which purported to offer the remission of the Purgatory, temporal ...
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Meditations On First Philosophy
''Meditations on First Philosophy, in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated'' (), often called simply the ''Meditations'', is a philosophical treatise by René Descartes first published in Latin in 1641. The French translation (by the Duke of Luynes with Descartes' supervision) was published in 1647 as ''Méditations Métaphysiques''. The title may contain a misreading by the printer, mistaking ''animae immortalitas'' for ''animae immaterialitas'', as suspected by A. Baillet. The book is made up of six meditations, in which Descartes first discards all belief in things that are not absolutely certain, and then tries to establish what can be known for sure. He wrote the meditations as if he had meditated for six days: each meditation refers to the last one as "yesterday". (In fact, Descartes began work on the ''Meditations'' in 1639.) One of the most influential philosophical texts ever written, it is widely read to this day. The book cons ...
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René Descartes
René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramount to his method of inquiry, and he connected the previously separate fields of geometry and algebra into analytic geometry. Descartes spent much of his working life in the Dutch Republic, initially serving the Dutch States Army, and later becoming a central intellectual of the Dutch Golden Age. Although he served a Dutch Reformed Church, Protestant state and was later counted as a Deism, deist by critics, Descartes was Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic. Many elements of Descartes's philosophy have precedents in late Aristotelianism, the Neostoicism, revived Stoicism of the 16th century, or in earlier philosophers like Augustine of Hippo, Augustine. In his natural philosophy, he differed from the Scholasticism, schools on two major point ...
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Evil Demon
The evil demon, also known as ''Deus deceptor'', malicious demon, and evil genius, is an epistemological concept that features prominently in Cartesian philosophy. In the first of his 1641 ''Meditations on First Philosophy'', Descartes imagines that a malevolent God or an evil demon, of "utmost power and cunning has employed all his energies in order to deceive me." This malevolent God or evil demon is imagined to present a complete illusion of an external world, so that Descartes can say, "I shall think that the sky, the air, the earth, colours, shapes, sounds and all external things are merely the delusions of dreams which he has devised to ensnare my judgement. I shall consider myself as not having hands or eyes, or flesh, or blood or senses, but as falsely believing that I have all these things." Some Cartesian scholars opine that the malevolent God or evil demon is also omnipotent, and thus capable of altering mathematics and the fundamentals of logic, though omnipoten ...
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