You're using an outdated browser. Please upgrade to a modern browser for the best experience.
Subject:
All Disciplines Arts & Humanities Biology & Life Sciences Business & Economics Chemistry & Materials Science Computer Science & Mathematics Engineering Environmental & Earth Sciences Medicine & Pharmacology Physical Sciences Public Health & Healthcare Social Sciences
Sort by:
Most Viewed Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)
Filter:
All Topic Review Biography Peer Reviewed Entry Video Entry
Topic Review
Shinsen
Shinsen (神饌 shinsen) are offerings given up to Shinto shrines or kamidana in Japan . They are also called mike or minie. The annual festivals carried out at different times of the year originated from Shinto rituals and festivals. As part of the ritual, locals would offer up food that had received a special blessing to welcome the kami ("gods" or "spirits"). Food offered up could range from their staple of rice to seafood, food foraged from the mountains, seasonal foods, local specialties, or food connected to the enshrined kami. At the end of the ritual, the offered food is eaten together to gain a sense of unity with the kami, and to gain their blessing and protection. The rite is known as naorai.
  • 1.3K
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Semipelagianism
Semipelagianism (Latin: Semipelagianismus) is a Christian theological and soteriological school of thought on salvation; that is, the means by which humanity and God are restored to a right relationship. Semipelagian thought stands in contrast to the earlier Pelagian teaching about salvation (in which people are seen as affecting their own salvation), which had been dismissed as heresy. Semipelagianism in its original form was developed as a compromise between Pelagianism and the teaching of Church Fathers such as Saint Augustine, who taught that people cannot come to God without the grace of God. In semipelagian thought, therefore, a distinction is made between the beginning of faith and the increase of faith. Semipelagian thought teaches that the latter half – growing in faith – is the work of God, while the beginning of faith is an act of free will, with grace supervening only later. It too was labeled heresy by the Western Church at the Second Council of Orange in 529. Catholicism teaches that the beginning of faith involves an act of free will, that the initiative comes from God, but requires free collaboration on the part of man: "The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration". "Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life." The term "semipelagianism", a 16th-century coinage, has been used as an accusation in theological disputes over salvation, divine grace and free will. Theologians have also used it retrospectively to refer to the original formulation, an anachronistic use that has been called inappropriate, ambiguous and unjust. In this context, a more historically accurate term is Massilianism, a reference to the city of Marseilles, with which some of its proponents were associated.
  • 1.3K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Hamburg Temple Disputes
The Hamburg Temple disputes (German: Hamburger Tempelstreite) were the two controversies which erupted around the Israelite Temple in Hamburg, the first permanent Reform synagogue, which elicited fierce protests from Orthodox rabbis. The events were a milestone in the coalescence of both modern perceptions of Judaism. The primary occurred between 1818 and 1821, and the latter from 1841 to 1842.
  • 1.3K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Jubilee (Christianity)
In Judaism and Christianity, the concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year (Hebrew: יובל‎ yūḇāl) is mentioned to occur every fiftieth year, during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. In Western Christianity, the tradition dates to 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII convoked a holy year, following which ordinary jubilees have generally been celebrated every 25 or 50 years, with extraordinary jubilees in addition depending on need. Christian Jubilees, particularly in the Latin Church, generally involve pilgrimage to a sacred site, normally the city of Rome. The Catholic Church declared the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy for 2015–2016.
  • 1.2K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Karl Barth on Creation-care
At the height of the current pandemic, this article seeks to explore the identity of the Creator God in Karl Barth’s doctrine of creation. Attention is given to his understanding of the eternal covenant God has made with humanity and how we are cared for within a covenantal fellowship. The study also concerns itself with how Barth’s distaste for the notion of analogia entis is somewhat unsustained in his treatment of creation. I argue that, to some extent, the analogy of being vis-à-vis the cosmos is complementarily employed with analogia fides in Barth’s articulation of creation care. This is the case as he reconfigures the talk on creation rigidly in and through Jesus Christ as Creator and creature.
  • 1.2K
  • 30 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Seudat Mitzvah
A seudat mitzvah (Hebrew: סעודת מצוה, "commanded meal"), in Judaism, is an obligatory festive meal, usually referring to the celebratory meal following the fulfillment of a mitzvah (commandment), such as a bar mitzvah, a wedding, a brit milah (ritual circumcision), or a siyum (completing a tractate of Talmud or Mishnah). Seudot fixed in the calendar (i.e., for holidays and fasts) are also considered seudot mitzvah, but many have their own, more commonly used names.
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Chöd
Chöd (Tibetan: གཅོད, Wylie: gcod lit. 'to sever'), is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed as Anuttarayoga Tantra). Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego,", the practices are based on the Prajñāpāramitā or "Perfection of Wisdom" sutras, which expound the "emptiness" concept of Buddhist philosophy. According to Mahayana Buddhists, emptiness is the ultimate wisdom of understanding that all things lack inherent existence. Chöd combines prajñāpāramitā philosophy with specific meditation methods and tantric ritual. The chod practitioner seeks to tap the power of fear through activities such as rituals set in graveyards, and visualisation of offering their bodies in a tantric feast in order to put their understanding of emptiness to the ultimate test.
  • 1.2K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Rajʻa
Rajʻa (Arabic: الرجعة) (alternatively rjaa, rajaʻa, rajʻat) in Islamic terminology, refers to the Second Coming, or the return to life of a given past historical figure after that person's physical death. While primarily used in Shia Muslim terminology, variations on the doctrine exist in Sunni Islam and the Baháʼí Faith, and rajʻa is used to describe certain Christian doctrines in Arabic.
  • 1.2K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Ordinary (Officer)
An ordinary (from Latin ordinarius) is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical legal system. For example, diocesan bishops are ordinaries in the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England. In Eastern Christianity, a corresponding officer is called a hierarch (from Greek ἱεράρχης hierarkhēs "president of sacred rites, high-priest" which comes in turn from τὰ ἱερά ta hiera, "the sacred rites" and ἄρχω arkhō, "I rule"). Within civic governance, notably in the southern United States, the role of the county ordinary historically involved the discharge of certain, often legal or legally related, tasks falling to city or county authorities, such as licensing marriages and adjudicating claims against an authority.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji
Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji (June 2015) is the second last book written by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the eleventh President of India and a pioneering scientist. Co-authored by Professor Arun Tiwari and published by HarperCollins India, the book describes Kalam’s spiritual experiences with and reflections on Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the guru and spiritual leader of the BAPS Hindu organization. Kalam recounted the spiritual transformation he experienced during his fourteen-year association with Pramukh Swami, described the inspiration he obtained from Pramukh Swami’s leadership of BAPS, and expressed his vision for a society in which science and spirituality are fused. Kalam stated that he saw in Pramukh Swami “a true embodiment of transcendence,” and titled the book to reflect his belief that Pramukh Swami is gunatit, a term signifying transcendence of ephemeral qualities and the modes of nature.
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Buddhist Poetry
Buddhist poetry is a genre of literature that forms a part of Buddhist discourse.
  • 1.1K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Faith in Christianity
In one sense, faith in Christianity is often discussed in terms of believing God's promises, trusting in his faithfulness, and relying on God's character and faithfulness to act. Some of the definitions in the history of Christian theology have followed the biblical formulation in Hebrews 11:1: "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen". As in other Abrahamic religions, it includes a belief in the existence of God, in the reality of a transcendent domain that God administers as his kingdom and in the benevolence of the will of God or God's plan for humankind. Christianity differs from other Abrahamic religions in that it focuses on the teachings of Jesus, and on his place as the prophesied Christ. It also includes a belief in the New Covenant. According to most Christian traditions, Christian faith requires a belief in Jesus' resurrection from the dead, which he states is the plan of God the Father. Since the Protestant Reformation the meaning of this term has been an object of major theological disagreement in Western Christianity. The differences have been largely overcome in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999).The precise understanding of the term "faith" differs among the various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally agree that faith in Jesus lies at the core of the Christian tradition, and that such faith is required in order to be a Christian.
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Pontifical Academy of Sciences
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (Italian: Pontificia accademia delle scienze, Latin: Pontificia Academia Scientiarum) is a scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI, and thriving with the blessing of the Papacy ever since. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study of related epistemological problems. The Academy has its origins in the Accademia Pontificia dei Nuovi Lincei ("Pontifical Academy of the New Lynxes"), founded in 1847 as a more closely supervised successor to the Accademia dei Lincei ("Academy of Lynxes") established in Rome in 1603 by the learned Roman Prince, Federico Cesi (1585–1630), who was a young botanist and naturalist, and which claimed Galileo Galilei as its president. The Accademia dei Lincei survives as a wholly separate institution. The Academy of Sciences, one of the Pontifical academies at the Vatican in Rome, is headquartered in the Casina Pio IV in the heart of the Vatican Gardens. The academy holds a membership roster of the most respected names in 20th century science, including such Nobel laureates as Ernest Rutherford, Max Planck, Otto Hahn, Niels Bohr, Erwin Schrödinger, and Charles Hard Townes.
  • 1.1K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Papier-mache Offering Shops in Hong Kong
Traditional papier-mâché offering shops in Hong Kong sell papier-mâché offering items for sacred purposes and for festival-celebration purposes, the popularity has grown since the 1940s. Nowadays, the demand of papier sacred products is reducing and thus papier-mâché shops and the entire papier-mâché industry are facing declinate.
  • 1.1K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Five Faults and Eight Antidotes
The five faults and eight antidotes are factors of samatha meditation identified in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The five faults identify obstacles to meditation practice, and the eight antidotes are applied to overcome the five faults. This system originates with Maitreyanātha's Madhyānta-vibhāga and is elaborated upon in further texts, such as Kamalaśīla's Stages of Meditation (Bhāvanākrama). This formulation has been commented upon by generations of Tibetan commentators. This formulation derives originally from the Yogācāra tradition.
  • 1.1K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Religion in Human Consumption
Religious belief, as an informal social institution, has a significant impact on all aspects of human civilization. Specifically, in the western area of China, low income level, and low marketization degree, religious belief negatively affects human consumption the most. On the contrary, in the eastern area, high income level, and high marketization degree, religious belief negatively affects human consumption the least.
  • 1.1K
  • 30 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Karakandu
Karakandu or Karakanda was a powerful legendary Jain emperor of Kalinga (Odisha and North Andhra), who is said to have lived between 9th Century B.C to 6th Century B.C. He is a celebrated hero of many Jain and Buddhist religious scriptures. Ancient Buddhist text of Kumbhakara Jataka mentions him to be the Pratyekabuddha or the enlightened living being. Karakandu was a great devotee of the 23rd Jain tirthankar Parshvanatha who had preached Jainism in Kalinga around 850 B.C. Karakandu was also refereed as the "Bull among Kings" by Mahavira, the 24th Jain tithankar. Successive Jain writers over the years have placed him in the group of four Chakravati kings of the Indian subcontinent during his time who also were considered as prateykabudhhas namely, Nagnajit of Gandhara, Nemi or Nimi of Videha, Durmukha or Dwimukha of Panchala and Karakandu of Kalinga. After achieving victory over many kings and ruling for a long term, Karakandu became a Jain Sramana and left the throne and kingdom in charge of his son. During his time Kalinga was a Jain stronghold often described as the Kalinga Jinasana which may be compared to the later era Buddhist Janapadas. It was Jain monk Kanakmara's work in Apabrhamasa or Prakrit language known as Karakandu Cariu which gives detailed events about his life.
  • 1.1K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Seongcheol
Seongcheol (April 6, 1912 – November 4, 1993) is the dharma name of a Korean Seon (Zen) Master. He was a key figure in modern Korean Buddhism, being responsible for significant changes to it from the 1950s to 1990s. Seongcheol was widely recognized in Korea as having been a living Buddha, due to his extremely ascetic lifestyle, the duration and manner of his meditation training, his central role in reforming Korean Buddhism in the post-World War II era, and the quality of his oral and written teachings.
  • 1.1K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
A Scientific Theology
A Scientific Theology is a set of three books by Alister McGrath that explores the parallels between the working assumptions and methods of Christian theology and those of the natural sciences. Scientific Theology is also the "running title" of the project which gave rise to the trilogy. The work is preceded by three volumes that McGrath describes as "landmarks" in the development of his scientific theology: The Genesis of Doctrine: A Study in the Foundations of Doctrinal Criticism, The Foundations of Dialogue in Science and Religion and Thomas F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography. The trilogy was later summarised in The Science of God. McGrath is working on a "scientific dogmatics" which will deal with the content of Christian theology following the method developed in the trilogy.
  • 1.1K
  • 11 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Linji School
The Línjì school (Chinese: 臨濟宗) is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon.
  • 1.0K
  • 30 Sep 2022
  • Page
  • of
  • 19
Featured Entry Collections
>>

Featured Books

>>
Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Encyclopedia of Engineering
Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Academic Video Service
Feedback