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Topic Review

Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is a phenomenon in which people speak words that are apparently in languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables that lack any readily comprehended meaning, in some cases as part of religious practice in which it is believed to be a divine language unknown to the speaker. Glossolalia is practiced in Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity as well as in other religions. Sometimes a distinction is made between "glossolalia" and "xenolalia" or "xenoglossy", which specifically designates when the language being spoken is a natural language previously unknown to the speaker. This distinction is not universally made, and the New Testament of the Bible mentions the phenomenon in at least one passage in reference to speaking in languages known to others but not to the speakers.

8.5K
01 Dec 2022

Topic Review

List of Temples in Tamil Nadu

This is a list of temples in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu which is famed for Hindu temples, culture and tradition and commonly known as the Land of Temples. Tamil Nadu has more temples than any other states of India. Tamil Nadu is home to more than 40,000 Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, local deities, Ayyavazhi temples and is aptly called "the land of temples" by media. Many are at least 800 to 5000 years old and are found scattered all over the state. The rulers of various dynasties constructed these temples over centuries. Vimanas (storeys) and Gopuram (towering gateways to the temple complex) best characterize the temples of Tamil Nadu. As per Tamil Nadu Hindu Endowments Board, there are 38,615 temples. Most of the largest Hindu temples reside here. Studded with complex architecture, variety of sculptures, and rich inscriptions, the temples remain the very essence of the culture and heritage of Tamil land, with historical records dating back to at least 3,000 years. In Madurai, Meenakshi Amman Temple has high ‘Gopuram’ towers ornamented with colourful figures. On Pamban Island, Ramanathaswamy Temple is a famous pilgrimage site. The town of Kanyakumari, at India's southernmost tip, is the site of ritual sunrises. The state also abounds with temple tanks. The state has 2,359 temple tanks located in 1,586 temples. The government has identified 1,068 tanks for renovation. People from all over the world visits Temples of Tamil Nadu and it is the major Tourist attraction in India.

8.2K
07 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Temple of Confucius

A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the site of the administration of the imperial examination in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam and often housed schools and other studying facilities.

8.1K
18 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Pre-existence, preexistence, beforelife, or premortal existence refers to the belief that each individual human soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body. Concepts of pre-existence can encompass either the belief that the soul came into existence at some time prior to conception or the belief that the soul is eternal. Alternative positions are traducianism and creationism, which both hold that the individual human soul does not come into existence until conception. It is to be distinguished from preformation, which is about physical existence and applies to all living things. Ancient Greek thought and Islam affirm pre-existence, but it is generally denied in Christianity.

8.0K
08 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Ancient Mithila University

Ancient Mithila University was an ancient university and was famous for Nyaya Shastra and logical sciences.

8.0K
18 Oct 2022

Topic Review

The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is the central religious text of LaVeyan Satanism, and is considered the foundation of its philosophy and dogma. It has been described as the most important document to influence contemporary Satanism. Though The Satanic Bible is not considered to be sacred scripture in the way that the Christian Bible is to Christianity, LaVeyan Satanists regard it as an authoritative text as it is a contemporary text that has attained for them scriptural status. It extols the virtues of exploring one's own nature and instincts. Believers have been described as "atheistic Satanists" because they believe that God is not an external entity, but rather something that each person creates as a projection of their own personality—a benevolent and stabilizing force in their life. There have been thirty printings of The Satanic Bible, selling over a million copies. The Satanic Bible is composed of four books: The Book of Satan, The Book of Lucifer, The Book of Belial, and The Book of Leviathan. The Book of Satan challenges the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, and promotes Epicureanism. The Book of Lucifer holds most of the philosophy in The Satanic Bible, with twelve chapters discussing topics such as indulgence, love, hate, and sex. LaVey also uses the book to dispel rumors surrounding the religion. In The Book of Belial, LaVey details rituals and magic. He discusses the required mindset and focus for performing a ritual, and provides instructions for three rituals: those for sex, compassion, or destruction. The Book of Leviathan provides four invocations for Satan, lust, compassion, and destruction. It also lists the nineteen Enochian Keys (adapted from John Dee's Enochian keys), provided both in Enochian and in English translation. There have been both positive and negative reactions to The Satanic Bible. It has been described as "razor-sharp" and "influential". Criticism of The Satanic Bible stems both from qualms over LaVey's writing and disapproval of the content itself. LaVey has been criticized for plagiarizing sections, and accusations have been made that his philosophies are largely borrowed. Attempts have been made to ban the book in schools, public libraries, and prisons, though these attempts are somewhat rare.

7.9K
29 Nov 2022

Topic Review

The term Quran code (also known as Code 19) refers to the claim that the Quranic text contains a hidden mathematically complex code. Advocates think that the code represents a mathematical proof of the divine authorship of the Quran and they also think that it can be used to identify orthographic errors within the Quranic text. Proponents of the Quran code claim that the Quran code is based on statistical procedures compared to the Bible code, which is ostensibly based on steganography. However, this claim has not been confirmed by any independent mathematical or scientific institute.

7.9K
02 Dec 2022

Topic Review

Religious Views on Euthanasia

There are many religious views on euthanasia, although many moral theologians are critical of the procedure.

7.9K
15 Nov 2022

Topic Review

The Vulgate (/ˈvʌlɡeɪt, -ɡət/) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible that became the Catholic Church's officially promulgated Latin version of the Bible during the 16th century. The translation was largely the work of Jerome, who in 382 had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Vetus Latina ("Old Latin") Gospels then in use by the Roman Church. Jerome, on his own initiative, extended this work of revision and translation to include most of the books of the Bible, and once published, the new version was widely adopted and eventually eclipsed the Vetus Latina; so that by the 13th century, it had taken over from the former version the appellation of versio vulgata (the "version commonly used") or vulgata for short, and in Greek as βουλγάτα ("Voulgata"). The Catholic Church affirmed the Vulgate as its official Latin Bible at the Council of Trent (1545–63), though there was no authoritative edition at that time. The Clementine edition of the Vulgate of 1592 became the standard Bible text of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church and remained so until 1979 when the Nova Vulgata was promulgated.

7.8K
24 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Biblical Cosmology

Biblical cosmology is the biblical writers' conception of the cosmos as an organised, structured entity, including its origin, order, meaning and destiny. The Bible was formed over many centuries, involving many authors, and reflects shifting patterns of religious belief; consequently, its cosmology is not always consistent. Nor do the biblical texts necessarily represent the beliefs of all Jews or Christians at the time they were put into writing: the majority of those making up Hebrew Bible or Old Testament in particular represent the beliefs of only a small segment of the ancient Israelite community, the members of a late Judean religious tradition centered in Jerusalem and devoted to the exclusive worship of Yahweh. The ancient Israelites envisaged a universe made up of a flat disc-shaped Earth floating on water, heaven above, underworld below. Humans inhabited Earth during life and the underworld after death; there was no way that mortals could enter heaven, and the underworld was morally neutral; only in Hellenistic times (after c. 330 BCE) did Jews begin to adopt the Greek idea that it would be a place of punishment for misdeeds, and that the righteous would enjoy an afterlife in heaven. In this period too the older three-level cosmology in large measure gave way to the Greek concept of a spherical earth suspended in space at the center of a number of concentric heavens. The opening words of the Genesis creation narrative (Genesis 1:1–26) sum up the biblical editors' view of how the cosmos originated: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"; Yahweh, the God of Israel, was solely responsible for creation and had no rivals, implying Israel's superiority over all other nations. Later Jewish thinkers, adopting ideas from Greek philosophy, concluded that God's Wisdom, Word and Spirit penetrated all things and gave them unity. Christianity in turn adopted these ideas and identified Jesus with the Logos (Word): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1).

7.3K
11 Jan 2024

Topic Review

Dhyāna in Buddhism

In the oldest texts of Buddhism, dhyāna (Sanskrit) or jhāna (Pāḷi) is the training of the mind, commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, and leading to a "state of perfect equanimity and awareness (upekkhā-sati-parisuddhi)." Dhyāna may have been the core practice of pre-sectarian Buddhism, in combination with several related practices which together lead to perfected mindfulness and detachment, and are fully realized with the practice of dhyana. In the later commentarial tradition, which has survived in present-day Theravāda, dhyāna is equated with "concentration," a state of one-pointed absorption in which there is a diminished awareness of the surroundings. In the contemporary Theravāda-based Vipassana movement, this absorbed state of mind is regarded as unnecessary and even non-beneficial for awakening, which has to be reached by mindfulness of the body and vipassanā (insight into impermanence). Since the 1980s, scholars and practitioners have started to question this equation, arguing for a more comprehensive and integrated understanding and approach, based on the oldest descriptions of dhyāna in the suttas. In Chán and Zen, the names of which Buddhist traditions are the Chinese and Japanese pronunciations, respectively, of dhyāna, dhyāna is the central practice, which is ultimately based on Sarvastivāda meditation practices, and has been transmitted since the beginning of the Common Era.

7.3K
11 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Vishvakarman (Sanskrit: विश्वकर्मन्, Viśvakarman; lit. "all creating") is the Personification of ultimate reality and deity of the creative power. He is believed to be one of the ancient architect or engineer who created and taught building of ancient monuments, architectures in Bharat, now India. According to the Rigveda It/He is considered to be the architect, divine engineer of universe from before the advent of time.

6.9K
29 Sep 2022

Topic Review

Rainbow Serpent

The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity (also known as Wagyl, Wuagyl, etc.) often seen as a creator god and a common motif in the art and religion of Aboriginal Australia . It is named for the identification between the shape of a rainbow and that of a snake. Some scholars believe that the link between snake and rainbow suggests the cycle of the seasons, for example blue (winter), red (summer), yellow (spring) and orange (autumn), and the importance of water in human life. When the rainbow is seen in the sky, it is said to be the Rainbow Serpent moving from one waterhole to another, and the divine concept explained why some waterholes never dried up when drought struck. There are innumerable names and stories associated with the serpent, all of which communicate the significance and power of this being within Aboriginal traditions. It is viewed as a giver of life, through its association with water, but can be a destructive force if angry. The Rainbow Serpent is one of the most common and well known Aboriginal stories, and is of great importance to Aboriginal society. The Rainbow Serpent is one of the oldest continuing religious beliefs in the world and continues to be a cultural influence today.

6.8K
14 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Hindu Views on Monotheism

Hinduism incorporates diverse views on the concept of God. Different traditions of Hinduism have different theistic views, and these views have been described by scholars as polytheism, monotheism, henotheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, agnostic, humanism, atheism or Nontheism. Monotheism is the belief in a single creator God and the lack of belief in any other Creator. Hinduism is not a monolithic faith and different sects may or may not posit or require such a belief. Religion is considered a personal belief in Hinduism and followers are free to choose the different interpretations within the framework of Karma and reincarnation. Many forms of Hinduism believe in a monotheistic God, such as Krishna followers, Vedanta, Arya samaj, Samkhya school of Vedas etc, Many traditions within Hinduism share the Vedic idea of a metaphysical ultimate reality and truth called Brahman instead. According to Jan Gonda, Brahman denoted the "power immanent in the sound, words, verses and formulas of Vedas" in the earliest Vedic texts. The early Vedic religious understanding of Brahman underwent a series of abstractions in the Hindu scriptures that followed the Vedic scriptures. These scriptures would reveal a vast body of insights into the nature of Brahman as originally revealed in the Vedas. These Hindu traditions that emerged from or identified with the Vedic scriptures and that maintained the notion of a metaphysical ultimate reality would identify that ultimate reality as Brahman. Hindu adherents to these traditions within Hinduism revere Hindu deities and, indeed, all of existence, as aspects of the Brahman. The deities in Hinduism are not considered to be almighty, omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent, and spirituality is considered to be seeking the ultimate truth that is possible by a number of paths. Like other Indian religions, in Hinduism, deities are born, they live and they die in every kalpa (eon, cycle of existence). In Hindu philosophy, there are many different schools. Its non-theist traditions such as Samkhya, early Nyaya, Mimamsa and many within Vedanta such as Advaita do not posit the existence of an almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God (monotheistic God), while its theistic traditions posit a personal God left to the choice of the Hindu. The major schools of Hindu philosophy explain morality and the nature of existence through the karma and samsara doctrines, as in other Indian religions. Contemporary Hinduism can be categorized into four major traditions: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism worship Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi — the Divine Mother — as the Supreme respectively, or consider all Hindu deities as aspects of the formless Supreme Reality or Brahman. Other minor sects such as Ganapatya and Saura focus on Ganesha and Surya as the Supreme. A sub-tradition within the Vaishnavism school of Hinduism that is an exception is dualistic Dvaita, founded by Madhvacharya in the 13th-century (where Vishnu as Krishna is a monotheistic God). This tradition posits a concept of monotheistic God so similar to Christianity that Christian missionaries in colonial India suggested that Madhvacharya was likely influenced by early Christians who migrated to India, a theory that has been discredited by scholars. Furthermore, many adherents consider these similarities to be superficial and insubstantial; for example, Madhvacharya postulates three co-eternal fundamental realities, consisting of Supreme Being (Vishnu or paramathma), individual souls (jīvātman), and inanimate matter.

6.7K
15 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Ex nihilo is Latin for "out of nothing": when phrased as ex nihilo nihil fit, "nothing comes from nothing", it means that the universe was formed from eternal matter; as creatio ex nihilo, "creation out of nothing", it means that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some eternal uncaused cause, frequently defined as God. Creation ex nihilo is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe comes to exist: the Big Bang theory, by contrast, is a scientific theory; it offers no explanation of cosmic existence but only a description of the first few moments of that existence.

6.7K
28 Sep 2022

Topic Review

Amen (/ˌɑːˈmɛn/, /ˌeɪˈmɛn/)[lower-alpha 1] (Hebrew אָמֵן, Greek ἀμήν, Arabic آمِينَ, Amharic አሜን) is a declaration of affirmation first found in the Hebrew Bible and subsequently in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship as a concluding word or response to prayers. Common English translations of the word amen include "verily", "truly", and “so be it”. It can also be used colloquially to express strong agreement, as in, amen to that.

6.6K
27 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Latin: Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei; CDF) is the oldest among the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. It was founded to defend the church from heresy; today, it is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine. Formerly known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, it is informally known in many Catholic countries as the Holy Office, and between 1908 and 1965 was officially known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. Founded by Pope Paul III in 1542, the congregation's sole objective is to "spread sound Catholic doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines." Its headquarters are at the Palace of the Holy Office, just outside Vatican City. The congregation employs an advisory board including cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologians, and canon lawyers. The current Prefect is Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, who was appointed by Pope Francis for a five-year term beginning July 2017.

6.6K
29 Sep 2022

Topic Review

List of Translations of the Paschal Greeting

This article lists translations of the Christian Paschal greeting in various languages.

6.4K
23 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Ynglism (Russian: Инглии́зм, also spelled "Yngliism" or "Inglyism"), institutionally the Ancient Russian Ynglistic Church of the Orthodox Old Believers—Ynglings (Древнерусская Инглиистическая Церковь Православных Староверов—Инглингов, Drevnerusskaya Ingliisticheskaya Tserkov' Pravoslavnykh Staroverov—Inglingov) is a direction of the Slavic Native Faith movement registered with the Ministry of justice of the Russian Federation in the early 1990s by Aleksandr Khinevich from Omsk, in Siberia.({{{1}}}, {{{2}}}) Adepts call themselves "Old Believers-Ynglings", seldom simply "Ynglings". The church is described by scholar Kaarina Aitamurto as having a well-defined doctrine, an authoritative leadership, and focusing on esoteric teachings.({{{1}}}, {{{2}}}) Ynglings regard themselves as perserving the true, orthodox (i.e. in accordance with the universal order), religious tradition of the Russians and of all the Slavs. Rodnover groups in Russia are strongly critical of Ynglism; the international veche (assembly) of Rodnover organisations even declared it a false religion. In the early 2000s the church faced judicial prosecutions for ethnic hatred, and Khinevich himself was imprisoned from 2009 to 2011. The central writings of Ynglism are the four Slavic-Aryan Vedas.

6.3K
25 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Serer Creation Myth

The Serer creation myth is the traditional creation myth of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of the Serer religion believe these narratives to be sacred. Some aspects of Serer religious and Ndut traditions are included in the narratives contained herein but are not limited to them. Serer creation myth developed from Serer oral traditions, Serer religion, legends, cosmogonies. The specifics of the myth are also found in two main Serer sources: A nax and A leep. The former is a short narrative for a short myth or proverbial expression, whilst the later is for a more developed myth. Broadly, they are equivalent to verbs and logos respectively[clarification needed], especially when communicating fundamental religious education such as the supreme being and the creation of the Universe. In addition to being fixed-Serer sources, they set the structure of the myth. The creation myth of the Serer people is intricately linked to the first trees created on Planet Earth by Roog. Earth's formation began with a swamp. The Earth was not formed until long after the creation of the first three worlds: the waters of the underworld; the air which included the higher world (i.e. the sun, the moon and the stars) and earth. Roog is the creator and fashioner of the Universe and everything in it. The creation is based on a mythical cosmic egg and the principles of chaos.

6.3K
01 Nov 2022

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