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Topic Review

Scientology and Other Religions

The relationship between Scientology and other religions is very complex. While Scientology claims that it is fully compatible with all existing major world religions and that it does not conflict with them or their religious practices, there are major differences in beliefs and practices between Scientology and most religions, especially the major monotheistic religions. Members are not allowed to engage in other similar mental therapies or procedures, religious or otherwise. However, some ministers from other churches have adopted some Scientology secular programs. According to Jacob Neusner, Scientology is a "synthesis of existing ideas and a reflection of particular cultural, social, and historical circumstances in which it was born and developed". The religion reflects Western and American values, such as "beliefs in democracy, individualism, and freedom", while borrowing little from religions based on the Bible. Similarities exist between Scientology and eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

4.5K
10 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Avalokiteśvara

Avalokiteśvara or Padmapani (/ˌʌvəloʊkɪˈteɪʃvərə/ UV-əl-oh-kih-TAY-shvər-ə; Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर) is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. This bodhisattva is variably depicted, described and portrayed in different cultures as either male or female. In Tibet, he is known as Chenrezik, and in Cambodia as អវលោកិតេស្វរៈ.Cite error: Invalid tag; refs with no name must have content In Chinese Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara has evolved into the somewhat different female figure Guanyin. In Japan this figure is known as Kanzeon or Kannon.

4.5K
17 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Glory (from the Latin gloria, "fame, renown") is used to describe the manifestation of God's presence as perceived by humans according to the Abrahamic religions. Divine glory is an important motif throughout Christian theology, where God is regarded as the most glorious being in existence, and it is considered that human beings are created in the Image of God and can share or participate, imperfectly, in divine glory as image-bearers. Thus Christians are instructed to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven".

4.5K
30 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Creation–Evolution Controversy

The creation–evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs. evolution debate or the origins debate) involves an ongoing, recurring cultural, political, and theological dispute about the origins of the Earth, of humanity, and of other life. Species were once widely believed to be fixed products of divine creation in accordance with creationism, but since the mid-19th century evolution by natural selection has been established as an empirical scientific fact. The debate is religious, not scientific: in the scientific community, evolution is accepted as fact and efforts to sustain the traditional view are almost universally regarded as pseudoscience. While the controversy has a long history, today it has retreated to be mainly over what constitutes good science education, with the politics of creationism primarily focusing on the teaching of creationism in public education. Among majority-Christian countries, the debate is most prominent in the United States, where it may be portrayed as part of a culture war. Parallel controversies also exist in some other religious communities, such as the more fundamentalist branches of Judaism and Islam. In Europe and elsewhere, creationism is less widespread (notably, the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion both accept evolution), and there is much less pressure to teach it as fact. Christian fundamentalists repudiate the evidence of common descent of humans and other animals as demonstrated in modern paleontology, genetics, histology and cladistics and those other sub-disciplines which are based upon the conclusions of modern evolutionary biology, geology, cosmology, and other related fields. They argue for the Abrahamic accounts of creation, and, in order to attempt to gain a place alongside evolutionary biology in the science classroom, have developed a rhetorical framework of "creation science". In the landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover, the purported basis of scientific creationism was exposed as a wholly religious construct without formal scientific merit. The Catholic Church now recognizes the existence of evolution (see Catholic Church and evolution). Pope Francis has stated: "God is not a demiurge or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life...Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve." The rules of genetic evolutionary inheritance were first discovered by a Catholic priest, the Augustinian monk Gregor Mendel, who is known today as the founder of modern genetics. According to a 2014 Gallup survey, "More than four in 10 Americans continue to believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago, a view that has changed little over the past three decades. Half of Americans believe humans evolved, with the majority of these saying God guided the evolutionary process. However, the percentage who say God was not involved is rising." A 2015 Pew Research Center survey found "that while 37% of those older than 65 thought that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years, only 21% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 agreed." The debate is sometimes portrayed as being between science and religion, and the United States National Academy of Sciences states:

4.4K
10 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Template:Infobox monarchyTemplate:Aqidah In Shia Islam, the imamah (Arabic: إمامة) is the doctrine that the figures known as imams are rightfully the central figures of the ummah; the entire Shi'ite system of doctrine focuses on the imamah. Shi'ites believe that the Imams are the true Caliphs or rightful successors of Muhammad, and further that Imams are possessed of divine knowledge and authority (Ismah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of Muhammad. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance. According to Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, the Imam is a means through which humans receive divine grace, because "He brings men closer to obedience (of Allah) and keeps them away from disobedience." As fulfilling the human being is his wish, it is logical that God appoints Imams to subject man to his wishes. So his existence and his deeds display two forms of grace of God toward man.

4.3K
01 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Shafa'ah (Arabic: شفاعه, "intercession"; Turkish: şefaat; Urdu: shafaat‎), in Islam is the act of pleading to God by an intimate friend of God (Muslim saint) for forgiveness. Shafa' a close meaning to Tawassul, which is the act of resorting to intimate friends of God to ask forgiveness. The word Shafa'ah is taken from shaf (شَّفْعُ) which means even as opposed to odd. The interceder, therefore, adds his own recommendation to that of petitioner so that the number of pleaders becomes even. Meaning the weak plea of the petitioner become strong by the prestige of the intercessor. Accordingly, Shafa'ah is a form of prayer to request God by the sake of those who are near to Him in order that as a member of the believing community one could hope for the intercession of the intercessors and hence deliverance from eternal damnation though not necessarily from temporary one. Shafa'ah has lately come to be among the most controversial concepts within Islamic thought. This is because some verses of the Quran negate it, if taken into consideration alone, stating that no intercession would be accepted in the day of resurrection. However, some other verses confirm it declaring that only God has the right to intercede in the next life. Finally, a third kind of verses state that some people have the authority to intercede by permission of God. Wahhabies, taking the first two kinds of these verses as true, believe that there is no intercessor but Allah, and say that whoever believes in intercession of anyone other than God is not a Muslim, rather is a polytheist (heretic). Others believe that while intercession should not be a means of emboldening people to committing sins, it should be considered as a ray of hope which lead sinners to the right path after they have wronged themselves. Belief in the intercession of Muhammad developed after his death by both Sunnis and Shiites, however among the Shiite the idea of mediation was extended to include The Twelve Imams and other intimate friends of God too.

4.3K
21 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Surya Namaskar (Sanskrit: सूर्यनमस्कार IAST: Sūrya Namaskāra), Salute to the Sun or Sun Salutation, is a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas. The asana sequence was first recorded as yoga in the early 20th century, though similar exercises were in use in India before that, for example among wrestlers. The basic sequence involves moving from a standing position into Downward and Upward Dog poses and then back to the standing position, but many variations are possible. The set of 12 asanas is dedicated to the solar deity Surya. In some Indian traditions, the positions are each associated with a different mantra. The precise origins of Surya Namaskar are uncertain, but the sequence was made popular in the early 20th century by Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, the Rajah of Aundh, and adopted into yoga by Krishnamacharya in the Mysore Palace, where the Surya Namaskar classes, not then considered to be yoga, were held next door to his yogasala. Pioneering yoga teachers taught by Krishnamacharya, including Pattabhi Jois and B. K. S. Iyengar, taught transitions between asanas derived from Surya Namaskar to their pupils worldwide. Variant yoga sequences such as those called Chandra Namaskar (Moon Salutation) have been created based on the original sequence taught by Pant Pratinidhi.

4.2K
25 Nov 2022

Topic Review

The Rihla, formal title A Masterpiece to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling, is the travelogue written by Ibn Battuta, documenting his lifetime of travel and exploration, which according to his description covered about 70,000 miles. Rihla is the Arabic word for a journey or the travelogue that documents it.

4.2K
26 Oct 2022

Topic Review

The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case in July 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee 's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he purposely incriminated himself so that the case could have a defendant. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100 (equivalent to $1458 in 2019), but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. The trial served its purpose of drawing intense national publicity, as national reporters flocked to Dayton to cover the big-name lawyers who had agreed to represent each side. William Jennings Bryan, three-time presidential candidate, argued for the prosecution, while Clarence Darrow, the famed defense attorney, spoke for Scopes. The trial publicized the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy, which set Modernists, who said evolution was not inconsistent with religion, against Fundamentalists, who said the word of God as revealed in the Bible took priority over all human knowledge. The case was thus seen as both a theological contest and a trial on whether "modern science" should be taught in schools.

4.2K
15 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Skandhas (Sanskrit) or khandhas (Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (Pañcupādānakkhandhā), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are also explained as the five factors that constitute and explain a sentient being’s person and personality, but this is a later interpretation in response to sarvastivadin essentialism. The five aggregates or heaps are: form (or material image, impression) (rupa), sensations (or feelings, received from form) (vedana), perceptions (samjna), mental activity or formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vijnana). In the Theravada tradition, suffering arises when one identifies with or clings to the aggregates. This suffering is extinguished by relinquishing attachments to aggregates. The Mahayana tradition asserts that the nature of all aggregates is intrinsically empty of independent existence. The corresponding concept in Western philosophy is Bundle theory.

4.1K
28 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a "sacred artifact" that is venerated and blessed), or places ("sacred ground"). French sociologist Émile Durkheim considered the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane to be the central characteristic of religion: "religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden.":47 In Durkheim's theory, the sacred represents the interests of the group, especially unity, which are embodied in sacred group symbols, or totems. The profane, on the other hand, involve mundane individual concerns.

4.1K
31 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Misnagdim (מתנגדים; also Mitnagdim; singular misnaged/mitnaged) is a Hebrew word meaning "opponents". The term "Misnagdim" commonly refers to opponents of Hasidism. The term "Misnagdim" gained a common usage among Jews living in Europe as the term that referred to Ashkenazi Jews who opposed the rise and spread of early Hasidic Judaism.

4.1K
18 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Way of the Five Pecks of Rice

The Way of the Five Pecks of Rice (Chinese: 五斗米道; pinyin: Wǔ Dǒu Mǐ Dào) or the Way of the Celestial Master, commonly abbreviated to simply The Celestial Masters, was a China Taoist movement founded by the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling in 142 CE. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic state in the Hanzhong valley, north of Sichuan. In 215 CE, the state was incorporated into Cao Cao's Kingdom of Wei, and the followers of the Celestial Master were dispersed all over China. The Celestial Masters believed that qi pervaded everything, and in order to achieve immortality, the correct balance of qi had to be present within the body. Having a poor quantity of qi in the body, would result in illness, and eventually death. Meditation could be used to restore qi to the body, but sex was to be avoided, as it could result in the loss of qi. If there was the correct balance of qi within the body upon death, an adherent could 'feign death' and be reborn. If not, an adherent would be transported to an earthly prison where he would face eternal torment. The Hanzhong state was divided into 24 regions which were led by an official. Each district had a civil register which recorded people's names and ranks. Three times a year, the registers were updated at the same time as an important feast. While a child's rank rose automatically, adults had to raise their own rank through religious achievement or marriage. Higher ranked people had more divine generals at their command, which could be used to fight demons that caused bad luck or disease. The state had a system of law that encouraged confession and benevolence rather than strict punishment. Criminals were asked to confess their crimes and meditate, and were given public work to do as a sentence. Few texts written by the Hanzhong Celestial Masters survive, with the most important being the Xiang'er commentary to the Dao De Jing. While the Hanzhong state lasted for only twenty-five years, their beliefs influenced all subsequent Daoist movements.

4.1K
25 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Pranami Sampraday

Pranami Sampradaya is a community that believes in the Supreme Truth God "Rajji".

4.0K
11 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Sources for the Historicity of Jesus

Christian sources, such as the New Testament books in the Christian Bible, include detailed stories about Jesus but scholars differ on the historicity of specific episodes described in the Biblical accounts of Jesus. The only two events subject to "almost universal assent" are that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate. Non-Christian sources that are used to study and establish the historicity of Jesus include Jewish sources such as Josephus, and Roman sources such as Tacitus. These sources are compared to Christian sources such as the Pauline Epistles and the Synoptic Gospels. These sources are usually independent of each other (e.g. Jewish sources do not draw upon Roman sources), and similarities and differences between them are used in the authentication process. In a review of the state of research, the Jewish scholar Amy-Jill Levine stated that "no single picture of Jesus has convinced all, or even most scholars" and that all portraits of Jesus are subject to criticism by some group of scholars.

3.9K
23 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Allegory in the Middle Ages

Allegory in the Middle Ages was a vital element in the synthesis of biblical and classical traditions into what would become recognizable as medieval culture. People of the Middle Ages consciously drew from the cultural legacies of the ancient world in shaping their institutions and ideas, and so allegory in medieval literature and medieval art was a prime mover for the synthesis and transformational continuity between the ancient world and the "new" Christian world. People of the Middle Ages did not see the same break between themselves and their classical predecessors that modern observers see; rather, they saw continuity with themselves and the ancient world, using allegory as a synthesizing agent that brings together a whole image.

3.9K
21 Nov 2022

Topic Review Peer Reviewed

Buddhism in Addiction Recovery

Buddhism was established by Guatama Buddha as a practice to liberate sentient beings from suffering. Mindfulness-Based interventions (MBIs) are Western psychologists’ adaptation of mindfulness/Vipassana to treat mental illnesses. In addition to mindfulness, Buddhist recovery peer-support programs also adopt the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Five Precepts, which are the Buddha’s prescription to cease suffering and to discipline one’s ethical conduct.

3.9K
13 Apr 2022

Topic Review

Kādambari is a romantic novel in Sanskrit. It was substantially composed by Bāṇabhaṭṭa in the first half of the 7th century CE, who did not survive to see it through completion. The novel was completed by Banabhatta's son Bhushanabhatta, according to the plan laid out by his late father. It is conventionally divided into Purvabhaga (earlier part) written by Banabhatta, and Uttarabhaga (latter part) by Bhushanabhatta. (An alternate tradition gives the son's name as Pulindabhatta.) The standard editions of the original Sanskrit text are by Peterson and Kane. There are translations into English by Kale, Layne and Ridding; and an abridgement into Gujarati by Bhalan (edited by Keshavlal Dhruv). This novel has an extremely intricate plot which is difficult to summarize concisely. Its central thread is that of a romantic attachment (and eventual union) between the hero Chandrapeeda and the heroine Kadambari. However, there are several competing subplots; indeed, the heroine does not make her appearance until past the midpoint. Many of the characters appear in multiple incarnations, some as humans and some as demigods or animals. The narration proceeds in a succession of nested frames; a large part of it is a retelling by a parrot of a story which was told to it by a sage. The latter story also contains several instances of one character relating a sub-story to another character. The plot has probably been adapted from the story of King Sumanas from Gunadhya's Brihatkatha (a conjectural collection of stories in the extinct Paishachi language). This story also appears in Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara (which is believed to be a Sanskrit precis of Gunadhya's work). This work can be plausibly claimed to be one of the first novels in the world; making due allowance for the ambiguities of such a classification. In fact, two modern Indian languages (Kannada and Marathi) use 'kadambari' as a generic term for a romance or a novel. Apart from the Kadambari, Banabhatta is also the author of Harshacharita, a biography of his patron king Harshavardhana. It is this circumstance which allows one to date the author with a reasonable degree of certainty.

3.9K
14 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Jewish Views on Evolution

Jewish views on evolution includes a continuum of views about the theory of evolution, experimental evolution, the origin of life, age of the universe, evolutionary creationism, and theistic evolution. Today, many Jews accept the theory of evolution and do not see it as incompatible with traditional Judaism, reflecting the emphasis of prominent rabbis such as the Vilna Gaon and Maimonides on the ethical rather than factual significance of scripture.

3.8K
10 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Mount Tai (Chinese: 泰山; pinyin: Tài Shān) is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an, it is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak (simplified Chinese: 玉皇顶; traditional Chinese: 玉皇頂; pinyin: Yùhuáng Dǐng), which is commonly reported as being 1,545 meters (5,069 ft) tall, but is officially described by the PRC government as 1,532.7 meters (5,029 ft) tall. Mount Tai is known as the eastern mountain of the Sacred Mountains of China. It is associated with sunrise, birth, and renewal, and is often regarded the foremost of the five. Mount Tai has been a place of worship for at least 3,000 years and served as one of the most important ceremonial centers of China during large portions of this period. Because of its sacred importance and dramatic landscape, Promulgated by UNESCO as a Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1987. And it meets 7 of the 10 evaluation standards of World Heritage, and is listed as the World Heritage that meets the most standards along with the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in Australia. An Earthquake or thunderstorm occurred in Mount Tai in 1831 BC or 1652 BC, also known as Mount Tai earthquake. First seen in "Bamboo Annals". At present, it is recognized by most scholars as the first recorded earthquake in Chinese history.

3.8K
10 Nov 2022

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