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Topic Review
Portraits of the Historical Jesus
Portraits of the historical Jesus refers to the various biographies of Jesus that have been constructed in the three separate scholarly quests for the historical Jesus that have taken place in the past two centuries, each with distinct characteristics and developing new and different research criteria. The portraits of Jesus that have been constructed in these processes have often differed from each other, and from the dogmatic image portrayed in the gospel accounts. These portraits include that of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet, charismatic healer, Cynic philosopher, Jewish Messiah and prophet of social change, but there is little scholarly agreement on a single portrait, or the methods needed to construct it. There are, however, overlapping attributes among the various portraits, and scholars who differ on some attributes may agree on others. By the 21st century scholars began to focus on what is historically probable and plausible about Jesus.
  • 3.8K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Christian Left
The Christian left is a range of center-left and left-wing Christian political and social movements that largely embrace social justice viewpoints and uphold a social doctrine or social gospel. Given the inherent diversity in international political thought, the term Christian left can have different meanings and applications in different countries. While there is much overlap, the Christian left is distinct from liberal Christianity, meaning not all Christian leftists are liberal Christians and vice versa. Christian anarchism, Christian communism and Christian socialism are subsects of the socialist Christian left, although it also includes more moderate Christian left-liberal and social-democratic viewpoints.
  • 3.8K
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Greek Old Calendarists
Greek Old Calendarists (Greek: Παλαιοημερολογίτες, Paleoimerologites), sometimes abbreviated as GOC ("Genuine Orthodox Christians"), are groups of Old Calendarist Orthodox Christians that remained committed to the traditional Orthodox practice and are not in communion with many other Orthodox churches such as the Orthodox Church of Greece, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, or the Church of Cyprus. The split began with a disagreement over the abandonment of the traditional church calendar (also called the Julian calendar) in preference to the adoption of the Revised Julian calendar which is similar to the papal Gregorian calendar but will pull ahead by one day in the year 2800 and over other liturgical reforms that were introduced.
  • 3.8K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Christian Monasticism
Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament, but not mandated as an institution in the scriptures. It has come to be regulated by religious rules (e. g. the Rule of Saint Augustine, Anthony the Great, St Pachomius, the Rule of St Basil, the Rule of St Benedict,) and, in modern times, the Canon law of the respective Christian denominations that have forms of monastic living. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms monks (men) and nuns (women). The word monk originated from the Greek μοναχός (monachos, 'monk'), itself from μόνος (monos) meaning 'alone'. Christian monks did not live in monasteries at first, rather, they began by living alone as solitaries, as the word monos might suggest. As more people took on the lives of monks, living alone in the wilderness, they started to come together and model themselves after the original monks nearby. Quickly, the monks formed communities to further their ability to observe an ascetic life. According to Christianity historian Robert Louis Wilken, "By creating an alternate social structure within the Church they laid the foundations for one of the most enduring Christian institutions..." Monastics generally dwell in a monastery, whether they live there in a community (cenobites), or in seclusion (recluses).
  • 3.8K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Pointing-Out Instruction
The pointing-out instruction (ngo sprod) is the direct introduction to the nature of mind in the Tibetan Buddhist lineages of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen. In these traditions, a "root guru" gives the "pointing-out instruction" in such a way that the disciple successfully recognizes the nature of mind. The tradition of conferring such instructions outside the context of formal empowerment (Sanskrit: abhiṣeka) is unique to the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. Whether or not such instructions are valid without the formal empowerment has historically been a point of contention with the more conservative Gelug and Sakya lineages. The pointing-out instruction is often equated with the fourth formal vajrayana empowerment.
  • 3.7K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
The All
The All (also called The One, The Absolute, The Great One, The Creator, The Supreme Mind, The Supreme Good, The Father, and The All Mother) is the Hermetic, pantheistic, pandeistic or panentheistic (and thus also panpsychism/monopsychism/unus mundus/anima mundi) view of God, which is that everything that is, or at least that can be experienced, collectively makes up The All. One Hermetic maxim states, "While All is in The All, it is equally true that The All is in All." The All can also be seen to be androgynous, possessing both masculine and feminine qualities in equal part.
  • 3.7K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Vrindavan
Vrindavan (pronunciation (help·info); IAST: Vṛndāvana), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India . It is one of the most sacred places in Vaishnavism. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region, and is where, according to Hinduism, Krishna spent most of his childhood days. The city is about 11 km from Mathura, Krishna's birthplace on the Agra–Delhi National Highway as NH-44. Vrindavan has many temples dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna.
  • 3.7K
  • 13 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Arba'een
Template:HusaynTemplate:Islamic Culture Arba'ein (Arabic: الأربعين), Chehellom (Persian: چهلم‎, "the fortieth day") is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the martyrdom of Al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, who was martyred on the 10th day of the month of Muharram.Imam Hussain ibn Ali and 71 of his companions were martyred by Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad's army under the governance of Yazeed Malhoon in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). Arba'ein or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after the death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arba'ein is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, in which up to 40 million (In reality, there are no reliable methods for tallying the number of site visitors. This is an entirely estimated set of statistics. Logically, it is possible to gather 40m persons on a small city) people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq.
  • 3.7K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Christian State
A Christian state is a country that recognizes a form of Christianity as its official religion and often has a state church (also called an established church), which is a Christian denomination that supports the government and is supported by the government. Historically, the nations of Armenia, Aksum, Georgia, as well as the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire declared themselves as Christian states. In the Middle Ages, the idea to establish a Pan-Christian state by uniting the countries within Christendom, became popular, along with the goal to recover territory in which Christianity historically flourished, such as the Middle East and North Africa. Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states or have state churches, including Argentina , Costa Rica, Denmark (incl. Greenland), Dominican Republic, El Salvador, England , Faroe Islands, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Norway , Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Zambia. A Christian state stands in contrast to a secular state, an atheist state, or another religious state, such as a Jewish state, or an Islamic state.
  • 3.7K
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (/ˈæŋrə ˈmaɪnjuː/) is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩‎ (Anglicised pronunciation: /ˈɑːrɪmən/). Angra Mainyu is omnimalevolent. Angra Mainyu is Ahura Mazda’s adversary.
  • 3.7K
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Computus
The computus (Latin for 'computation') is a calculation that determines the calendar date of Easter.:xviii Easter is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after 21 March (an approximation of the March equinox). Determining this date in advance requires a correlation between the lunar months and the solar year, while also accounting for the month, date, and weekday of the calendar.:xviii-xx The calculations produce different results depending on whether the Julian calendar or the Gregorian calendar is used. In late antiquity, it was feasible for the entire Christian church to receive the date of Easter each year through an annual announcement from the Pope. By the early third century, however, communications had deteriorated to the point that the church put great value in a system that would allow the clergy to independently and consistently determine the date for themselves.:xx Additionally, the church wished to eliminate dependencies on the Hebrew calendar, by deriving Easter directly from the vernal equinox.:xxxvi In The Reckoning of Time (725), Bede uses computus as a general term for any sort of calculation, although he refers to the Easter cycles of Theophilus as a "Paschal computus." By the end of the 8th century, computus came to refer specifically to the calculation of time.
  • 3.7K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll
Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus scroll, known also as 11QpaleoLev, is an ancient text preserved in one of the Qumran group of caves, and which provides a rare glimpse of the script used formerly by the nation of Israel in writing Torah scrolls during its pre-exilic history. The fragmentary remains of the Torah scroll is written in the Paleo-Hebrew script and was found stashed-away in a cave at Qumran, showing a portion of Leviticus. The scroll is thought to have been penned by the scribe between the late 2nd-century BCE to early 1st-century BCE, while others place its writing in the 1st-century CE. The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus scroll, although many centuries more recent than the well-known earlier ancient paleo-Hebrew epigraphic materials, such as the Royal Steward inscription from Siloam, Jerusalem (eighth century BCE), now in the Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul, and the Phoenician inscription on the sarcophagus of King Eshmun-Azar at Sidon, dating to the fifth-fourth century BCE, the Lachish ostraca (ca. 6th-century BCE), the Gezer calendar (ca. 950–918 BCE), and the paleo-Hebrew sacerdotal blessing discovered in 1979 near the St Andrew's Church in Jerusalem, is of no less importance to palaeography - even though the manuscript is fragmentary and only partially preserved on leather parchment. Today, the paleo-Hebrew Leviticus scroll (11QpaleoLev) is housed at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), but is not on public display.
  • 3.7K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit) is the division of the Buddhist canon (Tripitaka) containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist monastic community, or sangha. Three parallel Vinaya traditions remain in use by modern monastic communities: the Theravada (Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia), Mulasarvastivada (Tibetan Buddhism and the Himalayan region) and Dharmaguptaka (East Asian Buddhism). In addition to these Vinaya traditions, Vinaya texts of several extinct schools of Indian Buddhism are preserved in the Tibetan and East Asian canons, including those of the Kāśyapīya, the Mahāsāṃghika, the Mahīśāsaka, and the Sarvāstivāda The word Vinaya is derived from a Sanskrit verb that can mean to lead, take away, train, tame, or guide, or alternately to educate or teach. It is often translated as 'discipline', with Dhamma-vinaya, 'doctrine and discipline', used by the Buddha to refer to his complete teachings, suggesting its integral role in Buddhist practice.
  • 3.7K
  • 08 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Major Basilica
A major basilica (Latin: Basilica maior; plural: Basilicae maiores) is one of the four highest-ranking Roman Catholic church buildings, all of which are also papal basilicas: the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, St. Peter's Basilica, the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. All of them are located within the diocese of Rome: St. Peter's Basilica is located in Vatican City and thus within the territory and sovereign jurisdiction of the Holy See. The other three are geographically located in Italian territory, but enjoy extraterritorial status under the Lateran Treaty. The Archbasilica of Saint John in the Lateran is the seat of the Pope and the site of the Papal Cathedra, and is the oldest and first in rank of the major basilicas. All other churches that have the title of basilica are minor basilicas (Latin: basilica minor).
  • 3.6K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ptah
In Egyptian mythology, Ptah (/pəˈtɑː/; Ancient Egyptian: ptḥ, reconstructed [piˈtaħ]; Ancient Greek:; Coptic: ⲡⲧⲁϩ) is the demiurge of Memphis, god of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertum. He was also regarded as the father of the sage Imhotep.
  • 3.6K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Master Jesus
Master Jesus is the theosophical concept of Jesus in Theosophy and the Ascended Master Teachings.
  • 3.6K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
List of Russian Saints
This list of Russian saints includes the saints canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian saints canonized by other Orthodox Churches. Saints are sorted by their first names. A more complete list of saints: List of Russian saints (until 15th century) List of Russian saints (since 15th century)
  • 3.6K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Futurism (Christianity)
Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets portions of the Book of Revelation, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Book of Daniel as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context. By comparison, other Christian eschatological views interpret these passages as past events in a symbolic, historic context (Preterism and Historicism), or as present-day events in a non-literal and spiritual context (Idealism). Futurist beliefs usually have a close association with Premillennialism and Dispensationalism.
  • 3.6K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Sacred Grove
A sacred grove or sacred woods are any grove of trees that are of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice of Celtic, Baltic, Germanic, ancient Greek, Near Eastern, Roman, and Slavic polytheism, and continue to occur in locations such as India, Japan, and West Africa. Examples of sacred groves include the Greco-Roman temenos, various Germanic words for sacred groves, and the Celtic nemeton, which was largely but not exclusively associated with Druidic practice. During the Northern Crusades, there was a common practice of building churches on the sites of sacred groves. The Lakota and various other North American tribes consider particular forests or other natural landmarks to be sacred. Singular trees which a community deems to hold religious significance are known as sacred trees.
  • 3.6K
  • 28 Nov 2022
Biography
Sitaramdas Omkarnath
Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath (17 February 1892 – 6 December 1982) was a preeminent Indian Vaishnav Saint, 19th century Bhakti cult spiritual luminary and an unequaled humanitarian from the state of West Bengal, India. Addressed as Sri Sri Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnath, where "Omkar" signifies the supreme cosmic enlightenment and attaining supreme consciousnes, he was heralded as the Divine Incar
  • 3.6K
  • 14 Nov 2022
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