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Topic Review
Baháʼí Faith and the Unity of Religion
Unity of religion is a core teaching of the Baháʼí Faith which states that there is a fundamental unity in many of the world's religions. The principle states that the teachings of the major religions are part of a single plan directed from the same God. It is one of the core teachings of the Baháʼí Faith, alongside the unity of God, and the unity of humanity. The Baháʼí teachings state that there is but one religion which is progressively revealed by God, through prophets/messengers, to mankind as humanity matures and its capacity to understand also grows. The outward differences in the religions, the Baháʼí writings state, are due to the exigencies of the time and place the religion was revealed. The Baháʼí writings state that the essential nature of the messengers is twofold: they are at once human and divine. They are divine in that they all come from the same God and expound his teachings. In this light they are seen as one and the same. At the same time they are separate individuals (their human reality) and known by different names. Each fulfills a definite mission, and is entrusted with a particular revelation. Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, claimed to be the most recent, but not the last, in a series of divine educators which includes the Jewish prophets, Zoroaster, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and the Báb.
  • 1.4K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism usually has a religious connotation that indicates unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs. However, fundamentalism has come to be applied to a tendency among certain groups – mainly, although not exclusively, in religion – that is characterized by a markedly strict literalism as it is applied to certain specific scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, and a strong sense of the importance of maintaining ingroup and outgroup distinctions, leading to an emphasis on purity and the desire to return to a previous ideal from which advocates believe members have strayed. Rejection of diversity of opinion as applied to these established "fundamentals" and their accepted interpretation within the group often results from this tendency. Depending upon the context, the label "fundamentalism" can be a pejorative rather than a neutral characterization, similar to the ways that calling political perspectives "right-wing" or "left-wing" can have negative connotations.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published in 1949) is a work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell. In this book, Campbell discusses his theory of the mythological structure of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world myths. Since the publication of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell's theory has been consciously applied by a wide variety of modern writers and artists. Filmmaker George Lucas acknowledged Campbell's theory in mythology, and its influence on the Star Wars films. The Joseph Campbell Foundation and New World Library issued a new edition of The Hero with a Thousand Faces in July 2008 as part of the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series of books, audio and video recordings. In 2011, Time (magazine) placed the book in its list of the 100 best and most influential books written in English since the magazine was founded in 1923.
  • 1.4K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Earth Pigments in Wall Paintings
Iron-containing earth minerals of various hues were the earliest pigments of the prehistoric artists who dwelled in caves. Being a prominent part of human expression through art, nature-derived pigments have been used in continuum through ages until now. Studies reveal that the primitive artist stored or used his pigments as color cakes made out of skin or reeds. Although records to help understand the technical details of Indian painting in the early periodare scanty, there is a certain amount of material from which some idea may be gained regarding the methods used by the artists to obtain their results. Considering Indian wall paintings, the most widely used earth pigments include red, yellow, and green ochres, making it fairly easy for the modern era scientific conservators and researchers to study them.
  • 1.4K
  • 17 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Mashrabiya’s Impact on Energy Efficiency and Cultural Aspects
The traditional and indigenous architecture in Saudi Arabia is being replaced by modern, Western-style buildings, resulting from the growing influence of Western culture. This change is evident in architectural elements such as Mashrabiya, which was once a symbol of the country’s Islamic architecture.
  • 1.4K
  • 17 Jul 2023
Topic Review
The Livability of Open Public Spaces during Nighttime
The transformations of contemporary life are reflected not only in the way people use open public spaces but also in the time people use them—nighttime activities are becoming more frequent. High daytime temperatures in certain periods of the year, during the summer and other seasons, discourage the development of outdoor activities in open public spaces during daytime. The urban heat island impact of pollution has significantly reduced the quality of living conditions in cities for daily outdoor activities. On the other hand, the hectic contemporary lifestyle in an urban context creates a lack of free time during the day, because leisure is compatible with working hours, where the focus on working during the day reduces the possibility of free time . These restrictions have changed the patterns of human behavior in urban environments, shifting the focus of free time to nighttime. The livability of open public spaces in an urban context is determined by usage and the frequency, duration, and activities of users. People’s activities in public spaces, according to Jan Gehl, can be divided into three types: necessary, optional, and social behaviors. According to him, the physical environment and spatial features of the area play an important role when engaging in outdoor activities, except for the necessary behaviors (including going to school, going to work, shopping, etc.).
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Ottoman Decline Thesis
The Ottoman decline thesis or Ottoman decline paradigm (Turkish: Osmanlı Gerileme Tezi) is an obsolete historical narrative which once played a dominant role in the study of the history of the Ottoman Empire. According to the decline thesis, following a golden age associated with the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566), the empire gradually entered into a period of all-encompassing stagnation and decline from which it was never able to recover, lasting until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. This thesis was used throughout most of the twentieth century as the basis of both Western and Republican Turkish understanding of Ottoman history. However, by 1978, historians had begun to reexamine the fundamental assumptions of the decline thesis. After the publication of numerous new studies throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and the reexamination of Ottoman history through the use of previously untapped sources and methodologies, academic historians of the Ottoman Empire achieved a consensus that the entire notion of Ottoman decline was a myth – that in fact, the Ottoman Empire did not stagnate or decline at all, but rather continued to be a vigorous and dynamic state long after the death of Suleiman the Magnificent. The decline thesis has been criticized as "teleological", "regressive", "Orientalist", "simplistic", and "one-dimensional", and described as "a concept which has no place in historical analysis". Scholars have thus "learned better than to discuss [it]." Despite this dramatic paradigm shift among professional historians, the decline thesis continues to maintain a strong presence in popular history, as well as academic history written by scholars who are not specialists on the Ottoman Empire. In some cases this is due to the continued reliance by non-specialists on outdated and debunked works, and in others to certain political interests benefiting from the continued perpetuation of the decline narrative.
  • 1.4K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Great Disappointment
The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller's proclamations that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, what he called the Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 prophecy during the Second Great Awakening led him to the conclusion that Daniel's "cleansing of the sanctuary" was cleansing of the world from sin when Christ would come, and he and many others prepared, but October 22, 1844 came, and they were disappointed. These events paved the way for the Adventists who formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They contended that what had happened on October 22 was not Jesus' return, as Miller had thought, but the start of Jesus' final work of atonement, the cleansing in the heavenly sanctuary, leading up to the Second Coming.
  • 1.4K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Sandilya Vidya
Śāṇḍilya Vidya is a set of teachings of vidyā or philosophy by the ancient Hindu sage Śāṇḍilya. It is part of the Agnirahasyama of the Shatapatha Upanishad, and its precepts are also set out in the Chandogya Upanishad. The work treats of the universal Absolute (Brahman) and of the practice of faith (Bhakti).
  • 1.4K
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Usul Fiqh in Ja'fari School
Ja'fari principles (Persian: علم اصول در مکتب جعفری‎) refers to regulations, history and eminent persons and scholars during the development of Shia's Principles of Islamic jurisprudence.
  • 1.4K
  • 28 Oct 2022
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