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Topic Review
Hindu Views on Evolution
Hinduism includes a range of viewpoints about the origin of life, creationism and evolution. There is no single story of creation, due to dynamic diversity of Hinduism, and these are derived from various sources like Vedas, some from the Brahmanas, some from Puranas; some are philosophical, based on concepts, and others are narratives. The Rigveda mentions the Hiranyagarbha ("golden embryo") as the source of the creation of the Universe, similar to the world egg motif found in the creation myths of many other civilizations. It also contains a myth of proto-Indo-European origin, in which the creation arises out of the dismemberment of a cosmic being (the Purusha) who is sacrificed by the gods. As for the creation of the primordial gods themselves, the Nasadiya Sukta of Rigveda takes a near-agnostic stand, stating that the Gods came into being after the world's creation, and nobody knows when the world first came into being. In the later Puranic texts, the creator god Brahma is described as performing the act of 'creation', or more specifically of 'propagating life within the universe'. Some texts consider him equivalent to the Hiranyagarbha or the Purusha, while others state that he arose out of these. Brahma is a part of the trinity of gods that also includes Vishnu and Shiva, who are responsible for 'preservation' and 'destruction' (of the universe) respectively. Many Hindu texts mention the cycle of creation and destruction. The Shatapatha Brahmana states that the current human generation descends from Manu, the only man who survived a great deluge after being warned by the God. This legend is comparable to the other flood legends, such as the story of the Noah's Ark mentioned in the Bible and the Quran. Hindus find support for, or foreshadowing of evolutionary ideas in scriptures. For example, the concept of Dashavatara can be seen as having some similarities to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.The first incarnation of Vishnu in the form of a fish resembles the evolutionary origin of fish in the Silurian Period. In a survey of 909 people, 77% of its respondents in India agreed that enough scientific evidence exists to support Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and 85% of God-believing people said they agree with evolution as well. According to the survey conducted by Pew Forum in the United States , 80% of Hindus agree that evolution is the best explanation for the origin of human life on earth. However, in India, there were minimal references to Darwinism in the 1800s. Elements of Victorian England opposed the idea of Darwinism. Hindus already had present notion of common ancestry between humans and animals. The Hindu dharma believes that the gods have animal features, showing a theory that humans can be reborn again as animals or with their features.
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  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Konkokyo
Konkōkyō (金光教, Konkō-kyō), or just Konkō, is a religion and spiritual way of living of Japan ese origin. Originating in Shinbutsu-shūgō beliefs, it is now both an independent religion as well as Sect Shintō, it is now a member of the Kyoha Shintō Rengokai (Association of Sectarian Shinto). It is henotheistic and worships the spirit and energy that flows through all things (musubi, one of the core beliefs of Shintoisim) as Tenchi Kane No Kami, or the Golden Kami of the Heavens and Earth (in Japanese, "Heavens and Earth" also means the Universe). Tenchi Kane No Kami is also referred to as "Tenchi No Kami-Sama," "Oyagami-Sama," "Kami-Sama," and "Kami." In English, Kami can also be called "Divine Parent of the Universe," "Principle Parent," "Parent Kami," "Kami-Sama," or "Kami." many other sects of Shinto believe this energy to be "divine nature", existing on its own. Konkokyo is sometimes called pantheistic, due to the belief that Kami is omnipresent and is the spirit and energy of the universe. This is also the reason the universe is referred to as “Kami’s body”. However, the difference is that Tenchi Kane no Kami has a consciousness and a will. Kami is seen as our divine parent, offering love, affection, support, protection, and nurturing us through his blessings. It is taught that Kami loves all people of the world no matter their race, religion, gender, and so on. Although mentioned as 'he' in materials for linguistic convenience, Kami is neither male or female.
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  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ontological Argument
Ontological is derived from ontos, the greek word being. The name is intended to convey the intent of the argument to prove God's existence by virtue of his existence being necessary. It was first proposed by the medieval philosopher Anselm of Canterbury in his Proslogion, and important variations have been developed by philosophers such as René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Norman Malcolm, Charles Hartshorne, and Alvin Plantinga. A modal logic version of the argument was devised by mathematician Kurt Gödel. The ontological argument has been controversial in philosophy and many philosophers have famously criticized or opposed it, including Anselm's contemporary Gaunilo of Marmoutiers, as well as David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Gottlob Frege. Some of these opponents have preferred to rely on cosmological arguments for the existence of God instead. It continues to garner discus ion to the present.
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Topic Review
Bugang
Bugang is a Daoist ritual dance or walk, based upon the limping Yubu "Steps of Yu" tradition, in which a Taoist priest paces through a supernatural pattern, such as stars in the Big Dipper or numbers in the Loshu magic square. Texts from the (4th century) Shangqing School "revelations" contain the earliest descriptions of bugang, frequently with the practitioner pacing among constellations, especially the Big Dipper's stars. When religious Daoism began during the Six Dynasties period (220–589 CE), the expression bugang tadou 步罡踏斗 "pacing the guideline and treading on (the stars of) the Dipper" became popular.
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Topic Review
Pomeranian Language
The Pomeranian language (Polish: pomorszczyzna or język pomorski, German: Pomoranisch or die pomoranische Sprache) is in the Pomeranian group of Lechitic languages (Polish: grupa pomorska języków lechickich, German: die pomoranische Gruppe der lechischen Sprachen) within the West Slavic languages. In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by the Slavic Pomeranians. In modern contexts, the term is sometimes used synonymously with "Kashubian" and may also include extinct Slovincian. The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means "[land] by the sea".
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  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Empirical Theory of Perception
An empirical theory of perception is a type of explanation for how percepts form. These theories hold that sensory systems incorporate information about the statistical properties of the natural world into their design and relate incoming stimuli to this information, rather than analyzing sensory stimulation into its components or features.
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  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Atheism in Hinduism
Atheism (Sanskrit: निरीश्वरवाद, nir-īśvara-vāda, lit. "statement of no Lord", "doctrine of godlessness") or disbelief in God or gods has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many of the orthodox and heterodox streams of Hindu philosophies. In Indian philosophy, three schools of thought are commonly referred to as nastika for rejecting the doctrine of Vedas: Jainism, Buddhism and Cārvāka. Hinduism is a religion, but also a philosophy. Among the various schools of Hindu philosophy, Samkhya, Yoga and Mimamsa while not rejecting either the Vedas or the Brahman, typically reject a personal God, creator God, or a God with attributes. While Samkhya and Yoga rejected the idea of an eternal, self-caused, creator God, Mimamsa argued that the Vedas could not have been authored by a deity. Though some schools of thought view the path of the atheist as difficult to follow in matters of spirituality, it is still a valid one. Hindu atheists accept Hinduism more as a "way of life" than a religion.
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  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Mitra (Vedic)
Mitra (Sanskrit Mitrá) is a divinity of Indic culture, whose function changed with time. In the Mitanni inscription, Mitra is invoked as one of the protectors of treaties. In the Rigveda, Mitra appears primarily in the dvandva compound Mitra-Varuna, which has essentially the same attributes as Varuna alone, e.g. as the principal guardian of ṛtá "Truth, Order", breaches of which are punished. In the late Vedic texts and the Brahmanas, Mitra is increasingly associated with the light of dawn and the morning sun (while Varuna becomes associated with the evening, and ultimately the night). In the post-Vedic texts – in which Mitra practically disappears – Mitra evolved into the patron divinity of friendship, and because he is "friend", abhors all violence, even when sacred.
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Topic Review
Digital Addict
{{multiple issues| Digital addict is used to refer to a person who compulsively uses digital technology, which would manifest as another form of addiction if that technology was not as easily accessible to them. Colloquially, it can be used to describe a person whose interaction with technology is verging on excessive, threatening to absorb their attention above all else and consequently having a negative impact on the well-being of the user. The primary theory is digital technology users develop digital addiction by their habitual use and reward from computer applications. This reward triggers the reward center in the brain that releases more dopamine, opiates, and neurochemicals, which over time can produce a stimulation tolerance or need to increase stimulation to achieve a “high” and prevent withdrawal. Used as a conversational phrase, digital addict describes an increasingly common dependence on devices in the digital age.
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Topic Review
New Chronology (Rohl)
New Chronology is an alternative chronology of the ancient Near East developed by English Egyptologist David Rohl and other researchers beginning with A Test of Time: The Bible - from Myth to History in 1995. It contradicts mainstream Egyptology by proposing a major revision of the established Egyptian chronology, in particular by re-dating Egyptian kings of the Nineteenth through Twenty-fifth Dynasties, bringing forward conventional dating by up to 350 years. Rohl asserts that the New Chronology allows him to identify some of the characters in the Hebrew Bible with people whose names appear in archaeological finds. The New Chronology, one of several proposed radical revisions of the conventional chronology, has not been accepted in academic Egyptology, where the conventional chronology or small variations of it remain standard. Amélie Kuhrt, head of Ancient Near Eastern History at University College London, in one of the standard reference works of the discipline, notes: "Many scholars feel sympathetic to the critique of weaknesses in the existing chronological framework [...], but most archaeologists and ancient historians are not at present convinced that the radical redatings proposed stand up to close examination." Rohl's most vocal critic has been Kenneth Kitchen, one of the leading experts on biblical history and the author of the standard work on the conventional chronology of the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt, the period most directly affected by the New Chronology's redating of the Nineteenth to Twenty-fifth Dynasties.
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