Divine Reality Research Articles

Мистика любви Хадевейх Брабантской и Мехтильды Магдебургской

The Christian worldview of the late Middle Ages was quite diverse, but at the same time extremely contradictory. Northern France, Flanders, and the German towns in the Rhine Valley were fi lled with various spiritual movements and beliefs that largely determined the spiritual climate of medieval Europe. One such spiritual current was the Beguine movement, which was condemned by the Catholic Church, as were many other religious sects during this period of European history. Nevertheless, the reasons for the persecution of the representatives of female semi-monastic communities are still not clear enough for us. On the one hand, we know that the condemnation of the Beguine’s is directly related to their social activities, because they created serious competition to the Catholic Church. But on the other hand, limiting ourselves exclusively to social reasons, we miss the fact that the Beguine movement was largely mystical and many representatives of women’s communities experienced extremely intense extraordinary experiences. Therefore, turning to the problem of the condemnation of the female mystics, we fi nd that the root of these persecutions lay in their reinterpretation of religious ecstasy, rather than their social activities. To substantiate this position, we examine in detail the representation of love-mystical cognition in two of the most infl uential beguines, Hadewijch of Brabant and Mechthild of Magdeburg. We observe that they not only express their extraordinary experience, but they also theorize it. The mystics abandon the notion of love-mystical cognition as a passive process of perceiving God. Instead, they turn to an active kind of love and justify a form of vita activa. This allows them to bridge the gulf between God and man, and to move independently beyond their own female bodies, burdened by medieval patriarchal norms. The female mystics, as we show, change the very relationship between woman and the world, thereby endowing her with greater autonomy in relation to medieval society and divine reality.

The Divergent Pathways to the Divine, God: A Comprehensible Research Article on the Convergences and Divergences of the Divine Pathways in the Three Major Religions within the Framework of Religious Diversity

The current research article seeks to explore the convergences and divergences in the approaches to reaching God across the three major world religions within the context of religious diversity. The current article implements a review of the existing literature as a research method in order to gather conclusive and evidence-based data with the aim of systematically evaluating these approaches in order to address the research objectives effectively. Throughout history, religions have focused on the concept of God or a divine being, yet the approaches to understanding or reaching this concept have varied dramatically among these three different religions. By comparing the understandings of God or divine reality in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism along with the methods of reaching this understanding, the study reveals the fact that the theological and ritual structures of each religion are uniquely established. Furthermore, the common themes and fundamental differences among the approaches to reaching God in these religions are scrutinized. The findings of the study reveal both similar and different aspects of the roadmaps among the three major religions, and in this context, it is concluded that the cultural, historical and theological backgrounds of each religion shape their respective approaches to the Divine, that is, the ultimate absolute being, God.

The Holy Spirit as “the Gift” in Charles Nyamiti's Trinitarian Theology: A Pentecostal-Lutheran Dialogical Perspective

This article starts from the theology of the Tanzanian-born Charles Nyamiti (1931–2020), as one of the most creative in his generation of African theologians. Nyamiti proposed that ancestral veneration is a foundational human relationship which reflects divine realities. Thus, he proposed an understanding of the Trinity where the Father is the Ancestor, the Son is the Descendant, and the Holy Spirit is the mutual Oblation connecting the two. Because an ancestor does not exist as an ancestor without sacred ritual communication, the Holy Spirit becomes thus absolutely necessary for the Godhead. We maintain that Nyamiti's ancestral approach describes an African logic of gift-giving. Translating his theological contribution into gift-language preserves the theological insights while solving some of the logical problems with the ancestral imaginary, such as how the Father who never died is supposed to be the Ancestor. Through gift-language, Nyamiti's theological insights, which are based on African relational ontologies, become more readily applicable in World Christianity and have potential to transform ecumenism into a vibrant and inclusive embodied pneumatic action for abundant life. In other words, Nyamiti's theological heritage invites theologians to envision Christian faith beyond the confines of Hellenistic-based philosophy.

Making Sense of Early Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Mystical Theology: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of History and Mysticism

Jīva Gosvāmin (16th-17th c.), one of the most important of the early Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theologians, argues for a unique theory of mystical pluralism that shares critical parallels with the highly influential constructivist thesis advanced by Steven Katz, albeit separated by more than four hundred years. These parallels suggest a shared insight into the cognitive dynamics underpinning mystical experiences, which research on cognition and learning, conceptual processing, and perception helps explain. These researches suggest the practices with which Jīva is concerned serve as learning strategies that help one increasingly learn and internalize a particular conception of divine reality, what it is like to experience it, and an expectation that one will experience it. As these become increasingly internalized, they influence one’s perceptions and experiences relative to what one has learned, creating favorable conditions for the emergence of experiences that reflect, at least to some extent, what one expects to experience.

How about Pantheism in Ancient Greek Religion?

Abstract Ancient Greek religion has been very rarely studied with reference to pantheism. This article proposes that we should introduce pantheism as an additional interpretive strategy to understand Greek religion. This presupposes addressing the relationship between the interpretations of doxa (theology), discussion about the nature of divine unity in antiquity (philosophy), and religious cult praxis. The main conceptual arguments underlined in refutations of pantheism are discussed. This is followed by a brief survey of the more frequently discussed monotheism and henotheism in Greek religion. The main part of the article presents pantheistic trends in Greek religion, including philosophical argumentation, pantheistic expressions in mythology and in cultic life. It is found that Greek religion exhibits views that can be regarded as pantheistic: gods were immanent rather than transcendent, everything could potentially participate in divine reality, and the boundaries between divine, human, and nature were not exclusive but permeable and fluid.

The question of values and the concept of the “person” in the Byzantine thought of the Palaeologan Renaissance

In this article we focus on the third chapter of George Pachymeres’ Paraphrasis of Dionysius the Areopagite’s De divinis nominibus, emphasizing the second and third paragraphs. The aim is to highlight the concept of “person” and “personality” in the context of the theological atmosphere of Eastern Christianity and, specifically, of the Dionysian tradition. Taking into account what the Byzantine thinker elaborates on Hierotheus, we shed light on the way whereby the question of values in human beings as “persons” who decide to follow a certain example is defined. This question derives from the degree of participation in the divine mystery and revelations. In any case, it is not a matter of class distinction but of different degrees of understanding divine reality, which is shaped by how divine gifts are assimilated by human “persons”.

Sabdopalon Nayagenggong's Thesis: Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Education Studies

Abstract: This article aims to explore in depth the historical, philosophical, and educational aspects of Sabdopalon Nayagenggong's thesis. For this reason, this research is carried out through literature studies with a historiographic approach which includes heuristics, verification, interpretation, and historiography with a theoretical framework built based on thoughts in fibers, and historical books. Therefore, the research question of this study is how is Sabdopalon Nayagenggong's thesis from historical, philosophical, and religious education aspects. The findings of this study show that in the historical aspect, Sabdopalon Nayagenggong was an advisor to the last king of Majapahit Barwijaya V who was abandoned because he converted to Islam and who would restore Budi 500 years later. Jayabhaya called him Putra Betara Indra, Prabu Siliwangi called Budak Angon, Ranggawarsito called Satria Pinandhita Sinisihan Wahyu, among Balinese people known as Dang Hyang Nirartha/Mpu Dwijenndra Pedanda Sakti Wawu Rawuh/Tuan Semeru, in hinterland described as Semar; In the philosophical thesis, Sabdapalon (Semar) teaches Javanese concepts (kejawen), with its form or manifestation as 'among' kings / Javanese people as the conscience of every human being who comes from Allah / khalifatullah. In the thesis of religious education, it can be said that Sabdapalon-Nayagenggong has the characteristics of God, which is described as a divine reality with an abstract nature.

Faithfulness to Faithfulness: The Compass of Spiritual Reading in the Letters of Saint Paul

This paper is intended for the spiritual reading of St. Paul’s Letter. It investigates the dynamics and movements in the relationship between Divine and human reality. For the Divine reality, it investigates God’s Hesed in the covenantal promise, particularly with Abraham, and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who will come on the last days. In human reality, the Shema and commandments are explored together with Emunah and Hineni as the human response to God’s faithfulness. Also, it investigates the tradition of zealousness for God, having no idols, and living a moral life. The key to human reality is conformity to Jesus Christ and having faith like that of Jesus in the Father, through which there is justification and participation. Maranatha is the human disposition to the parousia of the Lord. Finally, the paper investigates the eschatological dimension of One God, One People, and One Future: the new creation, new heaven and earth, new mind, and new ways of relating called the Church.

„Vitis mystica”. Aspektychrystologii afektywnej traktatu o Męce Pańskiej św. Bonawentury

Based on the analysis of some aspects of the mystery of Christ contained by the Seraphic Doctor in the work of “Vitis Mystica”, it is possible to determine the profile of the Christological discourse. It is clearly mystagogical and mystical, revealing a typically experiential, and therefore affective formula. Divine realities, such as: the incarnation, the passion, the cross or the Sacred Heart of Jesus, are for Bonaventure a kind of „prisons” of love, they are above all open spaces through which God does not let himself be known, but rather met. According to his practical way of understanding all theology, Jesus Christ as Verbum Incarnatum et Crucifixum is and should be the center of man’s spiritual life.

Friedrich Hölderlin or Emanuele Severino? The Sacral Dimension of Nature in the Context of Modern Technology

The main purpose of inquiries undertaken in this study is to present a synthesis of the views of the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin and the Italian thinker Emanuel Severino on nature and technology, and to analyze the contemporary manifestations of the re-sacralization of nature in many ecological currents, as discussed in her studies by the French philosopher Chantal Delsol. For Hölderlin, nature is never limited to being an empirical object of scientific investigation. It is a divine reality that does not undergo change. It is a space inhabited by the sacred. Nature constitutes the sacred All, beyond which nothing else exists. Severino, in turn, analyzes the impact of modern technology on nature, man and the entire existing world. He believes science and modern technology have become an extremely effective tool of man’s dominion over the natural world. The Italian philosopher says that today the human will to power applied to nature leads to its objectification and desacralization. Delsol, on the other hand, points out that throughout Western culture we are now witnessing the birth of a new religion of nature, which is a modern form of ancient paganism. The analyses performed demonstrate that, on the one hand, nature is currently being subjected to profound changes due to science and technology, while on the other – its former sacral character is being restored, forming the foundation of a new form of religiosity.

ПРЕДПОСЫЛКИ ИНДИВИДУАЛИЗМА (СТАТЬЯ ВТОРАЯ)

This article discusses the question of how the personal element, which became the starting point of the movement toward individual thinking, manifested itself in the culture of ancient Israel and the culture of ancient India. The article attempts to describe the features of these cultures, which unlike the ancient Egyptian and Sumero-Akkadian, allowed to pass this way to the end. The process of formation of monotheism from the pre-state period to the great prophets is traced. It is noted that socio-political life, which determined with such force the status of man in a number of other Near Eastern cultures, in Israelite culture was subordinated to religious life, which otherwise determined the consciousness of man's status. In doing so, henotheism is gradually overcome. In the consciousness of the Israelite people the idea of complete dependence on God, who reveals himself through the prophets and establishes the requirement of a personal relationship to him, is established. At the same time, God, acting as a guarantor of justice, is revealed through the problem of theodicy, which can be posed only by a free personality. The movement of thought in ancient India turns out to be the opposite of what we see in ancient Israel: while the latter is affirmed through a long but persistent movement towards monotheism, Indian Brahmanism accepts the great diversity of divine reality and through the affirmation of its unity only multiplies the number of its components The decisive period for the emergence of individual consciousness was the period of the Upanishads. At this time, the deepened comprehension of the texts of the Vedas leads to the fact that a philosophical knowledge is built over religious knowledge. The specificity of Indian consciousness is determined by the long period of its oral existence, when the sounding speech in ritual or in the process of meditation acquires the key importance in the realization of the unity of the world. Individual consciousness is manifested in the process of concentration, directed towards understanding rather than mere reproduction of ritual mantras. The practice of asceticism played a role here. Just like in some other cultures in India real authorship emerges in the Axial period as an important sign of awareness of individual creativity.

Философия эпохи модерна и постмодернизм

In the history of philosophical thought the past twentieth century was marked by a great turning point caused by the collapse of the previous intellectual, cultural, and attitudinal paradigm characteristic of the classical modern era. Acting as the destroyer of this paradigm, postmodernism prioritized the “effectiveness of language”, freeing it from morality and truth, and reducing it to the transmission of information regardless of the degree of honesty or dishonesty of the position taken by the interested party. It is in the philosophy of postmodernism that language in its functional and especially in its axiological relation has undergone a violent degradation. Unlike postmodernism, the philosophy of the modern era has never ceased to live the history and heritage of world philosophical thought, the importance of which in the history of cultures and civilizations has always been recognized as the beginning of all subsequent intellectual and technical achievements of mankind. The key place in the article is occupied by the analysis of Heidegger’s fundamental ontology, which creates a “theology without God” and rejects divine reality, without the realization of which the only possibility remains despairing pessimism. In postmodernism, language ceases to be an instrument of cognition of reality, remaining an instrument of the strategy of persuasion. Thus, philosophy should not abandon its own purpose in the search for teleological meaning in the evaluation and interpretation of human being in the world. The new conceptualization of the existence of the world and man was formalized in the philosophy of existentialism and postmodern. These approaches to the interpretation of man, his language, thinking, consciousness and faith inherent in the philosophy of J.-P. Sartre, N.A. Berdyaev, K. Jaspers, M. Heidegger, J. Derrida, M. Foucault and R. Rorty form the subject of this article. The author shows that it is the philosophy of classical modernity, based on Christian doctrine with its orientation to the life of the future century, is an alternative to postmodernism.

Sülûk-ü Tarîkat: Erken Modern Hindistan’dan Bir Nakşbendî Metni

This article presents the first complete English translation of a major Persian text on Sufi meditation and cosmology: the towering eighteenth century Naqshbandī Indian Sufi master and poet Mirzā Maẓhar Jān-i Jānān’s (d. 1781) Sulūk-i Ṭarīqa (The Conduct of the Sufi Path). Composed in 1760, at the centerpiece of this text is the encounter between the realm of divine reality, prophetic authority, and the practice and conduct of the Sufi practitioner, especially in relation to the journey through the subtle spiritual centers or laṭā’if.

Videtur Quod: On Method in Theology

AbstractAbstract: Theological language has always faced a fundamental dilemma: it seeks to put the divine reality into limited human language. While this dilemma can obfuscate our theological pathways, it can also generate a new awareness of the task and possibilities of the discipline. New testimonials, or uniquely accented human experiential utterances, have emerged in theological discourse in the past decades, greatly increasing our vision of the expansiveness of theology. The tools for integration into systematic or discursive development are still, however, lacking. This article suggests that an extension of the innovative methodology of Thomas Aquinas, beginning and ending with ‘what seems’ to be the case, putting testimony into discursive forms, and testing for a fittingness with the mysterious and excessive mystery of the divine reality, offers a promising path for discerning common and trustworthy theological language.

Точка как символ Абсолюта и проекция божественных атрибутов в концепции Николая Кузанского

The article deals with the interpretation of the concept of “point” in the philosophical and reli-gious system of Nicholas of Cusa, for whom this category was a mode of divine reality. The point is represented as a mathematical symbol filled with metaphysical meaning and associated with the idea of God. The author shows the primacy of mathematics in the concept of the philosopher, its fundamental role in the knowledge of the Absolute, which is proved by a huge number of examples in his writings that reveal certain theological postulates through the explication of metamorphoses of geometric figures. In the teaching of Cusa, the straight line, circle, triangle and other objects coincide in infinity, compressed into a point, and this demonstrates that any antinomies are overcome in God. The point denotes the beginning and the end, unity and plurality at the same time, and this shows their equivalence to each other, revealing the paradox and ambivalence of their nature, which turns out to be relevant to divine attributes. The creator, qualified as a maximum, is the same as the minimum, associated with infinity folded into a point. The point is positioned as an internal principle of the universe, and this makes it a derivative of the original divine unity of opposites, which are united in the transcendent and incomprehensible God as the source of existence.

PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE

The structural abstract discusses the features of modern post-non-classical scientific discourse, according to which all kinds of scientific and religious knowledge are simplified mental construction of a complex objective reality. All accumulated religious knowledge is a combination of various theoretical models of divine reality, the performance of which was checked by centuries of experience of mystical connection with the Lord. According to the requirements of scientific and religious discourse on incompleteness of knowledge, all religious texts of the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, etc. are not carriers of absolutely probable knowledge. The sacred reality they describe is far more complex. The structural abstract reveals the originality of the subject and object of religious narration and the special nature of the mystical fact. The empirical basis of Christian knowledge is the books of the Old and New Testaments, which set the initial basis of Christian knowledge. The array of interpretations of sacred knowledge, accumulated over two thousand years of the Christianity development, it constitutes the main volume in the system of Christian knowledge. Christian theology provides a comprehensive understanding of Christian doctrine and its historical development. A special role is played by mystical knowledge-management-experiencing, the knowledge of God in the structure of Christian knowledge. The peculiarity of knowledgemanagement-experiencing determines that it comes directly from God. Theology can be achieved in the course of many years of practical work of an ascetic. The mystical side of knowledge-management is the experience of a direct connection with the Lord, which is difficult to convey in words. Secret knowledge-management exists only in real time in the existential reality of sacred experience. The structural abstract distinguishes two types of metaphysical knowledge – Western and Eastern metaphysics. Western metaphysics is considered to be the universal, most developed type of philosophical rational knowledge, the main goal of which is to develop a theoretical model of the fundamental reality, what is the God. It is reasonable to call Eastern metaphysics the metaphysics of the Path originating in the middle of the first millennium BC in India (Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.) and China (Taoism). Orthodoxy is the Christian version of the metaphysics of the Path, while Sufism is in Islam. Everything is subordinated to the liberation of the ascetic from worldly desires and the achievement of a mystical connection with God in Eastern metaphysics. The metaphysics of the Path includes three components – theoretical construction of the God, difficult practical actions (the Path) and the secret knowledge-management of the God, which are considered in inseparable unity. The Orthodox version of the metaphysics of the Path is one of the most developed in Eastern metaphysics.The texts of Western and Eastern metaphysics differ considerably. The works of Western metaphysicians appeal to the human mind and are predominantly speculative. The writings of Eastern metaphysicians try to reproduce the mental reality of the Path of merit of Enlightenment to a large extent. If rational knowledge of the fundamental foundations of the universe prevails in Western metaphysics, then Orthodox metaphysics is guided by the desire to enter the mystical space of divine reality.

Theory of Mystic Experience in Islam: A critical appraisal of East and West

Being a part of this spatiotemporal “phenomena” and wishing the knowledge of the “neuroma” or “Divine Reality,” which is above our commonly known capabilities and tools of acquiring knowledge through a particular way of meditation and absorbing mystical experience, is the main feature of mysticism. So questions arise: What is the nature of this experience? What are its essential characteristics? How can it be experienced? Whether it is religious or not? And so on. These are the questions that will be answered in this research.

The Authorship of Sayyidī Shaykh Muhammad ʿUthmān ʾal-Burhāni (d. 1403/1983) and the Impact of his Religious Dissemination through Divine Proximity

In researching the rich and diverse Sufi culture of the Arab world, I came across the unpublished work of Sayyidī Shaykh Muhammad ʿUthmān ʾal-Burhāni. (d. 1403/1983). This was surprisingly unexplored in previous research, and no formal publication capturing this fascinating work has been released yet. Sayyidī through these teachings significantly contributed to the development of religious dissemination, which gained a massive following in Sudan and Egypt and ultimately reached followers all over the world. His teachings go beyond emphasizing mere divine proximity for Muslims but they also provide a profound sense of purpose for individuals who still hold onto their ancestor's religion, inspiring them to embrace Islam. This serves as a guiding light, directing followers towards the path of divine legislation (sharīʿah) through the power of divine love (ʾal-ḥubb), while the cultivation of this love propels individuals towards the ultimate divine reality (ḥaqīqa). In addition, he answered questions in his sermons (durūs) from various fields of knowledge, and for this reason, many scholars of his time including from ʾal-ʾAzhar sought to attend his gatherings, where he spoke about the sciences of the Qurʾan from different aspects. This research intended to unveil the impact of his religious dissemination and the introduction of his authorship, which has yet to be documented.

Pseudo Problems in Christian Theology

As a scientific theologian, Thomas F. Torrance advocated for an objective approach to theologizing. He was weary of approaching the contents of divine revelation out of a center in philosophy, culture, or the self. For him, an imposition to theology from without creates problems to theological content. This article focuses on his analysis of the Greek understanding of space that became the underlying—and unspoken—presupposition of early heretics that led them to advocate Christological profanity. Using qualitative content analysis as research design, the article scoured through Torrance’s own writings and secondary literature to present Torrance’s critique of philosophical theology and his own theological alternative. Greater emphasis, however, was given to primary sources so that Torrance’s own position is faithfully presented. The study is sympathetic to Torrance’s proposal that Christian theology may avoid doctrinal and theological problems if theologians interpret divine realities kata physin. Using the concept of space as an illustration, both in the past and the present, if both biblical and theological scholarships operate within cultural-philosophical categories and not from a center in the Gospel datum taken at face value, problems that are not supposed to be there surface. Theologizing becomes circularly self-collapses once prevailing popular and cultural worldviews are uncritically assimilated and accepted.

Konsep Keabadian dan Waktu dalam Perspektif Pemikiran Islam

Intellectual pluralism which refers to a variety of views and approaches in understanding Islamic teachings, which allows different interpretations of certain aspects of Islamic beliefs and philosophy which focuses on the concepts of "time" and "eternity" which over time have decreased in the Islamic philosophical tradition includes interpretations of philosophers and theologians from various schools of Islamic thought by identifying differences and similarities in the views of figures such as al- Kindi, al- Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), and al- Ghazali, who represent interpretations in understanding the relationship between time and eternity in the context of Islamic metaphysics. Pluralism as part of the tradition of Islamic thought links between Islamic metaphysical concepts in a wider cultural, social and historical context. The concepts of "time and eternity" in the understanding of the relationship between finite universes refer to the time dimension of temporality and eternity which posits the existence of matter and divine reality. Time is an aspect related to changes and events in a finite universe, the universe has a beginning and an end in a sense. Time is also related to dimensions where a dimension is not complete if there is no time. The concept of eternity refers to a divine dimension or eternity that exists beyond the finite time frame of the universe. In Islamic thought, God is considered as an eternal entity that is not limited by time. This concept reflects the eternal and infinite nature of God in the Islamic theological tradition. Relationships between dimensions can create a finite temporal dimension of the universe and an eternal dimension of eternity. In this view, the universe is in a time frame while God as the creator of the universe exists outside the time dimension. This relationship can be interpreted as the relationship between the finite and the infinite, between the temporary and the eternal. Through this relationship it provides a basis for explaining how material reality and divine existence interact in different ways. This raises questions about the origin and the purpose of the universe as well as the role of humans in this scheme of relations. Overall, the concept of "time and eternity in the understanding of the relationship between finite universes reflects an attempt to cover up the complexity of the relationship between time, temporality and eternity in the context of Islamic thought. Interpretation and understanding of these concepts can vary, and philosophical and theological thinking plays a role in develop a deeper understanding of the relationship with the universe.