Divine Revelation Research Articles

Éprouver la révélation divine à la lumière de la cité

Portant l’attention à une forme de prédication musulmane en banlieue francilienne, il s’agit d’interroger ce que l’expérience historique de l’Europe produit au sein de l’immigration postcoloniale et ouvrière en France. En filigrane, l’article est fondé par l’interlocution entre les enfants d’immigrés et l’anthropologue demeurant « blédard », c’est-à-dire entre les temps aussi singuliers que contemporains de la tradition islamique.

Negative Theology and Theophany in Dante’s Paradiso

Dante’s Paradiso presents a gothic theophany realizing the divine vision (visio Dei) in poetic language. Specifically, Dante’s vision of a line from Scripture (DILIGITE IUSTITIAM QUI IUDICATIS TERRAM) in the Heaven of Jove (Canto XVIII) gives a concrete form of written letters to his vision of God. Yet all that Dante actually sees is only a sign of the invisible, metaphysical reality of God and the supersensible universe of pure being or love. This tension between the sensory plenitude of his vision and the transcendent truth that Dante envisages lends his poem its extraordinary force and attractive power. The paradoxes of negative theology and its inevitable relation with an affirmative theology expressed as poetic vision are worked out with matchless subtlety in Dante’s descriptions and reflections, some of which are expounded in a speculative key in this essay drawn from a more detailed and comprehensive inquiry into the subject. The immediacy of Dante’s vision of letters of Scripture in the Heaven of Jove serves as a metaphor for an unmediated vision of God, but the vision’s content turns out to be nothing other than mediation – concretely, language as the medium mediating his relation to God as Logos. Dante’s vision from beginning to end of the Paradiso is placed under the sign of the ineffability topos, yet what he sees are words and language and ultimately letters. Dramatically displaying the mediations in which language consists becomes itself a metaphorical realization of divine revelation. The mechanisms of signifying in languagemade visibly manifest in writing and specifically as the first line of the Book of Wisdom in Scripture are unveiled as a negatively theological revelation of divinity.

The Key to the Labyrinth: Boundaries and Spaces in Raǧāʾ ʿĀlim’s Novel The Dove’s Necklace

Abstract As an urban structure, Mecca is inscribed with several layers of meaning. It is the place where the Divine revelation of Islam took place; it is the setting of the life and preaching of the prophet Muhammad; and it is the location of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage, with its sacred and ritual sites. These complex domains of signification are related/separated by various kinds of boundaries, which are made even more intricate by the strict Wahhabi regime of religiosity and social segregation and Saudi policies of urban reconstruction. All these influences result in a fragmented spatial structure, and, concomitantly, in a fragmented social structure, which are both to some extent hidden in the folds of the urban landscape. In this contribution, the boundaries between the various domains will be discussed as they are portrayed, and contested, in the novel Ṭawq al-ḥamām (The Dove’s Necklace) by the Saudi author Raǧāʾ ʿĀlim. It will be explained how several characters are described as either upholding, breaking, preserving, and challenging the diverse boundaries vested in Mecca as a container of a profound religious heritage.

From ‘Christification’ to Mission of Salvation: Impact of Damascus Event on Saint Paul

Saint Paul is one of the most important apostles in Christianity. The mission of evangelism he carried out was fruitful in various parts of the world. Paul’s missionary journey brought great risks to himself through the challenges and the sufferings, while he was also previously known as a persecutor of Christ’s followers. His radical change or conversion occurred since his spiritual encounter with the Lord Jesus on his journey to Damascus. This article explores the impact of the unforgettable encounter that brings to Paul more admiration and love for Christ, that also brings an extraordinary mystical experience of ‘christification’, an experience of becoming more and more alike and united with the Christ. The Damascus event and the christification open the divine revelation of human salvation. As a Jew, Paul recognises that salvation is obtained by obeying the law, but now he believes that only the risen Jesus Christ is able to save humankind. Paul’s christification brings direct implications to his courage in becoming a follower of Christ with a burning passion to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. God’s choice for an apostle is unfathomable, even for Paul himself who considers himself as the most sinful and unworthy person.

Synodality: The Church that Still Listens and Learns

This article addresses one specific aspect of the synodal vision of the Church which is currently discussed in the Catholic Church. This aspect consists of the vision of a Church that is still a Church learning who to be and how to be. Using the construct of a community of practice, adopted from the field of the sociology of learning (Etienne Wenger), I analyse how the synodal Church, preferring the theology of the local Church, is open to new learning. As I demonstrate in the article, such an understanding contains within it a rich heuristic for our understanding of Revelation of God, including implications for an understanding of continuing revelation, as well as a revision of the Church’s concept of the Magisterium (sg.) in favour of the Magisteria (pl.). The article, therefore, shows a surprising point of view: How basic ecclesiological themes help us illuminate the Christian understanding of divine Revelation as an ongoing Revelation in human history.

Cults, Practices and Beliefs: the Symbolism of Geodiversity in Christianity

From the expansion of monotheism, as sacred laws, symbolisms, beliefs and practices began to be produced, thus emerging the sacred books. The biblical text influenced - and still - influences the direction of Western civilization. This work aims to raise and discuss aspects related to Geodiversity, here understood as the allusion of the abiotic characteristics of nature, present in the Holly Bible, as well as its use in cults, practices and beliefs measured by symbolic elements. To carry out this survey, the texts of the King James Version Bible (KJV) were used. After the survey of the elements of Geodiversity, they were divided by typologies to facilitate interpretation, tables were made that include the name of the elements, and their geological / geographical description, their use in the Bible, when applicable. When analyzing the abiotic elements, it was perceived, initially that the elements of Geodiversity, are used as nouns, referring properly to the element, but in several situations, they are used symbolically. Science and religion are generally perceived through dichotomization, but the set of religious manifestations that are open to external analysis is still of scientific interest. In this article, we verify the importance of Geodiversity in the study of the Bible and, consequently, the analysis of the elements of Geodiversity present in the sacred books and their symbology, leads to the reflection that this approach can help in a better understanding and interpretation of biblical facts considering another perspective, giving more consistency and authenticity, whether it deals with the abiotic scenario present in the divine revelations, it is, therefore, a Geoteology.

The Epistemic Status of Mystical Experience in Ibn ʻArabī’s Legal Reasoning

Arguably the most influential Sufi thinker in Islam, Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn ʻArabī (d. 638/1240), views revelatory knowledge and mystical experience, what he terms ‘spiritual unveiling’ (kashf), as a form of continuing divine revelation that is bequeathed to the spiritual elite or saints (awliyā’). As the self-proclaimed ‘Seal of Saints’ (Khātam al-awliyā’), who is the mystical heir to the wisdom of Muḥammad, the ‘Seal of Prophets’ (Khātam al-anbiyā’), Ibn ʻArabī has a unique method of deriving legal rulings. Not only does he emphasise the inner aspect (bāṭin) of all rituals and forms of worship, like many of his sufi counterparts; he, rather uniquely, extracts legal rulings from mystical experience. This study investigates the importance of revelatory experience and spiritual unveiling in the thought of Ibn ʻArabī and his followers. It then looks at what role these play in Ibn ʻArabī’s jurisprudence and, specifically, how he determines that hands should be raised (rafʻ al-yadayn) during formal prayer (ṣalāt) because he was commanded to by the Prophet Muḥammad in a mystical vision. By considering this issue, the deeper question of the epistemic status of mystical experience for Ibn ʻArabī, and the intricate interplay between mystical experience and textual evidence in his thought is explored.

The miracle of Maglavit (1935) and the Romanian psychology of religion.

This paper examines the debates around the "miracle of Maglavit", a shepherd's vision of God that took place in 1935 in Romania and attracted much contemporary popular and intellectual interest. The debates drew in arguments from doctors and theologians, who discussed the psychology of divine revelation and tried to elaborate the implications that such an event could have for the life of the Romanian nation. The paper places these debates in the context of wider contemporary discussions about psychology and religion. I argue that what Maglavit shows is that, in Romania at least, public debates about visionary experience in the 1930s were not only debates about its psychology, but of a psychology thoroughly imbricated with political concerns.

Unity of the Existence of God and the Knowledge of God in the Phenomenological Ontology of Henry

This study approaches the question of the unity between the existence of God and the knowledge of God. Henry’s phenomenology of life, as a phenomenological ontology, offers a phenomenological way to rethink the existence of God and our cognition of God by seeking the essence in life’s self-donation. As a phenomenological heritage of Husserl’s intentional phenomenology, Henry’s phenomenology of self-affection (auto-affection) clarifies the essence of God in the dimension of subjective body or in the flesh. This truth, which presents our absolute immanence, is, in its depth, a divine revelation between God and human. When we experience our own existence in the tonality of corporal life, we receive the existence of God and the knowledge of God.

Anti-Revolutionary Epistemology: Philippus Jacobus Hoedemaker’s Philosophy of Revelation

The prominent Anti-Revolutionary philosopher and theologian, Philippus Jacobus Hoedemaker (1839–1910) operated in the Dutch politico-ecclesiastical scene. He achieved renown primarily because of his dispute with Abraham Kuyper over the role of common grace and the political implications of Kuyper’s doctrine. In contradistinction to Neo-Calvinists such as Kuyper and Herman Bavinck, Hoedemaker proposed a distinct philosophy of revelation, emphasising the inescapabilty and holistic nature thereof as foundational to all human knowledge. Hoedemaker’s epistemology, consciously theorized and articulated in reaction to the empiricism and rationalism of the Enlightenment, emphasises that all realities and facts are inescapably revealed realities, which are mediated by divine revelation in Scripture as well as history which he understands to be essentially the manifestation of divine providence, given that he holds God to be the ultimate First Cause behind everything in existence. For Hoedemaker, every fact in the universe is therefore completely dependent upon God and his revelation for its very existence. Hoedemaker’s distinct epistemology also has significant socio-political implications, most notably the utter impossibility of neutrality in the public domain. Since for Hoedemaker, there exists no natural, unmediated or unrevealed knowledge in all of the universe, it is only Christianity that can bring about true socio-cultural and sociopolitical progress, while all other worldviews only maintain themselves inasmuch as they borrow capital from the Christian worldview ultimately rooted in Christian epistemology.

Harold B. Lee and Mormonism's Black Priesthood and Temple Ban

Harold B. Lee and Mormonism's Black Priesthood and Temple Ban

Paul the Middle Platonist? Exegetical Traditions on Timaeus 28c and the Characterization of Paul in Acts 17:16–31

AbstractPaul’s speech to the Areopagus in Acts 17 places the apostle in philosophical dialogue with Stoics and Epicureans. This article identifies important points of contact between Paul’s speech and Middle Platonic exegesis of a famous Platonic phrase from Timaeus 28c. There, the philosopher declares that the maker and father of the world is hard to find, and even more difficult to talk about. Many later interpreters of Plato commented on the dictum. Middle Platonists such as Plutarch mused about the theological implications of naming god both “maker” and “father.” Jewish and Christian interpreters like Philo and Justin employed Plato’s phrase to describe their access to divine revelation. The first portion of this article argues that the Areopagus speech contains evidence of similar exegesis, both in its references to god’s roles as maker and father and in Paul’s claim to declare the unknown god. These resonances do more than clarify the author’s philosophical background; they also have previously unexplored implications for our understanding of Paul’s characterization in Acts 17. The second half of the article argues that in aligning Paul with the Platonic tradition, the author participates in an established Greco-Roman practice of depicting the Platonists, Stoics, and Epicureans in theological dialogue.

The Role of Quran and Sunnah in Solving Leadership Failure

Social injustice issues that are skyrocketing in recent times have garnered attention from various parties. One of the issues includes leadership failure, which has caused an immense impact on the social structure. Strong leadership is essential in shaping society as it affects the growth of civilization. Unfortunately, the role of the Quran and Sunnah in guiding the leadership path has been abandoned by the leaders hence resulting in its crisis. Even though many scholars have provided the discussions of leadership’s crisis solutions, most of them are secular in essence due to the roles of revelations that have been continuously ignored and seen as irrelevant in the postmodern era. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to provide solutions to leadership failure through the exploration of the Quran and Sunnah. This study utilises the content analysis method to collect data whereby it combines descriptive and analytical approaches. First, the indicators of leadership incompetence are identified. Next, the solutions to these issues are analysed based on the Quran and Prophetic Sunnah. The result demonstrates that the Quran and Sunnah provide the best solution in solving leadership failure. Moreover, the divine revelations provide guidance to be a good leader for society so that a strong community will be built. The article unfolds five solutions, namely self-assessment before becoming a leader, selection of a strong and highly moral/ virtuous individual as a leader, fair distribution of wealth and opportunities, implementation of a just retribution system, and providing equal rights to different levels of people. Hence, the study is significant in emphasising the roles of revelation that should not be abandoned due to the timeless characteristics of the Quran and Sunnah.

The Self as the Spiritual Subject. An Overview of Selected Concepts in View of the Positivist Paradigm

The main predicament presented in this article lies in the complexity found in the internal structure of the human being when one searches for key elements that define its essence and uniqueness. The overview begins with empirical research as exemplified in psychology, continues in presenting chosen theories in modern philosophy, with an accent on the phenomenological method, and subsequently puts forward the synthesis of them both in psychotherapy. The last part is dedicated to theology as a distinct way to uncover what the essence of being human is, as based on divine Revelation; the latter is the only one of the presented sciences to be explicitly aware of the source of the mystery at the basis of being human. This article attempts to compare the research end results of chosen approaches by demonstrating their relationship to the most hidden aspects of being human. The analysis is organized around the concept of recognizing and accepting the place of mystery in the understanding of what are the most essential elements in the human being. As a result, psychology is conceptualized as a science that does not allow mystery; theology, however, is found to underline the presence of mystery in relationship to our divine origins.

The Problem of Hell: A Thomistic Critique of David Bentley Hart’s NeceSsitarian Universalism

AbstractDavid Bentley Hart has recently argued that universal salvation is a metaphysically necessary outcome of God’s act of creating rational beings. A crucial premise of Hart’s argument is a compatibilist view of free will, according to which God can determine human choices without taking away their freedom. This view constitutes common ground between Hart and the tradition of classical Thomism, which emphasizes the non‐competitive relation between human freedom and God’s universal causality. Unfortunately, Thomistic compatibilism undermines the so‐called Free Will Defense, which is often considered to be the only viable way of responding to contemporary criticism of the doctrine of hell. Can the existence of hell be reconciled with God’s goodness given a Thomistic conception of rational freedom? This question is of interest not only to followers of Aquinas but to anyone who rejects a ‘zero‐sum competition’ between freedom and grace, and who also believes that divine revelation confirms the possibility of perdition. The present article proposes an alternative to the Free Will Defense—called The Thomistic Autonomy Defense—which aims to block Hart’s arguments for the necessity of universal salvation.

"That Dreadful Distemper": Smallpox, Quakers, and Inoculation in Enlightenment Britain

abstract: Quakers were early adopters and promoters of inoculation, but the procedure became a contested issue among Friends. This study analyzes eighteenth-century Quaker writings on inoculation, which emphasized both human reason and divine revelation. Highlighting the diversity of ideas about the meaning of smallpox and the value of inoculation, the essay demonstrates how debates over inoculation drew Quakers into broader discourses surrounding religion, disease, and medicine in Enlightenment Britain.

(La traducción del Noble Corán y las opiniones de los eruditos sobre su traducción)

The Holy Quran is the most important religious document in Islam. It is a universal book that does not belong to any particular people like the Arabs, and it is not the product of human thought, but rather a divine revelation, because, unlike the holy books, there is no slightest difference between the copies of the Qur’an from the time of its revelation to the present day and until the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, the subject of the translation of the Qur’an is very important and should be given attention due to the large number of translations of the Holy Qur’an, which amount to 485 translations into nearly 65 languages. In this research, we will focus on the issue of scholars’ opinions regarding the translation of the Qur’an, since at first there was no approval of translating the Holy Qur’an into other languages. Many scholars differed in the issue of translation. Some of them were prevented from translating it for fear of losing the correct text of the Qur’an or for fear of distortion and misleading in its true meaning. Others support and allow its translation under certain conditions in order to convey the content of this valuable book, the scientific miracles and the facts it contains to the rest of the non-Arabic speaking world. Since the Holy Qur’an contains rhetorical words, scientific miracles, and metaphors, it is not easy for the translator to translate correctly and accurately, so we will address in this research the difficulties that this translation faced. Keywords: The Qur'an translation, difficulties, scholars' opinions on the translation of the Qur'an

Divine Revelation and Justification of Belief in God: a Comparative Study of the Views of Paul Moser and Mulla Sadra

Divine Revelation and Justification of Belief in God: a Comparative Study of the Views of Paul Moser and Mulla Sadra

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A TESTING GROUND FOR KEY THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS

AbstractEngagement with artificial intelligence (AI) can be highly beneficial for theology. This article maps the landscape of the various ways such engagement can occur. It begins by outlining the opportunities and limitations of computational theology before diving into speculative territory by imagining how robot theologians might think of divine revelation. The topic of AI and imago Dei is then reviewed, illustrating several ways AI can inform theological anthropology. The article concludes with a more speculative take on the possible implications of AI for divine infinity, incarnation, theodicy, and demonic intelligence.

Manhaj Waḥīd ad-Dīn Khān fī al-’Aqīdah wa Taṭbīquhu fī Qaḍiyyati Wujūdi Allāh

Waḥid ad-Dīn Khān has a profound interest in the questions of faith within the discourse of Kalam with the emergence of challenges in religion and the cognitive explosion in contemporary thought. In this case, Khān is encouraged to defend Islamic theology from challenges, such as the evidence-based questions about the existence of God. Those inquiries are arising among Western atheists, who are seeking scientific, empirical, and rational evidence. Responding to this challenge, Khān defends the theology by introducing a fresh paradigm of Kalam, a scientific theory based on Quranic foundations. This discourse encourages the ramification of Quranic values to remind God’s intention, configures the “scientific” verses with new scientific discoveries, inspires the complete verses of God in the human soul, and integrates Islamic-theological literature with scientific methods. Khān argues that modern scientific discoveries are parallel with the Qur'an, in which the human mind and divine revelation are colliding with each other.