Oriental Religions Research Articles

Buddhas and Bodhisats

No Other Expression of Oriental art holds such general appeal and is so widely recognized by the Western world, as the Buddha image. Based on some unknown Indian craftsman's concept of an Indian princeling who became a god, this idealized portrait evolved into the greatest cult-image in the history of mankind, although its human inspiration was already dead for about four centuries when the first effigy was created. Varying in size from the Japanese colossus at Nara which is some fifty-three feet in height, to a miniature icon of no greater span than a man's thumbnail, the multitude of Buddhas past and present, forgotten and existing, are truly more numerous than the Ganges' sands. To the Occident the Buddha image is the symbol of Oriental religion, the common denominator of Far Eastern art, and the perennial ambassador of Asiatic culture. Whether fashioned as the leit-motif of an architectural scheme in sandstone, or carved as an amulet from a bit of precious jade, the Buddha epitomizes the mystic quality of eastern horizons and stands today as token of the metaphysical yearnings of one hundred and fifty million people.

The Genius of Mithraism

Since Sir Henry Stuart Jones has included Mithraism among his many interests, it seems appropriate to offer to him on this occasion some remarks on its general significance. No phenomenon in Imperial paganism has attracted as much attention, and this is natural.Virtus, Albine, est pretium persolvere verumquis in versamur, quis vivimus rebus, potesse.Let us make another provisional attempt to determine the pretium verum of Mithraism.We see in it something of eastern worship detached from its native content and developed in a new milieu; apparently it had no oecumenical organization; certainly it tolerated other gods, and lent itself to an unchecked local diversification of forms. In all these respects it was essentially on a par with the other ‘oriental religions in Roman paganism.’ Nevertheless, it differed from them in various significant ways. The normal exclusion of women and the moral demands made of the initiate have often been remarked; but that is not all.

The Influence of Oriental Religion in the West

The Influence of Oriental Religion in the West

Problems concerning the Origin of Some of the Great Oriental Religions

TEN YEARS ago the American Oriental Society held its annual meeting in Chicago. As it then celebrated its eightieth anniversary and it fell to my lot to preside, I devoted the Presidential Address to a sketch of Early Oriental Studies in Europe and the Work of the American Oriental Society 1842-1922. 1 It would, no doubt, be appropriate to continue this sketch today, when I have the honor of presiding once more. But the discoveries of the last ninety years have been so numerous, and the achievements of Oriental scholarship so great, that neither the time allowed for this address nor the ability of the speaker to survey so large a field would justify the attempt. Such a task, if it should seem desirable, may well be left for the centenary in 1942 and the scholar presiding on that occasion. It may be helpful, however, to call attention, even though it be of necessity briefly, to the effect that some of these discoveries, and the ever more exacting methods of historical research, have had on our present approach to the problems concerning the origin of some of the great Oriental religions. Exploration and excavation have brought to light an immense amount of ancient records preserved in practically their original form, dealing with strictly contemporaneous personalities, events, and conditions. Thus, to mention some of the most significant, we have cuneiform texts in a variety of languages: Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, Elamitic, Persian, Chaldian, Hittite, Hurrian, and today even Phoenician. There is an abundance of Egyptian records, hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic, as well as Nubian that can now be read, and Aramaic and Greek papyri. Arabia has yielded numerous inscriptions in Minaean, Sabaean, Katabanian, Hadramautian, and Himyaritic, in Safaitic, Thamudene, and Lihyanian, and in later Arabic. In Syria and Palestine, Phoeni-

REVIEWS OF BOOKS

Book reviewed in this article:EARLY AND MODERN ZOROASTRIANISM: Early Zoroastrianism. The Hibbert Lectures, Second Series. By James Hope Moulton.EARLY AND MODERN ZOROASTRIANISM: The Treasure of the Magi: A Study of Modern Zoroastrianism. By James Hope Moulton.A SIMPLE BOOK ON RELIGIONS OF THE EAST: Popular Aspects of Oriental Religions. By L. O. Hartman, Ph.D.STUDIES IN JAPANESE BUDDHISM: Studies in Japanese Buddhism. By August Karl Reischauer, Professor in Meiji Gakuin, Tokyo.PRIMITIVE RITUAL AND BELIEF: Primitive Ritual and Belief. An Anthropological Essay. By E. O. James.THE WAY TO CATHAY: Cathay and the Way Thither. A Collection of Mediæval Notices of China, translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry Yule, R.E., C.B., K.C.S.I. New edition, revised throughout in the light of recent discoveries by Henri Cordier, D.Litt.THE FIRST ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHINA: Encyclopedia Sinica. By Samuel Couling. Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh. 2 vols. 1917.THE PRESENTATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO HINDUS: The Presentation of Christianity to Hindus.THE PRESENTATION OF CHRISTIANITY IN CONFUCIAN LANDS: The Presentation of Christianity in Confucian Lands. The Report of a Committee appointed by the Board of Missionary Preparation.AMERICA'S SHARE IN THE CHRISTIAN OCCUPATION OF AFRICA: The Christian Occupation of Africa. Proceedings of the Africa Conference held in New York City, November 1917.

The Ethical Value of Oriental Religions under the Roman Empire

To estimate with any considerable degree of accuracy the moral value of the Oriental religions under the Roman Empire is a hard and perhaps an impossible task. The difficulties arise in part from the fact that these religions, like most others, did not aim primarily at developing what we understand by morality in the individual, but rather at establishing such relations with the gods as to give men security and prosperity here and hereafter; and in part the difficulties are due to the paucity of our data and our liability to error in the interpretation thereof. Yet a religion, like any other form of human expression, inevitably influences as well as reflects the conduct of the social group which cultivates it; that is to say, it cannot exist apart by itself. Therefore it is not an unprofitable thing to attempt to determine with such accuracy as may be attainable the relation to morality of the imported Oriental cults which were widely cultivated in the Occidental part of the Roman Empire between the first and the fourth centuries of our era. We confine our consideration to the Western half of the Empire, for there the evidence as to these exotic religions is most plentiful and it is possible to see them isolated, so to speak, from their native environment. It will be necessary, however, first to consider the moral and religious environment into which these cults entered.

The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism. Franz Cumont , Grant Showerman

Previous articleNext article FreeBrief MentionThe Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism. Franz Cumont , Grant Showerman PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 17, Number 3Jul., 1913 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/479255 Views: 29 Journal History This article was published in The American Journal of Theology (1897-1920), which is continued by The Journal of Religion (1921-present). PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism.

The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism.

Book Review: V. Religion and Philosophy: Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism

Book Review: V. Religion and Philosophy: Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism

The Alevis, or Deifiers of Ali

A religion different from Islam, centring about the person and teaching of Ali, the adopted son of Muhammed, is steadily gaining ground in certain sections of the Turkish Empire. The believers are called Alevis both by themselves and by the Muslims. The name Kuzul Bash (u as in “cut”), which means “Red Head” and is often used as a term of reproach, is said to have originated at the battle of Siffin. Ali said, “Tie red upon your heads, so that ye slay not your own comrades in the thick of the battle.” In Persia the community is known by the name of Ali Ilāhi, and has commonly been regarded as a sect of Muhammedanism.The object of this study is to investigate the true nature of this faith with as much accuracy as an oriental religion permits, and to consider the relations of the Alevi brotherhood with Islam and Christianity.

What Modifications in Western Christianity May Be Expected from Contact with Oriental Religions on the Mission Field?

Previous articleNext article FreeWhat Modifications in Western Christianity May Be Expected from Contact with Oriental Religions on the Mission Field?George William KnoxGeorge William Knox Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 11, Number 4Oct., 1907 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/478716 Views: 62 Journal History This article was published in The American Journal of Theology (1897-1920), which is continued by The Journal of Religion (1921-present). PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

PHIMOSIS; A PLEA FOR ITS RELIEF BY EARLY OPERATION.Read in the Section on Diseases of Children, at the Forty-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association.

The subject of this paper is as old as medicine itself; my attention, however, within the past few years has especially been called to various ailments of infancy and childhood, which may have been directly attributed to phimosis. In many of the cases this condition had been overlooked by physicians previously in attendance. In some of the cases attended by the writer from their birth, phimosis had been the last thing considered, but a relief of this malformation would always bring about an amelioration of the various symptoms, and in most cases an absolute cure. In advising an operation for phimosis it is not my object to indorse circumcision as done according to the rites of certain oriental religions; but to perform an operation based strictly on anatomic and physiologic data. The main purpose of the prepuce is to act as a protection to the sensitive glans penis; and to

Ancient Oriental ReligionsFire from Strange Altars. J. N. Fradenburgh

Previous articleNext article FreeBook NoticesAncient Oriental Religions Fire from Strange Altars. J. N. Fradenburgh PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 14, Number 1Jan., 1892 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/470916 Views: 18Total views on this site Journal History This article was published in The Old and New Testament Student (1889-1892), which is continued by The Biblical World (1893-1920). PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.