Spiritual Truth Research Articles

Implementation of the Tattwakusumadewa Teachings at Hindu Spiritual Civilization in Mataram City and Kupang City

This research aims to examine the implementation of thetattwa kusumadewa teaching at Hindu spiritual civilization in the Mataram City and Kupang City. This research was designed as an descriptive qualitative research type using a case study model. Based on the results of this research, three findings were found related to the implementation of the tattwaKusumadewa teaching at Hindu communities in Mataram and Kupang. First, the content of the tattwaKusumadewa text talks about how to elect pemangku (Hindu saint), namely: wahya marga and adyatmika marga. Wahya marga selection is carried out based on descent, tereh, ancestral guidance, and kramadesa choices. Adiyatmikamarga talks about what is appropriate for ngewinteni, in this case a dwijati (sulinggih), at least witnessed by community pemangku when it is performed, and nyurud hayu begs Ida Sanghyang Widhi Wasa and is done at the piodalan. Second, the implementation of the tattwa kusumadewain spiritual civilization for pemangku is used as a guideline for carrying out Hindu religious ceremonies, especially spiritual improvement, even approaching true spirituality and being able to transfer knowledge to people and be able to transform themselves well. Third, the positive impact of implementing the tattwa kusumadewawhich is related to physical health, thoughts, and meaning is very large which is related to local culture which is part of Indonesian culture, which includes; religious systems, social organizations, language, arts and livelihoods. The meaning of the implementation of the tattwa kusumadewais related to increasing religious emotions, belief systems, social and cultural systems.

Memahami Konsep Keselamatan dan Filsafat Kristen Tinjauan Dari Perspektif Teologis Dan Filosofi

On the other hand, from a Christian philosophical perspective, the concept of salvation can be approached through rational thinking and conceptual analysis. Christian philosophy often explores ontological and epistemological questions about the nature of salvation, such as the relationship between human freedom and God's sovereignty, as well as the nature of spiritual truth. This research highlights the differences in sources of authority, methods of truth discovery, and ultimate goals between theological and philosophical approaches to salvation. While theology relies on religious teachings, divine revelation, and religious experience, Christian philosophy tends to use logical reasoning and conceptual analysis. However, these two fields can complement each other in deepening understanding of the concept of salvation, creating creative and in-depth dialogue about the nature of the Christian faith. This research provides valuable insights for theologians, philosophers, and practitioners of Christianity to explore the concept of salvation holistically, combining deep theological understanding with critical philosophical analysis.

Перспективы развития комплексной психолого-религиоведческой экспертизы

Broad distribution of pseudo-values in recent decades that contradict true spirituality, morality, cultural and historical traditions has resulted in barring theologians and religious scholars from participation in a comprehensive psychological and theological examination as experts. Thus, the opinion of a great number of professionals is disregarded. Representatives of traditional confessions in our country have a lot to say: they have extensive experience in the issue of translation of spiritual and moral values, evaluation of activities of intra-confessional radical movements, settlement of confl icts and diff erences.

THE FRUITS OF TRUE CONVERSION IN JONATHAN EDWARDS’ «RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS»

This presentation offers to examine some of the most wonderful truths discussed by Edwards in his treatise on Religious Affections. I will seek to establish the nature of true godliness and to explain what constitutes a true believer and how we can distinguish him from a hypocrite. The subject is a very practical one and requires to be treated from a very practical point of view. The stress was laid on the inclinations of the heart. The whole objective is to prove that a man’s act must be the proper evidence of the state of the heart. In Edwards’s terms this is called Christian practice and is evidenced by its fruits. After an analysis of the fruits of true conversion we conclude with Edwards that Christian practice ‘is a great and distinguishing sign of true and saving grace’. From the general presentation of the fruits of true conversion I have moved to present a fruit that is absolutely essential to true spirituality: evangelical humiliation. Our interest is first to differentiate between legal humiliation, inappropriate for the true converted believer, and evangelical humiliation, absolutely necessary in the life of the truly converted believer. From there we proceed to discover how evangelical humiliation originates and then manifests itself in the life of the believer. Our conclusion is in saying with Edwards that all Christian affections flow out to Christ from a pure and broken heart.

Codzienność rozszczelniona. O "Codziennej walce" Manu Larceneta

In the proposed reading of Manu Larcenet’s Le Combat Ordinaire, everyday life appears not only as the setting of the story but also its fundamental—though by no means obvious, despite the abundance of everyday life imagery and motifs—theme. In Larcenet’s unspectacular narration, conducted in a tone oscillating between buffo and serious, human day-to-day affairs, obscured by the facade of ritual, appear as an effort, a task to complete, a risk to be taken, a problem of existence in the “cracks” of which the most important experiences occur, defined by the dialectics of life and death, health and illness, nature and culture, order and disorder.
 The article presents an analysis of the key dimensions of this “everyday struggle:” from the textual game whose stake is the axiology of everyday life (the issue of intimate diary, the value of journalism as a profession), to the sense of locality and the construction of identity based on memory and postmemory, to use Marianne Hirsch’s concept (references to the war in Algeria). The interpretation of Larcenet’s graphic novel was carried out based on three premises: (1) the everyday settles into fiction thanks to mimesis; (2) contact with everyday life may lead to an epiphanic revelation of a spiritual truth (drawing on Jolanta Brach-Czaina’s concept described in her philosophical essay Szczeliny istnienia [Cracks in Existence], this phenomenon can be called the “unsealing” of everyday life); (3) literary depictions of human daily existence are where literature and sociology intersect, as a result of which literary works (or, comics in this case) help reveal the structures of everyday life.

MODERASI ISLAM DALAM PEMBELAJARAN PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM

The purpose of this study is to describe the moderation of Islam in the study of Islamic religious education. This research uses a qualitative approach and a literature study method. Based on the results of the study, Islamic teachings are radical in the sense that all of their teachings and practices are rooted in a solid belief system. The more radical the understanding and practice of religion, the softer and more it guarantees good for all. Al-Qur'an expresses Islamic moderation in the language of "actual" ummata wasatha as evidence of a strong guarantee of his teachings. In the development of learning, Islamic moderation can lower the principles of tasyamul, takamul, tawazun, tasamuh, tarahum and tahabub. The principle of tasyamul and takamul builds a comprehensive and integrative perspective on all entities and gives birth to the paradigm of tawhid. The principles of tawazun and tasamuh will develop an instructional system capable of balancing empirical and spiritual truths and viewing differences as wealth. The principle of tarahum and tahabub will be able to develop educational communication based on compassion and love so that educators can capture students' hearts and present to be a center of self-identification.

Integration of Spirituality in the Teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo

The integration of spirituality in the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo represents a profound exploration of the spiritual dimensions of human existence and a synthesis of Eastern and Western philosophies. Both spiritual luminaries played pivotal roles in shaping the intellectual and spiritual landscape of India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, offering unique perspectives on the nature of reality, human consciousness, and the purpose of life. Swami Vivekananda, a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, emphasized the universality of spiritual truths. Born in 1863, he sought to harmonize science and religion, reason and faith. Vivekananda believed in the divinity of the soul and stressed the importance of direct experience of the divine. His teachings underscored the idea that each individual is potentially divine and that the goal of life is to manifest this divinity through self-realization. On the other hand, Sri Aurobindo, born in 1872, delved into the evolutionary aspect of spirituality. His philosophy posited that spiritual evolution is an integral part of human existence, and he envisioned a future where humanity would undergo a radical transformation leading to a higher spiritual consciousness. Aurobindo's integral yoga sought the divine not only through renunciation and meditation but also through active engagement with the world. He emphasized the importance of transforming all aspects of life, including the physical, vital, mental, and spiritual dimensions.

The Gardener-Architect

The spiritual essence and symbolic significance of gardens of paradise (i.e. formal Islamic gardens) have often been overshadowed by modern observations focusing on their physical attributes. But these gardens are not merely earthly landscapes but profound reflections of the divine. Drawing upon Plato's theory of forms, we find that our world is filled with symbols, and human interactions reflect what our souls once comprehended in a previous existence. Gardens, with their unmistakable spiritual nature, are tangible reminders and impressions of paradise on earth. This article considers the garden’s symbolic significance across all major monotheistic religions, and the garden as the original sanctuary, from the time God created humankind. It recalls the earliest recorded imitations of paradise from the era of Cyrus the Great and examines the various iterations of paradise gardens through the age of Islam, all of which seek to manifest the promised paradise recurrently mentioned in the Quran. These gardens hold the key to unveiling deeper spiritual truths and serve as a bridge between the visible and invisible realms.

THE VISION OF RICH DEATH IN JOHN KEATS’S “ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE”: AN AUROBINDONEAN PERSPECTIVE

John Keats’s vision of rich death while listening to the melodious voice of Nightingale, the manifestation of the Immortal on the earth, takes one beyond the plane of corporeality of the terrestrial existence. One comes to the plane of death-birth continuum, and, consequently, discovers a supra-earthly, nay, spiritual truth, the plane which earlier comes into the vision of the ancient Rishis of India. The richness of death which comes into the vision of Keats is revealed when we explore death in the light of the yogic discovery of Sri Aurobindo, a literary luminary of the 19th-20th century of India of, what he calls, ‘Psychic Being’, a flame of the Divine Self in the being of man. Sri Aurobindo discovers that the psychic being is instrumental in the evolution of consciousness to its spiritual and supramental planes in the death-birth phenomenon as it gathers the spiritual experiences of man’s life and, accordingly, lays foundation of his higher spiritual life to come in his next birth. Being immortal, it carries the foundation in the next birth of man. He also discovers that the foundation is laid at the time of the physical death of man. Such death, therefore, comes to be rich.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0011/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

“Through a Glass, Darkly”: Paradise Lost and Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians

ABSTRACT To an extent unnoticed in previous scholarship, Milton frequently engages passages from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians in De Doctrina Christiana and Paradise Lost. This is attested not only in the exegesis that Milton undertakes in both works but also in Milton’s personal King James Bible in which a marginal annotation records his preference to translate Paul’s reference to seeing “through a glass, darkly” as “in a riddle” (1 Cor. 13:12). This essay argues that Milton’s wrestling with Pauline scripture during the composition of De Doctrina Christiana helps to explicate his recurring citation of 1 Corinthians 15:24–28 in Paradise Lost. In the poem’s scenes of heavenly council, God the Father and the Son predict—repeatedly, and without theological consensus—the apocalyptic state that Paul describes. This begets a Miltonic poetic style that conforms to Paul’s concept of divine mystery, or spiritual truth known imperfectly.

UNVEILING INDIANNESS: EXPLORING HINDUISM THROUGH THE EYES OF POETS IN INDIAN LITERATURE

In shaping the Indian identity and Indian literature Hinduism has played a central role it has been a treasure trove of diverse cultural expressions. The perceptions and interpretations of Hinduism of Indian poets offer unique understanding into the complexities and fine points of Indianness. The present study aims to explore how poets in Indian literature have presented Hinduism, suppling a deep insight of the religion's influence on the Indian psyche. The present study delves into the exploration of "Indianness" in Indian literature by the lens of Hinduism's profusive influence. Indian literature topography reflects a unique amalgamation of languages, religions, traditions, and perspectives, contributing to the heterogenous cultural identity of the nation. The present study investigates the significant influence of Hinduism on poetry during focusing Bhakti Movement. It delves into the works of Bhakti saints i.e. Kabir, Mirabai, Surdas, and Tulsidas, whose verses revolutionized the depicted Hinduism by spotlighting a personal and emotional connection with the divine. The expressions of love, devotion, and spirituality by Bhakti poets resonate with the core values of Hinduism, jubilation the timeless essence of "Indianness" and the cultural values of India. Moreover, the present study analyses modern Indian poetry with its continued inspiration of Hindu themes. Modern Poets such as Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, and Kamala Das comprised Hindu philosophical concepts, deities, and rituals to explore the complexities of human emotions and spiritual truths. Their verses represented the enduring role of Hinduism in shaping the spiritual essence that weaves together modern India, which highlights the universal enchantment of Hindu spirituality and its contribution to the Indian literature. Eventually, the present study reveals Hinduism's influence on Indian literature which transcends time and space, reflection of interconnectedness of culture, spirituality, and the soul of the nation. The picture of "Indianness" in Indian literature applauds the rich cultural heritage, inclusivity, and pluralism of nation, and offering profound understanding into the enduring spiritual values that maintain to inspire generations of readers.

Presenting the Lordship Attributes as an Effort to Build Up the Spirituality of the People of God

Kevin Vanhoozer observes that the loss of imagination that is discipled and disciplined by the Bible leads many Christians to experience a disconnect between the world they live in and the world of the biblical texts they believe in. There is a gulf between known truth and lived practice. The daily lives of Christians do not bring out the resultant Christian character. This article attempts to explain the importance of meditating on the threefold lordship attributes proposed by John Frame—authority, control, and presence—in one’s daily meditation. It argues that one’s theological understanding is crucial in worldview formation and that, through intense meditation, those truths need to be internalized in the heart and mind so that they can be integrated into the practice of everyday life. This article also shows that the three inseparable lordship attributes need to be experienced in the relationship between spiritual leaders and the congregation, for true spirituality is formed not only in personal experience but also in the community. Such a pattern is then offered as a solution to answer challenges related to worship and fellowship during the pandemic and beyond. Through this article, it is hoped that the people of God can better understand the dynamics of their spiritual life, either through personal meditation or fellowship with other believers, either face-to-face or virtual meetings, including the role of a spiritual mentor whom first experiences and thus embodies God’s authority, control, and presence in their relationship with God’s congregation.

"God's special men": Missionaries in Brian Friel's Early Work

Abstract: Brian Friel's unpublished play The Blind Mice (1963) and his short story "Foundry House" (1961) demonstrate his fascination with the unique type of exile represented by the Irish missionary. In each text it is the missionary's return—not, as might be expected, their departure—that disrupts the community that had sent them. Sent to carry spiritual truth to places seen as benighted, the missionary's return to Ireland paradoxically reveals the deprivation of the place left behind. Ultimately, these early texts pave the way for the less orthodox spiritual figures in Friel's more successful later work.

Konstruksi Pernikahan Kristiani dalam Perspektif Kejadian 2:24

Abstract
 Marriage is an irreplaceable and core institution of human society. Marriage created by God before the fall of Adam and Eve. Marriage communicates deep spiritual truth, including speaking to the human race about the relationship of God to his people, pointing to the marriage between Christ and his Church at the end of history. In it, one man and one woman freely and publicly enter into the marital covenant, through solemn vows, to accept and fulfill all the obligations of marriage, including an exclusive sexual relationship. When talking about the marriage principle we will certainly be faced with a variety of different views and attitudes. This literature study describes the Christian marriage principle in the Genesis 2:24. To explain this, the author gives various information from library sources related to the research topic. This research is a qualitative research with exegetical methods. From the research carried out, the Christian marriage principle taught by the word of God is little different from the marriage principle in general. The research result suggest that the principles of marriage contained in Genesis 2:24 are as follows; shall leave father and mother, shall cleave to spouse and shall become one flesh.

Cross and Crown™: Trademarks and the Legal Naming of American Religions

ABSTRACTCan religious organizations use American trademark law to assert control over the name of a religion? Further, what is the relationship between a religious organization as guarantor of fundamental spiritual truths and the signs by which it is known? To answer these questions, this article traces the history and role of trademarks in American religion with a focus on Christian Science's faith-branding strategy. This narrative explores the religious use of trademarks as an emergent strategy in the early twentieth century to manage religious practice through brand management and trademark law. Using a combination of archival research and legal analysis, this article explores legal debates about the place of trademarks in American religion followed by a close analysis of the Church of Christ, Scientist—an American religious organization “discovered and founded” by Mary Baker Eddy in the late nineteenth century—which is exemplary in the way it strategically utilized branding and marking strategies as a means of distinguishing Christian Science within a diverse marketplace of competing turn-of-the-century spiritual practices. This article argues that religious trademarks, while controversial, can be used to secure legal authority over licensed Churches, teachings, and materials in lieu of established Church hierarchy. This article interrogates the nature and origins of religious trademark strategies to demonstrate that religious organizations like the Church of Christ, Scientist could operate as particularly savvy users of the law to establish spiritual authority via control of the religious name.

SPIRIT-UAL WORD-FOR-WORDNESS: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PNEUMATOLOGY AND CHRISTOLOGY IN THE LIGHT OF JOSEPH RATZINGER’S / BENEDICT XVI’S THEOLOGY AND TEACHING

Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI proposes a pneumatology derived from the Trinitarian dogma, strictly linked with Christology and having anthropological, ecclesiological, and pastoral consequences (in the domain of spirituality). All theological subdisciplines remain orthodox and lead to the truth only when interlinked, but pneumatology has a particularly “linking” quality because it concerns the One who is, essentially, communion and unity. The intra-Trinitarian “position” of the Holy Spirit explains the structure of the entire reality (including the human, personal reality, together with faith): what is spiritual makes existence more consistent and unites rather than dualizes or divides it. It unifies by creating a relationship (communion) rather than by negating identity (the earthly, physical, and historical specificity), as some heresies or ideologies would have it. Just like the Spirit always acts in communion with the Incarnate Word, Christian spirituality is always set in the historical form of the Church, and charism is always given within institutional structures. Being close to Christ and humility before the humble God is the source of true spirituality.

Seeing Afar

“Piercing gazes” or “penetrative stares” are common idioms in English. Yet, on reflection, these phrases oddly suggest an extramissive, projective connotation of vision, countering our learned understanding that sight passively receives light. Nevertheless, these projective connotations are highly intuitive. Exploring Indian debates on yogic perception through a cognitive science lens, this paper argues that extramissive theories of sight constitute our most basic intuitive understanding of vision. Yogis are said to have extra powerful extramissive visual rays that allow them not only to apprehend distant objects but penetrate spiritual truths. Buddhists, by contrast, reject that the senses are extramissive. Still, they retain extramissive connotations when they explain yogic perception as a type of mental—rather than sensorial—feat. The explicit Buddhist rejection of extramission alongside their implicit retention of extramissive metaphors corroborates the thesis that extramission was highly intuitive within an ancient Indic milieu. Indeed, it likely constitutes a pan-human intuition.

Michigan Amish Fellowship: A Case Study for Defining an Amish Affiliation

The Michigan Amish Fellowship is a distinct Reformist Amish affiliation marked by intentionality in its religious vision, decision-making procedures, and planned daughter settlements. This article explores the Fellowship’s understandings of “true spirituality,” “scriptural church,” and “living witness.” In the process, the article advances a tentative definition of what constitutes an Amish affiliation.

Writing for the Eyes: Preaching and Visual Imagery in Seventeenth-Century Kyiv

Summary The article explores how two early modern Ukrainian preachers, Stefan Javors’kyj and Antonij Radyvylovs’kyj, adapt and combine Neoplatonic philosophy, Aristotelian epistemology, the antique, and the Renaissance idea of poetry and painting as sister arts to create pictorial texts that translate some material manifestations of contemporary visual culture such as the emblem into written form; how these images – both visual and verbal – help structure and organize thought, and what effects they might have on cognition. I will argue that in their sermons, the traditional concept of ut pictura poesis often intersects with what we may call ut pictura creatio divina (as is painting so is divine creation) – with an emphasis on the analogies that tie painting to God’s creation of man. Just like God “painted” man into existence so the preacher should make use of verbal pictures to visualize the moral and spiritual truths he is propounding to his audience. Accordingly, in the second part of the article, I discuss the preachers’ engagement with verbal-visual forms such as emblems and impresas, showing how verbal representations of physical images could function as cognitive devices that could be stored in the audience’s memory to stimulate virtuous behavior.

Akbar and His Search for Spiritual Truth

Akbar is celebrated for his policy of religious toleration, studies of which have also necessarily involved an examination of his own religious views. These led to the proposition, once dominant in scholarly discourse, that he wished to establish a religion of his own, namely Dīn-i Ilāhī or ‘Divine Faith’. This view is now widely discounted, but there still seems to be room for assembling material from various contemporary sources in order to trace the step-by-step evolution of his religious views, taking note of the influences he encountered, and then seeking to establish the final beliefs that he came to hold and promote. The present article draws on various contemporary sources, notably including Akbar’s authoritative spokesman Abū’l Faẓl and the critic but also a close observer Badāūnī, to reconstruct the story of the evolution of Akbar’s beliefs and set them out in a roughly chronological order. Accuracy is sought; definitiveness is not claimed for the result.