Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
Lists of early apocalyptic writings may be found in DS Russell (1964) Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic, London: SCM, pp 37f; C Rowland (1982) The Open Heaven, London: SPCK, p 15. Examples of the genre may be found in J. Charlesworth (ed.) (1983) OTP:1, 2. Of the works ...
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Monday, February 13th, 2012
We can discover the necessary elements of the Ascension story.
By comparison of the various particular texts in which the Ascension plotline occurs.
Take the following to be the primary documents[1]:
Dante, Commedia Divina: Paradiso;
Ibn Ishaq, Sirat rasul Allah; (ibn ...
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Sunday, February 12th, 2012
In the ascension stories of the developed religions we very often find that the progress of the protagonist and his guide is impeded at each heaven by spirits determined to test his worthiness. For example, in Bistami’s mi’raj at the First Heaven:
[H]e continued to show me dominion that would wear ...
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Sunday, February 5th, 2012
There’s always the assumption that mystical gnosis will result in an elevated ethical state on the part of the gnostic. Given that there’s plenty of controversy over the ethical stance of someone who is concerned above all with their own salvation, I find this lazy acceptance a little puzzling. It’s ...
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Saturday, February 4th, 2012
I’ve just read a brief article about Punxsutawney Phil by Stephanie Pappas at the LiveScience site. She mentions that:
relying on rodents as forecasters may date back to the early days of Christianity in Europe, when clear skies on Candlemas Day (Feb. 2) were said to herald cold weather ahead. ...
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Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
Person
Uwais Qarni (ob. 657 AD)
Texts
-
Themes
Awareness of Muhammad’s spiritual presence
‘Uwaisi’ transmission of barakah
Person
Rabi’a al-Basri (717-801 AD)
...
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Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
The Koran can be used to support the claim that there are multiple worlds - but only if we take the language extremely literally (e.g at [1:1],) and it gives no real indication of how these worlds should be understood. There are several distinct cosmologies that have currency in different ...
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Thursday, January 19th, 2012
Tazkiyat an-nafs (‘Purification'/'Augmenation' of nafs) can be taken as the essence of the Sufi tariqat, and it has Koranic support:
"By the soul and That which shaped it, and inspired it to its depravity and its godwariness. Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has ...
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Monday, January 16th, 2012
Much of the Sufi theory regarding the place of Man in the created cosmos is said to derive from the so-called ‘Hadith of the Hidden Treasure’ (hadith-e kanz-i makhfi), which is a hadith qudsi (meaning it is a statement attributed to God himself.) It is mentioned, for example, by Rumi, ...
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Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Tasawwuf
‘Sufism.’ Said to be derived from suf = wool, which the mystics wore, or from safa’ = purity.
Shaykh, Pir (P)
‘Old man.’ Each Sufi is bound to a mentor who is required to guide him on a ...
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