Socio-Political Import of Courtly Literature

Author(s):  
J.S. Grewal

A few of the compositions of the Dasam Granth represent devotional literature. The Jap Sahib and the Akal Ustat embody Guru Gobind Singh’s conception of God, His omnipotence and omnipresence, unity in diversity, prem bhagti, equality of human beings, and sectarian dispensations. The Shabads and Savvayyas dwell on true religious belief and practice. In the Var Durga ki, the Ram Avtar, and the Krishan Avtar, the deities Durga, Ram and Krishan are not supreme but instruments of the Supreme Being to strengthen the forces of good against evil. They are entitled to use physical force. In this context the Bachittar Natak declares and legitimizes the mission of Guru Gobind Singh to institute a panth for destroying the enemies of Guru Gobind Singh and his Sikhs. This panth was equated with the Khalsa, created eventually to establish Sikh Raj.

Author(s):  
Jonathan Jong ◽  
Christopher Kavanagh ◽  
Aku Visala

SummaryIn recent years, theoretical and empirical work done under the rubric of the cognitive science of religion (CSR) have led many to conclude that religion (or, at least, some aspects thereof) is “natural”. By this, it is meant that human beings are predisposed to believe in supernatural agents, and that their beliefs about these agents are constrained in various ways. The details about how and why these predispositions and cognitive constraints developed and evolved are still largely unknown, though there is enough of a theoretical consensus in CSR for philosophers to have begun reflecting on the implications of CSR for religious belief. In particular, much philosophical work has been done on the implications of CSR for theism, on both sides of the debate. On one hand, CSR might contribute to defeating particular arguments for theism, or indeed theism altogether; on the other hand, CSR might provide support for specific theological views. In this paper, we argue that the CSR is largely irrelevant for


2021 ◽  
pp. 268-272
Author(s):  
Sarah Mortimer

This chapter draws together the themes of the book and looks forward to the later-seventeenth century. It argues that for much of the sixteenth century politics was subordinate to religion; temporal authorities needed the additional sanctions provided by religious belief if they were to exert any power over the consciences of individuals. The effect was to entangle temporal power in the deepening conflicts over religious truth, and thus to reveal the brittleness of any conception of political authority which relied on the support of the Church. At the same time, older traditions of political thought did not go away and often became stronger. The circulation of classical ideas, the discovery of new peoples, the growing interest in historical change and development all suggested alternative ways of legitimizing political power, often using natural law and avoiding any reliance on specifically Christian commitments. What happened in the early-seventeenth century, and most obviously in the writing of Hugo Grotius, was a move not only to ground political society in a particular conception of human nature (conceived of juridically, as a source of rights and obligations) but also to detach Christianity from that view of human nature. It was this understanding of human beings which enabled the development of a social contract tradition through the seventeenth century and beyond, and became an important source for modern liberalism. The questions it raised would help to shape the thought of the next century.


Author(s):  
Risto Saarinen ◽  
Derek R. Nelson

The law both is and functions in Martin Luther’s theology. To the extent that it simply is, the law is wholly good, just, and pure. It reveals God’s benevolent providence for creation by instantiating structures of human relationships, natural processes, and social arrangements within which human life and all of creation can flourish. Luther regards the essential character of the law in a way reminiscent of the haggadah tradition of Rabbinic Judaism, where the law is a narrative which reveals features of the lawgiver. Under the conditions of sin, however, the law can be experienced as wrath by humans who cannot fulfill what it requires, and who suffer as a result of their own transgression of the Word of God or as a result of the transgressions of others. It functions thus as a curb against wickedness and as a means of exposing sin to be sin. Its continued presence in the life of the believer is necessary, as Luther clarified in his various debates with Johann Agricola and the so-called “Antinomians.” When the law is understood only in its antinomy with the gospel, the life-affirming elements of the law are occluded, even as the gospel’s life-redeeming elements are thereby rendered clear. While numerous fine distinctions can be found in Luther’s theology of the law, it maintains a basic unity-in-diversity. God wills singly in dealing with human beings as his creatures. Therefore “civil law,” the Decalogue, and other manifestations of the law are facets of the one will of God for the flourishing of creation. Recent Pauline scholarship has criticized Luther for eisegesis on Paul’s view of the law; Luther needed to see his contemporary Roman partisans as Paul’s legalistic Jewish opponents, they say, and so he read Romans as a critique of 16th-century “works righteousness.” This view ignores the fact that Luther (and Augustine) viewed the post-conversion Paul as “continent” in doing the works of the law, neither weak-willed nor perfectly virtuous. Law is necessary for doctrine, but it is also important for the “Christian life” because it helps the believer to understand the reciprocity that underlies interpersonal relationships, seen especially in the “golden rule” that functions as the epitome of the Christian life. The radical receptivity (i.e., passivity) that characterizes the life of faith in believers enables the experience of God’s will, understood as law or command, in a constructive and beneficial way. While Christian life should employ a “faith approach” rather than a “law approach,” genuine faith in God does, in fact, reveal the true meaning of the law. This might be called the “second use of the gospel” in that God’s command (Gebot), viewed in light of the gospel, becomes a source of guidance for the Christian life, the ten commandments, the double love command, and the Sermon on the Mount chief among them.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-197
Author(s):  
Trio Kurniawan

The feast of Dalok is the highlight of the feast in the series of death-rites performed by Dayak Uud Danum’s tribe in Serawai, District of Sintang, West Borneo. It is the biggest feast celebrated by this tribe. There are plenty of Symbols found in the rites, and they are picturing the relationship among the human beings and also between the people and The Supreme Being, Tahala’. These Symbols are tied each other very closely like a knot. The author of this article is using Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics to reread and reveal the meaning of symbolical knots which are acceptable to the public.   Pesta Dalok adalah puncak dari rangkaian upacara kematian dalam suku Dayak Uud Danum di Serawai, Kab. Sintang, Kalimantan Barat. Pesta Dalok menjadi pesta terbesar yang dilaksanakan oleh suku ini. Ada begitu banyak simbol dalam ritus-ritus di pesta ini dan semuanya menggambarkan relasi antara sesama manusia maupun antar manusia dengan Realitas Tertinggi, Tahala’. Simbol-simbol ini saling berhubungan dengan sangat erat ibarat sebuah simpul. Penulis menggunakan hermeneutika Paul Ricoeur untuk membaca ulang dan membuka makna dari simpul-simpul simbolik yang dapat diterima oleh masyarakat.


Author(s):  
Lynne Rudder Baker

Dennett’s has recently attempted to break the “spell” that prevents people from submitting their religious beliefs and practices to scientific investigation. But what spell is being broken? Religion is not a unified phenomenon. By supposing that it is, Dennett is led to adopt an implausible mimetic theory of religious belief, and to mistakenly assume that the presence of a Hyperactive Agency Detection Device would impugn religious belief. More troublingly, although religious beliefs and practices should be studied scientifically, it would be a mistake to treat science as the exclusive arbiter of reality. Dennett makes human beings (persons) seem like aggregates of parts. Such a view seems to have no room for human dignity, except as artifacts of an intentional stance. A plausible theory of human dignity would take people to be ontologically significant unities, who, on my view, have first-person perspectives essentially.


Author(s):  
Jonatan Tobío Fernández

En la Grecia y Roma clásicas, en donde cimientan los fundamentos estructurales de nuestra actual civilización, van a otorgar la más alta consideración al ser humano dedicado al desarrollo del intelecto, con un otium encaminado al cultivo de la mente y dedicado a una ocupación relacionada con algún ámbito del saber que requiera el uso del conocimiento y el dominio de una lex artis —no obstante, adquiere también relevancia el cultivo del cuerpo, pero, por lo general, en aras de una correcta instrucción militar, al objeto de prestar servicio, si fuere necesario, en defensa de la comunidad o sociedad—. La Roma clásica, que absorbe el pensamiento de los filósofos griegos —sobre todo, el arte de la retórica y la elocuencia—, a semejanza de la propia Grecia, distinguirá aquellos trabajos manuales, dependientes y serviles, que Cicerón califica como viles, en los que para su realización, por regla general, se imprime esfuerzo físico y para los que, en algunos casos, se requiere el dominio de un arte, pero que, en otros, ni tan siquiera se precisa el conocimiento previo de técnica alguna —o, de necesitarse, se trataría de un mínimo modus operandi—, de aquellas otras actividades en las que, para su fiel desempeño, es imprescindible poseer rigurosos conocimientos teóricos y prácticos, por lo que traen consigo una considerable carga intelectual, así como, en su ejecución, se caracterizan por su autonomía, lo que implica alto grado de libertad e independencia. Estas notas, que han perdurado a lo largo de la historia, en la actualidad continúan funcionando como elementos que, al valorarse en su conjunto, distinguen a las denominadas en la actualidad profesiones liberales del resto de profesiones, oficios u ocupaciones.In classical Greece and Rome, where the foundations of our present civilization were laid, they regarded most highly human beings dedicated to developing their intellect, with an otium intended for the cultivation of the mind and dedicated to an occupation associated with a field of knowledge that requires the use of expertise and the mastery of a lex artis —although the cultivation of the body also acquires importance for the purpose of correct military instruction to serve in defense of the community or society if needed—. Classical Rome, which absorbed Greek philosophy —especially the rhetorical art of eloquence—, like Greece itself, made a distinction between manual, dependent and servile labor, which Cicero considered base, which require physical force as a general rule and which in some cases also require the mastery of an art, but in other do not even demand prior knowledge of a technique —and if they do it would be merely a modus operandi—, and other activities where it is indispensable for their correct practice to possess rigorous theoretical and practical knowledge. The latter entaila considerable intellectual onus, and their practice is characterized by autonomy, which implies a high degree of freedom and independence. These features, which have continued throughout history, currently continue to function as elements which, if taken as a group, set apart in the present day the liberal professions from the rest of professions, trades or occupations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-178
Author(s):  
Herdi Sahrasad ◽  
Al Chaidar ◽  
Dedy Tabrani ◽  
Teuku Syahrul Ansari ◽  
Mai Dar

Indonesia. The rise of acts of terrorism by Santoso at that time makes the public ask: How far is the deradicalization program? Why do the various community groups become more radical and brave against the apparatus/officers who promote the deradicalization program? Humanization leads to the prevention or overcoming of intensification of conflict and escalation of violence, covering the way for human rights violations or acts of genocide. Humanization refers to a strategy designed to reduce the dynamics of conflict that are destructive and face violence, especially terrorism, as the culmination of radicalism. Indonesia is still not free from inter-religious conflict. Religion, which should be eager to spread liberation and peace for our fellow human beings, is just often breached, even disturbing the integrity of Unity in Diversity. Deradicalization also include humanization because it takes the participation of sincere and serious attention.


Author(s):  
Michael Moriarty

Given the foregoing reasons for taking the Christian option seriously, Pascal argues that the non-believer should, as a matter of sheer self-interest, seek for God; that is, in the first instance, investigate the truth-claims of Christianity. Atheists’ dismissal of these claims, he argues, rests on a misunderstanding of the claims themselves. Christianity preaches that God is hidden (as a result of the Fall, before which he made himself clearly known to human beings). This notion is discussed in the light of the argument by J. L. Schellenberg that the hiddenness of God, that is, the absence of evidence of God, constitutes grounds for affirming his non-existence. Pascal emphasizes the difference between Christianity and deism, a purely philosophical belief in a supreme being. Although God is hidden, it is in our interest to seek for him, as Pascal explains on the basis of his theory of probability. Different theories as to the placing of this appeal to self-interest (at the very beginning of the Apology, or halfway through) are evaluated.


2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Lipshaw

This article comments on a definition of religion recently proffered by Brian Leiter. Leiters definition first appeared in a paper arguing that there is no principled reason for the Constitution to single out religion as one of many forms of conscience for special tolerance. Martha Nussbaum then suggested that we owe something more than mere tolerance for religious belief; in our efforts to make sense of the world, we owe “a special respect for the faculty in human beings in which they search for life's ultimate meaning.” In a later paper, Leiter uses the same definition of religion to argue that Nussbaum is wrong. My argument can be expressed positively: if Nussbaum is right, she is also right that the concept of religious belief (as opposed to particular conceptions or instantiations of it) is entitled to as much respect as any other kind of belief, because once we are talking about any kind of belief it is difficult to draw a principled line. Stated negatively, Leiter's attack is ultimately circular: the problem with religion is that it is not science. Exposing the circularity requires identifying the trick, which is that Leiter employs an appeal to common sense to distinguish religion and science under a bright line definition. Nevertheless, the very belief in common sense Leiter employs here is the same as the belief in religion Leiter attacks: it is categorical and insulated from further reasons.


Author(s):  
Peter O. O. Ottuh ◽  
Onos Godwin Idjakpo

Abstract. Wittgenstein’s new understanding of meaning as use has far reaching implications in religion and religious belief. The meaningfulness of language does not depend on the referent but on the actual use of it in the human context. The variety of language uses makes religious language legitimate, and the social character of language makes clear the role of training in religious belief. The characteristic features of religious belief can be summarized as follows: It is an unshakable commitment devoid of evidences and arguments, and it is reasonable only within its framework and grounded on the religious form of life. The rituals that are part of religious beliefs are symbolic and expressive. The existential concerns of human beings reveal a common spiritual nature enabling us to understand other religions and cultures as mirrored in our own humanity.


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