Divine Union with and without the Gospel: A Probabilistic Problem of Pluralism

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Trent Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
1993 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-321
Author(s):  
David Aberbach

The idea of mystical union with God or a higher being is universal in theological systems, although it may take many forms, metaphorical and moral as well as metaphysical. In Hinduism this concept is expressed in the sayingTat twam asi(“This is thou”); a human being, by finding his or her true immortal self (atman), becomes united with Brahman and, in so doing, achievesnirvana. In Buddhism, similarly, humans must strive to recognize the unity of all within the eternal Buddha, thedharmakaya, the absolute truth or reality that transcends human perception. Jewish mysticism teachesdevekut, commonly translated as adhesion, cleaving, or union with God. Christian mysticism refers to Jesus' words “Abide in me and I in you” (John 15:4) as pertaining to divine union, which has its concrete expression in baptism and the Eucharist. Even Islam, which insists on the absolute transcendence of God, has developed the mystical doctrine oftawhid(“union”).


Author(s):  
Anasuya Adhikari ◽  
Dr. Birbal Saha

Studying Anthropology of Art has been a matter of long-term qualitative research studied under Cultural Anthropology. Understanding Anthropology of Art is therefore something which involves transcending over the regimented boundaries of culture and art. Entering this complex process of interpreting anthropological aspects, we delved deep into the context and examination of Indian art and iconography. Our heritage has evidently focused very strongly on the meaningfulness of art to society, interpreting human cognition into a concrete order. The depiction of the divine union of Shiva-Parvati, is thematically represented extensively in Indian sculpture art. Regrettably, this very fascinating matter did not receive a very comprehensive consideration so far. Our purpose for undertaking this analysis is to reckon wisdom of the extant of incorporating mythological culture and rituals into present human society, diverse expressions of art, associated with different age and time period, all with a single awe-inspiring theme- The Marriage of Shiva and Parvati. Thereafter, keeping in mind the textual references available, we have kept ourselves restricted to the study, strictly coinciding with the theme depicted in Indian sculpture. Indian art has an immense affinity towards mythology and depiction of the events in a cosmic scale. Indian temple sculpture is a celebration of the divine ceremonies. Doing this, we find relevant textual interpretations and references from Kalidas’ Kumarasambhava, an epic recounting the events leading to the ‘Kalyanasundara’- the iconographical depiction of the wedding rites of Shiva and Parvati and the birth of Kartika, making the art study an extension of literary apotheosis. KEYWORDS: Anthropology of Art, Cultural Anthropology, Indian Art and Sculpture, Kumarsambhava


Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Hamilton

Visión deleytable is a fictional tale based in the Aristotelian philosophical and Neoplatonic mystical beliefs of the Judeo-Arabic tradition of medieval Iberia. This fifteenth-century work of imaginative fiction, a “best-seller” among Iberian readers, tells of the ascent of the active intellect to the celestial spheres and an experience of God. In this narrative, knowledge of the Latin trivium and quadrivium are combined with that of the Arabo-Andalusi philosophic traditions. Particularly noteworthy is the author, De la Torre’s extensive use of Maimonides’ work, the Guide of the Perplexed, as a source for the wisdom revealed in the Visión deleytable. While Maimonides’ position on the mystic experience is debated by contemporary scholars, in the present study I explore how the concept of intellectual mysticism, applied to the Neoplatonic/Aristotelian model of the intellect’s conjunction with the divine as found in Maimonides’ work, also describes the goal toward which the protagonist (and reader) of the Visión deleytable strive. As such, the Visión deleytable reveals how this notion of human-divine union (most notably in the concept of the “prophet-angel”) from the Judeo-Andalusi tradition, transmitted in Arabic and Hebrew, was translated into Spanish and adopted into the Catholic and converso frameworks of the Visión deleytable in fifteenth-century Iberia.


2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSHUA COCKAYNE

AbstractSøren Kierkegaard's account of faith in Philosophical Fragments claims that the historical Incarnation is necessary for faith, but that historical evidence for the Incarnation is neither necessary nor sufficient for faith. It has been argued that the defence of these two claims gives rise to a faith/history problem for Kierkegaard and that it is incoherent to defend an account of faith which affirms both the necessity of the historical Incarnation and rejects the necessity and sufficiency of the historical evidence for the Incarnation. I argue that this problem can be solved by applying Eleonore Stump's (2013) account of divine–human union. I argue that the Incarnation is necessary because it allows us to enjoy a kind of mutual empathy with Christ which is the basis of divine–human union and that the historical evidence is neither necessary nor sufficient since faith is grounded in a second-person experience of Christ. I claim that this solves the faith/history problem and offers a way of defending Kierkegaard's account of faith as coherent.


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