Philosophy of Religion, Miscellaneous

In recognition of the five-hundredth anniversary of the Protestant reformation, I propose to examine a critical issue that is central to the Christian faith; one that has divided Western Christendom ever since. In this paper, I will explore Martin Luther's and Jacque Maritain's position on justification by faith. First, I will outline Luther's view which is more accurately known as sola fide, that is, justification by faith alone. Second, I will outline Maritain's understanding of faith and examine his criticism of (...) Martin Luther in his Three Reformers (1925) which analyzes the coherence of Luther's position. The introduction of Luther's 95 theses is recognized by many as the incipient moment of the Reformation. One may ask a practical question: where in our present context, can Catholics and Protestants situate themselves in this wider dialogue regarding justification? I will conclude with a brief reflection on this question. (shrink)

This critical review focuses on Smith's recent revision of his 1988 book: Teilhard and the New Religion: A Thorough Analysis of the Teachings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Curiously, both the revised and original works have been largely ignored. Unfortunately, sometimes the best way to silence critics is to ignore them. This work will look into some of the primary concepts of Teilhard's "scientific theology" and assess Smith's evaluation, including: evolution, the law of complexity and consciousness, the Creative Union, and (...) the Omega Point. (shrink)

There is an argument for the existence of God from the incompleteness of nature that is vaguely present in Plantinga’s recent work. This argument, which rests on the metaphysical implications of quantum physics and the philosophical deficiency of necessitarian conceptions of physical law, deserves to be given a clear formulation. The goal is to demonstrate, via a suitably articulated principle of sufficient reason, that divine action in an occasionalist mode is needed (and hence God’s existence is required) to bring causal (...) closure to nature and render it ontologically functional. The best explanation for quantum phenomena and the most adequate understanding of general providence turns out to rest on an ontic structural realism in physics that is grounded in the immaterialist metaphysics of theistic idealism. (shrink)

The Institutional Dictionary of Astronism is the cumulation of receptions between Cometan and the astronomical world during the Founding era (2013-2021). The publication of this very first full-length Institutional Dictionary of Astronism represents eight years of the development of Astronism from its inception to how it stands today in 2021. The publication of this dictionary also encapsulates Astronism exactly as it exists now and how Cometan conceives it by the end of the Founding era. This dictionary and its contents capture (...) what Astronism is now for posterity to look back on how this astronomical belief system will change as time progresses. Many of the words and definitions of this dictionary will alter as we enter the Establishment era and Astronism continues its progression in becoming world religion. However, what will not ever change is Cometan’s absolute devotion to the stars of the night sky and his discovery of their secrets through his receptions, personal inspirations, and his overall relationship with The Great Cosmos. -/- Covering all the major Astronist beliefs, practices, cultural elements, theories, branches of study, and historical events, A Dictionary of Astronism, also known as the Institutional Dictionary of Astronism, is published by the Astronist Institution through its subsidiary, Astral Publishing, to commemorate the end of the era of The Founding of Astronism. -/- The Founding of Astronism began exactly eight years on 1st July 2013 which sparked Cometan's ideations and indrucies and which afforded him the insight, knowledge, and vision to found a new religious movement, philosophy, spirituality and political ideology. As The Founding of Astronism, also simply known as the Founding era, comes to an end, the Astronist Institution wants to acknowledge the fundamental importance of this year period of the history of Astronism and to the wider history of religion, philosophy and spirituality as a whole. -/- The Dictionary of Astronism immortalises that commemorative spirit by providing thousands of definition entries of Astronist terms that have been authorised by Astronist Institution scholars for dissemination worldwide. This dictionary captures the most up-to-date understanding of what Astronism is and how it as a whole and its component parts should be defined. Enjoy this dictionary that emblematises Astronism and how this new religion has so far developed. (shrink)

A religious worldview cannot expect the same kinds of tolerance as racial, gender, or sexual identities. Here’s why...

This is a collection of essays of Angelo Campodonico on the topics of Philosophical Anthropology, Ethics and Philosophy of Religion from a theoretical and historical approach. The main idea is that of an integral development of human experience.

Bilim ve din arasındaki etkileşimler hem tarihsel olarak hem de günümüzde çeşitli ve karmaşıktır. Modeller, verileri anlamlandırmak için faydalı olabilir. Bu makale, bilim-din etkileşimlerini tanımlamak için önerilen dört ana model türünü karşılaştırarak, onların güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini vurgulamaktadır. Bilimsel ve dini bilgiyi ilişkilendirme görevinde 'bütünleyici' modelin en verimli olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır.

John Cottingham suggests that “only a traditional theistic framework may be adequate for doing justice to the role of conscience in our lives.” Two main reasons for endorsing this proposition are assessed: the religious origins of conscience, and the need to explain its normative authority. I argue that Graeco-Roman conceptions of conscience cast doubt on this first historical claim, and that secular moral realisms can account for the obligatoriness of conscience. Nevertheless, the recognition of the need for an objective foundation (...) for conscience which emerges from these debates should be embraced by both secular and religious ethicists alike. (shrink)

“Noverim me, noverim te.” – Saint Augustine, Confessions, 10.1.1. (397-400 AD). -/- What would and will an urban commons look like that is slowly and incrementally being re-socialized? How would that affect urban planning “now” and in times of crisis? How do we prepare for the likelihood of rolling similar crises with an eye on returning the urban commons to citizens? -/- There is the old adage that under capitalism, risk is always socialized and profit is always privatized. We are (...) seeing it now, under the COVID-19 crisis. The huge bailouts launched by governments are symptomatic of the crisis in political economy, just as they were post-2008. “Too big to fail” has sponsored monsters that refuse to back off without threatening the collapse of the entire system. Francisco Goya’s “The sleep of Reason produces monsters …” comes to mind. -/- Physical and immaterial culture, in our current Western civilisation, are intimately linked. Yet the focus for urban design is generally on the material or physical side, with the immaterial left to its own devices. Increasingly, urban design measures are merely ameliorative and aesthetic, with the larger share shaped by a political economy dictated by market ideology or “politicalology.” What transpires, nonetheless, is an immaterial commons that constitutes a public or private intellectual commons – often a mix of the two; but, in the case of domination by market ideology, the privatization of “general intellect” proceeds by abject appropriation. In such a technocratically driven model, subjective states become increasingly important. As Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi once said, “Smart cities are smart people.” -/- How might these two otherwise contiguous and synchronous systems be brought back into a properly civic-minded rapport with or without crisis-driven change? Are there alternate models for the urban commons? What measures might be put in place in advance, or as provisional intercessions? (shrink)

My purpose in this paper is to challenge the continued exclusion of Indian philosophies from the Western philosophical canon on the supposed basis that such philosophies are really religion, mysticism, and mythology. I argue that many schools of Indian philosophy, such as Advaita Vedānta, resist and problematize historically particular Euro-Western conceptions of both philosophy and religion, and the conceptual borders between them, where philosophy is understood as grounded in various substantive notions of reason and rationality, defined as a purely theoretical (...) enterprise. In addition, I question the predominant tendency to see philosophy as opposed to “religion”, which is often presumed to rest on faith in a Judeo-Christian conception of God: The singular and wholly other, creator of all souls, ex nihilo, the ultimate judge of humankind, where salvation is granted in proportion to the intrinsic value of faith. I suggest that Advaita challenges these prevailing conceptions. A part of my larger purpose is to dislodge the view that the Euro-Western philosophical enterprise constitutes the universal, neutral, and objective standard from which all other approaches to philosophy are to be judged as legitimate. My hope is to lay some of the groundwork required to re-think dominant historical and conceptual categories from a broader global perspective, with the aim of developing a deeper and more plural understanding of the diverse nature of both philosophical and religious inquiry. (shrink)

The early modern period (roughly, 1600–1800 ce) in Europe brought tremendous changes in intellectual, political, and cultural life. It was a period in which philosophical debates were inevitably bound up with questions about the nature and sources of religious truth. A chronological examination of some of the period’s major thinkers highlights two issues that were central to the development of philosophy of religion in the period. The first concerns the relations between God, the soul, and the body; the other concerns (...) the relationship between human reason and divine revelation. (shrink)

Intractable disagreements are commonly analyzed in terms of the semantic opposition of (at least) couples of disputed beliefs (purely epistemic view, from here on PEV). While such a view seems to be a very natural starting point, my intuitions are that such an approach is misleadingly unrealistic, and that an empirical modeling towards how individuals hold beliefs in intractable opposition constitutes a strong defeater for PEV. My work addresses disagreements within the religious domain. Accordingly, I will be concerned with developing (...) my empirical understanding of religious beliefs, and will show the consequences of such proposal on how to answer the problem of religious diversity. (shrink)

The idea that physical death may not mark the end of an individual's existence has long been a source of fascination. It is perhaps unsurprising that we are apt to wonder what it is that happens to us when we die. Is death the end of me and all the experiences that count as mine? Or might I exist, and indeed have experiences, beyond the time of my death? And yet, deep metaphysical puzzles arise at the very suggestion that persons (...) might continue to exist following physical death. Indeed, whether, and how, one can exist post-mortem will depend in no small part on what sorts of things we are and on what it takes for things like us to persist across temporal durations and other changes. These topics and their application to the growing collection of materialist accounts of resurrection are the focus of this Element. (shrink)

Al correlacionar el aspecto histórico de la Escritura y su estatus como logos, Rudolf Bultmann introduce un procedimiento exegético-hermenéutico basado en la investigación histórico-crítica de la Escritura e impone, a su vez, la interpretación del logos como kerigma en un proceso que involucra las posibilidades de conocimiento presentes en un determinado contexto histórico-cultural y que conduce a la necesidad de corresponder a la cosmovisión de la época actual. Así, a partir del análisis crítico de Paul Ricoeur, el artículo se centra (...) en la desmitologización como distinción entre kerigma y mito en un movimiento que se solapa con el artificio mitológico y converge en el cuestionamiento de su significado original a través de un proceso que, al fin y al cabo, requiere su permanencia bajo el horizonte de la interpretación. El artículo señala que Ricoeur muestra que Bultmann prescinde de la reflexión que involucra al lenguaje lato sensu como objeto, superponiendo el lenguaje de la fe al lenguaje del mito en un movimiento que, aunque pretendiendo suplantar al sacrificium intellectus, finalmente converge hacia un construcción que tiende a exigir el sacrificium intellectus en las fronteras de la desmitologización y en el lenguaje de la fe que interviene en su proceso. (shrink)

Atribuindo à ironia a possibilidade de exercício da liberdade subjetiva, Kierkegaard sublinha a negatividade absoluta de tal processo em Sócrates, convergindo para assinalar o absoluto e irredutível valor do indivíduo em um movimento que envolve o início absoluto da vida pessoal entre criar-se e deixar-se criar (poeticamente), cuja construção encerra a tensão inaplacável entre existência e transcendência e implica a necessidade de tornar-se subjetivo, haja vista que a verdade consiste na transformação do sujeito em si mesmo entre a vertigem da (...) liberdade e o paradoxo da fé. Dessa forma, o prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa mostra que, baseado na ordem de Deus para sacrificar o seu filho, Isaque, Abraão instaura uma nova experiência existencial, segundo o referencial teórico de Mircea Eliade, pois pelo ato de fé supera a condição mítico-religiosa e institui uma relação absoluta com o Absoluto, conforme a leitura teológico-filosófica de Kierkegaard, o que implica a intervenção do Eterno no temporal, a manifestação do Deus-Homem Jesus Cristo que, de acordo com a perspectiva teológico-bíblica católico-protestante, possibilita a realização de um novo ser e de um novo modo de existência. (shrink)

"Chegaram ao lugar que Deus lhe havia designado; ali edificou Abraão um altar, sobre ele dispôs a lenha, amarrou Isaque, seu filho, e o deitou no altar, em cima da lenha; e, estendendo a mão, tomou o cutelo para imolar o filho. Mas do céu lhe bradou o Anjo do SENHOR: Abraão! Abraão! Ele respondeu: Eis-me aqui! Então, lhe disse: Não estendas a mão sobre o rapaz e nada lhe faças; pois agora sei que temes a Deus, porquanto não me (...) negaste o filho, o teu único filho. Tendo Abraão erguido os olhos, viu atrás de si um carneiro preso pelos chifres entre os arbustos; tomou Abraão o carneiro e o ofereceu em holocausto, em lugar de seu filho. E pôs Abraão por nome àquele lugar - O SENHOR Proverá. Daí dizer-se até ao dia de hoje: No monte do SENHOR se proverá." (Gn 22.9-14). Atribuindo à ironia a possibilidade de exercício da liberdade subjetiva, Kierkegaard sublinha a negatividade absoluta de tal processo em Sócrates, convergindo para assinalar o absoluto e irredutível valor do indivíduo em um movimento que envolve o início absoluto da vida pessoal entre criar-se e deixar-se criar (poeticamente), cuja construção encerra a tensão inaplacável entre existência e transcendência e implica a necessidade de tornar-se subjetivo, haja vista que a verdade consiste na transformação do sujeito em si mesmo entre a vertigem da liberdade e o paradoxo da fé. Dessa forma, o Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa mostra que, baseado na ordem de Deus para sacrificar o seu filho, Isaque, Abraão instaura uma nova experiência existencial, segundo o referencial teórico de Mircea Eliade, pois pelo ato de fé supera a condição mítico-religiosa e institui uma relação absoluta com o Absoluto, conforme a leitura teológico-filosófica de Kierkegaard, o que implica a intervenção do Eterno no temporal, a manifestação do Deus-Homem Jesus Cristo que, de acordo com a perspectiva teológico-bíblica católico-protestante, possibilita a realização de um novo ser e de um novo modo de existência. "A fé é a mais alta paixão de todo homem." (Kierkegaard). (shrink)

Consistindo em diferentes possibilidades diante da condição trágica da existência, o estético, o ético e o religioso são os modos existenciais em Kierkegaard que trazem como personagens o Poeta, o Herói Trágico e o Cavaleiro da Fé. Se o que perfaz o estético é a fruição do prazer em uma relação baseada na pura imediatez e sedução como esforço de conquista de si mesmo, o ético encerra a harmonização da subjetividade com a generalidade do bem e do mal, convergindo ambos (...) para reduzir a busca do Absoluto à imanência. Dessa forma, baseado no princípio hermenêutico-existencial de Kierkegaard, o Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa investiga o dever ético do Herói Trágico e a sua virtude moral, detendo-se na distinção entre Agamêmnon e Abraão, o Cavaleiro da Fé e a sua relação absoluta com o Absoluto. Assim sendo, a pesquisa assinala que Abraão inaugura uma experiência existencial que encerra a fé como relação absoluta com o Absoluto e converge para a superação do determinismo natural e do terror da história através de uma liberdade absoluta, que pressupõe um novo ser e um novo modo de existência e implica a manifestação do Eterno no temporal, a encarnação do Lógos, Deus-Homem Jesus Cristo. (shrink)

Caracterizando a existência como um processo de escolha e decisão que converge para a constituição do sujeito como tal, Kierkegaard atribui à existência a condição de um projeto em uma construção que encerra três possibilidades existenciais fundamentais, a saber, o estético, o ético e o religioso. Dessa forma, o artigo assinala que, constituindo-se uma dimensão em cujo estádio a procura do sentido ou a busca do absoluto circunscreve-se à imanência, o modo existencial estético caracteriza-se como a fruição da subjetividade consigo (...) própria através do instante do prazer sensual em um movimento que implica a sedução como esforço de conquista de si que, contudo, escapa ao seu poder em uma relação que converge para o desespero, haja vista que a renovação de forma indefinida da condição originária do amor esgota-se na generalização. E se o estágio ético encerra a integração na comunidade social através da institucionalização da repetição como um modo de vida baseado na objetividade e na racionalidade, a conformação do sujeito ao modus vivendi e ao modus essendi do geral implica a harmonização da sua subjetividade com a generalidade do bem e do mal por meio de um processo que torna-se incapaz de resolver a questão da sua desordem existencial. Assim sendo, o artigo mostra que, se a virtude moral que o ético impõe converge para a impossibilidade de superação do desespero que caracteriza a busca do absoluto na imanência, a atitude religiosa, abdicando da realidade em sua totalidade finita em função da relação absoluta com o Absoluto, demanda a suspensão teleológica do ético e tende a instaurar a autenticidade existencial através de um movimento que mantém correspondência com a fé como o “salto” que implica a consciência de si em sua singularidade e a espiritualidade individual. (shrink)

Se a pregação de Jesus consiste no pressuposto da teologia neotestamentária, segundo o pensamento de Bultmann, a análise do seu conteúdo emerge como fundamental para a compreensão do querigma cristão e da construção literário-teológica da comunidade primitiva. Dessa forma, o artigo se detém na pregação ético-escatológica de Jesus, que anuncia o reino de Deus e o tempo da decisão e o chamado à decisão, que converge para a radicalidade e exige a obediência escatológica enquanto realização da vontade de Deus. Assim, (...) escapando à condição de um dever que converge para a formação do caráter e ao princípio de determinação da comunhão humana, o artigo assinala que é a exigência do amor que se impõe à pregação escatológica de Jesus e a sua pregação ética e ao conhecimento da vontade de Deus, que implica o dever-ser e o poder-fazer envolvendo o bem incondicional em uma construção teórico-conceitual e subjetivo-existencial que envolve a consciência da situação-limite da existência e a necessidade de uma decisão existencial. (shrink)

Sublinhando que a evocação dos acontecimentos que tiveram lugar ab origine convergir, segundo a perspectiva mítico-religiosa, para a manifestação das sagradas, o Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa, baseado no método histórico-comparativo de Mircea Eliade, atribui à prece a condição de suscitar o poder sagrado em um processo capaz de exercer influência sobrenatural e alcançar os recônditos da consciência, como afirma Marcel Mauss. Dessa forma, sobrepondo-se às práticas mágico-religiosas e aos processos litúrgico-rituais do politeísmo, a oração característica do monoteísmo de (...) Israel, segundo a perspectiva bíblico-teológica veterotestamentária, assinala um relacionamento pactual e uma aliança que envolve Yahveh e como morais implicadas em seus atributos, a sabre, justiça, fidelidade e bondade, convergindo para a vida em sua plenitude histórica. Finalizando, o Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa mostra que a oração, segundo a perspectiva bíblico-teológica neotestamentária, implica a expressão da existência escatológica entre a contingência e a transcendência em Bultmann, encerrando a criatividade diretiva de Deus em Tillich e a superação do estado de alienação existencial. (shrink)

Underlining that the evocation of the events that took place ab origine converges, according to the mythical-religious perspective, for the manifestation of the sacred forces, Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa, based on the historical-comparative method of Mircea Eliade, attributes to prayer the condition of arousing the sacred power in a process capable of exerting supernatural influence and reaching the recesses of consciousness, as Marcel Mauss states. In this way, superimposing the magical-religious practices and liturgical-ritual processes of polytheism, the characteristic (...) prayer of the monotheism of Israel, according to the biblical-theological veteran perspective, marks a peaceful relationship and an alliance that involves Yahveh and the moral demands implied in his attributes, namely, justice, fidelity and goodness, converging for life in its historical fullness. Finally, Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa shows that prayer, according to the biblical-theological neotestheological perspective, implies the expression of eschatological existence between contingency and transcendence in Bultmann, closing the directive creativity of God in Tillich and the overcoming of the state of existential alienation. (shrink)

Subrayando que la evocación de los acontecimientos ocurridos ab origine converge, según la perspectiva mítico-religiosa, para la manifestación de las fuerzas sagradas, el Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa, basándose en el método histórico-comparativo de Mircea Eliade, atribuye a la oración la condición de suscitar el poder sagrado en un proceso capaz de ejercer una influencia sobrenatural y de llegar a los recovecos de la conciencia, como afirma Marcel Mauss. De este modo, superponiendo las prácticas mágico-religiosas y los procesos litúrgico-rituales (...) del politeísmo, la oración característica del monoteísmo de Israel, según la perspectiva bíblico-teológica veterana, marca una relación pac ífica y una alianza que involucra a Yahvé y las exigencias morales implícitas en sus atributos, a saber, la justicia, la fidelidad y la bondad, convergiendo para la vida en su plenitud histórica. Finalmente, el Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa muestra que la oración, según la perspectiva bíblico-teológica neotesteológica, implica la expresión de la existencia escatológica entre la contingencia y la trascendencia en Bultmann, cerrando la creatividad directiva de Dios en Tillich y la superación del estado de alienación existencial. (shrink)

Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa, opierając się na historiaczno-komparatywnej metodzie Mircea Eliade, przypisuje modlitwie warunek wzbudzenia świętej mocy w procesie zdolnym do wywierania śdwierania nadnaturalnego zakówierania twiero marciano marciano zakówiwieria marciano zakówieria marciano marciano marciano wpływieria marciano mar zdociwier do marciano marciadoci docciwier do mar. W sposób dez, nakładając nd siebie praktyki magiczno-religijne i procesy liturgiczno-krytyczne politeizmu, charakterystyczna dla monoteizmu Izraela Modlitwa, według biblijno-teologicznej perspektywy kombatanckiej, oznacza pokojowy Związek i Sojusz, który angażuje Yahvé i moralne postulaty zawarte w jego atrybutach, (...) czyli SPRAWIEDLIWOŚCI , wierności i dobroci, zbiegające się do życia w jego historycznej pełni. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa pokazuje wreszcie, że modlitwa, zgodnie z biblijno-teologiczną perspektywą neotesteologiczną. (shrink)

De evocatie van de gebeurtenissen die plaatsvonden ab origine convergeert, volgens het mythisch-religieuze perspectief, voor de manifestatie van de heilige krachten, schrijft Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa, gebaseerd op de historisch-vergelijkende methode van Mircea Eliade, aan het gebed de voorwaarde toe van het opwekken van de heilige kracht in een proces dat in staat is om bovennatuurlijke invloed uit te oefenen en de uitsparingen van het bewustzijn te bereiken, zoals Marcel Mauss stelt. Door de magisch-religieuze praktijken en liturgisch-rituele processen (...) van het polytheïsme, het kenmerkende gebed van het monotheïsme van Israël, volgens het bijbelse-theologische veteranenperspectief, over elkaar heen te leggen, wordt een vreedzame relatie en een bondgenootschap getekend waarbij Jahve en de morele eisen die in zijn attributen worden geïmpliceerd, namelijk rechtvaardigheid, trouw en goedheid, samenkomen voor het leven in zijn historische volheid. Tot slot laat Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa zien dat het gebed, volgens het bijbels-theologische neotestheologische perspectief, de uitdrukking van het eschatologische bestaan tussen contingentie en transcendentie in Bultmann impliceert, waardoor de richtlijncreativiteit van God in Tillich wordt afgesloten en de staat van existentiële vervreemding wordt overwonnen. (shrink)

This Element focuses on some core conceptual and ontological issues related to pantheistic conceptions of God by engaging with recent work in analytic philosophy of religion on this topic. The conceptual and ontological commitments of pantheism are contrasted with those of other conceptions of God. The concept of God assumed by pantheism is clarified and the question about what type of unity the universe must exhibit in order to be identical with God receives the most attention. It is argued that (...) the sort of unity the universe must display is the sort of unity characteristic of conscious cognitive systems. Some alternative ontological frameworks for grounding such cognitive unity are considered. Further, the question of whether God can be understood as personal on pantheism is explored. (shrink)

The Heythrop Journal, Volume 63, Issue 1, Page 35-48, January 2022.

What are faith and faithfulness, and how are they related? We consider two views that express very different answers to these questions. On our view, faith and faithfulness are distinct and yet complement each other. Faith is resilient reliance and faithfulness is resilient reliability, both of which involve conative and/or affective elements. In contrast, while Jonathan Kvanvig also holds that faith involves conative and/or affective elements, he identifies faith with a disposition to act in service of an ideal in the (...) face of difficulty. However, this view of faith leads to some puzzling claims about how faith relates to faithfulness. We evaluate several claims suggested by what Kvanvig says, arguing both that his view loses sight of the distinctness of faith and faithfulness and that the inferences he wants to draw from faithfulness or faithful behaviour to faith are unjustified. Instead, we aim to show how the insights he calls to our attention can be better accommodated and explained by a more comprehensive, unified theory of faith and faithfulness and their relations. (shrink)

Whether evil provides evidence against the existence of God, and to what degree, depends on how things seem to the subject—i.e., on one’s perspective. I explain three ways in which adopting an atheistic perspective can increase support for atheism via considerations of evil. The first is by intensifying the common sense problem of evil by making evil seem gratuitous or intrinsically wrong to allow. The second is by diminishing the apparent fit between theism and our observations of evil. The third (...) is by lowering the initial plausibility of theism. I call this “the perspectival problem of evil” and argue that skeptical theism does not fully address it. (shrink)

Atheism Considered is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engage in polemic against a religious worldview, C.M. Lorkowski charitably refutes the classical arguments for the existence of god, pointing out flaws in their underlying reasoning and highlighting difficulties inherent to revealed sources. In place of a theistic worldview, he argues for adopting a naturalistic one, highlighting naturalism’s capacity to explain world phenomena and contribute to the sciences. Lorkowski demonstrates that replacing theism with (...) naturalism, contra popular assumptions, sacrifices nothing in terms of ethics or meaning. Instead, morality ultimately proves more important than religion and does not rely on it. Appropriate for classroom use, this book is meant to cultivate understanding, tolerance, and fruitful dialogue between believers and nonbelievers. (shrink)

In this paper, the concept of birth affirmation is clarified in both the psychological dimension and the philosophical dimension. In the psychological dimension, we propose two interpretations: 1) Possible world interpretation: Even if I could imagine a possible world in which my ideal was realized or my grave sufferings were resolved, I would never think, at the bottom of my heart, that it would have been better to have been born to that possible world. 2) Anti-antinatalistic interpretation: I would never (...) think, at the bottom of my heart, that it would have been better not to have been born. In the philosophical dimension, we propose the following interpretation: The comparison of betterness or worseness between the actual world and a possible world and between my having been born and my not having been born should be impossible. In the final part of this paper, the differences from other related concepts and frequently asked questions are discussed. (shrink)

The theory of a natural eternal consciousness (NEC) states that human consciousness is not extinguished with death but merely paused. That is, the last conscious moment of one’s last experience becomes imperceptibly timeless and deceptively eternal from their perspective. Moreover, if that experience is a vision, dream, or near-death experience (NDE) and is perceived as an afterlife, then the NEC is a natural afterlife. An earlier article by this author explains the NEC theory and claims its validity. This addendum provides (...) a brief overview of that article but, more significantly, these enhancements: (1) an easier to grasp description of the notation used to formally define the NEC and natural afterlife; (2) an extension to this notation to formally define the eventually timeless natural afterlife (etna) — a time-perceiving, activity-filled afterlife that concludes with the timeless natural afterlife and can provide optimal eternal happiness; (3) more focus on the validity of the NEC theory: the role of self-awareness, the theory of Paused Consciousness in Timelessness (PCT) and its everyday verification, and the improbable falsification of the NEC theory as a hypothesis to the PCT theory; and (4) a new diagram that summarizes the meanings of NEC-related terms and the relationships among them. (shrink)

Science and religion pervade the 1973 horror The Exorcist, and the film exists, as the movie’s tagline suggests, ‘somewhere between science and superstition’. Archival materials show the depth of research conducted by writer/director William Friedkin in his commitment to presenting and exploring emerging scientific procedures and accurate Catholic ritual. Where clinical and barbaric science fails, faith and ritual save the possessed child Reagan MacNeil from her demons. The Exorcist created media frenzy in 1973, with increased reports in the popular press (...) of demon possessions, audience members convulsing and vomiting at screenings, and apparent religious and specifically Catholic moral outrage. However, the official Catholic response to The Exorcist was not as reactionary as the press claimed. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Film and Broadcasting officially and publicly condemned the film as being unsuitable for a wide audience, but reviews produced for the office by priests and lay Catholics and correspondence between the Vatican and the USCCB-OFB show that the church at least notionally interpreted it as a positive response to the power of faith. Warner Bros. Studios, however, were keen to promote stories of religious outrage to boost sales and news coverage – a marketing strategy that actively contradicted Friedkin’s respectful and collaborative approach to working with both religious communities and medical professionals. Reports of Catholic outrage were a means of promoting The Exorcist rather than an accurate reflection of the Catholic Church’s nuanced response to the film and its scientific and religious content. (shrink)

Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa unterstreicht, dass die Evokation der Ereignisse, die ab origine stattgefunden haben, gemäß der mythisch-religiösen Perspektive für die Manifestation der heiligen Kräfte konvergiert. Auf der Grundlage der historisch-komparativen Methode von Mircea Eliade schreibt Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa dem Gebet die Bedingung zu, die heilige Kraft in einem Prozess zu erwecken, der in der Lage ist, einen übernatürlichen Einfluss auszuüben und die Vertiefungen des Bewusstseins zu erreichen, wie Marcel Mauss feststellt. Auf diese Weise überlagert (...) das charakteristische Gebet des Monotheismus Israels die magisch-religiösen Praktiken und liturgisch-rituellen Abläufe des Polytheismus und markiert nach der biblisch-theologischen Veteranenperspektive eine friedliche Beziehung und ein Bündnis, das Jahwe und die in seinen Attributen implizierten moralischen Forderungen, nämlich Gerechtigkeit, Treue und Güte, für das Leben in seiner historischen Fülle zusammenführt. Schließlich zeigt Prof. Luiz Carlos Mariano da Rosa, dass das Gebet nach der biblisch-theologischen neotestheologischen Perspektive den Ausdruck der eschatologischen Existenz zwischen Kontingenz und Transzendenz bei Bultmann, die Schließung der direktiven Kreativität Gottes bei Tillich und die Überwindung des Zustands der existentiellen Entfremdung impliziert. (shrink)

Se a pregação de Jesus consiste no pressuposto da teologia neotestamentária, segundo o pensamento de Bultmann, a análise do seu conteúdo emerge como fundamental para a compreensão do querigma cristão e da construção literário-teológica da comunidade primitiva. Dessa forma, o artigo se detém na pregação ético-escatológica de Jesus, que anuncia o reino de Deus e o tempo da decisão e o chamado à decisão, que converge para a radicalidade e exige a obediência escatológica enquanto realização da vontade de Deus. Assim, (...) escapando à condição de um dever que converge para a formação do caráter e ao princípio de determinação da comunhão humana, o artigo assinala que é a exigência do amor que se impõe à pregação escatológica de Jesus e a sua pregação ética e ao conhecimento da vontade de Deus, que implica o dever-ser e o poder-fazer envolvendo o bem incondicional em uma construção teórico-conceitual e subjetivo-existencial que envolve a consciência da situação-limite da existência e a necessidade de uma decisão existencial. (shrink)

The thesis attempts to provide a real definition of religion and argues that this is less problematic than is often assumed. It begins with a brief introduction which outlines why it is attractive to subject the attempt to define religion to a philosophical investigation. It is argued that defining religion is interesting because it is something which appears difficult to do, which scholars of religion often oppose, and which has practical implications. In addition, defining religion provides an opportunity to address (...) fundamental philosophical issues (such as defining, social kinds, and theories of concepts) and theoretical questions concerning the study of religion. The introduction also mentions the difficulties these kinds of interdisciplinary enterprises are bound to meet because of differences in terminology and academic traditions. Part I is concerned with the philosophical, historical, and methodological issues in discussions necessary to pave the way for the attempt to provide a definition of religion. The first chapter addresses some fundamental philosophical issues concerning defining as a philosophical activity. It is argued that the traditional focus on natural kind concepts in discussions about defining needs to be supplemented with considerations about domain specificity and differences between social kinds. It is also argued that empirical findings from cognitive psychology are relevant to conceptual analysis and that two-dimensional semantics provides a productive approach to an analysis of the concept of religion. The chapter concludes with describing an approach to defining religion. The second chapter is also concerned with methodological questions and considers the potential contributions empirical studies of the concept of religion could make to the study. Some outlines of potentially useful studies are suggested, and pros and cons for including them in the present study are weighed up. The chapter concludes with drawing a distinction between essential and non-essential elements and assessing their relative importance in a definition. The third chapter offers, first, an overview of historical issues: the history of the term ‘religion’, the problem of determining the content of historical philosophical concepts of religion, and the history of the discussion about defining religion within the study of religion. The major conclusions of these sections are that the term ‘religion’ is likely to be a homonym and that several theoretical discussions have been intertwined in the historical debates about definitions of religion. The second part of the chapter discusses traditional fundamental issues in the study of religion in order to disentangle the discussion about definition from related discussions (about e.g. methods and religious (anti-)realism). It is concluded that an essentialist view on defining religion is not necessarily a return to apologetic approaches to religion. The fourth chapter offers an overview of positions for and against realism concerning religion and the possibility of providing a definition of religion. Important distinctions are drawn between two kinds of conceptual essentialism (related to definition) and two kinds of ontological essentialism (related to theories). A discussion of the various forms of essentialism concludes that a ‘soft essentialist’ approach to defining religion is preferable. It is also concluded that constructivist and other anti-realist objections to providing a real definition of religion are less obvious than is often assumed because they fail to offer a detailed account of the supposed ‘construction’ that is free of realist assumptions. They also appear to rely on controversial philosophical assumptions. The second part of the thesis is concerned with providing a definition of religion. It begins in chapter five with an overview of some multifactorial, or ‘soft essentialist’, approaches to defining religion. The purpose of this is to prepare the ground for the conceptual analysis, which opens with a discussion of various aspects of religion. Ten possible candidates for necessary and/or sufficient conditions for religion are discussed in order to determine their importance in a definition of religion. It is concluded that although many aspects are typical and/or relevant, only certain cognitive, normative, and practical aspects are necessary conditions for religion. It is also concluded that the necessary conditions for a religious cognitive aspect is supernatural and normative content of a certain scope combined with a certain attitudinal character. The chapter ends with a model of the working definition based on these intermediate conclusions. Chapter six contains the second step in the conceptual analysis. It confronts the working definition with various cases of more or less contested examples of religion or other systems of beliefs and practices in order to assess whether the definition needs revisions. The following discussions of special cases of beginning and ceasing of religious traditions, persons, and objects serve the same purpose. It is concluded that a revision of the working definition is unnecessary. Chapter seven concludes part II by tying up a few loose ends concerning the definition, some methodological aspects, and theories of concepts. The third and last part of the thesis contains, first, a brief discussion of practical implications of definitions of religion. Chapter eight illustrates the practical importance of a definition of religion by addressing the issue of the so-called ‘politics of defining religion’. It argues that scholars of religion as such are not unjustified in entering the debate about definitions, and it recommends efforts are made to separate discussions about defining religion from discussions about using definitions of religion as political tools. The final chapter of the thesis sums up important findings and insights of the study and points to some natural limitations. I warn that this study is only a rough outline of how a definition can be provided and which theoretical discussions lie behind such an attempt. Yet I also conclude that defining religion is a rewarding case study because it offers an opportunity to discuss fundamental questions in both philosophy and the study of religion while at the same addressing an interesting issue with immediate practical implications. (shrink)

El presente trabajo se ocupa del lugar de la religión en la última etapa de la obra de Habermas. En la primera parte se muestran las diferentes aristas de la cuestión de la religión, poniendo énfasis en los aspectos filosófico-políticos, sobre todo el que concierne a la “traducción” del lenguaje religioso al secular como un “requisito” de acceso a la esfera pública. En la segunda parte, se reconstruye, señalando sus límites o dificultades, el concepto de “traducción” en Habermas. Para ello, (...) se apela, además, a algunas categorías conceptuales propuestas por Jean-Marc Ferry. La traducción en este marco puede ser entendida en dos sentidos: como una reformulación semántica que apunta a ampliar el universo discursivo de origen (traducción como desencapsulamiento) y como una transformación de los géneros pre o para-argumentativos en argumentativos (traducción como cambio de género discursivo). (shrink)

The term ‘Augustinianism’ has been used by scholars for over a century to refer to trends in medieval philosophy, theology, and politics, which had a major effect on the transformations of European culture and society from the Middle Ages to the onset of modernity. Yet in each of these three disciplines ‘Augustinianism’ means something different, and the lack of clarity only increases when the debates over the relationship between a late medieval Augustinianism and Martin Luther are also considered. Based on (...) historical, philological, and iconographic analysis, this study adopts a hermeneutical approach drawn from philosophical hermeneutics, religious studies, and literary and sociological theory to argue for a historical, as distinct from a philosophical or theological referent for the term ‘Augustinianism’. The central argument of the book is that the interpretation of a late medieval Augustinianism can only be based historically on the newly created image of Augustine discerned in the writings of the Augustinian Hermits in the early fourteenth century, rather than on our own interpretations of Augustine himself. Recognizing the diverse dimensions of this created image is requisite to a historical understanding of Augustine’s late medieval reception and impact. As such, the book sets its sights beyond the later Middle Ages to encompass approaches to interpreting Augustine’s influence in general, for Augustine remains, today as in the later Middle Ages, a created saint. (shrink)

De scientia Dei (On God's Knowledge) is one of the few major texts by John Wyclif that has not already been published. According to John A. Robson, the De scientia Dei is 'in some way, the most important of all the treatises' of Wyclif's so-called Summa de ente. It was probably written in 1372, when the editorial project of the Summa de ente was in its final stages, and when Wyclif was at the peak of his academic career. In it (...) he deals with God's knowledge as a divine attribute, presents his peculiar view of God's knowledge as a relation of reason, distinguishes between God's knowledge of creatures in their intelligible being and in their actual existence, and argues in favor of a compatibilism between God's foreknowledge of future events and the liberty of human will. In this connection, a long section is also devoted to questions about the doctrine of salvation, and to the first elaborated exposition of Wyclif's doctrine of grace. The edition is preceded by a historical and doctrinal introduction, enabling the reader to situate the tract within the framework of Wyclif's own production and to appreciate the relevance of some of the topics faced in the text in the light of the development of Wyclif's theological and philosophical thought. (shrink)

The Russian philosopher Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky considered himself a Leibnizian of sorts. He accepted parts of Leibniz’s doctrine of monads, although he preferred to call them ‘substantival agents’ and rejected the thesis that they have neither doors nor windows. In Lossky’s own doctrine, monads have existed since the beginning of time, they are immortal, and can evolve or devolve depending on the goodness or badness of their behavior. Such evolution requires the possibility for monads to reincarnate into the bodies of (...) creatures of a higher level on the scala perfectionis. According to this theory, a monad can evolve by being progressively reincarnated multiple times through a sort of process of metamorphosis from the level of the most elementary particles all the way up to the level of human beings or even higher. Lossky argues that the works of Leibniz contain scattered elements of such a systematic doctrine of reincarnation. He attempts to reconstitute this doctrine in an article that appeared both in Russian and German in 1931. The Russian version, ‘Ученiе Лейбница о перевоплощенiи какъ метаморфозѣ’, was published in the Сборникъ Русскаго института въ Прагѣ, vol. 2, 1931, pp. 77–88. The German version appeared under the title ‘Leibniz’ Lehre von der Reinkarnation als Metamorphose,’ in Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, vol. 40, n. 2, 1931, pp. 214–226. The content of the Russian and German versions is roughly the same, except for the omission, in the German version, of a mention of David Hume in the second sentence and of one paragraph and a half at the end of the article. The following is a translation of this article. I translated the text from the Russian version, which was in all appearances written first, but I also took the German version into account. The original pagination is added in angle brackets. Angle brackets are used wherever the additions are mine. — Frédéric Tremblay. (shrink)

The Russian philosopher Nikolai Onufrievich Lossky adhered to an evolutionary metaphysics of reincarnation according to which the world is constituted of immortal souls or monads, which he calls ‘substantival agents.’ These substantival agents can evolve or devolve depending on the goodness or badness of their behavior. Such evolution requires the possibility for monads to reincarnate into the bodies of creatures of a higher or of a lower level on the scala perfectionis. According to this theory, a substantival agent can evolve (...) by being gradually reincarnated multiple times through a sort of process of metamorphosis from the level of the most elementary particles all the way up to the level of human beings or even higher. In ‘Ученiе Лейбница о перевоплощенiи какъ метаморфозѣ’, Lossky argues that the works of Leibniz contain scattered elements of such a systematic evolutionary doctrine of reincarnation as metamorphosis and he attempts to reconstitute this doctrine. The present article is intended as an historical introduction to the translation of Lossky’s ‘Leibniz’s Doctrine of Reincarnation as Metamorphosis.’. (shrink)

In this article, author expressed the meaning of “belief”, possible effective factors in human life, and how these factors can be effective on person and/or communities. With this respect, the meaning of religion, the possible interaction and relation between religion and science evaluated. 42 past/present theories of religion and evaluation of the past/present works of the 87 philosophers of religion are explained. Author considered new synthesis (R-Synthesis), and also new era philosophy, new and re-constructed branches of philosophy, and some systems/constructions (...) to express the new perspective for philosophy of religion. Author applied 27(+) possible definitive/certain result cases of the synthesis for R-Religion discipline specifically, and did the followings under new perspective: (i) eliminated some religious subjects, (ii) unified some religious subjects, (iii) modified some religious subjects, (iv) united some religious subjects in upper phase, (v) separated some religious subject, (vi) defined all religious subjects under one framework, (vii) integrated all religious subjects, (viii) defined new religious subjects, (ix) re-defined some religious subjects, (x) removed some religious subjects and put new religious subjects instead, (xi) added some religious subjects, (xii) kept/protected some religious subjects, (xiii) proposed progression for religious subjects, (xiv) changed the priority of some religious subjects, (xv) increased the importance of some religious subjects, (xvi) strengthened the ethics, (xvii) integrated philosophy branches under one framework, (xviii) others. Some of the purposes of this article are: (i) to define new synthesis method, (ii) to define good and/or correct new perspective and structure for philosophy of religion, science of religion, theories of religion, and related subjects, (iii) to extend the definition/limits of philosophy of religion with new perspective, (iv) others. As result of the synthesis, new perspective for philosophy of religion explained by considering the following concepts/sections: (a) theories of religion, (b) 17 upper constructional philosophies and philosophy of religion, (c) eight complementary branches of philosophy of religion, (d) 14 lower constructional philosophies and philosophy of religion, (e) science of religion, (f) new theory of religion and its relations with other disciplines. Author defined New Era Theory, New Era Religion, New Era Belief, Progressive Religion and their relations with other religions, beliefs, religious/non-religious movements, and the relation with other theories of religion. Also, power authorities and functional position levels in the New Era Belief, and Religion of God, Knowledge of God/gods, Nature of God/gods concepts are explained generally/specifically. (shrink)

This paper draws on a number of parallels between Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations and St. Augustine’s Confessions to suggest that Wittgenstein’s relation to the text with which he opens the Investigations is less adversarial than is normally supposed. In particular, the paper draws attention to two important parallels: the difficulty both Philosophical Investigations and Confessions have with beginning and with arrogating to themselves the authority to begin, and the role of conversion in both texts. These parallels help us read the methodological (...) remarks of Philosophical Investigations §§89–133 as a conversion narrative of sorts. However, Wittgenstein’s conception of conversion runs counter to Augustine’s: where Augustine aspires to overcome the lusts of the physical world and and toward the purity of the divine, Wittgenstein turns away from the aspiration for purity toward a humbler acceptance of the ordinary. Augustine’s text is an exhortation to conversion, but not the kind of conversion Wittgenstein seeks, and this is the deeper provocation that Wittgenstein finds in Augustine’s text. (shrink)

In this critical notice of Clifford Williams’ Religion and the meaning of life, I focus on his argumentation in favour of the moderate supernaturalist position that, while a meaningful life would be possible in a purely physical world, a much greater meaning would be possible only in a world with God and an eternal afterlife spent close to God. I begin by expounding and evaluating Williams’ views of the physical sources of meaning, providing reason to doubt both that he has (...) captured all the central ones and that he has provided the right explanation of why we ought to care about them. Then I address Williams’ account of why God would greatly enhance the meaning of our lives, arguing that, if God could do so, then God could by the same token reduce their meaning as well, such that it is unclear that a world with God would offer a net gain in meaning. Finally, I take up Williams’ position that an eternal afterlife with God would greatly enhance the meaning of our lives, contending that, if it would do so, then it would to such an enormous degree as to make it hard to capture the intuition that a meaningful life would be possible in a purely physical world. (shrink)