Ebū Sa`īdovih četrdeset duhovnih postaja

Author(s): Elvir Musić / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 73/2016

Through past centuries Islamic pedagogy has given rise to numerous methods of education of people of different ages and different segments of the human personality. Among these educational methods, a significant place takes the method of spiritual education inherent to tasavvuf approach to religious wisdom. The tasavvuf method of education is based on the gradual purification of the person’s inner self in order to be able to take a journey that leads to spiritual perfection. In accordance with the station in this spiritual journey in which a specific person is and with spiritual states that they feel, different and specific educational methods are applied. Differences in approaches to this spiritual journey, however, gave rise to the different approaches to graduation and the order of the spiritual stations. Among the most detailed gradation of spiritual stations is the one preserved by famous tasavvuf leader Abu Sa`īd Abu-l Hayri.

Can theologizing be equated to a mere repetition of magisterial teachings?

Author(s): Vimal Tirimanna / Language(s): English Issue: 14/2016

During the past three or four decades, it has become a popular but shallow trend to portray Catholic theology as a mere repetition of the hierarchical magisterial teachings. This is not only contrary to the clear indications given by the Second Vatican Council but also completely out of step with the Church’s cherished theological Tradition. Since theology is basically the faith seeking an understanding within a given context, it follows automatically, that while the essence of faith cannot be tampered with, the accidentals of faith can be expressed in a variety of ways as the particular contexts demand. Of course, the hierarchical magisterium is an indispensable source of Catholic theology but that does not mean theologizing could be boiled down to a mere repetition of hierarchical magisterial teachings. Surely, any unhealthy plurality of theologizing has to be shunned, but a healthy plurality of theology as such has always been welcome from the Biblical times to our day. As such, all exaggerated fears of some people that all plurality of theologizing is unsound and could lead to relativism, subjectivism, etc., and so, the only way to have genuine theologizing is to repeat what the hierarchical magisterium proclaims, is not only unrealistic but badly erroneous.

Obecność tradycji w afrykańskiej nowoczesności

Author(s): Jacek Jan Pawlik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 53/2016

Based mainly on the author’s own experience and field research in Togo, the article outlines the way in which tradition is woven into modernity, as political and social discourse uses a worldview based on traditional religion. Is the rejection of tradition by young people related to its strength of inhibiting the development? The following were analyzed: the imperative of family solidarity, which hinders the development of the individual and ritualism forcing to sacrifice any savings for the organization of festive events and witchcraft, which provides the explanation of inequality in public life. In all these areas, the tradition is not only present, but it plays an important role as a stabilizing factor, explaining and encompassing social reality.

Yoga între magic și mistic

Author(s): Liviu Bordaş / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 12/2016

The present paper addresses a frequently-asked question concerning the problematic relation between personal belief and scholarship in such fields as the History of Religions by focusing on Eliade’s early life and writings (1921–1936), specifically on his work on Yoga. Eliade’s interest in Yoga, of course, showcases his own personal spiritual quest. But it is also informed by his earlier readings and reflections on two polar aspects of the religious experience: the magical and the mystical. For Eliade these two categories provide not only a key to unlocking the conceptual and pragmatic dimensions of Yoga, but also the impetus for charting a systematic theory of religion. The last major expression of these early ideas can be seen in Yoga: Essai sur les origines de la mystique indienne (1936). Subsequently, Eliade’s thought on Yoga and religion develops along different lines, reaching its full expression in works published in Paris after 1945. In his later books on Yoga – Techniques du Yoga (1948), Le Yoga: Immortalité et liberté (1954) – the two-fold schema of the magical and the mystical no longer play a key hermeneutical role. Nonetheless, understanding this early phase of his work is crucial if we are to provide a comprehensive account of the development of his thought on Yoga. This early phase of his scholarly career and experiential transformation, marked by his trip to India, is also very important in order to understand the further developments of his ideas on History of Religions, as well as to evince the ground on which Eliade built his own – never confessed – private religious belief.

Antygrawitacyjne aspekty religijności człowieka

Author(s): Czesław Walesa / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2016

Gravity is a natural force found in different dimensions. Mental gravity includes inertia, addiction, mindlessness and other similar processes or states. Anti-gravity, on the other hand, includes activity, freedom, openness, mindfulness, etc. Religiosity is a personal and positive relation of human to God. Processes of religiosity – according to its structural definition – include the following clusters of processes (parameters): (1) religious awareness, (2) religious feelings, (3) religious decisions (preferences), (4) a bond with a community of believers, (5) religious practices, (6) religious morality, (7) religious experiences, and (8) forms of confessing the faith (especially prayerful and sacrificial acts and the sense of mystery). The article is meant as an analysis of anti-gravitational processes of religiosity in the above mentioned domains. It presents a specific language about and a fragment of the language of religiosity.

Zdrowie i medycyna w religiach świata

Author(s): Małgorzata Maciejczyk / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2013

The problem with health, diseases, pain and suffering accompanies every society from the beginning of humanity. The life and health of a man are considered as a unity. That is why in every society and during all the history all religions are devoted to the matter of health which is essential for a sensible life. Religion teaches people that it is extremely important to bring methods and remedies to health in order to improve it during the illness, pain and suffering. Health is the natural state of an every human being. In this paper I present attitudes to health and medicine of ancient religious beliefs in Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome and of four religions: judaism, christianity, islam and buddism.

Marsjański kalendarz liturgiczny

Author(s): Piotr Karocki / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2015

This article presents problems related to creating liturgical calendar for Mars colonists, assumed to land on Mars (accordingly to Mars One Project) in year 2024. It consist of five parts: why to colonize space; brief history of Earth calendar; deep correlation of liturgical calendar (e.g. fests) with astronomical events; last two parts present idea of civil Martian calendar and list difficulties related to extraterrestrial liturgical calendar.

Prawda historyczna Pisma Świętego. Refleksja na kanwie nowego dokumentu Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej

Author(s): Marcin Majewski / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2015

The new document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission „The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture” elaborates on the truth in the Bible, also in the context of historical problems that emerge form biblical text. The consensus of modern historians and archaeologists is moving towards separating biblical history and history as a science. In this article I present contemporary discussion on this issue, then I ask, how the document of Pontifical Biblical Commission treats this issue. At the end I suggest directions for further work of biblical scholars.

TEIZM, NATURALIZM I EWOLUCJA

Author(s): Szymon Paweł Dziczek / Language(s): Polish Issue: 33/2016

The review of: Nauka i religia. Czy można je pogodzić? by Daniel Dennett and Alvin Plantinga; Kraków: Copernicus Center Press, 2014

Elektryczność burzowa możliwym źródłem kerygmatu zesłania Ducha Świętego

Author(s): Marek Szczerbiński / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2013

The author presents and argues for his view that the source of the kerygma of Pentecost (“tongues as of fire”) may be the phenomenon of an electrical storm. Since the author of the text is a scientist, the approach to the subject is natural, not theological. Natural phenomena in the Bible are divided into four groups. “Tongues as of fire” (Acts 2 : 3) belong to the last group: rare but natural phenomena are dislocated by the authors of the saint books from everyday life into the time and place where the sign is needed. The concept is justified with the descriptions of this phenomenon in ancient literature.

Recenzja: TOMASZ MARIA DĄBEK - STANISŁAW JANKOWSKI SDB, Geografia biblijna, Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna „Adam”, Warszawa 2007, 296 s.

Author(s): Tomasz Maria Dąbek OSB / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2010

Naukowe spojrzenie na wybrane zagadnienia liturgiczne w pontyfikacie papieża Benedykta XVI

Author(s): Peter Caban / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2010

In the social and Church life of this age questions regarding the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, and his relationship to the liturgy are often discussed in the media. There is discussion on whether the behavior of the current Pope is seamed liturgical progress or regress. In many countries these questions have been asked by some journalists but even clergymen have varying opinions regarding these questions. Therefore, I chose this topic as the theme of my study, desiring also to write something concerning the great Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict XVI deals with the liturgy personally, celebrating it accurately through his published works which have helped renew the current liturgy.

Herodion – nowe odkrycia w pałacu-twierdzy króla Heroda Wielkiego

Author(s): Roman Bogacz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2009

Około 15 km od Jerozolimy w kierunku południowo-wschodnim znajduje się wzgórze w kształcie ściętego stożka, z daleka przypominające wulkan. Są to ruiny twierdzy zbudowanej przez króla Heroda Wielkiego. Prace archeologiczne były prowadzone w tym miejscu już od XIX wieku.

Ismail Faruki i islamizacija znanja: kritički osvrt

Author(s): Seid Halilović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 3/2016

Muslim thinkers in the XX century offered different analyses of the relationship between traditional Islamic knowledge and modern Western sciences. In the beginning, it was thought that in the light of modern sciences Muslims could stop the process of multiple weakening of their societies. However, as various shortcomings of the Western culture started being noticed, there were more and more talks about the need for a modern Islamic science, or even new Islamic universities. The extremely influential Isma’il al Faruqi undoubtedly deserves most credits for popularizing the issues of islamization of knowledge and science. Believing that in the reform of the educational system should be recognised the key solution to the overall crisis in the Islamic world, al Faruqi, in collaboration with his closest friends from the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) formulated general principles, objectives and a detailed plan of the process of islamization of knowledge. He suggested that the Muslim experts should get well acquainted with modern sciences, and then to creatively connect those sciences with the Islamic heritage, in the light of basic Islamic concepts and views. However, using the method of philosophical analysis of contents of al Faruqi’s writings on islamization of knowledge, we can see that his approach to understanding of Islam is burdened with pronounced literalism. He was an extreme opponent of the philosophical and mystical heritage of Islam, and also he had little knowledge of basic flows of dogmatic theology in Islam, which he necessarily preferred. Al Faruqi reduced Islamic intellect to the level of the instrument for solving problems in a person’s physical life and he believed that it is harmful to think about metaphysical and esoteric truths. Finally, al Faruqi’s analysis of the essential nature of modern sciences is essentially simple. He did not focus at all on the crucial, complex and hidden epistemological principles of different cognitive stages of Post-Renaissance Western science. Thus, his idea of islamization of knowledge resembles a simple mechanical structure, whose methodological frameworks and cognitive norms are far from clear. Hence, we cannot accurately predict cultural and social destiny of this structure, and it is certainly possible that it will differ in no way from the modern Western science.

Evolucija svemira i života

Author(s): Georges De Schrijver / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 40-41/2011

U sljedećem prilogu želio bih temeljitije analizirati izazove pred koje je danas stavljena teologija s obzirom na suvremene modele kozmosa. Gledano s aspekta fizike, svi ovi modeli pokušavaju, među ostalim, odgovoriti na pitanja kako je sve počelo te što mi kao ljudska bića dugujemo stalnom širenju univerzuma i nastanku galaksija u njemu. Pitanja o početku univerzuma uvijek su pobuđivala zanimanja teologa, ali se danas traganje za „točkom“ od koje je sve počelo oslobodilo pitanja o Bogu. Već dulje vrijeme prirodoznanstvenici zastupaju metodički ateizam, što ih dakako ne priječi da ponekad osjete čuvstvo strahopoštovanja. No posve razumljivo vraćanje metafizičkom prvom uzroku ne spada na posao astrofizičara. Mi smo danas daleko od strahopoštovanja jednog Newtona, koji je u redu prirode gledao suvremeno i moćno djelovanje Svevladara, koji je sve stvari podložio svojoj volji.

Kreacionizam i evolucija

Author(s): Willem B. Drees / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 40-41/2011

Adam i Eva bili su povijesni likovi: ovog je mišljenja – prema jednom istraživanju Sociaal Cultureel Planbureaua iz 1994. – 37% nizozemskoga stanovništva. Samo 11% smatra, međutim, da Bibliju treba uzeti kao doslovnu istinu; 47% ljudi smatra je – jezikom njezina vremena – od Boga nadahnutom, dok je ostali smatraju ljudskom knjigom drevnih bajki, legendi, priča i moralnih kodova. Očito je da ni svi oni koji Adama i Evu smatraju povijesnim likovima nisu skloni uzeti doslovno Knjigu postanka; neki je smatraju evolucijskim pogledom na svijet.

Procesna teologija i evolucija

Author(s): Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 40-41/2011

Koji konstruktivni prilog daje procesna filozofija projektu teologije stvaranja koji se ravna prema misli evolucije? Ovo pitanje htio bih istražiti u tri koraka. Najprije ću ukratko sažeti neke od temeljnih misli ove filozofije a onda na nekim primjerima jasno pokazati kako su ih biolozi primijenili na svoju teoriju evolucije. U posljednjem ću koraku polazeći od procesno-filozofskog polazišta za dalekosežnu raspravu prikazati kršćanski nauk o Bogu kao Stvoritelju i svijetu kao stvorenju.

Teorije evolucije i biblijski nauk o stvaranju

Author(s): Antony F. Campbell / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 40-41/2011

Od temeljnoga je značaja spoznaja da ne postoji jedan biblijski nauk o stvaranju kao ni jedna teorija evolucije. Glede biblijskoga prikazivanja stvaranja slaganje se sastoji u iskazu da je Bog stvorio svijet; slaganje glede evolucije vlada u pogledu da se svijet razvija. Obje tvrdnje izriču s jedne strane mnogo, a s druge istodobno vrlo malo. Ovim člankom namjeravam osobama bez prethodne egzegetske izobrazbe otvoriti pristup pogledima nekolicine biblijskih stručnjaka na biblijske tekstove i kritične aspekte biblijskih tekstova s obzirom na pitanje stvaranja odnosno evolucije te ponuditi kao prirodan zaključak iz toga izvjestan uvid u znanstvene sklopove. Na nekim je mjestima neophodno pozabaviti se tim teškim pitanjima, naime ondje gdje se Biblija križa s prirodnom znanošću ili teologijom.

Evolucija i Biblija - dva koda - dvije poruke

Author(s): Bas Van Iersel / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 40-41/2011

U prosincu 1995. pročitao sam, pod nazivom „Žderati ili biti požderan“, prikaz knjige Richarda Dawkinsa s biblijski obojenim naslovom „River Out of Eden. A Darwinian View of Life“.2 U rijeci u raju Post 2 vidi Dawkins rijeku genetskih informacija koja teče iz raja stvaranja, naime DNK s informacijama i kodovima za izgradnju tijelā koja mogu opstati i dalje se razmnožavati. Prema autoru, geni su dakle nositelji DNK, egoistični, jer posrijedi je budućnost u žestokoj konkurenciji, u kojoj samo jači pobjeđuje. Drugim riječima, tko gleda u prirodu, vidi samo egzistencijalnu borbu za reprodukciju uspješnih gena u neprijateljskom okruženju. Darwinova „prirodna selekcija“, „borba za preživljavanje“ i „preživljavanje najjačega“ dobivaju time novi aktualni kontekst, suvremeni oblik, ali sada s izazovnim starim zaključkom u postdarvinističkoj verziji, riječima jednog recenzenta:

Poruka Teilharda de Chardina

Author(s): Lodovico Galleni / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 40-41/2011

Nakon prve oduševljene i djelomično nekritičke faze recepcije djela francuskog isusovca uslijedilo je prilično dugo vrijeme u kojem je izgledalo da je on očito pao u zaborav. U stvarnosti radilo se o godinama tiha i vrlo plodonosna rada. Njegov vrhunac dosegnut je na skupu godišnje konferencije o svemiru i stvaranju u svibnju 1994. koji su Loyola College u Baltimoru i Georgetown University posvetili osobi i djelu p. Teilharda.