ANDISHE-E-NOVIN-E-DINI
Year:2012 | Volume:7 | Issue:27|Papers Count:12

The problem of imagination has been considered among those permanently dealt with in theology and theological antropolgy both. Wolfhart Pannenberg, a contemporary German theologian, when examining the discussions made on religious experience, tried to present a new point of view in the field. Being aware of the weaknesses and strenths of the views proposed on religious, discarding the weaknesses and retaining the strenths, he, therefore, put forth the problem of imagination under some of his anthropological opinions on religious experience. This paper examined Pannenberg‘s epistemological grounds of anthropology, regarding modern thought in general and Christian theology in particular, briefly at first and then, explained his views on the place of human imagination and its properties as a capacity for encountering God.

Definition of religion is regarded as a challenging and important treatment in different fields of religious studies particularly in psychological, social and phenomenological fields and in this way, it has appeared as a new theological problem. In this paper, some special principles of deffernt definitions of religion and the imporatance of the definitions have been studied and, with an imphasis on psychological, social and phenomenological definitions, the factors differentiating the definitions have been introduced as: disregarding religion as an independent reality in human life, disregarding the distinction between realized religion and ideal religion, numerous aspects of religion, various fields in religious studies with disagreement in presuppositions and accepted theories.

This paper studies the existential aspects of human soul in Allamah Tabatabaee‘s view. For him, though human soul is of no reasonable limitation, one can count the most important aspects of human existential gradation leading to his/her personality, happiness and misery as those of epistemology, instinct, will, action and divinity. Another consideration on Allamah‘s view prepares seven independent aspects interacting with one another. They consist in the aspects of body, reason, feeling, morality, society, art and religion.

Religious ethics is based on such a particular system that its totality needs something more than common elements and aim. It requires the monotheistic origin of religion also. Ethics is known to be a part of religion along with practical orders and articles of faith and thereof some functions are to be done by religion of which the most prominent consist in describing ethical concepts, moderating human selfishness, preparing holiness and final purpose for ethics. The most prominent distinction of religious ethics lies in its Divine base, spiritualism, returning to Divine fundamental laws of creation, relying on reason, narration, human nature and reasonable support of ethics on the principle of ethical and reasonable virtue and vice; the basic principle of religious ethics.

Human natural and existential aspects and, in particular, human material substance have always been attended by theologians and philosophers. Having studied human real nature and mostly knowing it as moist soil and unchangeable object, philosophers and theologians, on their special views of human being and essence, have serveyed the traditions in the field in detail and proposed challangable discussions. This paper has reviewed the traditions, some scholar‘s explanations and finally, regarding some objections by determinists has explaind its own view in the field.

This paper has studied the question: does the effect of praying contradict the causal order of the univers? Brummer and Allamah have intended to explain the order of universe and praying without any contradiction with regard to science and religion. Brummer views the establishment of praying in contradiction with the necessity of causal order of universe. Allamah, however, proves the necessary principle of cause and effect in a manner in full agreement with extraordinary events such as miracles and effecs of praying.

In many of Sunnite‘s resources including Quran commentaries, historical and traditional ones it has been transmitted from the Prophet that after him, twelve caliphs would come one after another. As is transmitted by Moslem in his sahih the magnitude and greatness of Islam come from them. Nevertheless, Sunnite theologians have not attended to decide or confirm the true cases of caliphs and have given unfair descriptions in this ground. This paper, relying only on Sunnite basic resources and sayings, has introduced the caliphs by number, name and distinguishing features.

Beda‘is counted one of the imamiyah religious belief rooted in Quran and traditions. As is understood by numerous objective cases in Quran and traditions, beda‘ occurs only in a part of the world of creation. This paper has tried to study the subject and, referring to literal and technical meanings of beda‘ in the view of Shiites and Sunnites, to introduce some established cases of beda‘ in Quran and traditions. And finally, describing the relation of beda‘ to Divine knowledge, it has conclude that Quranic verses and traditions are in full agreement with Shiite‘s view in the field.

Planting has attended the problem of God in two modes: provability and justifiability. The former has been attended by this paper. He has taken two considerable steps in this aspect. Planting has studied cosmological, teleological and ontological proofs critically at first and then, proposing a new form of ontological proof on the basis of modal logic, he tried to cinclude that though this proof does not necessitates belief in a necessary being, it leads to the reasonability of the belief. This paper has examined Plantinga‘s view on ontological proof and criticized some of his considerations.

The belief of Divine caliph is the one supported by Quran, demonstrative proof and mysticism. The Prophet of Islam is the most distinct one among Divine caliphs to whom prophecy ended, though his various roles as Divine caliph mentioned in Quran, would never come to an end. The reason why lies in the fact that human societies and the world of creation respectively need continuous divine laws and existential grace provided by the existence of Divine caliph. In the paper it has been explained that theology inspired by Quran, demonstrative proof and theosophy inspired by the problem of Divine grace have explained the necessity for the contiuous existence of Divine caliph under the title of pure Imam.