Comparative Theology
Year:2015 | Volume:6 | Issue:14 |Papers Count:11

The purpose of this article is to study the philosophical foundations of the "Sabean Mandaean" religion in order to extract their educational teachings. The research method is analytical and deductive. Using this method, the anthropological, epistemological, and axiological foundations of this religion have been studied. The main sources in this study are the Mandaean holy books, especially Genza Rabba and Drasha ed Yaḥya....

Religion and monotheistic beliefs are the bases of the human societies and culture and communications are the most important manifestations of these bases. About the three elements of religion, culture and communications, which act as the distinctions of human beings from other beings, and the relationship among them, many discussions have been occurred. In this article, the definitions offered for religion, culture and communication and their relationship, using the literature governing the Intercultural Communication and Cross-cultural Communication as two subjects discussed in the field of Cultural Communication and International Communication, have been reviewed and tried through a novel method to promote the level of religion from a concept usually seen as something such as race, ethnic, identity and life style under the title of international communication and cultural communication to a much higher position and place it under the title of interreligious communication....

One of the questions that arises in religious discourse, is how to explain the concept and sources of joy in human life. This article examines the different debates and the same discussions on the concept of happiness in New Testament and the Quran. However this study is a basic research, for this reason, it checks only sources of happiness and joy in higher level. And we do not discuss in this article about the culture of joy and tools of happiness in life. In the New Testament, religious and spiritual happiness and reaching salvation are obtained through the belief in Christ's ransom.....

In the current world, the comparative study of religions is one of the ways which provides peace and coexistence and makes the believers of religions closer together. Finding the common notions could be a foundation for the dialog among the monotheistic religions and a background to eliminate the misunderstandings and to reach common point of views. The cornerstone of all the common efforts of the believers to the religions is to reach to an understanding for building a better world where true peace is established....

According to the teachings of the Shia, Imam Ali (AS) has unique features by which he earned the merits of becoming the successor to the Prophet (pbuh) as the Imam and Wali. One of the most important of his features is his similarity to the Jesus as one of the greatest prophets before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This similarity was first mentioned in some Islamic traditions, especially the ones narrated through Shiite Isnad in interpretation of the verses 57-59 of the Surta Az-Zukhruf.....

The Holy Koran, the last scared scripture sent by Allah, recommends, based on the verses frequency, seven methods to communicate with the Christians. The important point about these seven models that may be considered interesting is their sequence as they may be applied one after another in the following order:1-Affirmation of some of the Christianity foundations (the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ, Saint Mary and the Apostles)....

Although considered as one of the Hindu religions and despite some similarities, Jainism, due to its attitude towards soul and its origin, is placed somehow contrary to Hinduism. Jainism and Hinduism have many similar characteristic features, including the concepts of samsara, karma and moksha. However, Jain’s attitude to human nature and his final goal and the way to reach that goal distinguishes it from Hinduism. Despite huge complexities of Jainism, it can be said that soul (jiva) plays a critical role in this religion; respect to creatures, no matter in what rank they are (Ahiṃsā), is the main and fundamental rule of Jainism; this respect is derived definitely not from a materialistic aspect, but rather due to a soul which reaches a superior rank of human existence by passing through different worlds; therefore, Jainists, following specific ethical principles and going through severe physical austerities, as a result of which the effect of Matter (Ajiva) on the soul (jiva) is disappeared, can achieve the state of sincerity (Maqam e Kholus) and essence of being. This state has a godlike status in Jainism. However, achieving this feature will be examined by describing the issues relevant to this religion. Clearly, it will be explained by examining the concept of soul and its type and the relationship between soul/body and soul/deed, as well as the issue of incarnation and the way to salvation in this religion.

“Right to life” as the fundamental rights of every person, from the beginning, has been important in the different schools of thought and religions, especially the monotheistic religions. In this paper, we discuss about "execution" and "abortion" as two of the most fundamental issues surrounding the "right to life", which has existed in human societies from the past to present. In Zoroastrianism, the punishment of "whip" has been more significant than other punishments, including the execution, however, in several cases, the execution is imported, such as eating human flesh, banditry, etc.....

The Jewish reformist effort is a modernist movement which began under the influence of Christian Enlightenment, the proponents of which asked for a series of reformation within the Judaism so that they could guarantee a modernist approach in Jewish thought and have new experiences.Prior to that, the formation of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century Europe, along with the occurrence of the French Revolution, had caused the intellectualistic thoughts to spread. The scholars supporting intellectualism believed that the proving of everything even the religious propositions was applicable only through the intellect, they also emphasized on the motto of freedom and equality of all nations....

As a universal human phenomenon, religion is rooted in human nature, and human beings instinctively require a superior and supreme power. Besides this internal need for religion, attention to the meaning, function, and interpretation of religion has always been prevalent in the history of human thought from West to East, and scholars have always tried to comment on and analyze this fundamental issue of human life. From among the approaches that arose about the interpretation and explanation of religion, rationalism tendency—influenced by evolution—has stood up because in the establishment of religion, rationalism takes its genesis and evolution as manifestations of the evolution of human thought, and it takes the development and evolution of religion as equal.....