Journal of Religious Studies
Year:2020 | Volume:14 | Issue:27|Papers Count:13

Contemporary societies are inadvertently exposed to the conditions that have emerged through the complex process of globalization, and their various areas such as economics, culture and politics are influenced by it. As glocal phenomena, New Religious Movements (NRMs) use opportunities arising from globalization to advance their goals, and are subject to the transformation of their teachings through global interactions. Thus, there is no way to talk about NRMs without considering global perspective. Many of the NRMs in Japan, in the context of IT Revolution and exposure to global information exchanges in the globalized world, have adapted themselves to globalization requirements, and even if in some cases (such as Aum Shinrikyō ) have taken steps against it, they have used its capacities at the same time. Some of the emerging NRMs in the post-Aum era (such as Kagamikyō ), seeking a combination of the global identity and local identity, have emerged as global super-religions, adapted to the demands of globalization. They also have focused on both the religious and the secular in both local and global arenas.

In Schleiermacher’ s theological system, the concept of Feeling (Gefü hl) has a significant role and the foundation of Religious Experience, in his view, is based on it. In this article, the most important question is related to the concept of Feeling from Schleiermacher’ s viewpoint with emphasis on his works up to 1792 C. E. Schleiermacher lived in a time when philosophers were faced with a kind of metaphysics and theology, that was so different from those of antiquity and the middle ages. Although the main themes of philosophy, such as God, the soul and its immortality, had not lost their focus; philosophers, looked at them from a different perspective, and this led to a revelation in the systems of Scholastic Theology. On the one hand, Schleiermacher is known as a famous priest, and on the other hand, he is known as a philosopher who is influenced by Kantian philosophy. He seeks to redefine religion according to the concept of “ Feeling” in his philosophical theology to rescue it from its decline into Kantian morality. In his early treatises, under the influence of Aristotle and Greek philosophers, and the Kant’ s transcendental philosophy, he tries to save Christian theology from the domination of Kant’ s ideas and Enlightenment rationalism.

Menorah, one of the most prominent symbols of Jewish religion, has its origin in the Bible, and is believed by Jews that it is made by Moses for the Ark of Covenant, according to the God's command. Menorah was the most popular symbol of Judaism till middle Ages and it is evident in graffiti and mosaics of synagogues, container engravings, stone carvings, graves of the dead, stone sarcophaguses, glassworks and etc. Focusing on consideration of the symbol’ s origins and roots leads us to a wide range of meanings like the roots of Bible itself and the impressions this religion has got from the oldest ancient civilizations. In most religions and also in Judaism the presence of God is accompanied by lite or fire which are the symbols of awareness and wisdom. Such that one of its main meanings is considered to be the symbol of God’ s presence and the lite of his recognition. Menorah also is considered to be the symbol of tree of life, tree of knowledge, the seven planets, seven heavens, seven days of creation, seven archangels and etc. Some experts relate its design to fertility goddesses and the sacred trees which are the symbols of those goddesses.

Mystics and Sufis believe that the hadith, as the book of Allah, has an appearance and a reality. A very important point is the metahistorical and hermeneutic view of the mystics in confrontation of mystical and Sufi hadiths which is due to their kind of view. They believe that the way of the hadith narrators, which noted more on the hadith evidence, excludes hadith from perception its contents. For example, the narrative of Adam’ s creation on God’ s image which the first time mentioned in Genesis, is one of the documentation of Sufis, Considering that this teaching was first mentioned in Bible, jurists and hadith narrators, consider it as an adaptation from Jewish heritage, giving it the title of the Isra'iliyyat (attributing to Israil), and consider it spurious hadiths. While from the sight of Mystics, in all Abrahamic religions, this belief that God created Adam in his Image or truth, is a principle and spiritual truth and the fact that in one (Judaism) it is explicitly mentioned in the old testament, and in another (Islam), the same phrase is not mentioned in the Qur'an but in narrative was seen, cannot be a reason for its spurious.

The Holy Spirit is one of the common concepts between Islamic and Christian scriptures which plays a significant role in the worldview of these two religious traditions. This descriptive-comparative study seeks to elucidate the nature of The Holy Spirit in the Bible, the Holy Quran, and their interpretations. The findings of this study indicate that in both books, The Holy Spirit is one of the divine creatures that is personified in some verses, and non-personified in other verses. Some examples show that He is a superior creature to the angels and others believe that He is an angel. There is also evidence that The Holy Spirit and Gabriel are the same in the Qur'an and the Bible, from which their contribution to the creation and administration of the world can be deduced. Similarly, the Holy Spirit is the manifestation of God's "visible presence" and "divine power" on earth that destroys the disobedient nations, transmitting the divine message to divine authorities, and helping them perform miracles. So the "Holy Spirit" can, at least in nature, be regarded as one of the concepts that the Qur'an has "affirmed" throughout the Bible.

Three interpretations of the issue of Pharaoh's salvation can be offered; 1. Pharaoh truly believed and was saved; 2. Pharaoh believed, but his faith did not lead to his salvation, 3. Pharaoh only expressed faith, and his faith was not true or complete or genuine. There is evidence in the Qur'an that Pharaoh was tormented in the Hereafter that is difficult to deny, such as Moses' prayer for Pharaoh and his entourage not to succeed and the answer to his prayer, the existence of very negative and sometimes implicit attributes for Pharaoh in the Qur'an, the literal meaning of verses. The torment of Pharaoh, on the torment of the Hereafter. The third interpretation is not acceptable because of the explicitness of the verse of Pharaoh's faith on his belief and its confirmation with the phrase "now and the height of my disobedience before", while the second interpretation is due to accepting Pharaoh's faith but his faith is not beneficial for his salvation because of the verses that faith They do not consider torment to be beneficial at the moment of revelation, it is more acceptable and more in proportion to the appearance and spirit of the verses of the Qur'an.

Missionary has been an important element from the very beginning of Christian History, according to New Testament's narrations, it began with the activities of Jesus and his disciples. As a result of the early Apostles' activities Christianity gradually became more and more popular, and finally, in fourth century, became the formal religion of the Roman Empire. At the same time, monasticism developed among Christian community. Saint Benedict (d c 547) was one the important figures in Christian monasticism and his mystical order practice an influential effect in the growth of Christian spirituality. Gregory, a follower of Benedictine tradition, was appointed as a Pope and had a crucial influence on the spread of Christianity. In 597 C. E. he sent Augustine of Canterbury along with forty monks of Saint Andrew's monastery to the Britain. By combination of monastic rules with the Church teachings they succeeded to spread Christianity among the British pagans.

The Linga Puranas are included in Siva Puranas, so the God Siva has occupied an important place in these Puranas. Linga Puranas have focused on the characters, manifestations, eightfold forms, and superiority of Siva. Moreover, in these texts, the phallic form of Siva is worshiped. On the basis of various approaches towards Divinity, one can claim in the Linga Puran there are some verses which concentrate on Monotheism, i. e., describe the Siva as one and transcendent God. At the same time, some other verses imply a Pantheistic approach, for the whole university (macrocosm) and even all of the men (microcosm) are considered as Siva’ s body. All thing issue from Him, He is all thing and all thing will return towards Him. He is both transcendent and imminent. We will try to show the relation between God and cosmos.

The New political theology of Johannes Baptist Metz, the German Catholic Church priest, and theologian is one of the most important versions of Christian political theology against the position to the individualism, the privatization of religion, and the privatization of religion, and the authoritarian view of government. Metz calls his political theology “ New political theology” because of his criticism of Carl Schmitt's political theology, and in opposition to it. According to Metz, Schmidt believed in the inherent nature of violence in politics, presented anti-democratic and anti-Semitic political theology that justified the exclusion of others, and led into fascism. Therefore, in this article, we use a descriptive-analytical method to compare Metz and Schmidt's political theology; we will also examine Metz's innovations in Christian political theology and his critique of Schmidt. Metz's main innovation is that he speaks of “ anamnestic reason” based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as the views of the Frankfurt School. This rationality, which is based on critical recollections of the past, can serve as a new starting point for work in the realm of Christian theology and can play an effective role in decision-making and social-political actions.

According to the doctrine of love in the Sufi worldview, the relation between human love and Divine love has always been the subject of debate and has made it a factor to explain the "hierarchy of monotheism". This paper, which is compiled in a descriptiveanalytical and phenomenological approach, shows that for Rū zbahā n Baqlī , the relation between human love and Divine love is not from the viewpoint of “ al-Majaz Qantaratu al-Haqiqah” but from the view that a genuine human love is God’ s love. Rū zbahā n, especially by highlighting the concept of "esoteric monotheism" versus "formal monotheism", reveals significant differences with its three contemporaries, followers of Shari'ah, outspoken Sufis, and most of the mystics of his time. Finally, by explaining the meaning of the two words Ighanah and Iltibas, He introduces the focus on "manifestations" of that eternal truth in the form of creatures, especially human beings, as the only way to understand the eternal beauty of God and to taste the love of communion and attainment of inner monotheism.

The meaning of life is one of the issues of human interests that can be studied from three perspectives: the purpose, the benefit and the value of life. This Paper studies the meaning of life in Judaism from the perspective of the purpose of life and the way to achieve it. In this respect, two goals are drawn for man in Judaism: intimacy with God that is the ultimate goal, and creating a fair society that is a worldly goal. In order to get closer to God, it is necessary for man to believe in God and obey His commands and treat people well, otherwise he will be punished in this world and the hereafter. Only in this world can criminals repent and compensate the mistakes in order to be forgiven for their sins and crimes.

This article compares the views of Richard Rolle (ca. 1300-1349), an English hermit, mystic, writer and Bible interpreter and Aḥ mad Ghazā lī (ca. 1060-1126), an Iranian mystic, writer and preacher on love. These mystics have spoken of love in detail in their works, Fire of Love and Sawā niḥ al-ushshā q. This paper, shows that topics on love in these two books include: The essence of love, the beloved, Characteristics of a lover, Essentials of love and Results of love. Reexamining these categories illustrates the differences and similarities between the two mystics' views of the concept of love and lovers. The ideas of Rolle and Ghazā lī are overlapping in the nature of love, but their views differ significantly on other topics. From Rolle's point of view, love cannot be realized except through the religious context and Christian ethics, and it only makes sense in relation to God, Christ and the Trinity. However, in Ghazā lī 's view, the ontological and psychological aspects of love and lover are more intense, and it is capable of being experienced in relation to God and his creatures. The present study compares the view of this two mystics on the Characteristics of lover in detail.