Comparative Religion

Although the notion that Slavic mythology included an
afterlife that was geographically distributed through an otherworld has
occasionally been questioned due to the lack of necessary sources, this
article aims to cast light on a set of gods that scholars have tended to
associate with death – Nija, Morana, Černobog, Karačun, Veles, Triglav
and Černoglav – in order to clarify a series of specific points. Namely, do
they really belong to the category of death deities? Can they be considered
as rulers of the otherworld, or do they have something to do with
dualistic fertility rites involving death and the regeneration of nature? By
answering these significant questions, this article will seek to determine
whether we can speak of Slavic death deities, not in terms of hypotheticals
and theoretical reconstructions, but with a certainty stemming from
source analysis - unless lack of evidence ultimately makes any conclusion
prohibitive.

Walking an unexplored path, Huiwen Helen Zhang contextualizes Kafka’s pithy and cryptic parable, “Wish, to Become Indian,” in his transplantation of Daoist philosophy—an astonishing cross-cultural enigma that Zhang terms “Kafka’s Dao”—and parses it through a micro-level approach that Zhang terms “transreading.” Contextualizing “Wish, to Become Indian” in Kafka’s dialogue with ancient Chinese philosophers such as Laozi, Liezi, and Zhuangzi enables the reader to comprehend a series of otherwise incomprehensible puzzles. Zhang’s scrutiny of Kafka’s Dao shows how, through creative writing, Kafka not only penetrates esoteric Daoist classics, but also furthers their spirit in a way that transcends Richard Wilhelm, the pioneer European Sinologist. Transreading “Wish, to Become Indian” illuminates nuances that otherwise might have been overlooked. Wordplay, punctuational oddity, syntactic complexity, lyric density, and the curiously interlaced tenses and cases are all part of the idiosyncratic delivery of Kafka’s message. Integrating the four activities of transreading—lento reading demanded and enhanced by cultural hermeneutics, creative writing required and inspired by poetic translation—unravels Kafka’s riddle as a historical-cultural phenomenon.

The political reality of many countries in the Muslim World is untenable and reforms and change is absolutely necessary. This article argues that use of force and violence for political change is making things worse as one can witness in Syria and Iraq. The article advances a Qur'ānic perspective on the desirability of peace as a goal and peaceful means as instruments of change. The article acknowledges that the Qur'ānic sanction for use of force to defend religious freedom prcludes the advocacy of pacifism but nevertheless the article does make a strong case for privileging peace over use of force.

The aim of this paper is to analyze both sections of Clement of Alexan‐ dria’s Protrepticus (1, 2‐5) and Eusebius of Caesarea’s Laus Constantini (14, 5) in which the Christian authors allude to the figure of Orpheus in light of the so‐called orphic traditions attested in Greco‐Roman culture (including Jew‐ ish and Proto‐Christian groups). The methodological background from which the analysis starts is the concept of «indigenization», a well‐known category debated in contemporary anthropological research. In this article, the author compares the Christian texts under analysis with other Greco‐Roman treat‐ ments of the figure of Orpheus, as well as with archaeological remains rep‐ resenting a male figure (identified with Orpheus by scholars) in the mean‐ while he is tranquilizing beasts with his music. The comparison with such elements appears as really central in this essay: the musical imagery em‐ ployed by Clement and Eusebius emerges as a specific discursive practice in order to carry out a program of indigenization as regards the Christian ideo‐ logical proprium.

The "Eye of the Heart" is the faculty by which we can apprehend spiritual reality. Due to modern Western psychology’s rejection of its metaphysical roots, this potential has been largely eclipsed in us. This has fractured our relationship with the natural world and other sentient beings, causing a host of mental health challenges to arise. This, in turn, has led to a failure to adequately diagnose and properly treat these maladies that have so grievously afflicted our communities.

Rize'de geleneksel sağaltıcılık uygulamalarında iki şifacı kişilik öne çıkar. Bu iki özne, bir annenin ilk çocuğu ile bir annenin son çocuğudur. Doğuştan sağaltma gücüne sahip ve eli uğurlu kabul edilen ana siftesi ile ana küçüğü, halk hekimliği uygulamalarının aranan kişisidir. “Eşe oturtma, korkuluk alma, duşek kesme, tartma  vs.” gibi uygulamalar, ana siftesi ile ana küçüğünün rol aldığı hekimlik uygulamalarındandır.
Çalışmada öncelikle ana siftesi ve ana küçüğü (siftekilik sorakilik) inancını tanımlamak, atfedilen kutsallık düşüncesinin sınırlarını belirlemek ve bu olgunun mitolojik anlamını ve kültürdeki izlerini tartışmak amaçlanmıştır. Ana siftesi ve ana küçüğü olgusunda anneye yapılan vurguyu, toplumsal cinsiyet açısından ele almak çalışmanın önemli bir odağıdır. Geleneğin ifade ettiği kabuller dünyası, ana siftesi ve ana küçüğünün etkin olduğu halk hekimliği uygulamaları etrafında yeniden tartışılacaktır.
Anahtar kelimeler: Halk hekimliği, ana siftesi, ana küçüğü, siftekilik sorakilik, Karadeniz kültürü, toplumsal cinsiyet.

Keywords: Folk medicine, a mothers’s first child, a mother’s last child, to be the firstborn, to be the last born, Black Sea culture, gender.

Summary: This dispatch covers Ekwensu and its relation to Yeshua. Other mythological and metaphorical figures and forces mentioned at least briefly includeMoses, Aganju, Khebioso, Inyonyi-Yezulu, Esu, Khonsu, Osiris, Egbesu, Bast. These figures were invented by related cultures with differing political agendas but derive from related linguistic roots and concepts, namely the -s- sound which means in general, to gush out, to shoot forth, to cause, to create, to begin”. In the interest of time and expediency many citations were left out by the author but they are not difficult to find using internet resources such as Google Books. Political-religious researchers and research committees may request the author for specific sources. At the same time they are encouraged to verify the information and proliferate the information.

This is the Ph.D. dissertation done in 1968 at the University of Wisconsin.  It represents work done nearly 50 years ago without the aid of a computer or even an electric typewriter.  The work attempts to show the changes in a Buddhist sutra over the centuries from the Sanskrit and Chinese witnesses.

Julius Calpurnius Piso, a son of Arrius Piso, was the author of The Revelation. He was married to Hadrian's sister and was father-in-law of Tacitus' son. He wanted his grandson to become emperor after Hadrian, and was killed by Hadrian in 137 CE along with his grandson. Instead, his descendants became bishops of Rome & Alexander Severus, emperor.

Il ver sacrum ritrae una peculiare tipologia di meccanismo votivo, ben conosciuta nelle fonti dell’Italia centro-meridionale preromana. Si trattava di un impegno solenne assunto dai componenti di un gruppo sociale nei confronti di una divinità (di regola Marte), in occasione di circostanze infauste, consistente in una offerta di primizie agrarie, animali e uomini, venuti alla luce nella primavera successiva, per ottenerne in cambio un beneficio tangibile, come ad esempio quello di scongiurare pericoli e sventure, e che – di norma – determinava una migrazione. È quanto sembra emergere dall’analisi dei frammenti di taluni autori dell’antichità che – secondo il linguista Giacomo Devoto (1897-1974) – ne farebbe risalire l’origine a specifici poli di origine indoeuropea. Il presente studio tenta – per comparazione storico-religiosa – di far emergere discrepanze tra il rito italico e la sua variante romana, attraverso una puntuale discussione critica.

This paper explores the concept of ‘Circum-Baltic mythology’ as an outcome of long-term contacts between cultures in the Baltic Sea region. Regional variations in the mythology of a culture are approached as “dialects” and the mythologies of cultures of the Baltic Sea region are approached as “macro-dialects” with both shared features and differences. Case studies mentioned in the title are presented to illustrate different types of contact-based developments in these macro-dialects of mythology.

Since ancient times celestial thunder gods have been a familiar feature in mythologies throughout the Indo-European language area. Their Irish counterpart, the Dagda, is a major personage at the centre of the Mythological Cycle, and his possible connections to the Scandinavian god Thor are examined here. Following a brief section dealing with questions of methodology, points of comparison are addressed which include the two gods' common primary role as defenders of their realm; their place in the assembly of gods; their principal weapons and implements (iron club/hammer/harp, cauldron); their associations with cosmology and artisans; and their visits to the abode of their monstrous adversaries, incorporating elements of the burlesque. Both gods appear in versions of the international tale ATU 1148B 'The Thunder Instrument' (Thor in the Old Norse poem Þrymskviða, and the Dagda's recovery of his harp from the Irish Mythological Cycle), and the nature of the parallels between the two versions is examined. The question of a borrowing during the Viking era, or of an inherited body of tradition possibly from Indo-European times, is discussed: the international tale type also leads to the myth, at a further temporal and geographical remove, of the Greek god Zeus and the theft of his thunderbolts. A proposed sequential account of the development and evolution of both gods from remote antiquity is provided.

This dissertation analyzes how the worship of traditional Yoruba deities has now become a modern “religion,” but was previously understood and practiced very differently. A growing body of research emphasizes how the concept of “religion” is largely unique to the modern West, and while such work usually examines how interactions with the West changed religious life in other societies in historical perspective, this work also addresses those whose religious life can presently be described as “pre-religious.” As the Yoruba word ẹsin—usually translated as “religion”—is more akin to “form of worship,” the dissertation examines how an understanding of religious traditions (indigenous, Muslim, and Christian) as various “forms of worship” as opposed to reified “religions” might change the way religious identity, practice, and dynamics could be understood in a contemporary and historical perspective.
By developing more indigenous models for religious phenomena based on fieldwork carried out in Ẹdẹ, Nigeria, I enlist this religious perspective to account for dynamics that have attracted a great deal of attention from scholars of Yoruba society and religion such as the high degree of religious tolerance, syncretism, and interaction before the 1970s-80s. Furthermore it tracks the subtle and largely unperceived shift in religious orientation towards more modern, closed, and reified conceptions of religion and the types of complications that arise as a result. At the same time, the dissertation addresses the role Yoruba-inspired religion in Brazil has played in the formation of a traditional Yoruba religion, and brings this process of transition from “forms of worship” to “religion” to bear on the important discourse on authenticity in Salvador, Brazil, offering a new historical perspective on the tradition of syncretism with Roman Catholicism.

The native English Heathen religion had a cult in which the pinnacle and most important deity was its Earth Goddess. Also, that cult was the most important in the religion, and many people continued to think of themselves as the Earth goddess' children even under Catholic supremacy. The conclusion is supported by Old English literature, archeological evidence, place names, and analogies from foreign religions, including Proto-Germanic religion.

RE: Facades, illusions & ideological concepts created & promoted by ancient royalty out of necessity; effective creation of an alternate version of reality. It is only by knowing this information that the true nature of ancient texts may be understood correctly. Not knowing, means making incorrect assumptions & conclusions. Important!

Inscriptions from the New Kingdom relate that the Great Sphinx was regarded as an image of Horemakhet. In this study we focus on the religious meaning of Horus in the Akhet in the context of the Heliopolitan Cosmogony, as well as the initiatory context of the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead. We also cover the feline deities associated to the Sphinx: Sekhmet, Bastet, Ruty, Aker, etc.

Agama merupakan satu unsur utama yang sangat penting dalam kehidupan manusia. Walaupun keperluan beragama ini adalah hak individu dan pilihan hidup masing-masing, akan tetapi sehingga kini perbincangan yang mendalam berkenaan kehidupan beragama dan tidak beragama sehingga wujud perbahasan dari segi agama & akidah, hak asasi manusia, falsafah dan pemikiran berkenaan isu keperluan beragama bagi manusia ini.

Hermann, Pernille, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jens Peter Schjødt, and Amber J. Rose, eds. 2017. Old Norse Mythology—Comparative Perspectives. Publications of the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature,  3.  Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

Tem sido unânime na bibliografia especializada o reconhecimento da função inspiradora exercida por um "livrinho" castelhano, intitulado Differença d'a Christandade, para o início do processo de tradução da primeira versão regular da Bíblia em português, idealizada por João Ferreira de Almeida no século XVII. O objetivo deste artigo é sintetizar as principais informações já produzidas sobre este breve tratado anticatólico, bem como apresentar as mais recentes descobertas sobre sua autoria, edições e significado histórico. Consultar também https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085J2CKX6/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_hAAJEb0YVVF93

Tantric Agamas, considered to be divine revelation, are in dialogical format. In their monistic philosophy, Abhinavagupta and Ksemaraja exploit this unique aspect of Agamas and apply it to address the nature of the self that is identical with consciousness as well as the supreme divinity, Siva. This theological assumption derives from the linguistic philosophy where consciousness and speech are inseparable. When applied in the context of the mantra speech, this concept provides a theological foundation for explaining the eternal dialogue of Siva and Sakti, where the truth is constantly expressing itself. This understanding contrasts not only with the idea that truth is revealed in a monologue by the transcendent entity, but it also makes the manifestation of the absolute an eternal process. In other words, truth is dynamic, is constantly being revealed, and is always manifest dialogically. Preliminary remarks: Srutis in the Agama literature Within the parameters of a broader discourse of what constitutes Hindu theology, this article addresses the way certain texts, Sruti or revelation in general, are considered authoritative. Even when we bracket the aspect of orthopraxy, Hindu traditions do not rely on a single text, and even when certain texts are considered authoritative, different theologians give different reasons for their validity. The issue here, therefore, is the way textual authority is framed within Hindu systems. A particular focus here is the authority of the Saiva and Skta Agamas. Tantric theologians argue for the validity of the ?gamas based on the premise that these texts are a dialogical emanation of the absolute and therefore are the very absolute in a tangible form. Tantras and Vedas broadly adopt the same cultural presuppositions with regard to the power and efficacy of mantra speech. This is not to argue that both are identical, as on many occasions, they also reflect a cultural shift.  It is thus not reasonable to address the concept of Sruti in the Tantras by isolating the broad parameters outlined in the Vedic tradition.

"The purpose of this article is to determine the extent, if any, of schismatic Christian influences on the Qur’an’s misunderstanding about the nature of Christ. It will identify the dissonant Christian groups present in Arabia at the time of Muhammad, as well as discuss their Christological views, the probability of Muhammad’s contact with them, and the likelihood that Muhammad borrowed from these groups in creating the Qur’anic view of Jesus. In the end, it is probable that the Qur’an partially, though not consistently, reflects some of the competing Christologies among Christian schismatics in Arabia at the time of Muhammad" (taken from the introduction).

Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942), born and educated in Poland,
helped to establish British social anthropology. His classic
monographs on the Trobriand Islanders were published between
1922 and 1935, when he was a professor of anthropology at the
London School of Economics. The present collection of
Malinowski's early writings establishes the intellectual background
to this achievement. Written between 1904 and 1914, before
he went to Melanesia, all but two of the essays are published here
in English for the first time. They show how Malinowski's considerable
impact on twentieth-century thought is rooted in the late
nineteenth-century philosophy of Central Europe, especially the
work of Ernst Mach and Friedrich Nietzsche, and in the critical
appraisal of the ethnological theories of Sir James Frazer.

The table of contents is as follows:

Introduction: Malinowski's reading, writing, 1904-1914.  1
  On Malinowski's writings from 1904 to 1914    1
  Nietzsche, Mach and Frazer, and their relationship in Malinowski's work.  3
  Malinowski's personal and intellectual development    9
  The Nietzsche essay: a charter for a theory of myth    16
  The dissertation 'On the economy of thought'    26
  'Religion and magic': observations on Frazer’s The Golden Bough    38
  The methodological critique of Frazer's Totemism and Exogamy,
        the review in Lud    42
  Gender and power in Australian society: ‘Tribal male associations in Australia'    49
  'The economic aspects of the intichiuma ceremonies'    51
  Durkheim's dichotomy disputed    57
  The essay on 'The relation of primitive beliefs to the forms of social organization'  58
  The essay on 'The sociology of the family', a review of the literature    61

Malinowski's writings, 1904-1914
  1. Observations on Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy (1904/5)    67
  2. On the principle of the economy of thought (1906)    89
  3. Religion and magic: The Golden Bough (1910)    117.
  4. Totemism and exogamy (1911-1913)    123
  5. Tribal male associations in Australia (1912).  201
  6. The economic aspects of the intichiuma ceremonies (1912).  209
  7. The relationship of primitive beliefs to the forms of
        social organization (1913)    229
  8. A fundamental problem of religious sociology (1914)    243
  9. Sociology of the family (1913-14)    247

Parallels between the spiritual paths of Theravāda Buddhists and Discalced Carmelites have long been observed, although not satisfactorily explained. This study contributes to objectively clarifying the similarities and differences between the two paths; and to explain their phenomenological similarities and structural affinities.

This paper picks up where some of my other papers left off. That is, it is a supplement. And yet, it also serves as an overview. To better understand this paper, please read my other papers regarding the ancient royal oligarchy and the creation of religion by ancient royals (particularly, those regarding the creation of Christianity).

I've written several papers on the subject of the popes (at this time, about 35). If you are familiar with the work that I have done, then you should know that I have given the genealogies of various popes which were previously unavailable to, and unknown to the general public; and that includes academia. The work that was done in this and other related areas is of great importance as it is what is required in order to get at the truth and true nature of so many things in ancient history.

My work, and that of others who have studied ancient history as it should be studied, has exposed the true nature ancient history. And it is only by studying it in the correct context that we will ever be able to understand it as it should be understood. This is essential.