“Windows To Spirituality”
What Is Dhul-Qarnayn? Dhul-Qarnayn or Dhu al-Qarnayn, ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْن, Ḏū l-Qarnayn, lit. “He of the Two Horns”) appears in the Quran, Surah Al-Kahf (18), Ayahs 83–101 as one who travels to the east and west and sets up a barrier between a certain people and Gog and Magog (called Ya’juj and Ma’juj). Elsewhere the Quran tells...
Jewish Eschatology Jewish eschatology is the area of theology and philosophy concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts, according to the Hebrew Bible and Jewish thought. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of a Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the...
The Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (מָשִׁיחַ, مسيح, masîḥ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of moshiach, messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible; a moshiach (messiah) is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. Messiahs were not exclusively Jewish:...
Vegetarianism And Religion This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the relationship between vegetarianism and religion?” Vegetarianism is strongly linked with a number of religions that originated in ancient India (Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism). In Jainism, vegetarianism is mandatory for everyone; in Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism, it is...
Theology Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. Theology is basically the study of deities or their scriptures in order to discover what they have revealed about themselves. While theology has turned into a secular...
Aristotelian Theology Aristotelian theology and the scholastic view of God have been influential in Western intellectual history. Metaphysics Main articles: Metaphysics (Aristotle) and Unmoved movers In his first philosophy, later called the Metaphysics, (or “after the Physics”), Aristotle discusses the meaning of being as being. He refers to the unmoved movers (hyperagents), and assigns one to each movement in the...
What Is Tzimtzum? The tzimtzum or tsimtsum (צמצום ṣimṣūm “contraction, constriction, condensation”) is a term used in the Lurianic Kabbalah to explain Isaac Luria’s doctrine that God began the process of creation by “contracting” his Ohr Ein Sof (infinite) light in order to allow for a “conceptual space” in which finite and seemingly independent...
What is “Ex Nihilo”? Ex nihilo is a Latin phrase meaning “out of nothing”. It often appears in conjunction with the concept of creation, as in creation ex nihilo, meaning “creation out of nothing”, chiefly in philosophical or theological contexts, but it also occurs in other fields. In theology, the common phrase...
Intelligent Designer An Intelligent designer also referred to as an intelligent agent, is the hypothetical willed and self-aware entity that the intelligent design movement argues had some role in the origin and/or development of life. The term “intelligent cause” is also used, implying their teleological supposition of direction and purpose in features of...
Why Did He Not Create Universe Sooner? This article covers the answer to the question: “Why Did He Not Create Universe Sooner?“ What does mean by ‘sooner’? If one wishes to say ‘sooner’ in the period of eternity before the creation of time, then the word ‘sooner’ has no meaning....
Creator Deity A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity or god responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatristic traditions separate a secondary creator from a...
Anecdotal Evidence Anecdotal evidence is evidence from anecdotes: evidence collected in a casual or informal manner and relying heavily or entirely on personal testimony. The term is sometimes used in a legal context to describe certain kinds of testimony which are uncorroborated by objective, independent evidence such as notarized documentation, photographs, audio-visual recordings, etc. When used...
Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and natural forces, such as seasons and weather....
Monotheism Monotheism is defined as the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is all-powerful and intervenes in the world. A broader definition of monotheism is the belief in one god. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform (panentheistic) monotheism which, while...
Antichrist Bousset believes that there was among the Jews a fully developed legend of Antichrist, which was accepted and amplified by Christians; and that this legend diverges from and contradicts in important points the conceptions found in the Apocalypse. In composition anti has different meanings: antibasileus denotes a king who fills an...
What Is Antichrist? In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ is someone recognized as fulfilling the Biblical prophecies about one who will oppose Christ and substitute himself in Christ’s place. The term (including one plural form) is found five times in the New Testament, solely in the First and Second Epistle of John. The Antichrist is announced as...
Islamic Eschatology Islamic eschatology is the aspect of Islamic beliefs, predictions and narratives dealing with end times. It includes the end of the natural world, the dramatic events (“signs”) signifying its approach, and the afterlife where the dead are resurrected, to be judged by God for their conduct during their life on earth (ḥisbā), and sent to their eternal reward in either...
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus will return again, after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messianic prophecies and is part of most Christian eschatologies. Views about the nature of Jesus’s Second...
Prosperity Theology Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Christians, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations...
Adoration Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration or devotion in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin adōrātiō, meaning “to give homage or worship to someone or something”. Ancient Rome In classical Rome, adoration was primarily an act of homage or worship, which, among the Romans, was performed by raising the...
