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Materialism Versus Spirituality: Neo-Vedanta Approach of Synthesis
IDEA – Studia nad strukturą i rozwojem pojęć filozoficznych XXIV Białystok 2012 ADITYA KUMAR GUPTA (New Delhi, Indie) MATERIALISM VERSUS SPIRITUALITY: NEO-VEDANTA APPROACH OF SYNTHESIS Human beings are often described as having two opposing (and complemen- tary) elements: Flesh and Soul. We all strive, to a certain extent and according to everybody’s ability, to reach a level where we are satisfied with both elements. This satisfaction is actually an ideal, and seldom do we find people who have reached that level. This estrangement between the two spheres of life, the relationship between materialism and spirituality, is as central a divide as one can imagine. From the remains of our earliest writings, these concepts have been illuminated for us by religious figures, philosophers, novelists, and literary critics, amongst many others. Some have given predominance to matter, while others to spiritu- ality. There have been, however, some philosophers in human history who have tried to strike a balance between the two. One of them is certainly Vivekananda, who stressed the need for perfect synthesis of materialism and spirituality in life. The synthesis of materialism and spirituality has become inevitable to the mo- dern man. The last quarter of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st cen- tury have witnessed many transitional changes. Immense progress in science and technology, and in economy has brought about more comfortable living conditions for man. Globalization and liberalization of economies have played a crucial role in this regard. In the era of globalization, we are witnessing an attack of mate- rialism. However, globalization has many good effects. -
Supervision As Soul Care: a Spirituality of Integrity
Supervision as Soul Care: A Spirituality of Integrity Felicity Kelcourse Summary A spirituality of integrity for caregivers and their supervisors requires attention to the well-being of body, mind, and also soul. The spiritual, religious, and theological contexts in which these relationships exist create a unique context for formation and supervision in which distinctions and conjunctions between psychic life and the life the spirit can be effectively and usefully identified. Supervisors caring for caregivers attend to the minds and bodies of those they supervise. It is the supervisor’s task to monitor and support both the work of supervisees and their general well-being. Pastors, chaplains, and counselors giving care to others are encouraged to do their best work by caring for themselves as well. Supervisors in turn will need to practice what they preach—finding balance in their own lives that allows them to support others effectively. A spirituality of integrity for caregivers and their supervi- sors requires attention to the well-being of body, mind, and also soul. The Benefits of Soul Awareness We speak of mind and body as though they can be separated, although actual separation is implausible. A body not animated by a functioning mind is inco- herent or inert. Minds cannot exist without bodies as Damasio, a neurologist, points out in Descartes’ Error.1 But the fiction of separation serves us metaphori- cally when we speak of a “mindless act” or someone living “in their head.” Felicity Kelcourse, PhD, LMHC, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 W. -
Can We Prove God's Existence?
This transcript accompanies the Cambridge in your Classroom video on ‘Can we prove God’s existence?’. For more information about this video, or the series, visit https://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/study-here/open-days/cambridge-your-classroom Can we prove God’s existence? Professor Catherine Pickstock Faculty of Divinity One argument to prove God’s existence In front of me is an amazing manuscript, is known as the ‘ontological argument’ — called the Proslogion, written nearly 1,000 an argument which, by reason alone – years ago by an Italian Benedictine monk proves that, the very idea of God as a called Anselm. perfect being means that God must exist, that his non-existence would be Anselm went on to become Archbishop of contradictory. Canterbury in 1093, and this manuscript is now kept in the University Library in These kinds of a priori arguments rely on Cambridge. logical deduction, rather than something one has observed or experienced: you It is an exploration of how we can know might be familiar with Kant’s examples: God, written in the form of a prayer, in Latin. Even in translation, it can sound “All bachelors are unmarried men. quite complicated to our modern ears, but Squares have four equal sides. All listen carefully to some of his words here objects occupy space.” translated from Chapters 2 and 3. I am Catherine Pickstock and I teach “If that, than which nothing greater can be Philosophy of Religion at the University of conceived, exists in the understanding Cambridge. And I am interested in how alone, the very being, than which nothing we can know the unknowable, and often greater can be conceived, is one, than look to earlier ways in which thinkers which a greater cannot be conceived. -
Varieties of Religious Naturalism
Varieties of Religious Naturalism Wesley J. Wildman — Boston University — Spring 2010 — STH TT861/TT961 Course Description The aim of this course is learn about varieties of religious naturalism and how they have been, and can be, incorporated into philosophical and theological reflection. The seminar will read a variety of works in contemporary religious naturalism, from twentieth-century classics to current contributions, and from theoretical analyses of the meaning of naturalism to surveys attempting to map out the territory of plausible viewpoints. We will also track the close relationship between religious naturalism and both ecologically-rooted forms of spirituality and nature-centered forms of mysticism. The class is intended for advanced masters students and doctoral candidates interested in contemporary forms of philosophical and theological reflection on nature and God, and in forms of spirituality rooted in the natural world. Students registered at the 900-level have readings and a bibliographic task to complete over and above the obligations of students registered at the 800-level. Classes will meet once a week on Wednesdays from 8:00 to 11:00 in STH 319. Each class will be conducted in the seminar discussion format with lectures given by the instructor as needed or requested. The 800-level version of this course counts (1) as an MTS Core Concentration course for Science and Religion, for Theology, and for Area B; and (2) as an MDiv Theology 3 Core Elective. It may also count (3) as a requirement for a BTI Certificate program in science and religion. The main product of the course will be a research paper on some aspect of the course material, topic to be approved in advance by the instructor (50%; 3,000 words for 800-level students, 5,000 words for 900-level students). -
Eternity and Immortality in Spinoza's Ethics
Midwest Studies in Philosophy, XXVI (2002) Eternity and Immortality in Spinoza’s Ethics STEVEN NADLER I Descartes famously prided himself on the felicitous consequences of his philoso- phy for religion. In particular, he believed that by so separating the mind from the corruptible body, his radical substance dualism offered the best possible defense of and explanation for the immortality of the soul. “Our natural knowledge tells us that the mind is distinct from the body, and that it is a substance...And this entitles us to conclude that the mind, insofar as it can be known by natural phi- losophy, is immortal.”1 Though he cannot with certainty rule out the possibility that God has miraculously endowed the soul with “such a nature that its duration will come to an end simultaneously with the end of the body,” nonetheless, because the soul (unlike the human body, which is merely a collection of material parts) is a substance in its own right, and is not subject to the kind of decomposition to which the body is subject, it is by its nature immortal. When the body dies, the soul—which was only temporarily united with it—is to enjoy a separate existence. By contrast, Spinoza’s views on the immortality of the soul—like his views on many issues—are, at least in the eyes of most readers, notoriously difficult to fathom. One prominent scholar, in what seems to be a cry of frustration after having wrestled with the relevant propositions in Part Five of Ethics,claims that this part of the work is an “unmitigated and seemingly unmotivated disaster.. -
IMW Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1
Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1 Spring 2015 Article 1 2015 IMW Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal Recommended Citation "IMW Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1." Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies 6, no. 1 (2015). https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal/vol6/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies is designed to promote the academic study of religion at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The journal is a student initiative affiliated with the Religious Studies Program and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Utah State University. Our academic review board includes professional scholars specializing in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Mormonism, as well as specialists in the fields of History, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, and Religion. The journal is housed in the Intermountain West, but gladly accepts submissions from students throughout the United States and around the world. INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOURNAL Of RELIGIOUS STUDIES ‡ Advisors PHILIP BARLOW RAVI GUPTA Managing Editor CORY M. NANI Editor JEDD COX Associate Editor CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS Emeritus Editors CHRISTOPHER BLYTHE MARK BULLEN RASMUSON DAVID MUNK Cover Design CORY M. NANI ________________________________________________________________ Academic Review Board RAVI GUPTA Utah State University REID L. NIELSON LDS Church Historical Department KAREN RUFFLE University of Toronto ANNE-MARIE CUSAC Roosevelt University STEPHEN TAYSOM Cleveland State University KECIA ALI Boston University PETER VON SIVERS University of Utah R. -
Statement of the Problem 1
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF OPEN THEISM WITH THE DOCTRINE OF INERRANCY A Report Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Theology by Stuart M. Mattfield 29 December 2014 Copyright © 2015 by Stuart M. Mattfield All Rights Reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As with all things, the first-fruits of my praise goes to God: Father, Son and Spirit. I pray this work brings Him glory and honor. To my love and wife, Heidi Ann: You have been my calm, my sanity, my helpful critic, and my biggest support. Thank you and I love you. To my kids: Madison, Samantha, and Nick: Thank you for your patience, your humor, and your love. Thank you to Dr. Kevin King and Dr. Dan Mitchell. I greatly appreciate your mentorship and patience through this process. iii ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this thesis is to show that the doctrine of open theism denies the doctrine of inerrancy. Specifically open theism falsely interprets Scriptural references to God’s Divine omniscience and sovereignty, and conversely ignores the weighty Scriptural references to those two attributes which attribute perfection and completeness in a manner which open theism explicitly denies. While the doctrine of inerrancy has been hotly debated since the Enlightenment, and mostly so through the modern and postmodern eras, it may be argued that there has been a traditional understanding of the Bible’s inerrancy that is drawn from Scripture, and has been held since the early church fathers up to today’s conservative theologians. This view was codified in October, 1978 in the form of the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy. -
Response to Papers on Theism (Just a Little) and Non-Theism (Much More)
Quaker Religious Thought Volume 118 Article 6 1-1-2012 Response to Papers on Theism (Just a Little) and Non-Theism (Much More) Patrick J. Nugent Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Nugent, Patrick J. (2012) "Response to Papers on Theism (Just a Little) and Non-Theism (Much More)," Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 118 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol118/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Religious Thought by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RESPONSE TO PAPERS ON THEISM (JUST A LITTLE) AND NON-THEISM (MUCH MORE) Patrick J. nuGent am immensely grateful for the opportunity to respond to these I two papers and regret that I cannot be present. I am going to trust that Jeffrey Dudiak’s excellent and thought-provoking paper will inspire good conversation in San Francisco, and I wish take up the opportunity offered by David Boulton’s. I share Jeff’s position as a Christ-centered and theistic Friend, and I regret that he chose not to be more of an apologist for Quaker theism in his fine paper. My position remains that a thorough, contextual, and systematic reading of the Quaker authors of the first one hundred fifty years cannot sustain non-theism as authentically Quaker. Yet I would rather respond constructively to David’s paper as a theological colleague responding to an emerging theology that raises fertile theological opportunities to attain the mature theological credibility non-theism does not yet have. -
Naturalistic Theism Teed Rockwell
Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 25.2 (2017) 209–220 ISSN 1522-7340 (print) ISSN 2052-8388 (online) https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.34830 Naturalistic Theism Teed Rockwell Sonoma State University [email protected] Abstract Many modern theological debates are built around a false dichotomy between 1) an atheism which asserts that the universe was created by purposeless me- chanical processes and 2) acceptance of a religious system which requires both faith in the infallibility of sacred texts and belief in a supernatural God. I propose a form of naturalistic theism, which rejects sacred texts as unjustified, and supernaturalism as incoherent. I argue that rejecting these two elements of traditional organized religion would have a strongly positive impact on the beliefs and practices of religion, even though many religious people feel strongly attached to them. It is belief in sacred texts that is responsible for most of the evil done in the name of religion, not belief in God. Many of the strongest arguments for atheism work only against a supernatural God, and have no impact on the question of the existence of a natural God. Keywords atheism, theism, agnosticism, naturalism, supernaturalism, sacred text, Shook, Dennett, Dawkins, Kuhn, Quine, Neurath, Koran, Bible, Islam, Buddhism, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent, miracles, Marxist atheism I agree with many of the criticisms of established religions voiced by promi- nent Atheists. That is why the only form of Theism I could accept would be what I call Naturalistic Theism. For many Atheists, this will appear to be a contradiction in terms, but I will argue that this kind of theism is as com- patible with science as nondogmatic Atheism.1 As far as I can tell, Natural- istic Theism is essentially identical to what John Shook calls either Religious 1. -
Kant on Obligation and Motivation in Law and Ethics
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy Philosophy, Department of 1994 Kant on Obligation and Motivation in Law and Ethics Nelson T. Potter Jr. University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, and the Legal History Commons Potter, Nelson T. Jr., "Kant on Obligation and Motivation in Law and Ethics" (1994). Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy. 15. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub/15 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Philosophy, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Potter in Jarbuch für Recht und Ethik (1994) 2. Copyright 1994, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. Used by permission. Kant on Obligation and Motivation in Law and Ethics Nelson Potter I. There is a passage in Immanuel Kant's general introduction to both parts of Die Metaphysik der Sitten that deserves more attention than it has received. I plan to build the present paper around the implil:ations of this passage: In all lawgiving (Gesetzgebung) (whether it prescribes for internal or external actions, and whether it prescribes them a priori by reason alone or by the choice of another) there are two elements: first, a law, which represents an action that is to be done as objectively necessary, that is, which makes the action a duty; and second, an incentive, which connects a ground for determining choice to this action subjectively with the representation of the law. -
The Shortcomings of a Concept Inertia and Conatus in the Philosophy of Spinoza
http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/8142-286-4.36 Alexandre Rouette Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada THE SHORTCOMINGS OF A CONCEPT INERTIA AND CONATUS IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SPINOZA n the third part of the Ethics, Spinoza express the desire to talk about “human actions and appetites just as if it were a question of lines, planes, and bodies” (E3, Appendix).1 With this sentence, it seems clear that Spinoza sides with Hobbes and Descartes and that he wants to con- struct a mechanistic theory of the affects. In the same part of the Ethics, Spinoza also introduces the concept of conatus: “Each thing, as far as it can by its own power, strives to persevere in its being” (E3P6), Spinoza says. One will immedi- ately understand this concept of conatus as the core concept of his mechanistic theory of the affects, the concept without which this mechanistic account of the affects would be impossible. However, in the second part of the Ethics, there is another concept that could have accomplished that same goal, namely, the principle of inertia. In the words of Spinoza, “A body which moves or is at rest must be determined to motion or rest by another body, which has also been determined to motion or rest by another, and that again by another, and so on, to infinity” (E2L3). Inter- estingly enough, in the philosophy of Hobbes, the concept of endeavour/conatus is much nearer to the Spinozistic principle of inertia in its meaning than it is to the Spinozistic version of the conatus. -
Women's Studies in the History of Religions
1 Women’s Studies in the History of Religions DAVID KINSLEY On the most archaic levels of culture, living as a human being is in itself a religious act, for alimentation, sexual life, and work have a sacramental value. In other words, to be— or rather, to become—a man means to be “religious.” —Mircea Eliade, A History of Religious Ideas o appreciate the radical impact women’s studies has had on the discipline Tof history of religions, it is necessary first to describe briefly how the his- tory of religions understands its task. The history of religions, which claims to be the objective, scientific study of religion, sets as its task nothing less than the study, in historical and cross- cultural perspective, of all human religious phenomena. It includes in its pur- view, not only sophisticated, literate, philosophical, and theological materials, but also popular expressions of human religiosity such as festivals, life cycle rituals, myths, and practices that are found only in oral traditions. The history of religions seeks to avoid an approach to human religiosity that privileges cer- tain materials as “higher” and others as “lower.” It assumes that all expres- sions of human religiosity are worthy of study. In the words of Mircea Eliade: “For the historian of religions, every manifestation of the sacred is important: every rite, every myth, every belief or divine figure reflects the experience of the sacred and hence implies the notions of being, of meaning, and of truth.”1 History of religions does not seek to evaluate one religion (or religious expression) vis-à-vis another with a view to declaring one superior to the other.