1.
Golden Law
–
The Lei Áurea, adopted on May 13,1888, was the law that abolished slavery in Brazil. The text of the Lei Áurea was brief, Art,1. º, É declarada extinta desde a data desta lei a escravidão no Brasil. 2. º, Revogam-se as disposições em contrário, the succinctness of the law was intended to make clear that there were no conditions of any kind to the freeing of all slaves. Before the abolition of slavery, slaves were prohibited from owning assets or receiving an education, without education or political representation, slaves struggled to gain economic and social status in Brazilian society. The Lei Áurea was authored by Rodrigo A, the Golden Law was signed by the Princess Imperial and countersigned by Rodrigo A. da Silva, in his capacity as Minister of Agriculture. Princess Isabel was awarded the Golden Rose by Pope Leo XIII and Minister Rodrigo A. da Silva received honors from the Vatican, France, in August 1888 Rodrigo A. da Silva went on to be chosen for a lifetime seat in the Senate of the Empire. The Brazilian government was also pressure from Britain, who sought to end the slave trade in order to expand production in its own colonies. Slave Trade Acts Emancipation Proclamation Slavery in Brazil, UNESCO Memory of the World programme
Golden Law
–
"Golden Law" redirects here. It is not to be confused with
The Golden Rule.
2.
Golden ratio
–
In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. The figure on the right illustrates the geometric relationship, expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b >0, a + b a = a b = def φ, where the Greek letter phi represents the golden ratio. Its value is, φ =1 +52 =1.6180339887 …, A001622 The golden ratio is also called the golden mean or golden section. Other names include extreme and mean ratio, medial section, divine proportion, divine section, golden proportion, golden cut, the golden ratio appears in some patterns in nature, including the spiral arrangement of leaves and other plant parts. The golden ratio has also used to analyze the proportions of natural objects as well as man-made systems such as financial markets. Two quantities a and b are said to be in the golden ratio φ if a + b a = a b = φ, one method for finding the value of φ is to start with the left fraction. Through simplifying the fraction and substituting in b/a = 1/φ, a + b a =1 + b a =1 +1 φ, multiplying by φ gives φ +1 = φ2 which can be rearranged to φ2 − φ −1 =0. First, the line segment A B ¯ is about doubled and then the semicircle with the radius A S ¯ around the point S is drawn, now the semicircle is drawn with the radius A B ¯ around the point B. The arising intersection point E corresponds 2 φ, next up, the perpendicular on the line segment A E ¯ from the point D will be establish. The subsequent parallel F S ¯ to the line segment C M ¯, produces, as it were and it is well recognizable, this triangle and the triangle M S C are similar to each other. The hypotenuse F S ¯ has due to the cathetuses S D ¯ =1 and D F ¯ =2 according the Pythagorean theorem, finally, the circle arc is drawn with the radius 5 around the point F. The golden ratio has been claimed to have held a fascination for at least 2,400 years. But the fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians, biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics. Ancient Greek mathematicians first studied what we now call the golden ratio because of its frequent appearance in geometry, the division of a line into extreme and mean ratio is important in the geometry of regular pentagrams and pentagons. Euclid explains a construction for cutting a line in extreme and mean ratio, throughout the Elements, several propositions and their proofs employ the golden ratio. The golden ratio is explored in Luca Paciolis book De divina proportione, since the 20th century, the golden ratio has been represented by the Greek letter φ or less commonly by τ. Timeline according to Priya Hemenway, Phidias made the Parthenon statues that seem to embody the golden ratio, plato, in his Timaeus, describes five possible regular solids, some of which are related to the golden ratio
Golden ratio
–
Michael Maestlin, first to publish a decimal approximation of the golden ratio, in 1597
Golden ratio
–
Line segments in the golden ratio
Golden ratio
–
Many of the proportions of the
Parthenon are alleged to exhibit the golden ratio.
Golden ratio
–
The drawing of a man's body in a
pentagram suggests relationships to the golden ratio.
3.
Maxim (philosophy)
–
A maxim is a ground rule or subjective principle of action, in that sense, a maxim is a thought that can motivate individuals. It is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy as, Generally any simple and memorable rule or guide for living, for example, the maxim of an action is often referred to as the agents intention. In Kantian ethics, the categorical imperative provides a test on maxims for determining whether the actions they refer to are right, wrong, or permissible. The categorical imperative is stated canonically as, Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, now I have a deposit in my hands, the owner of which has died and left no record of it. I at once become aware that such a principle, as a law, also, an action is said to have moral worth if the maxim upon which the agent acts cites the purpose of conforming to a moral requirement. That is, an action has moral worth when he does his duty purely for the sake of duty. Kant himself believed that it is impossible to know whether anyones action has ever had moral worth. It might appear to someone that he has acted entirely from duty and this indicates that agents are not always the best judges of their own maxims or motives. Michael Polanyi in his account of tacit knowledge stressed the importance of the maxim in focusing both explicit and implicit modes of understanding, “Maxims are rules, the correct application of which is part of the art they govern. Maxims can only function within a framework of personal knowledge”. Aphorism Locksley Hall - Alfred Lord Tennyson Online works of Immanuel Kant at Gutenberg Maxims of Action
Maxim (philosophy)
–
Plato –
Kant –
Nietzsche
4.
Altruism
–
Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of selfishness, the word was coined by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as altruisme, for an antonym of egoism. He derived it from the Italian altrui, which in turn was derived from Latin alteri, Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty, in that whilst the latter is predicated upon social relationships, altruism does not consider relationships. Much debate exists as to whether true altruism is possible in human psychology, the validity of this argument depends on whether intrinsic rewards qualify as benefits. The actor also may not be expecting a reward, the term altruism may also refer to an ethical doctrine that claims that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. Used in this sense, it is contrasted with egoism. The concept has a history in philosophical and ethical thought. Whilst ideas about altruism from one field can affect the other fields, in simple terms, altruism is caring about the welfare of other people and acting to help them. Marcel Mausss book The Gift contains a passage, Note on alms and this note describes the evolution of the notion of alms from the notion of sacrifice. In it, he writes, Alms are the fruits of a notion of the gift and of fortune on the one hand. Generosity is an obligation, because Nemesis avenges the poor and the gods for the superabundance of happiness and this is the ancient morality of the gift, which has become a principle of justice. The gods and the spirits accept that the share of wealth and happiness that has offered to them and had been hitherto destroyed in useless sacrifices should serve the poor. Compare Altruism – perception of altruism as self-sacrifice, compare explanation of alms in various scriptures. Theories of apparently altruistic behavior were accelerated by the need to produce theories compatible with evolutionary origins, two related strands of research on altruism have emerged from traditional evolutionary analyses and from evolutionary game theory a mathematical model and analysis of behavioural strategies. Some of the mechanisms are, Kin selection. That animals and humans are more altruistic towards close kin than to distant kin and non-kin has been confirmed in numerous studies across many different cultures, even subtle cues indicating kinship may unconsciously increase altruistic behavior. One kinship cue is facial resemblance, one study found that slightly altering photographs so that they more closely resembled the faces of study participants increased the trust the participants expressed regarding depicted persons. Another cue is having the family name, especially if rare
Altruism
–
Giving
alms to the poor is often considered an altruistic action.
Altruism
–
Giving alms to beggar children
Altruism
–
Volunteers assist Hurricane victims at the
Houston Astrodome, following Hurricane Katrina.
Altruism
–
Helping the
homeless in New York City
5.
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans and this legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Western Church. For theonyms, or the names and epithets of gods, see List of Roman deities, for public religious holidays, see Roman festivals. For temples see the List of Ancient Roman temples, individual landmarks of religious topography in ancient Rome are not included in this list, see Roman temple. The verb abominari was a term of augury for an action that rejects or averts an unfavourable omen indicated by a signum, the noun is abominatio, from which English abomination derives. At the taking of formally solicited auspices, the observer was required to acknowledge any potentially bad sign occurring within the templum he was observing, regardless of the interpretation. He might, however, take actions in order to ignore the signa, including avoiding the sight of them. The latter tactic required promptness, wit and skill based on discipline, thus the omen had no validity apart from the observation of it. The aedes was the place of a god. It was thus a structure that housed the image, distinguished from the templum or sacred district. Aedes is one of several Latin words that can be translated as shrine or temple, for instance, the Temple of Vesta, as it is called in English, was in Latin an aedes. See also the diminutive aedicula, a small shrine, in his work On Architecture, Vitruvius always uses the word templum in the technical sense of a space defined through augury, with aedes the usual word for the building itself. The design of an aedes, he writes, should be appropriate to the characteristics of the deity. Thus in theory, though not always in practice, architectural aesthetics had a theological dimension, the word aedilis, a public official, is related by etymology, among the duties of the aediles was the overseeing of public works, including the building and maintenance of temples. The temple of Flora, for instance, was built in 241 BC by two aediles acting on Sibylline oracles, the plebeian aediles had their headquarters at the aedes of Ceres. In religious usage, ager was terrestrial space defined for the purposes of augury in relation to auspicia, there were five kinds of ager, Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus and incertus. The ager Romanus originally included the space outside the pomerium. According to Varro, the ager Gabinus pertained to the circumstances of the oppidum of Gabii
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Ruins of the
aedes of Vesta
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Altar (ara) from
Roman Spain
Glossary of ancient Roman religion
–
Augustus, capite velato
6.
Empathy
–
Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other persons frame of reference, i. e. the capacity to place oneself in anothers position. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, there are many definitions for empathy which encompass a broad range of emotional states. Types of empathy include cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and somatic empathy, the English word empathy is derived from the Ancient Greek word εμπάθεια. This, in turn, comes from εν and πάθος, the term was adapted by Hermann Lotze and Robert Vischer to create the German word Einfühlung, which was translated by Edward B. Titchener into the English term empathy, alexithymia is a word used to describe a deficiency in understanding, processing or describing emotions in oneself as opposed to in others. This term comes from the negation of two Ancient Greek words, αλέξω and θυμός, thus alexithymia literally means pushing away your emotions. It also is the ability to feel and share another persons emotions, some believe that empathy involves the ability to match anothers emotions, while others believe that empathy involves being tenderhearted toward another person. Having empathy also can include having the understanding that there are factors that go into decision making. Past experiences have an influence on the making of today. Understanding this allows a person to have empathy for individuals who sometimes make decisions to a problem that most individuals would respond with an obvious response. Broken homes, childhood trauma, lack of parenting and many factors can influence the connections the brain which a person uses to make decisions in the future. Martin Hoffman is a Psychologist who studied the development of empathy, according to Hoffman everyone is born with the capability of feeling empathy. Compassion and sympathy are two terms that many associate with empathy, but all three of these terms are unique, even so, definitions vary, contributing to the challenge of defining empathy. Compassion is often defined as an emotion we feel when others are in need, Sympathy is a feeling of care and understanding for someone in need. It can also be understood as having the separateness of defining oneself, some include in sympathy also an empathic concern, a feeling of concern for another, in which some scholars include the wish to see them better off or happier. Empathy is distinct also from pity and emotional contagion, pity is feeling that another is in trouble and in need of help as they cannot fix their problems themselves, often described as feeling sorry for someone. Emotional contagion is when a person catches the emotions that others are showing without necessarily recognizing this is happening. Since empathy involves understanding the emotional states of people, the way it is characterized is derived from the way emotions themselves are characterized
Empathy
–
When children are shown videoclips with situations where they see people suffering pain by coincidence, neural circuits related to pain are being activated in their brain.
7.
Reciprocal altruism
–
The concept was initially developed by Robert Trivers to explain the evolution of cooperation as instances of mutually altruistic acts. The concept is close to the strategy of tit for tat used in game theory and this concept finds its roots in the work of W. D. Hamilton, who developed mathematical models for predicting the likelihood of an altruistic act to be performed on behalf of ones kin. Putting this into the form of a strategy in a repeated prisoner’s dilemma would mean to cooperate unconditionally in the first period and behave cooperatively as long as the other agent does as well. If chances of meeting another reciprocal altruist are high enough or the game is repeated for a long amount of time. This distinction leads to the fact that in contrast to reciprocal altruism, there are two additional conditions necessary …for reciprocal altruism to evolve, A mechanism for detecting cheaters must exist. A large number of opportunities to exchange aid must exist, the first two conditions are necessary for altruism as such, while the third is distinguishing reciprocal altruism from simple mutualism and the fourth makes the interaction reciprocal. Condition number five is required as otherwise non-altruists may always exploit altruistic behaviour without any consequences, however, it is pointed out that this “conditioning device” does not need to be conscious. Condition number six is required to avoid cooperation breakdown through backwards induction—a possibility suggested by game theoretical models, the following examples could be understood as altruism. However, showing reciprocal altruism in an unambiguous way requires more evidence as will be shown later, the host signals the cleaner it is about to depart the cleaners locality, even when the cleaner is not in its body. The host sometimes chases off possible dangers to the cleaner, the following evidence supports the hypothesis, The cleaning by cleaners is essential for the host. In the absence of cleaners the hosts leave the locality or suffer from injuries inflicted by ecto-parasites, there is difficulty and danger in finding a cleaner. Hosts leave their element to get cleaned, others wait no longer than 30 seconds before searching for cleaners elsewhere. This constraint imposes both a spatial and a condition on the cleaner and on its host. Both individuals must remain in the physical location, and both must have a long enough lifespan, to enable multiple interactions. Surprisingly, there is evidence that individual cleaners and hosts do indeed interact repeatedly. This example meets some, but not all, of the criteria described in Trivers’s model, in the cleaner-host system the benefit to the cleaner is always immediate. However, the evolution of altruism is contingent on opportunities for future rewards through repeated interactions. In one study, nearby host fish observed cheater cleaners and subsequently avoided them, in these examples, true reciprocity is difficult to demonstrate since failure means the death of the cleaner
Reciprocal altruism
–
Cleaning symbiosis: a small cleaner
wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) with
advertising coloration services a big eye squirrelfish (
Priacanthus hamrur) in an apparent example of reciprocal altruism.
Reciprocal altruism
–
Diagram showing reciprocal altruism
Reciprocal altruism
–
Eurasian jay,
Garrulus glandarius, gives loud alarm calls from its tree perch when it sees a predator.
8.
Golden Rule
–
The Golden Rule or law of reciprocity is the principle of treating others as one would wish to be treated. It is a maxim of altruism seen in many human religions, the maxim may appear as either a positive or negative injunction governing conduct, One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated, what you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself. The concept occurs in some form in every religion and ethical tradition. It can also be explained from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, sociology, human evolution, psychologically, it involves a person empathizing with others. Philosophically, it involves a person perceiving their neighbor also as I or self, sociologically, love your neighbor as yourself is applicable between individuals, between groups, and also between individuals and groups. In economics, Richard Swift, referring to ideas from David Graeber and this proverb embodies the do ut des principle. A Late Period papyrus contains a negative affirmation of the Golden Rule, That which you hate to be done to you. The Golden Rule existed among all the philosophical schools of ancient China, Mohism, Taoism. Examples of the include, Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself. — Confucius If people regarded other peoples families in the way that they regard their own. For one would do for others as one would do for oneself, — Mozi Regard your neighbors gain as your own gain, and your neighbors loss as your own loss. O king aim for these, may you be steadfast in these qualities and these are the basis of prosperity and rightful living. All worlds are balanced on dharma, dharma encompasses ways to prosperity as well, O King, dharma is the best quality to have, wealth the medium and desire the lowest. Hence, by self-control and by making dharma your main focus, let not a man consent to do those things to another which, he knows, will cause sorrow. He furthermore opined that it is the determination of the not to do evil, even in return, to those who have cherished enmity. The punishment to those who have done evil, is to put them to shame by showing kindness, in return. The Golden Rule in its form was a common principle in ancient Greek philosophy
Golden Rule
–
Book with " Dieu, la Loi, et le Roi " ("God, the law and the king") on one page and the golden rule on the other, by
Bernard d'Agesci
9.
David Graeber
–
David Rolfe Graeber is a London-based anthropologist and anarchist activist, perhaps best known for his 2011 volume Debt, The First 5000 Years. He is Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics, as an assistant professor and associate professor of anthropology at Yale from 1998–2007, he specialised in theories of value and social theory. The universitys decision not to him when he would otherwise have become eligible for tenure sparked an academic controversy. He went on to become, from 2007–13, Reader in Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths and his activism includes protests against the 3rd Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in 2001, and the 2002 World Economic Forum in New York City. Graeber was a figure in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Graebers parents, who were in their forties when Graeber was born, were self-taught working-class intellectuals in New York. Graebers mother, Ruth Rubinstein, had been a garment worker and he later worked as a plate stripper on offset printers. Graeber grew up in New York, in an apartment building described by Business Week magazine as suffused with radical politics. Graeber has been an anarchist since the age of 16, according to an interview he gave to The Village Voice in 2005, Graeber graduated from Phillips Academy Andover in 1978 and received his B. A. from the State University of New York at Purchase in 1984. His resulting Ph. D. thesis on magic, slavery, in 1998, two years after completing his PhD, Graeber became assistant professor at Yale University, then became associate professor. In May 2005, the Yale Anthropology department decided not to renew Graebers contract, pointing to Graebers anthropological scholarship, his supporters claimed that the decision was politically motivated. More than 4,500 people signed petitions supporting him, and anthropologists such as Marshall Sahlins, Laura Nader, Michael Taussig, I consider him the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world. The Yale administration argued that Graebers dismissal was in keeping with Yales policy of granting tenure to few junior faculty, in December 2005, Graeber agreed to leave the university after a one-year paid sabbatical. That spring he taught two classes, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology and a seminar entitled Direct Action and Radical Social Theory. The latter was the only explicitly radical-themed course he taught at Yale and this lecture has since been edited into an essay, titled Dead zones of the imagination, On violence, bureaucracy and interpretive labor. That same year, Graeber was asked to present the address in the 100th anniversary Diamond Jubilee meetings of the Association of Social Anthropologists. In April 2011, he presented the anthropology departments annual Distinguished Lecture at Berkeley, from 2008 through Spring 2013, Graeber was a lecturer and a reader at Goldsmiths College of the University of London. In 2013, he accepted a professorship at the London School of Economics, Graeber is the author of Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology and Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value, The False Coin of Our Own Dreams
David Graeber
–
David Graeber
David Graeber
–
Graeber in January 2002
David Graeber
–
Graeber (left) at a rally for immigrant rights at
Union Square, New York City in 2007
10.
Anglicanism
–
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to the Magna Carta and before, adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans. As the name suggests, the churches of the Anglican Communion are linked by bonds of tradition, affection and they are in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his person, is a unique focus of Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic Church, apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Protestantism, the word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans, as an adjective, Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a member of a church in the Anglican Communion, the word is also used by followers of separated groups which have left the communion or have been founded separately from it, although this is sometimes considered as a misuse. The word Anglicanism came into being in the 19th century, although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. Elsewhere, however, the term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity, as such, it is often referred to as being a via media between these traditions. Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as containing all necessary for salvation and as being the rule. Reason and Tradition are seen as means to interpret Scripture. Anglicans understand the Apostles Creed as the symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. Anglicans celebrate the sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries and it was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world, in 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. The founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, according to Anglican legend, Saint Alban, who was executed in 209 AD, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core, what resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices
Anglicanism
–
Jesus depicted in a stained glass window in
Rochester Cathedral, Kent.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism
–
Shrine of Saint Alban at the
Anglican Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban
Anglicanism
–
Richard Hooker (1554–1600), one of the most influential figures in shaping Anglican theology and self-identity.
11.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period as well, in which case the Middle Kingdom would finish c. 1650, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay c.1700 BC, during the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak Pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for power over the entire country. The Theban 11th Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the first cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt, to the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival 10th Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 B. C, during Mentuhotep IIs fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the 10th Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all Egypt, for this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south as far as the Second Cataract in Nubia and he also restored Egyptian hegemony over the Sinai region, which had been lost to Egypt since the end of the Old Kingdom. He also sent the first expedition to Punt during the Middle Kingdom, by means of ships constructed at the end of Wadi Hammamat, Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, whose name significantly is omitted from all ancient Egyptian king lists. The Turin Papyrus claims that after Mentuhotep III came seven kingless years, despite this absence, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I. Mentuhotep IVs absence from the king lists has prompted the theory that Amenemhet I usurped his throne, while there are no contemporary accounts of this struggle, certain circumstantial evidence may point to the existence of a civil war at the end of the 11th dynasty. Inscriptions left by one Nehry, the Haty-a of Hermopolis, suggest that he was attacked at a place called Shedyet-sha by the forces of the reigning king, but his forces prevailed. Khnumhotep I, an official under Amenemhet I, claims to have participated in a flotilla of 20 ships to pacify Upper Egypt, donald Redford has suggested these events should be interpreted as evidence of open war between two dynastic claimants. What is certain is that, however he came to power, from the 12th dynasty onwards, pharaohs often kept well-trained standing armies, which included Nubian contingents. These formed the basis of larger forces which were raised for defence against invasion, however, the Middle Kingdom was basically defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus. Early in his reign, Amenemhet I was compelled to campaign in the Delta region, in addition, he strengthened defenses between Egypt and Asia, building the Walls of the Ruler in the East Delta region. Perhaps in response to this perpetual unrest, Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt in the north, known as Amenemhet Itj Tawy, or Amenemhet, the location of this capital is unknown, but is presumably near the citys necropolis, the present-day el-Lisht
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
An
Osiride statue of the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
The head of a statue of Senusret I.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Statue head of Senusret III
12.
Do ut des
–
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans and this legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on later juridical and religious vocabulary in Europe, particularly of the Western Church. For theonyms, or the names and epithets of gods, see List of Roman deities, for public religious holidays, see Roman festivals. For temples see the List of Ancient Roman temples, individual landmarks of religious topography in ancient Rome are not included in this list, see Roman temple. The verb abominari was a term of augury for an action that rejects or averts an unfavourable omen indicated by a signum, the noun is abominatio, from which English abomination derives. At the taking of formally solicited auspices, the observer was required to acknowledge any potentially bad sign occurring within the templum he was observing, regardless of the interpretation. He might, however, take actions in order to ignore the signa, including avoiding the sight of them. The latter tactic required promptness, wit and skill based on discipline, thus the omen had no validity apart from the observation of it. The aedes was the place of a god. It was thus a structure that housed the image, distinguished from the templum or sacred district. Aedes is one of several Latin words that can be translated as shrine or temple, for instance, the Temple of Vesta, as it is called in English, was in Latin an aedes. See also the diminutive aedicula, a small shrine, in his work On Architecture, Vitruvius always uses the word templum in the technical sense of a space defined through augury, with aedes the usual word for the building itself. The design of an aedes, he writes, should be appropriate to the characteristics of the deity. Thus in theory, though not always in practice, architectural aesthetics had a theological dimension, the word aedilis, a public official, is related by etymology, among the duties of the aediles was the overseeing of public works, including the building and maintenance of temples. The temple of Flora, for instance, was built in 241 BC by two aediles acting on Sibylline oracles, the plebeian aediles had their headquarters at the aedes of Ceres. In religious usage, ager was terrestrial space defined for the purposes of augury in relation to auspicia, there were five kinds of ager, Romanus, Gabinus, peregrinus, hosticus and incertus. The ager Romanus originally included the space outside the pomerium. According to Varro, the ager Gabinus pertained to the circumstances of the oppidum of Gabii
Do ut des
–
Marcus Aurelius (
head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Do ut des
–
Ruins of the
aedes of Vesta
Do ut des
–
Altar (ara) from
Roman Spain
Do ut des
–
Augustus, capite velato
13.
Late Period of ancient Egypt
–
It ran from 664 BC until 332 BC. Libyans and Persians alternated rule with native Egyptians, but traditional conventions continued in the arts and it is often regarded as the last gasp of a once great culture, during which the power of Egypt steadily diminished. The Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, also known as the Saite Dynasty after Sais, reigned from 672 BC to 525 BC, canal construction from the Nile to the Red Sea began. One major contribution from the Late Period of ancient Egypt was the Brooklyn Papyrus and this was a medical papyrus with a collection of medical and magical remedies for victims of snakebites based on snake type or symptoms. Artwork during this time was representative of animal cults and animal mummies and this image shows the god Pataikos wearing a scarab beetle on his head, supporting two human-headed birds on his shoulders, holding a snake in each hand, and standing atop crocodiles. The First Achaemenid Period period saw Egypt conquered by an expansive Achaemenid Empire under Cambyses, a total of eight pharaohs from this dynasty ruled over Egypt. The initial period of Achaemenid Persian occupation when Egypt became a satrapy, the Twenty-Eighth Dynasty consisted of a single king, Amyrtaeus, prince of Sais, who rebelled against the Persians. He left no monuments with his name and this dynasty reigned for six years, from 404 BC to 398 BC. The Twenty-Ninth Dynasty ruled from Mendes, for the period from 398 BC to 380 BC, the Thirtieth Dynasty took their art style from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. A series of three pharaohs ruled from 380 BC until their defeat in 343 BC led to the re-occupation by the Persians. The final ruler of dynasty, and the final native ruler of Egypt until nearly 2,300 years later, was Nectanebo II. There was a Second Achaemenid Period of the Thirty-First Dynasty, and consisted of four pharaohs, Artaxerxes III, Artaxerxes IV, Khababash, gozzoli, The Writing of History in Ancient Egypt During the First Millennium BCE. Trend and Perspectives, London 2006, ISBN 0-9550256-3-X Lloyd, Alan B.2000, the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 71-74 Primary sources Herodotus Fragments of Ctesias Thucydides Diodorus Siculus Fragments of Manetho Flavius Josephus
Late Period of ancient Egypt
Late Period of ancient Egypt
–
Egypt 664-332 BC -
Brooklyn Museum
Late Period of ancient Egypt
–
Figure of Pataikos, 664-30 BC -
Brooklyn Museum
14.
Tiruvalluvar
–
Thiruvalluvar, known commonly as Valluvar, is a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukkural, a work on ethics. It is believed that he was either in Thiru Mylai Chennai in Tamil Nadu or in ThirunainarKuruchi. Thiruvalluvar is thought to have lived sometime between the 4th century BC and the 1st century BC and this estimate is based on linguistic analysis of his writings, as there is no historical evidence for when and where he lived. Thirukkuṛal itself does not name its author or authors, such was her austerity and dedication towards her husband Thiruvalluvar, 2) Thiruvalluvar used to sit every day for meal with a cup of water and a wooden tooth pick. He did this to any grain of rice spilled out from his leaf when Vaasuki Ammaiyar served food. It was said that Thiruvalluvar could not even pick a grain of rice every day, such was the dedication in serving meal by Vaasuki Ammaiyar. Thiruvalluvar may have spent part of his life in Madurai because it was under the Pandiya rulers that many Tamil poets flourished. There is also the recent claim by Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Research Centre that Valluvar was a king who ruled Valluvanadu in the tracts of the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. Thirukkural is one of the most revered ancient works in the Tamil language and it is considered a common creed, providing a guide for human morals and betterment in life. Thirukkural has been translated into several languages, including a translation into Latin by Constanzo Beschi in 1699 which helped make the work known to European intellectuals and these books, Pancharathnam and Gnana Vettiyan, contribute to Tamil science, literature and other ayurvedic medicines. A temple-like memorial to Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar Kottam, was built in Chennai in 1976 and this monument complex consists of structures usually found in Dravidian temples, including a temple car carved from three blocks of granite, and a shallow, rectangular pond. The auditorium adjoining the memorial is one of the largest in Asia, there is a 133-foot tall statue of Thiruvalluvar erected at Kanyakumari at the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean converge. The 133 feet denote Tirukkuṛaḷs 133 Chapters or athikarams and the show of three fingers denote the three themes Aram, Porul, and Inbam, i. e. the sections on Morals, Wealth and Love. The statue was designed by V. Ganapati Sthapati, an architect from Tamil Nadu. There is also a statue of Thiruvalluvar outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square, the government of Tamil Nadu celebrates the 15th of January as Thiruvalluvar Day as part of the Pongal celebrations in his honour. Sarvajna and Tiruvalluvar statue installation Valluvar Kottam Avvaiyar Valluvan Parayi petta panthirukulam Works by or about Thiruvalluvar at Internet Archive Works by Thiruvalluvar at LibriVox
Tiruvalluvar
–
The Thiruvalluvar statue in
Kanyakumari
Tiruvalluvar
–
A temple for Thiruvalluvar in
Mylapore
Tiruvalluvar
–
Thiruvalluvar Statue
Tiruvalluvar
–
Thiruvalluvar statue in SOAS, University of London.
15.
Ancient Greece
–
Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
Ancient Greece
–
The
Parthenon, a temple dedicated to
Athena, located on the
Acropolis in
Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.
Ancient Greece
–
Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period,
c. 750 BC.
Ancient Greece
–
Political geography of ancient Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods
16.
Greek philosophy
–
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC and continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Ancient Greece was part of the Roman Empire. Philosophy was used to sense out of the world in a non-religious way. It dealt with a variety of subjects, including political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, logic, biology, rhetoric. Many philosophers around the world agree that Greek philosophy has influenced much of Western culture since its inception, alfred North Whitehead once noted, The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. Clear, unbroken lines of lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers to Early Islamic philosophy, the European Renaissance. Some claim that Greek philosophy, in turn, was influenced by the wisdom literature. But they taught themselves to reason, Philosophy as we understand it is a Greek creation. Subsequent philosophic tradition was so influenced by Socrates as presented by Plato that it is conventional to refer to philosophy developed prior to Socrates as pre-Socratic philosophy. The periods following this, up to and after the wars of Alexander the Great, are those of classical Greek, the pre-Socratics were primarily concerned with cosmology, ontology and mathematics. They were distinguished from non-philosophers insofar as they rejected mythological explanations in favor of reasoned discourse, Thales of Miletus, regarded by Aristotle as the first philosopher, held that all things arise from water. It is not because he gave a cosmogony that John Burnet calls him the first man of science, according to tradition, Thales was able to predict an eclipse and taught the Egyptians how to measure the height of the pyramids. He began from the observation that the world seems to consist of opposites, therefore, they cannot truly be opposites but rather must both be manifestations of some underlying unity that is neither. This underlying unity could not be any of the classical elements, for example, water is wet, the opposite of dry, while fire is dry, the opposite of wet. Anaximenes in turn held that the arche was air, although John Burnet argues that by this he meant that it was a transparent mist, the aether. Xenophanes was born in Ionia, where the Milesian school was at its most powerful, Burnet says that Xenophanes was not, however, a scientific man, with many of his naturalistic explanations having no further support than that they render the Homeric gods superfluous or foolish. He has been claimed as an influence on Eleatic philosophy, although that is disputed, and a precursor to Epicurus, a representative of a total break between science and religion. Pythagoras lived at roughly the time that Xenophanes did and, in contrast to the latter. Parmenides of Elea cast his philosophy against those who held it is and is not the same, and all travel in opposite directions, —presumably referring to Heraclitus
Greek philosophy
–
Raphael 's
School of Athens.
Greek philosophy
–
(upper) PIRRHO • HELIENSIS • PLISTARCHI • FILIVS translation (from Latin): Phyrrho. Greek. Son of Plistarchus
17.
Thales
–
Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek/Phoenician philosopher, mathematician and astronomer from Miletus in Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Thales is recognized for breaking from the use of mythology to explain the world and the universe, and instead explaining natural objects and phenomena by theories and hypothesis, i. e. science. Aristotle reported Thales hypothesis that the principle of nature and the nature of matter was a single material substance. In mathematics, Thales used geometry to calculate the heights of pyramids and he is the first known individual to use deductive reasoning applied to geometry, by deriving four corollaries to Thales theorem. He is the first known individual to whom a mathematical discovery has been attributed, the ancient source, Apollodorus of Athens, writing during the 2nd century BCE, thought Thales was born about the year 625 BCE. The dates of Thales life are not exactly known, but are roughly established by a few events mentioned in the sources. According to Herodotus Thales predicted the eclipse of May 28,585 BC. Diogenes Laërtius quotes the chronicle of Apollodorus of Athens as saying that Thales died at the age of 78 during the 58th Olympiad and attributes his death to heat stroke while watching the games. Plutarch had earlier told this version, Solon visited Thales and asked him why he remained single, nevertheless, several years later, anxious for family, he adopted his nephew Cybisthus. Thales involved himself in many activities, taking the role of an innovator, some say that he left no writings, others say that he wrote On the Solstice and On the Equinox. Diogenes Laërtius quotes two letters from Thales, one to Pherecydes of Syros, offering to review his book on religion, Thales identifies the Milesians as Athenian colonists. He was aware of the existence of the lodestone, and was the first to be connected to knowledge of this in history, according to Aristotle, Thales thought lodestones had souls, because iron is attracted to them. According to Hieronymus, historically quoted by Diogenes Laertius, Thales found the height of pyramids by comparison between the lengths of the shadows cast by a person and by the pyramids, several anecdotes suggest Thales was not just a philosopher, but also a businessman. A story, with different versions, recounts how Thales achieved riches from an olive harvest by prediction of the weather, in one version, he bought all the olive presses in Miletus after predicting the weather and a good harvest for a particular year. Thales’ political life had mainly to do with the involvement of the Ionians in the defense of Anatolia against the power of the Persians. In neighbouring Lydia, a king had come to power, Croesus and he had conquered most of the states of coastal Anatolia, including the cities of the Ionians. The story is told in Herodotus, the war endured for five years, but in the sixth an eclipse of the Sun spontaneously halted a battle in progress. It seems that Thales had predicted this solar eclipse, the Seven Sages were most likely already in existence, as Croesus was also heavily influenced by Solon of Athens, another sage
Thales
–
Thales of Miletus
Thales
–
An olive mill and an olive press dating from Roman times in
Capernaum, Israel.
Thales
–
Total
eclipse of the
Sun
Thales
–
The Ionic Stoa on the Sacred Way in Miletus
18.
Isocrates
–
Isocrates, an ancient Greek rhetorician, was one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching, Greek rhetoric is commonly traced to Corax of Syracuse, who first formulated a set of rhetorical rules in the fifth century BC. His pupil Tisias was influential in the development of the rhetoric of the courtroom, within two generations, rhetoric had become an important art, its growth driven by social and political changes such as democracy and courts of law. Isocrates was born to a family in Athens and received a first-rate education. He was greatly influenced by his sophist teachers, Prodicus and Gorgias, after the Peloponnesian War, his family lost its wealth, and Isocrates was forced to earn a living. His professional career is said to have begun with logography, he was a hired courtroom speechwriter, Athenian citizens did not hire lawyers, legal procedure required self-representation. Instead, they would hire people like Isocrates to write speeches for them, Isocrates had a great talent for this since he lacked confidence in public speaking. Around 392 BC he set up his own school of rhetoric, and proved to be not only an influential teacher and his fees were unusually high, and he accepted no more than nine pupils at a time. Many of them went on to be philosophers, legislators and historians, as a consequence, he amassed a considerable fortune. According to Pliny the Elder he could sell a single oration for twenty talents, according to George Norlin, Isocrates defined rhetoric as outward feeling and inward thought of not merely expression, but reason, feeling, and imagination. Like most who studied rhetoric before and after him, Isocrates believed it was used to persuade ourselves and others, Isocrates described rhetoric as that endowment of our human nature which raises us above mere animality and enables us to live the civilized life. Isocrates unambiguously defined his approach in the treatise Against the Sophists and this polemic was written to explain and advertise the reasoning and educational principles behind his new school. Also, while Isocrates is viewed by many as being a rhetor and practicing rhetoric, against the Sophists is Isocrates first published work where he gives an account of philosophia. His principal method is to contrast his ways of teaching with Sophistry, while Isocrates does not go against the Sophist method of teaching as a whole, he emphasizes his disagreement with bad Sophistry practices. Isocrates program of rhetorical education stressed the ability to use language to address practical problems and he emphasized that students needed three things to learn, a natural aptitude which was inborn, knowledge training granted by teachers and textbooks, and applied practices designed by educators. He also stressed civic education, training students to serve the state, students would practice composing and delivering speeches on various subjects. He considered natural ability and practice to be more important than rules or principles of rhetoric, rather than delineating static rules, Isocrates stressed fitness for the occasion, or kairos. His school lasted for fifty years, in many ways establishing the core of liberal arts education as we know it today, including oratory, composition, history, citizenship, culture
Isocrates
–
Bust of Isocrates; plaster cast in the
Pushkin Museum of the bust formerly at
Villa Albani, Rome
Isocrates
–
P. Oxy. 1183, late-1st-century-AD papyrus containing Isocrates's Trapeziticus 44–48.
19.
Pahlavi scripts
–
Pahlavi or Pahlevi denotes a particular and exclusively written form of various Middle Iranian languages. The essential characteristics of Pahlavi are the use of a specific Aramaic-derived script, the Pahlavi script, Pahlavi compositions have been found for the dialects/ethnolects of Parthia, Persis, Sogdiana, Scythia, and Khotan. Independent of the variant for which the Pahlavi system was used, Pahlavi is then an admixture of written Imperial Aramaic, from which Pahlavi derives its script, logograms, and some of its vocabulary. Spoken Middle Iranian, from which Pahlavi derives its terminations, symbol rules, Pahlavi may thus be defined as a system of writing applied to a specific language group, but with critical features alien to that language group. It has the characteristics of a language, but is not one. It is a written system, but much Pahlavi literature remains essentially an oral literature committed to writing. If this etymology is correct, Parthav presumably became pahlaw through a semivowel glide rt change to l, the term has been traced back further to Avestan pərəthu- broad, also evident in Sanskrit pŗthvi- earth and parthivi of the earth. Common to all Indo-Iranian languages is a connotation of mighty, the earliest attested use of Pahlavi dates to the reign of Arsaces I of Parthia in early Parthian coins with Pahlavi scripts. There are also several Pahlavi texts written during the reign of Mithridates I, such fragments, as also the rock inscriptions of Sassanid kings, which are datable to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, do not, however, qualify as a significant literary corpus. It is in an archaic script than Book Pahlavi. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Pahlavi script was replaced by the Arabic script, except in Zoroastrian sacred literature, the replacement of the Pahlavi script with the Arabic script in order to write the Persian language was done by the Tahirids in 9th century Khurasan. In the present-day, Pahlavi is frequently identified with the dialect of south-west Iran, formerly and properly called Pārsi. This practice can be dated to the immediately following the Islamic conquest. Tables showing the letters and their names or pronunciations are available on line, the Pahlavi script is one of the two essential characteristics of the Pahlavi system. Its origin and development occurred independently of the various Middle Iranian languages for which it was used, the Pahlavi script is derived from the Aramaic script as it was used under the Achaemenids, with modifications to support the phonology of the Iranian languages. It is essentially a typical abjad, where, in general, only vowels are marked with matres lectionis. In addition to this, during much of its later history, similarly, certain words continued to be spelt with postvocalic ⟨s⟩ and ⟨t⟩ even after the consonants had been debuccalized to ⟨h⟩ in the living language. The Pahlavi script consisted of two widely used forms, Inscriptional Pahlavi and Book Pahlavi, a third form, Psalter Pahlavi, is not widely attested
Pahlavi scripts
–
Parthian (above), along with Greek (below) and Middle Persian was being used in inscriptions of early
Sassanian kings. Shapur inscription in
Naqsh-e Rajab
Pahlavi scripts
–
Parthian version of
Shapur I 's inscription at
Ka'ba-ye Zartosht.
Pahlavi scripts
–
Coin of
Ardashir I (r. 224–42) with Inscriptional Pahlavi writings.
Pahlavi scripts
–
Inscriptional Pahlavi text from
Shapur III at
Taq-e Bostan, 4th century
20.
Zoroastrianism
–
Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, it exalts a deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda, as its Supreme Being. Zoroastrianism was suppressed from the 7th century onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia of 633-654, recent estimates place the current number of Zoroastrians at around 2.6 million, with most living in India and in Iran. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practised amongst Kurds, the religious philosophy of Zoroaster divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian tradition. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, in Zoroastrianism, the creator Ahura Mazda, through the Spenta Mainyu is an all-good father of Asha, in opposition to Druj and no evil originates from him. He and his works are evident to humanity through the six primary Amesha Spentas, Spenta Mainyu adjoined unto truth oppose the Spirits opposite, Angra Mainyu and its forces born of Akəm Manah. In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to be among those who renew the world. to make the progress towards perfection. Its basic maxims include, Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta, which mean, Good Thoughts, Good Words, there is only one path and that is the path of Truth. Do the right thing because it is the thing to do. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is, Ahura, The Lord Creator and he proclaimed that there is only one God, the singularly creative and sustaining force of the Universe. He also stated that human beings are given a right of choice, Zoroasters teachings focused on responsibility, and did not introduce a devil per se. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit, post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu. The name Zoroaster is a Greek rendering of the name Zarathustra and he is known as Zartosht and Zardosht in Persian and Zaratosht in Gujarati. The Zoroastrian name of the religion is Mazdayasna, which combines Mazda- with the Avestan language word yasna, meaning worship, in English, an adherent of the faith is commonly called a Zoroastrian or a Zarathustrian. An older expression still used today is Behdin, meaning The best Religion | Beh < Middle Persian Weh + Din < Middle Persian dēn < Avestan Daēnā. In Zoroastrian liturgy the term is used as a title for an individual who has formally inducted into the religion in a Navjote ceremony. The term Mazdaism /ˈmæzdə. ɪzəm/ is a typical 19th century construct, taking Mazda- from the name Ahura Mazda, the March 2001 draft edition of the Oxford English Dictionary also records an alternate form, Mazdeism, perhaps derived from the French Mazdéisme, which first appeared in 1871. In older English sources, the terms Gheber and Gueber were used to refer to Zoroastrians, however, Zoroastrian philosophy is identified as having been known to Italian Renaissance Europe through an image of Zoroaster in Raphaels School of Athens by Giorgio Vasari in 1550. The Oxford English Dictionary records use of the term Zoroastrianism in 1874 in Archibald Sayces Principles of Comparative Philology, Zoroastrians believe that there is one universal, transcendent, supreme god, Ahura Mazda, or the Wise Lord
Zoroastrianism
–
Farvahar.
Persepolis, Iran.
Zoroastrianism
–
Faravahar (or Ferohar), one of the primary symbols of Zoroastrianism, believed to be the depiction of a Fravashi (guardian spirit)
Zoroastrianism
–
A scene from the
Hamzanama where
Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib Burns Zarthust’s Chest and Shatters the Urn with his Ashes
Zoroastrianism
–
The
fire temple of
Baku, c. 1860
21.
Seneca the Younger
–
Seneca the Younger, fully Lucius Annaeus Seneca and also known simply as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and—in one work—humorist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. As a tragedian, he is best-known for his Medea and Thyestes and he was a tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero. He was forced to take his own life for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, however, some sources state that he may have been innocent. His father was Seneca the Elder, his brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus. Seneca was born in Cordoba in Hispania, and raised in Rome, griffin also infers from the ancient sources that Seneca was born in either 8,4, or 1 BC. She thinks he was born between 4 and 1 BC and was a resident in Rome by AD5, Seneca says that he was carried to Rome in the arms of his mothers stepsister. Griffin says that, allowing for rhetorical exaggeration, means it is fair to conclude that Seneca was in Rome as a small boy. Be that as it may, it is clear that he was in Rome at an early stage in his life. Caligula and Fabius were critics of his works, and Columella, Pliny, Tacitus, from AD54 to 62, Seneca acted as Neros advisor, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus. One byproduct of his influence was that Seneca was appointed consul in 56. Senecas influence was said to have especially strong in the first year. Tacitus and Dio suggest that Neros early rule, during which time he listened to Seneca, however, the ancient sources suggest, over time, Seneca and Burrus lost their influence over the emperor. In 59 they had agreed to Agrippinas murder, and afterward. This may have contributed as well to his own downfall, following Burrus death in 62, Seneca became the subject of criticism by what Tacitus describes as Neros more disreputable advisers. Charges included allegations of excessive wealth, the grandeur of his property, Seneca requested an audience with Nero in which he sought permission to retire from public duties, pleading age and infirmity. The two then parted on apparently warm terms, Seneca subsequently adopted a quiet lifestyle on his country estates, concentrating on his studies and seldom visiting Rome. In AD65, Seneca was caught up in the aftermath of the Pisonian conspiracy, although it is unlikely that Seneca conspired, Nero ordered him to kill himself. Seneca followed tradition by severing several veins in order to bleed to death, a generation after the Julio-Claudian emperors, Tacitus wrote an account of the suicide, which in view of his Republican sympathies is perhaps somewhat romanticized
Seneca the Younger
–
Ancient bust of Seneca, part of the
Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca (
Antikensammlung Berlin)
Seneca the Younger
–
This Baroque marble imaginary portrait bust of Seneca, by an anonymous sculptor of the 17th century (
Museo del Prado).
Seneca the Younger
–
Manuel Domínguez Sánchez, The suicide of Seneca (1871),
Museo del Prado
Seneca the Younger
–
Plato, Seneca, and
Aristotle in a medieval manuscript illustration (c. 1325–35)
22.
Stoicism
–
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD. Stoicism is predominantly a philosophy of ethics which is informed by its system of logic. It was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. Because of this, the Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life, to live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since they taught that everything was rooted in nature. Later Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized that, because virtue is sufficient for happiness, from its founding, Stoic doctrine was popular during the Roman Empire—and its adherents included the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It later experienced a decline after Christianity became the religion in the 4th century. Over the centuries, it has seen revivals, notably in the Renaissance, the Stoics provided a unified account of the world, consisting of formal logic, monistic physics and naturalistic ethics. Of these, they emphasized ethics as the focus of human knowledge. A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individuals ethical and moral well-being and this viewpoint was later described as Classical Pantheism. Beginning at around 301 BC, Zeno taught philosophy at the Stoa Poikile, Zenos ideas developed from those of the Cynics, whose founding father, Antisthenes, had been a disciple of Socrates. Zenos most influential follower was Chrysippus, who was responsible for the molding of what is now called Stoicism, later Roman Stoics focused on promoting a life in harmony within the universe, over which one has no direct control. Scholars usually divide the history of Stoicism into three phases, Early Stoa, from the founding of the school by Zeno to Antipater, middle Stoa, including Panaetius and Posidonius. Late Stoa, including Musonius Rufus, Seneca, Epictetus, no complete work by any Stoic philosopher survives from the first two phases of Stoicism. Only Roman texts from the Late Stoa survive, diodorus Cronus, who was one of Zenos teachers, is considered the philosopher who first introduced and developed an approach to logic now known as propositional logic. This is an approach to logic based on statements or propositions, rather than terms, later, Chrysippus developed a system that became known as Stoic logic and included a deductive system, Stoic Syllogistic, which was considered a rival to Aristotles Syllogistic. New interest in Stoic logic came in the 20th century, when important developments in logic were based on propositional logic, susanne Bobzien wrote, The many close similarities between Chrysippus philosophical logic and that of Gottlob Frege are especially striking. The Stoics held that all being – though not all things – is material and they accepted the distinction between concrete bodies and abstract ones, but rejected Aristotles belief that purely incorporeal being exists. Thus, they accepted Anaxagoras idea that if an object is hot, but, unlike Aristotle, they extended the idea to cover all accidents
Stoicism
–
Zeno of Citium, cast in
Pushkin Museum in
Moscow from original in
Naples
Stoicism
–
Antisthenes, founder of the Cynic school of philosophy
23.
Simon Blackburn
–
He is also a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a member of the professoriate of New College of the Humanities. He was previously a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford and has also taught full-time at the University of North Carolina as an Edna J. Koury Professor and he is a former president of the Aristotelian Society, having served the 2009–2010 term. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2002 and he has appeared in multiple episodes of the documentary series Closer to Truth. Blackburn attended Clifton College and went on to receive his bachelors degree in philosophy in 1965 from Trinity College, Cambridge and he obtained his doctorate in 1970 from Churchill College, Cambridge. In philosophy, he is best known as the proponent of quasi-realism in meta-ethics and he is a former editor of the journal Mind. He makes occasional appearances in the British media, such as on BBC Radio 4s The Moral Maze, Blackburn was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007. As a patron of the British Humanist Association, he has argued against the existence of God, in 2008 The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, which was authored by Blackburn was published. At the same time, he has argued, in a televised debate. Spreading the Word - a text, - a defense of quasi-realism as applied to ethicsISBN 0-19-508041-6 and ISBN 0-19-508224-9. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy - compiled whole-handedly, ruling Passions A defense of a NeoHumean theory of reasons and moral motivation. Truth - from Oxford Readings in Philosophy series, think, A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy. Being Good - an introduction to ethics, reprinted as Ethics, A Very Short Introduction in Oxford University Press Very Short Introductions series. Lust - one of an Oxford University Press series covering the Seven Deadly Sins, platos Republic, A Biography - from Atlantic Books Books That Shook the World series. How to read Hume - Granta Publications, -The Big Questions of Philosophy - from Quercus
Simon Blackburn
–
Simon Blackburn giving the
Gottlob Frege Lectures in Theoretical Philosophy 2009 in
Tartu,
Estonia.
24.
Abrahamic religions
–
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the largest Abrahamic religions in terms of numbers of adherents. As of 2005, estimates classified 54% of the population as adherents of an Abrahamic religion, about 32% as adherents of other religions. Christianity claims 33% of the population, Islam has 21%, Judaism has 0. 2%. It has been suggested that the phrase, Abrahamic religion, may mean that all these religions come from one spiritual source. Christians refer to Abraham as a father in faith, there is an Islamic religious term, Millat Ibrahim, indicating that Islam sees itself as having practices tied to the traditions of Abraham. Jewish tradition claims descent from Abraham, and adherents follow his practices and it is the Islamic tradition that Muhammad, as an Arab, is descended from Abrahams son Ishmael. Jewish tradition also equates the descendants of Ishmael, Ishmaelites, with Arabs, as the descendants of Isaac by Jacob, who was also later known as Israel, are the Israelites. The Báb, regarded by Baháís as a predecessor to Baháulláh, was a Sayyid, or a descendant of Muhammad. Tradition also holds that Baháulláh is a descendant of Abraham through his third wife, while there is commonality among the religions, in large measure their shared ancestry is peripheral to their respective foundational beliefs and thus conceals crucial differences. For example, the common Christian beliefs of Incarnation, Trinity, there are key beliefs in both Islam and Judaism that are not shared by most of Christianity, and key beliefs of Islam, Christianity, and the Baháí Faith not shared by Judaism. Judaism regards itself as the religion of the descendants of Jacob and it has a strictly unitary view of God, and the central holy book for almost all branches is the Masoretic Text as elucidated in the Oral Torah. In the 19th century and 20th centuries Judaism developed a number of branches, of which the most significant are Orthodox, Conservative. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in the Mediterranean Basin of the first century CE and evolved into a separate religion—Christianity—with distinctive beliefs, Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, considered by almost all denominations to be God the Son, one person of the Trinity. The Christian biblical canons are usually held to be the ultimate authority, over many centuries, Christianity divided into three main branches, dozens of significant denominations, and hundreds of smaller ones. Islam arose in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE with a unitary view of God. Muslims hold the Quran to be the authority, as revealed and elucidated through the teachings and practices of a central. The Islamic faith consider all prophets and messengers from Adam through the messenger to carry the same Islamic monotheistic principles. Soon after its founding Islam split into two branches, each of which now have a number of denominations
Abrahamic religions
–
An interpretation of the borders (in red) of the
Promised Land, based on God's promise to
Abraham.
Abrahamic religions
–
Clockwise from Top Left:
Christian cross, Islamic
star and crescent, Bahá'i
nine-pointed star, Jewish
Star of David
Abrahamic religions
–
The tomb of
Abraham, a
cenotaph above the
Cave of the Patriarchs traditionally considered to be the burial place of Abraham.
Abrahamic religions
–
A Bible handwritten in
Latin, on display in
Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for reading aloud in a monastery.
25.
Judaism
–
Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic Abrahamic religion, with the Torah as its text, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth-largest religion in the world, Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic, today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditional interpretation of Judaisms requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law, today, these still exist. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, the history of Judaism spans more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title Children of Israel. Judaisms texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are a group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism, the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind. According to the Tanakh, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation, many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God, that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate Gods concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to one another, that is. These commandments are but two of a corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism
Judaism
–
Judaica (clockwise from top):
Shabbat candlesticks,
handwashing cup,
Chumash and
Tanakh,
Torah pointer,
shofar and
etrog box
Judaism
–
Silver case containing a handwritten
Torah (
Museum of Jewish Art and History, Paris)
Judaism
–
Glass platter inscribed with the Hebrew word zokhreinu – remember us
Judaism
–
A 19th-century silver
Macedonian Hanukkah menorah
26.
Hillel the Elder
–
Hillel was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. He is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud and he is popularly known as the author of two sayings, If I am not for myself who is for me. And being for my own self, what am I, and the expression of the ethic of reciprocity, or Golden Rule, That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah, the rest is the explanation, go and learn. Hillel was born in Babylon and, according to the Iggeret of Rav Sherira Gaon, Hillel descended from the Tribe of Benjamin on his fathers side, and from the family of David on his mothers side. Only Hillels brother Shebna is mentioned, he was a merchant, Hillel lived in Jerusalem during the time of King Herod and the Roman emperor Augustus. In the Midrash compilation Sifre, the periods of Hillels life are made parallel to those in the life of Moses. Both lived 120 years, and at the age of forty Hillel went to the Land of Israel, forty years he spent in study, a biographical sketch can be constructed, that Hillel went to Jerusalem in the prime of his life and attained a great age. His activity of forty years likely covered the period of 30 BCE to 10 CE, according to the Mishnah Hillel went to Jerusalem with the intention of studying biblical exposition and tradition at the age of 40 in 70 BCE. On that occasion, it is narrated, they resigned their position as Nasi in favor of Hillel. After the resignation of the Benei Betheira, Hillel was recognized as the highest authority among the Pharisees, whatever Hillels position, his authority was sufficient to introduce those decrees handed down in his name. The most famous of his enactments was the Prozbul, an institution that, a likewise tendency is found in another of Hillels institutions, having reference to the sale of houses. These two are the only institutions handed down in Hillels name, although the words that introduce the show that there were others. Of other official acts no mention is found in the sources, some of Hillel the Elders teachings remain commonly known. However, at least two other notable Hillels came after him, and some scholars have suggested that some attributed to Hillel may have originated from them. In mentioning these characteristics, which the Haggadah attributes to Moses brother and he considered love of man the kernel of Jewish teaching. The comparative response to the challenge of a Gentile who asked that the Torah be explained to him while he stood on one foot, illustrates the character differences between Shammai and Hillel. Hillels gentleness and patience are illustrated in an anecdote that describes how two men made a wager on the question of whether Hillel could be made angry, though they questioned him and made insulting allusions to his Babylonian origin, they were unsuccessful
Hillel the Elder
–
Detail of the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem: Hillel the Elder teaching a man the
meaning of the whole Torah while he stands on one foot
27.
Torah
–
The Torah is the central reference of Judaism. It has a range of meanings and it can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of the Tanakh, and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries. In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books and the Oral Torah, the Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation, reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases for Jewish communal life. The word Torah in Hebrew is derived from the root ירה, the meaning of the word is therefore teaching, doctrine, or instruction, the commonly accepted law gives a wrong impression. Other translational contexts in the English language include custom, theory, guidance, the earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been The Torah of Moses. This title, however, is neither in the Torah itself. It appears in Joshua and Kings, but it cannot be said to refer there to the entire corpus, in contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were The Book of Moses and The Book of the Torah, Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the Pentateuch, a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria, meaning five books, or as the Law. The Torah starts from the beginning of Gods creating the world, through the beginnings of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and it ends with the death of Moses, just before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in the narrative are the teachings given explicitly or implicitly embedded in the narrative. This is followed by the story of the three patriarchs, Joseph and the four matriarchs, God gives to the patriarchs a promise of the land of Canaan, but at the end of Genesis the sons of Jacob end up leaving Canaan for Egypt due to a regional famine. They had heard there was a grain storage and distribution facility in Egypt. Exodus begins the story of Gods revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant to the people of Israel. It also talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed, Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction. Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following Gods commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them. Numbers tells how Israel consolidated itself as a community at Sinai, set out from Sinai to move towards Canaan, even Moses sins and is told he would not live to enter the land
Torah
–
Sefer Torah at old
Glockengasse Synagogue (reconstruction),
Cologne
Torah
–
Silver Torah Case,
Ottoman Empire Museum of Jewish Art and History
Torah
–
Reading of the Torah
Torah
–
Tanakh (Judaism)
28.
Conversion to Judaism
–
The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. A conversion in accordance with the process of a denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination, in some cases, a person may forgo a formal conversion to Judaism and adopt some or all beliefs and practices of Judaism. However, without a conversion, many highly observant Jews will reject a converts Jewish status. There are some groups that have adopted Jewish customs and practices, for example, in Russia the Subbotniks have adopted most aspects of Judaism without formal conversion to Judaism. However, if Subbotniks, or anyone without a conversion, wish to marry into a traditional Jewish community or immigrate to Israel. A male convert to Judaism is referred to by the Hebrew word ger, the word is rendered by the Greek proselyte as used in the Septuagint to denote a stranger. In Karaite Judaism a Ger is a non-Jew who has yet to convert to Judaism. After a Ger converts to Judaism, they are no longer considered a Ger, the word ger comes from the Hebrew verb lagur meaning to reside or to sojourn. In the Hebrew Bible ger is defined as a foreigner, or sojourner, Rabbi Marc Angel writes, The Hebrew ger literally means resident and refers to a non-Israelite who lived among the Israelite community. When the Torah commands compassion and equal justice for the ger, Rabbinic tradition interpreted the word ger as referring to proselytes. The Jews were not converts in Egypt, but rather foreigners, another passage which may be relevant to a process of conversion involves non-Jewish women captured in war who could be adopted forcibly as wives. Another verse which has interpreted as referring to non-Jews converting to Judaism is Esther 8,17. In Modern Hebrew, ger refers to a convert to Judaism, according to Maimonides, converts were accepted since the beginning of Jewish history, and the foreign wives of Jewish leaders - such as Samson and Solomon - were converts. For Rabbinic Judaism, the laws governing conversion are based on codes of law and texts, including discussions in the Talmud, through the Shulkhan Arukh and these rules are held as authoritative by Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism. Jewish law is interpreted as somewhat discouraging proselytizing, and religious gerut is also somewhat discouraged. In the past, rabbis often rejected potential converts three times, and if they remained adamant in their desire to convert, they would allow them to begin the process. However, a rabbi convinced of the prospective converts sincerity may allow him or her to follow the process of conversion and this requires the person to appear before an established three-judge Jewish religious court known as a beth din to be tested and formally accepted. Conservative Judaism takes a lenient approach in application of the halakhic rules than Modern Orthodox Judaism
Conversion to Judaism
–
Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab by William Blake, 1795
Conversion to Judaism
–
A portion of the
Pentateuch in Hebrew, British Library Oriental MS. 1,497 containing Numbers 6:3-10, dated 12th century. Lines of the Pentateuch alternate with the
Targum ascribed to
Onkelos (a convert to Judaism)
29.
Babylonian Talmud
–
The Talmud is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also referred to as Shas, a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the six orders. Talmud translates literally as instruction in Hebrew, and the term may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah, the entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law, Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works, though some may have made private notes, for example of court decisions. It is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing, the earliest recorded oral Torah may have been of the midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on the Pentateuch. But an alternative form, organized by subject matter instead of by biblical verse, became dominant about the year 200 CE, the Oral Torah was far from monolithic, rather, it varied among various schools. The most famous two were the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel, in general, all valid opinions, even the non-normative ones, were recorded in the Talmud. The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud, known as the Munich Talmud, each tractate is divided into chapters,517 in total, that are both numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first mishnah. A perek may continue over several pages, each perek will contain several mishnayot with their accompanying exchanges that form the building-blocks of the Gemara, the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya. A sugya, including baraita or tosefta, will comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of a Mishnaic statement. A sugya may, and often does, range widely off the subject of the mishnah, in a given sugya, scriptural, Tannaic and Amoraic statements are cited to support the various opinions. In so doing, the Gemara will highlight semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim, and compare the Mishnaic views with passages from the Baraita. Rarely are debates formally closed, in instances, the final word determines the practical law. There is a literature on the procedural principles to be used in settling the practical law when disagreements exist, see under #Logic. The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates, statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject, or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim, the Mishnahs topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara, also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah. In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic teachings were current at about the time or shortly thereafter
Babylonian Talmud
–
Talmud Readers by
Adolf Behrman
Babylonian Talmud
–
The first page of the
Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a.
Babylonian Talmud
–
A page of a medieval Jerusalem Talmud manuscript, from the
Cairo Genizah.
Babylonian Talmud
–
A full set of the Babylonian Talmud.
30.
Rabbi Akiva
–
Akiva ben Yosef, widely known as Rabbi Akiva, was a tanna of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second century. Rabbi Akiva was a contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as Rosh la-Hakhamim Chief of the Sages and he was executed by the Romans in the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Akiva ben Yosef came of humble parentage, when he married the daughter of Kalba Savua, a wealthy citizen of Jerusalem, Akiva was an uneducated shepherd in Kalba Savuas employ. His wifes first name is not given in the earlier sources and she stood loyally by her husband during that critical period of his life in which Akiva dedicated himself to the study of Torah. Rabbi Akiva has many famous quotes in the Babylonian Talmud, a different tradition narrates that at the age of 40, Akiva attended the academy of his native town, Lod, presided over by Eliezer ben Hurcanus. Hurcanus was a neighbor of Yosef, the father of Akiva, the fact that Eliezer was his first teacher, and the only one whom Akiva later designates as rabbi, is of importance in settling the date of Akivas birth. These legends set the beginning of his years of study at about 75–80, besides Eliezer, Akiva studied under Joshua ben Hananiah and Nahum Ish Gamzu. He was on equal footing with Gamaliel II, whom he met later, Rabbi Tarfon was considered as one of Akivas masters, but the pupil outranked his teacher and he became one of Akivas greatest admirers. Akiva remained in Lod as long as Eliezer dwelt there, and then removed his own school to Beneberak, five Roman miles from Jaffa Akiva also lived for time at Ziphron. For another identification of the place, and other forms of its name, see Neubauer, La Géographie du Talmud, p.391, according to the Talmud, Akiva was a shepherd for Kalba Savua when the latters daughter noticed his modesty and fine character traits. She offered to him if he would agree to begin studying Torah, as at the time he was 40 years old. When her father found out she was betrothed to an unlearned man. He drove his daughter out of his house, swearing that he would never help her while Akiva remained her husband, Akiva and his wife lived in such poverty that they used straw for their bed. The Talmud relates that once Elijah the prophet assumed the guise of a poor man, when Akiva and his wife saw that there were people even poorer than they, Rachel said to him, Go, and become a scholar. By agreement with his wife, Akiva spent twelve years away from home, without crossing the threshold, Akiva went back to the academy. He returned twelve years later escorted by 24,000 disciples, when his wife went out to greet him, some of his students, not knowing who she was, sought to restrain her. But Akiva exclaimed, Let her alone, for what is mine, not knowing who he was, Kalba Savua also approached Akiva and asked him for help annulling his vow to disown his daughter and her husband
Rabbi Akiva
–
Rabbi Akiva's tomb,
Tiberias
Rabbi Akiva
–
Illustration of Rabbi Akiva in Mantua Haggadah (1568)
Rabbi Akiva
–
Akiba's grave in
Tiberias
31.
Sifra
–
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called Torat Kohanim, and in two passages also Sifra debe Rab. H. Weiss, in the introduction to his Sifra edition, attempts to support, the question as to authorship has been correctly answered by Malbim, who proves in the introduction to his Sifra edition that R. Ḥiyya was the redactor of the Sifra. Indeed, as Hoffmann shows, in the three passages in which it can with certainty be said that the reference is to R. Ḥiyya, namely, Wayiḳra, Nedabah, v.5, vi. 10, Ḥiyya himself, in referring to preceding interpretations, indicates that he is the editor and it is perhaps doubtful whether Hoffmann is correct in comparing the above-mentioned passages, or the final remark of R. Joshua in Ḳinnim, with Middot ii.5. As regards the sources of Sifra, it is said in the well-known passage Sanh and that the Sifra belongs to R. Akivas school, as the above-mentioned passage in Sanhedrin indicates, is shown by the principles of exposition contained in the Sifra, e. g. Certain peculiarities of phraseology are likewise noteworthy, יכול replaces שומע אני or אקרא, the phrases usually found in the Mekilta, comp. Further הא כיצד, וכי איזה מדה מרובה, ואם נפשך לומר, וכי מאין יצאת מכלל שנאמר, וכי מאין באת, traces of R. Judahs influence are less evident. The fact that the views expressed in some seṭamot may be proved to agree with R. Judahs views has little significance, e. g. Sifra, Aḥare,5, beginning, compared with Menahot 27b, ib. Such seṭamot may be opposed by others that contradict R. Judahs views, e. g. Sifra,1, compared with R. Judah in Neg. ii. 8, compared with R. Judah, Neg. x, all this, however, is no reason for attacking the above-mentioned assumption that the Sifra in its principal parts is a midrash of R. Judahs. 4 et seq. agrees with R. Eliezers view, aside from R. Judahs midrash, R. Ḥiyya may have used also R. Simeons midrash, although some of the passages mentioned there seem to prove little. More doubtful is the relation to R, but to R. Ishmaels school undoubtedly belong the later additions to Arayot, which, according to Ḥag. i.1 and Yer. 1b, were not publicly taught in R. Akivas school, i. e. Aḥare,14, and finally, of course, the so-called Baraita de-Rabbi Yishmael. The so-called Mekilta de-Milluim or Aggadat Milluim to Lev. viii, 1-10 is similarly to be distinguished from the remainder of the Sifra. It exists in two recensions, of which the second, covering mishnayot 14-16 and 29-end, is cited by Rashi as Baraita ha-Nosefet al Torat Kohanim she-Lanu, the Sifra was divided, according to an old arrangement, into 9 dibburim and 80 parashiyyot or smaller sections. As it exists today it is divided into 14 larger sections and again into smaller peraḳim, parashiyyot, the Sifra frequently agrees with the Judean rather than with the Babylonian tradition, e. g. Sifra, Nedabah, xii. Sheḳ. i.7 likewise agrees with the Sifra. g. in Sifra, Ḳedoshim,1 מאתכם is not a later emendation for מאתן according to Yeb
Sifra
–
Talmud Readers by
Adolf Behrman
32.
Genesis Rabba
–
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaisms classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis and it is expository midrash to the first book of the Torah, assigned by tradition to the amora Hoshaiah, who flourished in the third century in Christian Palestine. The midrash forms an aggadic commentary on Genesis, in keeping with the midrashic exegesis of that age, in a continuous sequence, broken only toward the end, the Biblical text is expounded, verse for verse, often word for word. Only genealogic passages and passages that no material for exposition are omitted. Genesis Rabba contains many explanations of words and sentences, often in the Aramaic language. It also contains varied haggadic expositions popular in the lectures of the synagogues. The editor of the midrash has strung together various longer or shorter explanations and haggadic interpretations of the passages, sometimes anonymously. The first chapters of Genesis, on the creation of the world and of man, whole sections are devoted to comments on one or two verses of the text. Many references to philosophical thought are made with the purpose of refuting the opinions of nonbelievers. References to contemporaneous conditions and historical events also occur and it is characteristic of the midrash to view the personages and conditions of the Bible by the light of the contemporary history of the time. This midrash is rich in sublime thoughts and finely worded sentences, in parables and this extensive and important midrash, which forms a complete commentary on Genesis, and exemplifies all points of midrashic exegesis, is divided into sections. It is by these means distinguished from the tannaitic midrashim to the books of the Torah, such as Mekilta, Sifra. By various explanations of these texts, a transition is effected to the exposition of the verse of Genesis heading the section. There are in the Genesis Rabba about 230 of these passages, about 70 are cited with the name of the Rabbi with whom they originated or whose explanation of the verse in question was used as an introduction to the section of Genesis Rabba. Most of these passages are anonymous and may perhaps be ascribed in part to the author of Genesis Rabba and they begin with the verse of the text, which often stands at the head of the proem without any formula of introduction. The structure of the prefatory passages varies, in some, only the introductory text is given, its application to the verse of Genesis to be expounded being self-evident or being left to a later working out. The single prefaces, of which there is a large number, for these introductions, which are often quite lengthy, the material for the several expositions was ready at hand. In the manuscripts, as well as in the editions, the sections are consecutively numbered, many quotations in the Shulchan Aruch mention the passage of Genesis Rabba by the number of the section
Genesis Rabba
–
Talmud Readers by
Adolf Behrman
33.
Adam in rabbinic literature
–
And why was Adam created last of all beings. To teach him humility, for if he be overbearing, let him remember that the little fly preceded him in the order of creation,5,1, which teaches that all men are the offspring of him who was made in the image of God. According to Targum Yer. to Genesis ii,7, God took dust from the holy place and the four parts of the world, mingling it with the water of all the seas, and made him red, black, and white. Rabbi Johanan interprets Adams name as being an acrostic of, there are, however, two points of view regarding mans nature presented in the two Biblical stories of mans creation, and they are brought out more forcibly in the Haggadah. Both worlds, heaven and earth, were to have a share in mans creation, hence the host of angels were consulted by the Lord when He said and his body reached from earth to heaven before sin caused him to sink. He was of beauty and sunlike brightness. His skin was a garment, shining like his nails, when he sinned this brightness vanished. When God said, Let us make man in our image, a creature full of falsehood, hatred, and strife. But Love pleaded in his favor, and the Lord spoke, a midrashic legend relates that the angels were so filled with wonder and awe at the sight of Adam, the image of God, that they wanted to pay homage to him and cry Holy. But the Lord caused sleep to fall upon him so that he lay like a corpse, Adam in paradise had angels to wait upon and dance before him. All creation bowed before him in awe and he was the light of the world, but sin deprived him of all glory. The earth and the bodies lost their brightness, which will come back only in the Messianic time. Death came upon Adam and all creation, the brutes no longer stood in awe of man as their ruler, instead, they attacked him. But while sin was of consequence, and the effect of the poison of the serpent is still felt by all following generations. The deadly effect of sin can be removed by repentance, hence, Adam is represented as a type of a penitent sinner. Another view is that when the sun rose the following morning he offered his thanksgiving, in which the angels joined him, singing the Sabbath Psalm. On account of the Sabbath the sun retained its brightness for the day, then the Lord taught him how to make fire by striking stones together. Thenceforth the fire is greeted with a blessing at the close of each Sabbath day, when Adam heard the curse, Thou shalt eat of the herbs of the earth, he staggered, saying, O Lord, must I and my ass eat out of the same manger
Adam in rabbinic literature
–
Talmud Readers by
Adolf Behrman
34.
Adam
–
Adam is a figure from the Book of Genesis who is also mentioned in the New Testament, the deuterocanonical books, the Quran, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Iqan. According to the myth of the Abrahamic religions, he was the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by God, Christian churches differ on how they view Adams subsequent behavior of disobeying God, and to the consequences that those actions had on the rest of humanity. Christian and Jewish teachings sometimes hold Adam and Eve to a different level of responsibility for the Fall, in addition, Islam holds that Adam was eventually forgiven, while Christianity holds that redemption occurred only later through the sacrifice of Jesus. The Baháí Faith, Islam and some Christian denominations consider Adam to be the first prophet, Adam as a proper name, predates its generic use in Semitic languages. Its earliest known use as a name in historicity is Adamu. Its use as a word in the Hebrew language is ׳āḏām. Coupled with the article, it becomes the human. Its root is not attributed to the Semitic root for man --sh, rather, ׳āḏām is linked to its triliteral root אָדָם, meaning red, fair, handsome. As a masculine noun, adam means man, mankind usually in a context as in humankind. The noun adam is also the form of the word adamah which means ground or earth. It is related to the words, adom, admoni, according to a number of observers, the word Adam derives from Sanskrit word Adima, meaning progenitor, first, primitive in Sanskrit. In the Book of Genesis, the Hebrew word ׳āḏām is often rendered mankind in the most generic sense, the use of mankind in Genesis, gives the reflection that Adam was the ancestor of all men. Kabbalistic works indicate that Adam also comes from the Hebrew word Adame, in the first five chapters of Genesis the word אָדָם is used in all of its senses, collectively, individually, gender nonspecific, and male. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, its use in Genesis 1 is generic, while in Genesis 2 and Genesis 3 the generic and personal usages are mixed. In Genesis 1,27 adam is used in the sense, whereby not only the individual Adam. Genesis 2,7 is the first verse where Adam takes on the sense of an individual man, the gender distinction of adam is then reiterated in Genesis 5, 1–2 by defining male and female. A recurring literary motif that occurs, is the bond between Adam and the earth, Gods cursing of Adam also results in the ground being cursed, causing him to have to labour for food, and Adam returns to the earth from which he was taken
Adam
–
Detail from
Michelangelo 's
The Creation of Adam,
Sistine Chapel ceiling
Adam
–
And Elohim Created Adam by
William Blake
Adam
–
Adam naming the animals, depicted in stained glass, north aisle
Dublin Cathedral
Adam
–
William Blake 's color printing of God Judging Adam original composed in 1795. This print is currently held by the
Tate Collection
35.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
–
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. The full text is available on the United Nations website, in 1966, the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights. In 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, during World War II, the Allies adopted the Four Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want—as their basic war aims. A universal declaration that specified the rights of individuals was necessary to effect to the Charters provisions on human rights. In June 1946, the UN Economic and Social Council established the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission on Human Rights, a standing body of the United Nations, was constituted to undertake the work of preparing what was initially conceived as an International Bill of Rights. The commission established a special Universal Declaration of Human Rights Drafting Committee, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, the committee met in two sessions over the course of two years. At the time, Humphrey was newly appointed as Director of the Division of Human Rights within the United Nations Secretariat, other well-known members of the drafting committee included René Cassin of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, P. C. Chang of the Republic of China, Humphrey provided the initial draft which became the working text of the Commission. According to Allan Carlson in Globalizing Family Values, the Declarations pro-family phrases were the result of the Christian Democratic movements influence on Cassin, during these discussions many amendments and propositions were made by UN Member States. British representatives were extremely frustrated that the proposal had moral but no legal obligation, a On 10 December 1948, the Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly by a vote of 48 in favor, none against, and eight abstentions. Honduras and Yemen—both members of UN at the time—failed to vote or abstain, south Africas position can be seen as an attempt to protect its system of apartheid, which clearly violated any number of articles in the Declaration. The six communist nations abstentions centred around the view that the Declaration did not go far enough in condemning fascism and Nazism, Eleanor Roosevelt attributed the abstention of the Soviet bloc nations to Article 13, which provided the right of citizens to leave their countries. 48 countries voted in favour of the Declaration, a.8 countries abstained, Later on, the underlying structure of the Universal Declaration was introduced in its second draft, which was prepared by René Cassin. Cassin worked from a first draft, which was prepared by John Peters Humphrey, the structure was influenced by the Code Napoléon, including a preamble and introductory general principles. Cassin compared the Declaration to the portico of a Greek temple, with a foundation, steps, four columns, articles 1 and 2 are the foundation blocks, with their principles of dignity, liberty, equality, and brotherhood. The seven paragraphs of the out the reasons for the Declaration—represent the steps. The main body of the Declaration forms the four columns, the first column constitutes rights of the individual such as the right to life and the prohibition of slavery. Articles 6 through 11 refer to the legality of human rights with specific remedies cited for their defense when violated
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
–
State of the Union (Four Freedoms) (6 January 1941)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
–
Eleanor Roosevelt with the
Spanish version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
36.
Book of Leviticus
–
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Old Testament from the Bible, included in the Christian biblical canons, and the third of five books of the Pentateuch. The Hebrew name of the book of the Jewish Bible. Its Greek name Levitikon, things pertaining to the Levites, and its Latin name Leviticus, are based on the term torat kohanim, instruction of the priests from early rabbinic times. The English name is from the Latin Leviticus, taken in turn from Greek and a reference to the Levites, the book, however, addresses all the people of Israel though some passages address the priests specifically. Most of its chapters consist of Gods speeches to Moses which he is commanded to repeat to the Israelites and this takes place within the story of the Israelites Exodus after they escaped Egypt and reached Mt. Sinai. The Book of Exodus narrates how Moses led the Israelites in building the Tabernacle based on Gods instructions, then in Leviticus, God tells the Israelites and their priests how to make offerings in the Tabernacle and how to conduct themselves while camped around the holy tent sanctuary. Leviticus takes place during the month or month-and-a-half between the completion of the Tabernacle and the Israelites departure from Sinai, the instructions of Leviticus emphasize ritual, legal and moral practices rather than beliefs. Nevertheless, they reflect the view of the creation story in Genesis 1 that God wishes to live with humans. The book teaches that faithful performance of the sanctuary rituals can make possible, so long as the people avoid sin. Scholars debate whether it was primarily for Jewish worship in exile that centered on reading or preaching, or was aimed instead at worshipers at temples in Jerusalem. But they are unanimous that the book had a long period of growth. Instructions for the laity on bringing offerings 1–5, the types of offering, burnt, cereal, peace, purification, reparation offerings B. The various offerings, with the addition of the priests cereal offering 7, institution of the priesthood A. Ordination of Aaron and his sons B. Aaron makes the first sacrifices C, judgement on Nadab and Abihu III. Cleansing of diseases E. Unclean discharges IV, Day of Atonement, purification of the tabernacle from the effects of uncleanliness and sin V. Blasphemy J. Sabbatical and Jubilee years K. Exhortation to obey the law, blessing, redemption of votive gifts Chapters 1–5 describe the various sacrifices from the sacrificers point of view, although the priests are essential for handling the blood. Sacrifices are to be divided between God, the priest, and the offerers, although in cases the entire sacrifice is a single portion consigned to God—i. e. Chapters 8–10 describe the consecration by Moses of Aaron and his sons as the first priests, the first sacrifices, the purpose is to underline the character of altar priesthood as an Aaronite privilege, and the responsibilities and dangers of their position
Book of Leviticus
–
Tanakh (Judaism)
Book of Leviticus
–
Vaikro – Book of Leviticus, Warsaw edition, 1860, page 1
Book of Leviticus
–
The
Tabernacle and the Camp (19th Century drawing)
Book of Leviticus
–
The Scapegoat (painting) (1854 painting by
William Holman Hunt)
37.
Rashi
–
His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud, has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing by Daniel Bomberg in the 1520s. His commentary on Tanakh—especially on the Chumash —is an indispensable aid to students of all levels, the latter commentary alone serves as the basis for more than 300 supercommentaries which analyze Rashis choice of language and citations, penned by some of the greatest names in rabbinic literature. Rashis surname, Yitzhaki, derives from his fathers name, Yitzhak, the acronym is sometimes also fancifully expanded as Rabban Shel YIsrael which means the rabbi of Israel, or as Rabbenu SheYichyeh. He may be cited in Hebrew and Aramaic texts as Shlomo son of Rabbi Yitzhak, Shlomo son of Yitzhak, Shlomo Yitzhaki, in older literature, Rashi is sometimes referred to as Jarchi or Yarhi, his abbreviated name being interpreted as Rabbi Shlomo Yarhi. Simon and Wolf claimed that only Christian scholars referred to Rashi as Jarchi, bernardo de Rossi, however, demonstrated that Hebrew scholars also referred to Rashi as Yarhi. The evolution of this term has been thoroughly traced, Rashi was an only child born at Troyes, Champagne, in northern France. His mothers brother was Simon the Elder, Rabbi of Mainz, Simon was a disciple of Rabbeinu Gershom Meor HaGolah, who died that same year. In his voluminous writings, Rashi himself made no claim at all. The main early rabbinical source about his ancestry, Responsum No.29 by Solomon Luria and his fame later made him the subject of many legends. One tradition contends that his parents were childless for many years, Rashis father, Yitzhak, a poor winemaker, once found a precious jewel and was approached by non-Jews who wished to buy it to adorn their idol. Yitzhak agreed to travel with them to their land, but en route, another legend also states that Rashis parents moved to Worms, Germany while Rashis mother was pregnant. As she walked down one of the streets in the Jewish quarter. She turned and pressed herself against a wall, which opened to receive her and this miraculous niche is still visible in the wall of the Worms Synagogue. According to tradition, Rashi was first brought to learn Torah by his father on Shavuot day at the age of five and his father was his main Torah teacher until his death when Rashi was still a youth. At the age of 17 he married and soon went to learn in the yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov ben Yakar in Worms. When Rabbi Yaakov died in 1064, Rashi continued learning in Worms for another year in the yeshiva of his relative, Rabbi Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi, Rashis teachers were students of Rabbeinu Gershom and Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol, leading Talmudists of the previous generation. From his teachers, Rashi imbibed the traditions pertaining to the Talmud as they had been passed down for centuries, as well as an understanding of the Talmuds unique logic. Rashi took concise, copious notes from what he learned in yeshiva and he returned to Troyes at the age of 25, after which time his mother died, and he was asked to join the Troyes Beth din
Rashi
–
16th-century depiction of Rashi
Rashi
–
Rashi Synagogue,
Worms
Rashi
–
Exterior of Rashi's Synagogue, Worms, Germany
Rashi
–
Monument in memory of Rashi in
Troyes, France
38.
Postage stamps and postal history of Israel
–
The postage stamps and postal history of Israel is a survey of the postage stamps issued by the state of Israel, and its postal history, since independence was proclaimed on May 14,1948. The first postage stamps were issued two days later on May 16,1948, pre-1948 postal history is discussed in postage stamps and postal history of Palestine. The postal history of Israel builds upon the development of postal services in Palestine. During the rule of the Mamluks, mounted mail service was operated in Deir al-Balah, Lydda, during the Ottoman period, postal services relied upon Turkeys stamps. Foreign consulates set up the early post offices, during World War I, the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force occupied Palestine and demarcated stamps as E. E. F. in 1918. During the British Mandate, postage stamps and services were provided by British authorities, at first using temporary stamps issued in February 1918 by the British Expeditionary Forces in Palestine, and in February 1920 issuing permanent stamps bearing the imprint, Palestine Eretz Israel. From 1933 to 1948, mandate services included airmail stamps and, as an innovation, British postal offices and operations were, in part, turned over to the Israeli government. In May 1948, as the British withdrew and postal services broke down, in 1948, stamps were issued by Israel Post the Israeli postal operator. Because Saturday is a day of rest, Sunday, May 16, was the first business day after independence was declared on which stamps could be sold, the first set of stamps was entitled Doar Ivri because the countrys name had not yet been chosen. The first set of stamps included values of 3,5,10,15,20,50,250,500. The stamps were printed by letterpress, perforated or as a rouletted variation, Stamp booklets were issued for the 5,10,15 and 20 mil stamps. The Doar Ivri stamps were designed by Otte Wallish using ancient coins from the First Jewish–Roman War, Israeli stamps are trilingual, in Arabic, English and Hebrew, following the practice of the British Mandate of Palestine. Israel Post first issued postage due stamps, tête-bêche and gutter pairs in 1948, airmail stamps in 1950, service stamps, for government offices, in 1951, the tabs have gone through three unofficial phases. From 1948 to 1954, the tabs were written in Hebrew, from 1954 until 1967, the inscriptions were usually in Hebrew and French. Since 1967, the tabs are typically Hebrew and English, rarely, a tab is matched with the wrong stamp, as with two mix-ups on some Doar Ivri stamps. By 1960, more than 325 unique postmarks had been designed, beginning with the Doar Ivri stamps, too, Israel has provided first day covers. For instance, on July 5,1967, a first day cover featuring Moshe Dayan was issued from the new post office in Jerusalem, Israel has 64 post offices in 1950, expanding to 114 by 1960 and, after the Six-Day War, to 178 branches by 1970. In 1955, two settlements in the Negev began Israels first mobile post office, a red truck, by 1990, Israel ran 53 routes for 1,058 locations, including Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza
Postage stamps and postal history of Israel
–
A block of four of the 1948 3 mils value from the first series of Israeli stamps.
Postage stamps and postal history of Israel
–
2008 Israeli postage stamp for Holocaust Remembrance Day, part of a joint philatelic issue with the United Nations Postal Administration.
39.
Postage stamp
–
Postage stamp may also refer to a formatting artifact in the display of film or video, Windowbox. A postage stamp is a piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are printed on special paper, show a national designation and a denomination on the front. They are sometimes a source of net profit to the issuing agency, stamps are usually rectangular, but triangles or other shapes are occasionally used. The stamp is affixed to an envelope or other postal cover the customer wishes to send, the item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark, sometimes known as a cancellation mark, is usually applied in overlapping manner to stamp and cover. This procedure marks the stamp as used to prevent its reuse, in modern usage, postmarks generally indicate the date and point of origin of the mailing. The mailed item is delivered to the address the customer has applied to the envelope or parcel. Postage stamps have facilitated the delivery of mail since the 1840s, before then, ink and hand-stamps, usually made from wood or cork, were often used to frank the mail and confirm the payment of postage. The first adhesive postage stamp, commonly referred to as the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom in 1840, there are varying accounts of the inventor or inventors of the stamp. The postage stamp resolved this issue in a simple and elegant manner, concurrently with the first stamps, the UK offered wrappers for mail. S. Postal service for priority or express mailing, the postage stamp afforded convenience for both the mailer and postal officials, more effectively recovered costs for the postal service, and ultimately resulted in a better, faster postal system. With the conveniences stamps offered, their use resulted in greatly increased mailings during the 19th and 20th centuries, as postage stamps with their engraved imagery began to appear on a widespread basis, historians and collectors began to take notice. The study of stamps and their use is referred to as philately. Stamp collecting can be both a hobby and a form of study and reference, as government-issued postage stamps. The postage for the item was prepaid by the use of a hand-stamp to frank the mailed item. Though this stamp was applied to a letter instead of a piece of paper it is considered by many historians as the worlds first postage stamp. Rowland Hill The Englishman Sir Rowland Hill began interest in postal reform in 1835, in 1836, a Member of Parliament, Robert Wallace, provided Hill with numerous books and documents, which Hill described as a half hundred weight of material. Hill commenced a study of these documents, leading him to the 1837 publication of a pamphlet entitled Post Office Reform its Importance
Postage stamp
–
The main components of a stamp: 1.
Image 2.
Perforations 3.
Denomination 4. Country name
Postage stamp
–
Rowland Hill
Postage stamp
–
The
Penny Black, the world’s first postage stamp.
Postage stamp
–
Rows of perforations in a sheet of postage stamps.
40.
Christian ethics
–
Christian ethics is a branch of Christian theology that defines virtuous behavior and wrong behavior from a Christian perspective. Systematic theological study of Christian ethics is called moral theology, Christian virtues are often divided into four cardinal virtues and three theological virtues. Christian ethics includes questions regarding how the rich should act toward the poor, how women are to be treated, Christian ethicists, like other ethicists, approach ethics from different frameworks and perspectives. The approach of virtue ethics has become popular in recent decades, largely due to the work of Alasdair MacIntyre. In the Wesleyan tradition, Christian theology are informed by four distinguishable sources known as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the four sources are the Bible and the Christian tradition, philosophical principles and methods, science and other sources of knowledge about the world, and human experience broadly conceived. According to D. Childress and Macquarrie state that Many Christian ethicists have claimed that Jesus Christ is the center of the message in its entirety. Other Christian ethicists prefer a more Trinitarian rendering of the message of scripture, some modern Christians understand liberation or deliverance from oppression to be the message of scripture. Although Christians today do not feel compelled to the whole of the Old Testament Law, the Prophets ground their appeals for right conduct in Gods demand for righteousness. On the other hand, It is not, true to say that for the OT writers righteousness is defined by what God does, i. e. an act is not made righteous by the fact that God does it. Also noted as ethical guidelines adhered to by Old Testament figures is maintenance of the family, safeguarding of the family property, much of Christian ethics derives from Biblical scripture and Christianity have always considered the Bible profitable to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness. The New Testament generally asserts that all morality flows from the Great Commandment, to love God with all heart, mind, strength, and soul. In this, Jesus was reaffirming a teachings of Deut 6, 4-9, Christ united these commands together and proposed himself as a model of the love required in John 13,12, known also as The New Commandment. Paul is also the source of the phrase Law of Christ, though its meaning, the Pauline writings are also the major source of the New Testament household code. The Council of Jerusalem, as reported in Acts 15, may have held in Jerusalem in about 50 AD. Its decree, known as the Apostolic Decree, was held as binding for several centuries and is still observed today by the Greek Orthodox. Christian ethics developed during Early Christianity as Christianity arose in the Holy Land, consequently, early Christian ethics included discussions of how believers should relate to Roman authority and to the empire. Writers, such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Ambrose, Jerome and they made use of philosophical and ethical principles laid down by their Greek philosopher forebears and the intersection of Greek and Jewish thought known as Hellenistic Judaism. Under the Emperor Constantine I, Christianity became a legal religion, with Christianity now in power, ethical concerns broadened and included discussions of the proper role of the state
Christian ethics
–
Depicted is the famous
Sermon on the Mount of
Jesus in which he
commented on the Old Covenant.
Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the
New Covenant. Painting by
Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter, d. 1890.
Christian ethics
–
Jesus
41.
Jesus of Nazareth
–
Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who became the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was baptized by John the Baptist and subsequently began his own ministry, preaching his message orally and often being referred to as rabbi. He was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, and was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate, Jesus debated fellow Jews on how to best follow God, performed healings, taught in parables and gathered followers. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, and his birth is celebrated annually on December 25 as a holiday known as Christmas, his crucifixion is honored on Good Friday, and his resurrection is celebrated on Easter. The widely used calendar era AD, from the Latin anno Domini, most Christians believe Jesus enables humans to be reconciled to God. The Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead either before or after their bodily resurrection, the great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of a Divine Trinity. A minority of Christian denominations reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, in Islam, Jesus is considered one of Gods important prophets and the Messiah. Muslims believe Jesus was a bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin but was not the Son of God, the Quran states that Jesus himself never claimed divinity. To most Muslims, Jesus was not crucified but was raised into Heaven by God. Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, a typical Jew in Jesus time had only one name, sometimes supplemented with the fathers name or the individuals hometown. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, the carpenters son, or Josephs son. In John, the disciple Philip refers to him as Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth, the name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The Greek form is a rendering of the Hebrew ישוע, a variant of the earlier name יהושע, the name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The 1st century works of historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote in Koine Greek, the etymology of Jesus name in the context of the New Testament is generally given as Yahweh is salvation. Since early Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as Jesus Christ, the word Christ is derived from the Greek Χριστός, which is a translation of the Hebrew משיח, meaning the anointed and usually transliterated into English as Messiah. Christians designate Jesus as Christ because they believe he is the Messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, in postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of Jesus Christ—but originally it was a title. The term Christian has been in use since the 1st century, the four canonical gospels are the only substantial sources for the life and message of Jesus. Acts of the Apostles refers to the ministry of Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth
–
(
stained glass at
St John's Ashfield in
Sydney, Australia)
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of Nazareth
–
A 3rd-century Greek
papyrus of the
Gospel of Luke
Jesus of Nazareth
–
Adoration of the Shepherds by
Gerard van Honthorst, 1622.
42.
Catechism
–
Catechisms are doctrinal manuals - often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorised - a format that has been used in non-religious or secular contexts as well. The term catechumen refers to the recipient of the catechetical work or instruction. In the Catholic Church, catechumens are those who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism, traditionally, they would be placed separately during Holy Mass from those who baptized, and would be dismissed from the liturgical assembly before the Profession of Faith and General Intercessions. Today, they are characteristic of Western Christianity but are present in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Before the Protestant Reformation, Christian catechesis took the form of instruction in and memorisation of the Apostles Creed, Lords Prayer, the word catechism for a manual for this instruction appeared in the Late Middle Ages. The use of a question and answer format was popularized by Martin Luther in his 1529 Small Catechism, the format calls upon two parties to participate, a master and a student, or a parent and a child. The Westminster Shorter Catechism is an example, Q, what is the chief end of man. To glorify God and enjoy Him forever, what rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him. The word of God which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the rule to direct us how we may glorify. The catechisms question-and-answer format, with a view toward the instruction of children, was a form adopted by the various Protestant confessions almost from the beginning of the Reformation. Among the first projects of the Reformation was the production of catechisms self-consciously modelled after the older traditions of Cyril of Jerusalem, Luthers Large Catechism typifies the emphasis which the churches of the Augsburg Confession placed on the importance of knowledge and understanding of the articles of the Christian faith. Primarily intended as instruction to teachers, especially to parents, the catechism consists of a series of exhortations on the importance of each topic of the catechism. It is meant for those who have the capacity to understand, and is meant to be memorized and then repeatedly reviewed so that the Small Catechism could be taught with understanding. The catechism, Luther wrote, should consist of instruction in the rule of conduct, which always accuses us because we fail to keep it, the rule of faith, the rule of prayer, and the sacraments. Luthers Small Catechism, in contrast, is written to accommodate the understanding of a child or an uneducated person and it begins, The First Commandment You shall have no other gods. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things, Catechists not intent on this end, besides fatally injuring the Church, by sowing the materials of dissension in religion, also introduce an impious profanation of baptism. For where can any longer be the utility of baptism unless this remain as its foundation — that we all agree in one faith, the scandal of diverse instruction is that it produces diverse baptisms and diverse communions, and diverse faith. However, forms may vary without introducing substantial differences, according to the Reformed view of doctrine, John Calvin produced a catechism while at Geneva, which underwent two major revisions
Catechism
–
Codex Manesse, fol. 292v, "The Schoolmaster of Esslingen" (Der Schulmeister von Eßlingen)
Catechism
–
The Catechism Lesson by Jules-Alexis Meunier
Catechism
–
The Catechism, painting by Edith Hartry
Catechism
–
Title page of 1545 edition of the Genevan Catechism
43.
Old Testament
–
Its counterpart is the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible. The books that comprise the Old Testament canon differ between Christian Churches as well as their order and names. The most common Protestant canon comprises 39 books, the Catholic canon comprises 46 books, the 39 books in common to all the Christian canons corresponds to 24 books of the Tanakh, with some differences of order, and there are some differences in text. The additional number reflects the split of texts in the Christian Bibles into separate books, for example, Kings, Samuel and Chronicles, Ezra–Nehemiah, the books which are part of a Christian Old Testament but which are not part of the Hebrew canon are sometimes described as deuterocanonical. In general, Protestant bibles do not include books in its canon. The Old Testament consists of translations of many books by various authors produced over a period of centuries. The canon formed in stages, first the Pentateuch by around 400 BC, then the Prophets during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books. The Old Testament contains 39 or 46 or more books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch, the books, the wisdom books. For the Orthodox canon, Septuagint titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions, for the Catholic canon, the Douaic titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions. Likewise, the King James Version references some of these books by the spelling when referring to them in the New Testament. The Talmud in Bava Batra 14b gives a different order for the books in Neviim and Ketuvim and this order is also cited in Mishneh Torah Hilchot Sefer Torah 7,15. The order of the books of the Torah is universal through all denominations of Judaism and they are present in a few historic Protestant versions, the German Luther Bible included such books, as did the English 1611 King James Version. Empty table cells indicate that a book is absent from that canon, several of the books in the Eastern Orthodox canon are also found in the appendix to the Latin Vulgate, formerly the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings follow, there is a broad consensus among scholars that these originated as a single work during the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BC. The two Books of Chronicles cover much the material as the Pentateuch and Deuteronomistic history and probably date from the 4th century BC. Chronicles, and Ezra–Nehemiah, were finished during the 3rd century BC. Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments contain two to four Books of Maccabees, written in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and these history books make up around half the total content of the Old Testament. God is consistently depicted as the one who created or put into order the world, the Old Testament stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people, Israel, but includes instructions for proselytes as well
Old Testament
–
Jesus
44.
Book of Tobit
–
Athanasius mentioned that certain other books, including the book of Tobit, while not being part of the Canon, were appointed by the Fathers to be read. Augustine writes in his book On Christian Doctrine that the book of Tobit is a Canonical book, according to the monk Rufinus of Aquileia the book of Tobit and other deuterocanonical books were not called Canonical but Ecclesiastical books. Pope Innocent I sent a letter to the bishop of Toulouse citing the book of Tobit and this list mentions the book of Tobit as part of the Old Testament Canon. Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England lists it as a book of the Apocrypha, protestants regard Tobit as apocryphal because it was not included in the Tanakh nor considered canonical by Judaism. Qumran fragments of the text, which were copied between 100 BC to 25 AD, evidence a much earlier origin than previously thought, however, it could be hypothesized that some ancient Jewish rabbinic scholars considered Tobit to be historical. Midrash Bereishit Rabbah, a commentary on the Book of Genesis compiled circa 400–600 AD. Tobit was also considered part of the Septuagint, in more contemporary times, a number of Jews in Israel have sought to reclaim Tobit as part of the canon. This book tells the story of Tobit, a righteous Israelite of the tribe of Naphtali and he is particularly noted for his diligence in attempting to provide proper burials for fallen Israelites whom Sargons successor Sennacherib has slain. For this behavior the king seizes his property and exiles him, after Sennacheribs death, Tobit is allowed to return to Nineveh, where he buries a man who has been murdered on the street. That night, he sleeps in the open and is blinded by bird droppings which fall into his eyes, the blindness caused by this injury strains his marriage and, ultimately, he prays for death. Meanwhile, in faraway Media, a woman named Sarah has prayed for death in despair. The demon of lust, Asmodeus, the worst of demons, abducts and kills every man whom Sarah marries, God sends the angel Raphael, disguised as a human, to heal Tobit and to free Sarah from the demon. The main narrative is dedicated to Tobits son, Tobiah or Tobiyah, Raphael presents himself as Tobits kinsman Azariah and offers to aid and protect Tobias. Under Raphaels guidance, Tobias journeys to Media with his dog, and over the objection of Tobits wife Hannah, along the way, whilst he washes his feet in the river Tigris, a fish tries to swallow his foot. By the angels order, he captures it and removes its heart, liver, upon arriving in Media, Raphael tells Tobias of the beautiful Sarah, whom Tobias has the right to marry because he is her cousin and closest relative. The angel instructs the man to burn the fishs liver. The two marry, and the fumes of the burning organs drive the demon to Upper Egypt, sarahs father has been digging a grave to secretly bury Tobias. Surprised to find his son-in-law alive and well, he orders a double-length wedding feast and has the grave secretly filled, since the feast prevents him from leaving, Tobias sends Raphael to recover his fathers money
Book of Tobit
–
Tanakh (Judaism)
Book of Tobit
–
Tobit and Anna. Painting by Abraham De Pape (c. 1658),
National Gallery of London
45.
Sirach
–
In Egypt, it was translated into Greek by the authors grandson, who added a prologue. This prologue is generally considered the earliest witness to a canon of the books of the prophets, the book itself is the largest wisdom book from antiquity to have been survived. Sirach is accepted as part of the Christian biblical canons by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and most of Oriental Orthodox. The Anglican Church does not accept Sirach as protocanonical, and say it should be only for example of life and instruction of manners. Similarly, the Lutheran Churches include it in their lectionaries, and as a book proper for reading, devotion and it was cited in some writings in early Christianity. There are claims that it is cited in the Epistle of James, clement of Alexandria and Origen quote from it repeatedly, as from a γραφή, or holy book. The Apostolic Canons stated as venerable and sacred the Wisdom of Sirach, the Roman Catholic Church declared it to be canonical in 1546 during the fourth session of the Council of Trent. However, some Jews in the diaspora considered Sirach scripture, for instance, it was included in the canon of the Septuagint, the 2nd century BCE Greek version of the Jewish scriptures used by Diaspora Jews, through which it became part of the Greek canon. The multiplicity of manuscript fragments uncovered in the Cairo Genizah evidence its authoritative status among Egyptian Jewry until the Middle Ages, because it was excluded from the Jewish canon, Sirach was excised from the Protestant canon following the Reformation. However, a series of six poems about the search for and attainment of wisdom divide the book into something resembling chapters, despite the lack of structure, there are certain themes running through the Book that reappear at various points. The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha identifies ten major recurring topics,1, the Wisdom of Sirach is a collection of ethical teachings. The question of which actually originated with Sirach is open to debate. The teachings are applicable to all conditions of life, to parents and children, to husbands and wives, to the young, to masters, to friends, to the rich, and to the poor. Wisdom, in ben Sirachs view, is synonymous with the fear of God, the maxims are expressed in exact formulas, and are illustrated by striking images. They show a knowledge of the human heart, the disillusionment of experience, a fraternal sympathy with the poor. As in Ecclesiastes, two opposing tendencies war in the author, the faith and the morality of olden times, which are stronger than all argument, some of the refutations of these views are developed at considerable length. The book concludes with a justification of God, whose wisdom and these chapters are completed by the authors signature, and are followed by two hymns, the latter apparently a sort of alphabetical acrostic. Joshua ben Sirach, or, according to the Greek text Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem, was a Jewish scribe who had living in Jerusalem, may have authored the work in Alexandria
Sirach
–
Tanakh (Judaism)
Sirach
–
"Alle Weissheit ist bey Gott dem Herrn..." (modern orthography: Alle Weißheit ist bei Gott dem Herrn) (Sirach, first chapter, German translation), anonymous artist 1654
Sirach
–
Illustration from Sirach, c. 1751.
Sirach
–
Illustration of the high priest Jesus Sirach in the Secret Book of Honour of the Fugger by
Jörg Breu the Younger, 1545-1549
46.
Catholicism
–
The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
Catholicism
–
Ruins of gothic Catholic church in
Liptovská Mara (
Slovakia).
Catholicism
–
Ancient statue of
Saint Peter in the Basilica dedicated to him in the
Vatican.
Catholicism
–
An
Italian priest during the sacrament of
Baptism
47.
Eastern Orthodox Church
–
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Eastern Orthodox Church
–
Orthodox liturgy
Eastern Orthodox Church
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
48.
Non-Chalcedonian
–
Non-Chalcedonianism is a religious doctrine of those Christian churches that do not accept the Confession of Chalcedon as defined at the ecumenical of Council of Chalcedon in 451. The doctrine contrasts with Chalcedonian Christianity, which accepts the doctrines of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, some Christian denominations do not accept the Confession of Chalcedon, for varying reasons, but accept the doctrines of the previous council at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The most substantial non-Chalcedonian tradition is known as Oriental Orthodoxy, within the Patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch, the rejection of the Chalcedonian definition became a cause of schism. While the common people of Egypt and Syria mostly objected to the Council and these two parties vied for possession of the ancient sees of Alexandria and Antioch that formed, at the time, the third and fourth most prestigious sees in Christendom, respectively. Ultimately, neither group absolutely dominated either church, the end result was the existence of two distinct patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch for almost 1500 years, continuing in the present time. For Syrians, the Syriac Orthodox Church forms the patriarchal faction of the native Syrian-Semitic population whereas the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch is composed of those who accepted Chalcedon. In India and to a degree in Persia, the schism that occurred was between the Oriental Orthodox and the Assyrian Church of the East
Non-Chalcedonian
–
This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's
quality standards, as it overlaps too much with
Oriental Orthodoxy and needs to focus more on the schism and the theological issues (perhaps even to be renamed). You can help. The
discussion page may contain suggestions. (July 2010)
49.
New Testament
–
The New Testament is the second major part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity, Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world and it reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated into the various Christian liturgies, the New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books, John A. T. Robinson, Dan Wallace, and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. Others give a date of 80 AD, or at 96 AD. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation, other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. However, the canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity. The term new testament, or new covenant first occurs in Jeremiah 31,31, the same Greek phrase for new covenant is found elsewhere in the New Testament. Modern English, like Latin, distinguishes testament and covenant as alternative translations, John Wycliffes 1395 version is a translation of the Latin Vulgate and so follows different terms in Jeremiah and Hebrews, Lo. Days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel, for he reproving him saith, Lo. Days come, saith the Lord, when I shall establish a new testament on the house of Israel, use of the term New Testament to describe a collection of first and second-century Christian Greek Scriptures can be traced back to Tertullian. In Against Marcion, written circa 208 AD, he writes of the Divine Word, by the 4th century, the existence—even if not the exact contents—of both an Old and New Testament had been established. Lactantius, a 3rd–4th century Christian author wrote in his early-4th-century Latin Institutiones Divinae and that which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets—is called the Old, but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament is the collection of books that most Christians regard as divinely inspired, several of these writings sought to extend, interpret, and apply apostolic teaching to meet the needs of Christians in a given locality. The book order is the same in the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Slavonic, Armenian and Ethiopian traditions have different New Testament book orders. Each of the four gospels in the New Testament narrates the life, death, the word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings. The gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, Gospel is a calque of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion
New Testament
–
Books of the New Testament
New Testament
–
Evangelist Mathäus und der Engel, by
Rembrandt.
New Testament
–
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, 17th-century painting. Most scholars think Paul actually dictated his letters to a secretary.
New Testament
–
Papyrus Bodmer VIII, at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, showing 1 and 2 Peter.
50.
Jesus
–
Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who became the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was baptized by John the Baptist and subsequently began his own ministry, preaching his message orally and often being referred to as rabbi. He was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, and was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate, Jesus debated fellow Jews on how to best follow God, performed healings, taught in parables and gathered followers. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, and his birth is celebrated annually on December 25 as a holiday known as Christmas, his crucifixion is honored on Good Friday, and his resurrection is celebrated on Easter. The widely used calendar era AD, from the Latin anno Domini, most Christians believe Jesus enables humans to be reconciled to God. The Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead either before or after their bodily resurrection, the great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of a Divine Trinity. A minority of Christian denominations reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, in Islam, Jesus is considered one of Gods important prophets and the Messiah. Muslims believe Jesus was a bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin but was not the Son of God, the Quran states that Jesus himself never claimed divinity. To most Muslims, Jesus was not crucified but was raised into Heaven by God. Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, a typical Jew in Jesus time had only one name, sometimes supplemented with the fathers name or the individuals hometown. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, the carpenters son, or Josephs son. In John, the disciple Philip refers to him as Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth, the name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The Greek form is a rendering of the Hebrew ישוע, a variant of the earlier name יהושע, the name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The 1st century works of historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote in Koine Greek, the etymology of Jesus name in the context of the New Testament is generally given as Yahweh is salvation. Since early Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as Jesus Christ, the word Christ is derived from the Greek Χριστός, which is a translation of the Hebrew משיח, meaning the anointed and usually transliterated into English as Messiah. Christians designate Jesus as Christ because they believe he is the Messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, in postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of Jesus Christ—but originally it was a title. The term Christian has been in use since the 1st century, the four canonical gospels are the only substantial sources for the life and message of Jesus. Acts of the Apostles refers to the ministry of Jesus
Jesus
–
(
stained glass at
St John's Ashfield in
Sydney, Australia)
Jesus
Jesus
–
A 3rd-century Greek
papyrus of the
Gospel of Luke
Jesus
–
Adoration of the Shepherds by
Gerard van Honthorst, 1622.
Quotations related to Golden Rule at Wikiquote
Learning materials related to Living the Golden Rule at Wikiversity
