1.
God
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In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine simplicity, many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent and all loving. Furthermore, some religions attribute only a purely grammatical gender to God, incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence and immanence of God, with positions of synthesis such as the immanent transcendence of Chinese theology. God has been conceived as personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, in pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism, God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God, there are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about Gods identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, premised on being the one true Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, He Who Is, I Am that I Am, in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, in Islam, the name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a concept of God. In Chinese religion, God is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it, other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Baháí Faith, Waheguru in Sikhism, and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, the English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau-, in the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic God and gods in polytheism. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, in many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allāh is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning The God, Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. Mazda, or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå and it is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means intelligence or wisdom. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning placing ones mind, Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God
2.
Deity
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A deity is a concept conceived in diverse ways in various cultures, typically as a natural or supernatural being considered divine or sacred. A male deity is a god, while a female deity is a goddess, the Oxford reference defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. Various cultures have conceptualized a deity differently than a monotheistic God, a plain deity need not be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, or eternal, however an almighty monotheistic God generally does have these attributes. Monotheistic religions typically refer to God in masculine terms, while other religions refer to their deities in a variety of ways – masculine, feminine, androgynous, some Avestan and Vedic deities were viewed as ethical concepts. In Indian religions, deities have been envisioned as manifesting within the temple of every living beings body, as sensory organs, but in Indian religions, all deities are also subject to death when their merit runs out. The English language word deity derives from Old French deité, the Latin deitatem or divine nature, deus is related through a common Proto-Indo-European language origin to *deiwos. Deva is masculine, and the feminine equivalent is devi. Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea, in Old Persian, daiva- means demon, evil god, while in Sanskrit it means the opposite, referring to the heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of high excellence, exalted, shining ones. The closely linked term god refers to supreme being, deity, which states Douglas Harper, is derived from Proto-Germanic *guthan, from PIE *ghut-, guth in the Irish language means voice. The term *ghut- is also the source of Old Church Slavonic zovo, Sanskrit huta-, from the root *gheu- An alternate etymology for the term god traces it to the PIE root *ghu-to-, the term *gheu- is also the source of the Greek khein to pour. Originally the German root was a noun, but the gender of the monotheistic God shifted to masculine under the influence of Christianity. In contrast, all ancient Indo-European cultures and mythologies recognized both masculine and feminine deities, the term deity often connotes the concept of sacred or divine, as a god or goddess, in a polytheistic religion. However, there is no accepted consensus concept of deity across religions and cultures. Huw Owen states that the deity or god or its equivalent in other languages has a bewildering range of meanings. Some engravings or sketches show animals, hunters or rituals, the Venus of Willendorf, a female figurine found in Europe and dated to about 25,000 BCE has been interpreted as an exemplar of a prehistoric divine feminine. In Buddhist mythology, devas are beings inhabiting certain happily placed worlds of Buddhist cosmology and these beings are mortal and numerous. It is also common for iṣṭadevatās to be called deities, although the nature of Yidams is distinct from what is meant by the term. Buddhism does not believe in a creator deity, however, deities are an essential part of Buddhist cosmology, rebirth and Saṃsāra doctrines
3.
Ancient Greek
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Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
4.
Polytheism
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Polytheism is the worship of or belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. Polytheism is a type of theism, within theism, it contrasts with monotheism, the belief in a singular God, in most cases transcendent. Polytheists do not always worship all the gods equally, but they can be henotheists, other polytheists can be kathenotheists, worshiping different deities at different times. Polytheism was the form of religion during the Bronze Age and Iron Age up to the Axial Age and the development of Abrahamic religions. Important polytheistic religions practiced today include Chinese traditional religion, Hinduism, Japanese Shinto, the term comes from the Greek πολύ poly and θεός theos and was first invented by the Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria to argue with the Greeks. When Christianity spread throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, non-Christians were just called Gentiles or pagans or by the pejorative term idolaters. The modern usage of the term is first revived in French through Jean Bodin in 1580, a central, main division in polytheism is between soft polytheism and hard polytheism. Hard polytheism is the belief that gods are distinct, separate, real divine beings, hard polytheists reject the idea that all gods are one god. Hard polytheists do not necessarily consider the gods of all cultures as being equally real, Polytheism cannot be cleanly separated from the animist beliefs prevalent in most folk religions. The gods of polytheism are in cases the highest order of a continuum of supernatural beings or spirits. In some cases these spirits are divided into celestial or chthonic classes, since divinity is intellectual, and all intellect returns into itself, this myth expresses in allegory the essence of divinity. Myths may be regarded physically when they express the activities of gods in the world, the psychological way is to regard the activities of the soul itself and or the souls acts of thought. The material is to regard material objects to actually be gods, for example, to call the earth Gaia, ocean Okeanos, Some well-known historical polytheistic pantheons include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods, and the classical-attested pantheon which includes the ancient Greek religion and Roman religion. Post-classical polytheistic religions include Norse Æsir and Vanir, the Yoruba Orisha, the Aztec gods, an example of a religious notion from this shared past is the concept of *dyēus, which is attested in several distinct religious systems. In many civilizations, pantheons tended to grow over time, deities first worshipped as the patrons of cities or places came to be collected together as empires extended over larger territories. Conquests could lead to the subordination of the elder cultures pantheon to a one, as in the Greek Titanomachia. Most ancient belief systems held that gods influenced human lives, epicurus believed that these gods were material, human-like, and that they inhabited the empty spaces between worlds. Though it is suggested that Hestia stepped down when Dionysus was invited to Mount Olympus, robert Graves The Greek Myths cites two sources that obviously do not suggest Hestia surrendered her seat, though he suggests she did
5.
Hrafnkels saga
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Hrafnkels saga or Hrafnkels saga Freysgoða is one of the Icelanders sagas. It tells of struggles between chieftains and farmers in the east of Iceland in the 10th century, the eponymous main character, Hrafnkell, starts out his career as a fearsome duelist and a dedicated worshiper of the god Freyr. After suffering defeat, humiliation, and the destruction of his temple and his character changes and he becomes more peaceful in dealing with others. After gradually rebuilding his power base for years, he achieves revenge against his enemies and lives out the rest of his life as a powerful. The saga has been interpreted as the story of a man who arrives at the conclusion that the basis of power does not lie in the favor of the gods. The saga remains widely read today and is appreciated for its structure, plausibility. For these reasons, it has served as a test case in the dispute on the origins of the Icelandic sagas, Hrafnkell has ambition and soon – with the permission of his father – establishes his own settlement. He selects an uninhabited valley for his farm and names it Aðalból, the valley subsequently receives the name Hrafnkelsdalr. Hrafnkell also has a temple erected and performs lavish sacrificial ceremonies. He dedicates the best of his livestock to his patron deity Freyr, including his favourite horse and he swears that he will kill anyone who rides Freyfaxi without permission. From his religious activities Hrafnkell comes to be known as Freysgoði, Hrafnkell longs for power and soon establishes himself as a chieftain by bullying people in neighbouring valleys. He has a penchant for duels and never pays weregild for anyone he kills, now the saga introduces Einar, a shepherd of Hrafnkells. On one occasion Einar needs to ride to perform his duties and he then takes Freyfaxi and rides him for the day. But after the horse has been ridden it runs home to Aðalból, on seeing his horse dirty and wet with sweat, Hrafnkell realises what has happened. He rides out with his axe and reluctantly kills Einar to fulfill his oath, einarrs father, Þorbjörn, upset at the death of his son, goes to Hrafnkell to seek weregild. Hrafnkell tells him that he pays weregild for no man and he does, however, think that this killing was among the worst he has done and is prepared to make some amends. He makes a favourable offer to Þorbjörn of taking care of him for the rest of his days. Þorbjörn, however, wants nothing short of a settlement as between equals
6.
Freyr
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Freyr or Frey is one of the most important gods of Norse religion. The name is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Norse *frawjaz, lord, Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr is said to bestow peace and pleasure on mortals. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the gods gave him Álfheimr, the realm of the Elves, as a teething present. He rides the shining dwarf-made boar Gullinbursti and possesses the ship Skíðblaðnir which always has a favorable breeze and can be folded together and he has the servants Skírnir, Byggvir and Beyla. The most extensive surviving Freyr myth relates Freyrs falling in love with the female jötunn Gerðr, eventually, she becomes his wife but first Freyr has to give away his magic sword which fights on its own if wise be he who wields it. Although deprived of this weapon, Freyr defeats the jötunn Beli with an antler, however, lacking his sword, Freyr will be killed by the fire jötunn Surtr during the events of Ragnarök. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Freyr is revived in the period in Heathenry. Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremens Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Adam claimed to have access to first-hand accounts on pagan practices in Sweden. He refers to Freyr with the Latinized name Fricco and mentions that an image of him at Skara was destroyed by the Christian missionary and his description of the Temple at Uppsala gives some details on the god. Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco, historians are divided on the reliability of Adams account. While he is close in time to the events he describes he has an agenda to emphasize the role of the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen in the Christianization of Scandinavia. His timeframe for the Christianization of Sweden conflicts with other sources, such as runic inscriptions, on the other hand, the existence of phallic idols was confirmed in 1904 with a find at Rällinge in Södermanland. When Snorri Sturluson was writing in 13th century Iceland, the indigenous Germanic gods were still remembered although they had not been openly worshiped for more than two centuries, in the Gylfaginning section of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the major gods. This description has similarities to the account by Adam of Bremen. Adam assigns control of the weather and produce of the fields to Thor, Snorri also omits any explicitly sexual references in Freyrs description. Those discrepancies can be explained in several ways and it is possible that the Norse gods did not have exactly the same roles in Icelandic and Swedish paganism but it must also be remembered that Adam and Snorri were writing with different goals in mind. Either Snorri or Adam may also have had distorted information, the only extended myth related about Freyr in the Prose Edda is the story of his marriage
7.
Jacob Grimm
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Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist, and mythologist. Jacob Grimm was born in Hanau, in Hesse-Kassel and his father, Philipp Grimm, was a lawyer, but he died while Jacob was a child, and his mother was left with very small means. His mothers sister was lady of the chamber to the Landgravine of Hesse, Jacob was sent to the public school at Kassel in 1798 with his younger brother Wilhelm. In 1802, he proceeded to the University of Marburg where he studied law and his brother joined him at Marburg a year later, having just recovered from a long and severe illness, and likewise began the study of law. Up to this time, Jacob Grimm had been driven only by a general thirst for knowledge, savignys lectures also awakened in him a love for historical and antiquarian investigation, which forms the structure of all his work. In the beginning of 1805, he received an invitation from Savigny, Grimm passed a very happy time in Paris, strengthening his taste for the literatures of the Middle Ages by his studies in the Paris libraries. Towards the close of the year, he returned to Kassel, where his mother and Wilhelm had settled, the next year, he obtained a position in the war office with the very small salary of 100 thalers. One of his grievances was that he had to exchange his stylish Paris suit for a stiff uniform, but he had full leisure for the pursuit of his studies. In 1808, soon after the death of his mother, he was appointed superintendent of the library of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. Bonaparte appointed him an auditor to the council, while Grimm retained his superintendent post. His salary was increased in a period of time from 2000 to 4000 francs. After the expulsion of Bonaparte and the reinstatement of an elector, Grimm was appointed Secretary of Legation in 1813, accompanying the Hessian minister to the headquarters of the allied army. In 1814, he was sent to Paris to demand restitution of books carried off by the French, upon his return from Vienna, he was sent to Paris a second time to secure book restitutions. Meanwhile, Wilhelm had received an appointment to the Kassel library, consequently, they moved the following year to Göttingen, where Jacob received the appointment of professor and librarian, and Wilhelm that of under-librarian. Jacob Grimm lectured on legal antiquities, historical grammar, literary history, and diplomatics, explained Old German poems, during this period, he is described as small and lively in figure, with a harsh voice, speaking a broad Hessian dialect. Grimm joined other academics who signed a protest against the King of Hanovers abrogation of the constitution which had established some years before. As a result, he was dismissed from his professorship and banished from the Kingdom of Hanover in 1837 and he returned to Kassel with his brother, who had also signed the protest. Jacob was not under any obligation to lecture and he seldom did so, during their time in Kassel, Jacob regularly attended the meetings of the academy, where he read papers on widely varied subjects
8.
Monotheism
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Monotheism has been defined as the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is all-powerful and interferes in the world. Another, more broad definition of monotheism, is the belief in one god, a distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform monotheism which, while recognising various distinct gods, postulate some underlying unity. There are also monotheistic parody religions, such as Pastafarianism, the word monotheism comes from the Greek μόνος meaning single and θεός meaning god. The English term was first used by Henry More, according to Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, monotheism was the original religion of humanity. Scholars of religion largely abandoned that view in the 19th century in favour of a progression from animism via polytheism to monotheism. Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt had postulated an Urmonotheismus, original or primitive monotheism in the 1910s and it was objected that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam had grown up in opposition to polytheism as had Greek philosophical monotheism. Some writers believe that the concept of monotheism sees a gradual development out of notions of henotheism and monolatrism, quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenatens Great Hymn to the Aten. A possible inclination towards monotheism emerged during the Vedic period in Iron-Age South Asia, the Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, in particular, in the comparatively late tenth book, dated to the early Iron Age, e. g. in the Nasadiya sukta. While all adherents of the Abrahamic religions consider themselves to be monotheists, Judaism does not consider Christianity to be monotheistic, Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic, a one, indivisible. The Babylonian Talmud references other, foreign gods as non-existent entities to whom humans mistakenly ascribe reality, One of the best-known statements of Rabbinical Judaism on monotheism is the Second of Maimonides 13 Principles of faith, God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species, nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity. Judaism and Islam reject the Christian idea of monotheism, Judaism uses the term shituf to refer to the worship of God in a manner which Judaism does not deem to be monotheistic. During the 8th century BCE, the worship of YHWH in Israel was in competition with other cults. Some scholars hypothesize that Judaism was originally a form of monolatrism or henotheism, in this hypothesis both the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah had YHWH as their state god, while also acknowledging the existence of other gods. Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah, and is the title of a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Observant Jews consider the Shema to be the most important part of the service in Judaism. It is traditional for Jews to say the Shema as their last words, despite at least one earlier local synod rejecting the claim of Arius, this Christological issue was to be one of the items addressed at the First Council of Nicaea
9.
Theodicy
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Theodicy, in its most common form, is an attempt to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil. Unlike a defense, which tries to demonstrate that Gods existence is possible in the light of evil. The German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz coined the term theodicy in 1710 in his work Théodicée, Irenaeus German philosopher Max Weber saw theodicy as a social problem, based on the human need to explain puzzling aspects of the world. Sociologist Peter L. Berger argued that religion arose out of a need for order. Following the Holocaust, a number of Jewish theologians developed a new response to the problem of evil, sometimes called anti-theodicy, which maintains that God cannot be meaningfully justified. As an alternative to theodicy, a defense has been proposed by the American philosopher Alvin Plantinga, similar to a theodicy, a cosmodicy attempts to justify the fundamental goodness of the universe, and an anthropodicy attempts to justify the goodness of humanity. As defined by Alvin Plantinga, theodicy is the answer to the question of why God permits evil, the word theodicy derives from the Greek words Θεός Τheos and δίκη dikē. Theos is translated God and dikē can be translated as either trial or judgement, thus, theodicy literally means justifying God. In the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Nick Trakakis proposed an additional three requirements which must be contained within a theodicy, Common sense views of the world, widely held historical and scientific opinion. As a response to the problem of evil, a theodicy is distinct from a defence, a defence attempts to demonstrate that the occurrence of evil does not contradict Gods existence, but it does not propose that rational beings are able to understand why God permits evil. A theodicy seeks to show that it is reasonable to believe in God despite evidence of evil in the world, defenses propose solutions to the logical problem of evil, while theodicies attempt to answer the evident problem. German philosopher Max Weber interpreted theodicy as a problem. Weber framed the problem of evil as the dilemma that the good can suffer and the evil can prosper and he identified two purposes of theodicy, to explain why good people suffer, and why people prosper. Sociologist Peter L. Berger characterised religion as the attempt to build order out of a chaotic world. He believed that humans could not accept that anything in the world was meaningless and saw theodicy as an assertion that the cosmos has meaning and order, despite evidence to the contrary. Berger presented an argument similar to that of Weber, but suggested that the need for theodicy arose primarily out of the situation of human society and he believed that theodicies existed to allow individuals to transcend themselves, denying the individual in favour of the social order. The term theodicy was coined by German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz in his 1710 work, written in French, Essais de Théodicée sur la bonté de Dieu, bayle argued that, because the Bible asserts the coexistence of God and evil, this state of affairs must simply be accepted. Voltaire also includes the theme in his novel, Candide
10.
Problem of evil
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The problem of evil refers to the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil with an omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipotent God. An argument from evil attempts to show that the co-existence of evil, attempts to show the contrary have traditionally been discussed under the heading of theodicy. Besides philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is also important to the field of theology, the problem of evil is often formulated in two forms, the logical problem of evil and the evidential problem of evil. The problem of evil has been extended to life forms, to include animal suffering from natural evils. Responses to various versions of the problem of evil, meanwhile, a wide range of responses have been made against these arguments. There are also discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics. But as usually understood, the problem of evil is posed in a theological context, the problem of evil refers to the challenge of reconciling belief in an omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent God, with the existence of evil and suffering in the world. The problem may be described either experientially or theoretically, the problem of evil is also a theoretical one, usually described and studied by religion scholars in two varieties, the logical problem and the evidential problem. Originating with Greek philosopher Epicurus, the argument from evil is as follows, If an omnipotent, omniscient. There is evil in the world, Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God does not exist. This argument is of the modus tollens, and is logically valid, If its premises are true. To show that the first premise is plausible, subsequent versions tend to expand on it, such as modern example. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, an omnibenevolent being would want to prevent all evils. An omniscient being knows every way in which evils can come into existence, an omnipotent being has the power to prevent that evil from coming into existence. A being who knows every way in which an evil can come into existence, who is able to prevent that evil from coming into existence, If there exists an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God, then no evil exists. Both of these arguments are understood to be presenting two forms of the problem of evil. They attempt to show that the propositions lead to a logical contradiction. If God lacks any one of these qualities—omniscience, omnipotence, or omnibenevolence—then the logical problem of evil can be resolved, process theology and open theism are other positions that limit Gods omnipotence and/or omniscience
11.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and statesman. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters and he was an early participant in the Sturm und Drang literary movement. He also contributed to the planning of Weimars botanical park and the rebuilding of its Ducal Palace and his first major scientific work, the Metamorphosis of Plants, was published after he returned from a 1788 tour of Italy. During this period, Goethe published his novel, Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship, the verse epic Hermann and Dorothea, and, in 1808. Goethes comments and observations form the basis of several biographical works, Goethes father, Johann Caspar Goethe, lived with his family in a large house in Frankfurt, then an Imperial Free City of the Holy Roman Empire. Though he had studied law in Leipzig and had been appointed Imperial Councillor, Johann Caspar married Goethes mother, Catharina Elizabeth Textor at Frankfurt on 20 August 1748, when he was 38 and she was 17. All their children, with the exception of Johann Wolfgang and his sister, Cornelia Friederica Christiana and his father and private tutors gave Goethe lessons in all the common subjects of their time, especially languages. Goethe also received lessons in dancing, riding and fencing, Johann Caspar, feeling frustrated in his own ambitions, was determined that his children should have all those advantages that he had not. Although Goethes great passion was drawing, he became interested in literature, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock. He also took pleasure in reading works on history and religion. He writes about this period, Goethe became also acquainted with Frankfurt actors, among early literary attempts, he was infatuated with Gretchen, who would later reappear in his Faust and the adventures with whom he would concisely describe in Dichtung und Wahrheit. He adored Caritas Meixner, a wealthy Worms traders daughter and friend of his sister, Goethe studied law at Leipzig University from 1765 to 1768. He detested learning age-old judicial rules by heart, preferring instead to attend the lessons of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert. In Leipzig, Goethe fell in love with Anna Katharina Schönkopf, in 1770, he anonymously released Annette, his first collection of poems. His uncritical admiration for many contemporary poets vanished as he became interested in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, already at this time, Goethe wrote a good deal, but he threw away nearly all of these works, except for the comedy Die Mitschuldigen. The restaurant Auerbachs Keller and its legend of Fausts 1525 barrel ride impressed him so much that Auerbachs Keller became the real place in his closet drama Faust Part One. As his studies did not progress, Goethe was forced to return to Frankfurt at the close of August 1768, Goethe became severely ill in Frankfurt. During the year and a half that followed, because of several relapses, during convalescence, Goethe was nursed by his mother and sister
12.
Prometheus (Goethe)
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Prometheus is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in which the character of the mythic Prometheus addresses God in misotheist accusation and defiance. The poem was written between 1772 and 1774 and first published in 1789 after an anonymous and unauthorised publication in 1785 by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi and it is an important work of the Sturm und Drang movement. It is immediately followed by Ganymed, and the two poems together should be understood as a pair, both belong to the period 1770–1775. Prometheus was planned as a drama but not completed, but this poem draws upon it, Prometheus is the creative and rebellious spirit which, rejected by God, angrily defies him and asserts itself, Ganymede is the boyish self which is adored and seduced by God. One is the defiant, the other the yielding acolyte. As the humanist poet, Goethe presents both identities as aspects or forms of the human condition, although the setting is classical, the address to the Judaeo-Christian god is suggested by the section beginning Da ich ein Kind war. The use of Da is distinctive, and by it Goethe evokes the Lutheran translation of Saint Pauls First Epistle to the Corinthians,13,11, Da ich ein Kind war, da redete ich wie ein Kind. Unlike St Paul, Goethes Prometheus grew up to disbelieve in the divine heart moved to pity for the afflicted, the poem was set to music by J. F. Reichardt, Schubert, Hugo Wolf and F. M. J. W. Goethe, Goethes Werke, Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand, J. W. Goethe, Gedichte J. W. Goethe, Werke Hamburger Ausgabe in 14 Bänden. Martin Luther, Die Bibel, oder die ganze Heilige Schrift des Alten und Neuen Testaments
13.
Good and evil
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In religion, ethics, philosophy and psychology good and evil is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is usually perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, Evil, in a general context, is the absence or opposite of that which is described as being good. Often, evil is used to denote profound immorality, in certain religious contexts, evil has been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives, however, elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect. How to achieve good is also discussed in the social sciences, every language has a word expressing good in the sense of having the right or desirable quality and bad in the sense undesirable. A sense of judgment and a distinction right and wrong, good. This idea developed into a religion which spawned many sects, some of which embraced an extreme dualistic belief that the world should be shunned. Morality in this absolute sense solidifies in the dialogues of Plato, the idea is further developed in Late Antiquity by Neoplatonists, Gnostics, and Church Fathers. Medieval theology was shaped by St. Augustine of Hippo. According to the definition of St. Augustine of Hippo sin is a word, deed. Other later Germanic forms include Middle English evel, ifel, ufel, Old Frisian evel, Old Saxon ubil, Old High German ubil, differing views also exist as to why evil might arise. Many religious and philosophical traditions claim that evil behavior is an aberration that results from the human condition. Sometimes, evil is attributed to the existence of free will, Some argue that evil itself is ultimately based in an ignorance of truth. A variety of Enlightenment thinkers have alleged the opposite, by suggesting that evil is learned as a consequence of social structures. In physics and statistical thermodynamics, the property of goodness or order is referred to as a state of low entropy. Confucianisms primary concern is with correct social relationships and the behavior appropriate to the learned or superior man, thus evil would correspond to wrong behavior. By good, I understand that which we know is useful to us. By evil, on the contrary I understand that which we certainly know hinders us from possessing anything that is good
14.
Trickster
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Hansen that the term trickster was probably first used in this context by Daniel G. Brinton in 1885. Tricksters are archetypal characters who appear in the myths of different cultures. Lewis Hyde describes the trickster as a boundary-crosser, the trickster crosses both physical and often breaks societal rules. Tricksters. violate principles of social and natural order, playfully disrupting normal life, often, the bending/breaking of rules takes the form of tricks or thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both, the trickster openly questions and mocks authority. They are usually male characters, and are fond of breaking rules, boasting, all cultures have tales of the trickster, a crafty creature who uses cunning to get food, steal precious possessions, or simply cause mischief. In some Greek myths Hermes plays the trickster and he is the patron of thieves and the inventor of lying, a gift he passed on to Autolycus, who in turn passed it on to Odysseus. In Slavic folktales, the trickster and the hero are often combined. Frequently the trickster figure exhibits gender and form variability, in Norse mythology the mischief-maker is Loki, who is also a shape shifter. Loki also exhibits gender variability, in one case even becoming pregnant and he becomes a mare who later gives birth to Odins eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Nevertheless, the Biblical narrative clearly takes Jacobs side and the reader is invited to laugh, in The Trickster and the Paranormal, G. P. Hansen lists Mercury in Roman mythology, and Eshu in Yoruba mythology as examples of the trickster archetype, in a wide variety of African language communities, the rabbit is the trickster. In West Africa, the spider is often the trickster, the trickster or clown is an example of a Jungian archetype. In modern literature the trickster survives as an archetype, not necessarily supernatural or divine. Often too, the trickster is distinct in a story by his acting as a sort of catalyst, in that his antics are the cause of other characters discomfiture, a once-famous example of this was the character Froggy the Gremlin on the early childrens television show Andys Gang. A cigar-puffing puppet, Froggy induced the adult humans around him to engage in ridiculous, in later folklore, the trickster/clown is incarnated as a clever, mischievous man or creature, who tries to survive the dangers and challenges of the world using trickery and deceit as a defense. He also is known for entertaining people as a clown does, for example, many typical fairy tales have the king who wants to find the best groom for his daughter by ordering several trials. No brave and valiant prince or knight manages to win them, until a poor, with the help of his wits and cleverness, instead of fighting, he evades or fools monsters and villains and dangers with unorthodox manners
15.
Eshu
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Eshu is an Orisha in the Yoruba religion of the Yoruba people. As the religion has spread around the world, the name of this Orisha has varied in different locations, Eshu partially serves as an alternate name for Eleggua, the messenger for all Orishas, and that there are 256 paths to Eleggua—each one of which is an Eshu. It is believed that Eshu is an Orisha similar to Elugga, Eshu is known as the Father who gave birth to Ogboni, and is also thought to be agile and always willing to rise to a challenge. Both ocha and Ifá share some paths, however, Eshu Ayé is said to work closely with Orisha Olokun and is thought to walk on the shore of the beach. Eshu Bi is a stern and forceful avatar, appearing as both an old man and young boy, who walked with Shangó and Oyá, and Eshu Bi protects both of these, as well as all other small children. Eshu Laroye is an avatar believed to be the companion of Oshún and believed to be one of the most important Eshus, and the avatar of Eshu Laroye is thought to be talkative and small. Eshu is described as a black devil-god in the character list of Aimé Césaires Une Tempête and he appears as a bawdy trickster to foil the colonialist Prospero in Act 3, Scene 3
16.
Yoruba religion
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Yoruba religious beliefs are part of itan, the complex cultural concepts which make up the Yoruba society. According to Kola Abimbola, the Yoruba have evolved a robust cosmology, in brief, it holds that all human beings possess what is known as Ayanmo and are expected to eventually become one in spirit with Olodumare. Furthermore, the thoughts and actions of each person in Ayé interact with all living things. Each person attempts to achieve transcendence and find their destiny in Orun-Rere, ones ori-inu must grow in order to consummate union with ones Iponri. Those who stop growing spiritually, in any of their lives, are destined for Orun-Apadi. Life and death are said to be cycles of existence in a series of physical bodies while ones spirit evolves toward transcendence and this evolution is said to be most evident amongst the Orishas, the divine viziers of Olorun. Iwapẹlẹ meditative recitation and sincere veneration is sufficient to strengthen the ori-inu of most people, well-balanced people, it is believed, are able to make positive use of the simplest form of connection between their Oris and the omnipotent Olu-Orun, an adura for divine support. Prayer to ones Ori Orun produces a sensation of joy. Elegbara initiates contact with spiritual realm on behalf of the petitioner, and transmits the prayer to Ayé and he transmits this prayer without distorting it in any way. Thereafter, the petitioner may be satisfied with a personal answer, in the event that he or she is not, the Ifá oracle of the Orisha Orunmila may also be consulted. All communication with Orun, whether simplistic in the form of a prayer or complicated in the form of that done by an initiated Babalawo. In the Yoruba belief system, Olodumare has ase over all that is, Olodumare is the most important state of existence. Regarded as being all-encompassing, no gender can be assigned, hence, it is common to hear references to it or they. They are the owner of all heads, for during human creation, perhaps one of the most important human endeavors extolled within the Yoruba literary corpus is the quest to better ones Iwa. Central to this is the theme of righteousness, both individual and collective, the Yoruba regard Olodumare as the principal agent of creation. According to a Yoruba account of creation, during a stage in this process. The earth being one of these was visited but deemed too wet for conventional life, after a successful period of time, a number of divinities led by Obatala were sent to accomplish the task of helping earth develop its crust. On one of their visits to the realm, the arch-divinity Obatala took to the equipped with a mollusk that concealed some form of soil, winged beasts
17.
Demiurge
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In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge is an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was adopted by the Gnostics, depending on the system, they may be considered to be either uncreated and eternal, or considered to be the product of some other entity. The philosophical usage and the proper noun derive from Platos Timaeus, written c.360 BC and this is accordingly the definition of the demiurge in the Platonic and Middle Platonic philosophical traditions. In the various branches of the Neoplatonic school, the demiurge is the fashioner of the real, perceptible world after the model of the Ideas, Plato, as the speaker Timaeus, refers to the Demiurge frequently in the Socratic dialogue Timaeus, c.360 BC. The main character refers to the Demiurge as the entity who fashioned and shaped the material world, Timaeus describes the Demiurge as unreservedly benevolent, and hence desirous of a world as good as possible. The world remains imperfect, however, because the Demiurge created the world out of a chaotic, Platos work Timaeus is a philosophical reconciliation of Hesiods cosmology in his Theogony, syncretically reconciling Hesiod to Homer. In Numeniuss Neo-Pythagorean and Middle Platonist cosmogony, the Demiurge is second God as the nous or thought of intelligibles and sensibles, Plotinus and the later Platonists worked to clarify the Demiurge. To Plotinus, the second emanation represents a second cause. In order to reconcile Aristotelian with Platonian philosophy, Plotinus metaphorically identified the demiurge within the pantheon of the Greek Gods as Zeus, the first and highest aspect of God is described by Plato as the One, the source, or the Monad. This is the God above the Demiurge, and manifests through the work of the Demiurge, the Monad emanated the demiurge or Nous from its indeterminate vitality due to the monad being so abundant that it overflowed back onto itself, causing self-reflection. This self-reflection of the indeterminate vitality was referred to by Plotinus as the Demiurge or creator, the second principle is organization in its reflection of the nonsentient force or dynamis, also called the one or the Monad. Plotinus form of Platonic idealism is to treat the Demiurge, nous as the contemplative faculty within man which orders the force into conscious reality. In this he claimed to reveal Platos true meaning, a doctrine he learned from Platonic tradition that did not appear outside the academy or in Platos text. This tradition of creator God as nous, can be validated in the works of philosophers such as Numenius. Before Numenius of Apamea and Plotinus Enneads, no Platonic works ontologically clarified the Demiurge from the allegory in Platos Timaeus. The idea of Demiurge was, however, addressed before Plotinus in the works of Christian writer Justin Martyr who built his understanding of the Demiurge on the works of Numenius. The figure of the Demiurge emerges in the theoretic of Iamblichus, here, at the summit of this system, the Source and Demiurge coexist via the process of henosis. The One is further separated into spheres of intelligence, the first and superior sphere is objects of thought, then within this intellectual triad Iamblichus assigns the third rank to the Demiurge, identifying it with the perfect or Divine nous with the intellectual triad being promoted to a hebdomad
18.
Gnosticism
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Gnosticism is a modern name for a variety of ancient religious ideas and systems, originating in Jewish milieus in the first and second century CE. This Divine spark could be liberated by gnosis of this Divine spark, the Gnostic ideas and systems flourished in Mediterranean in the second century CE, in conjunction with and influenced by the early Christian movements and Middle Platonism. In the Persian Empire Gnosticism spread as far as China with Manicheism, a major question in scholarly research is the qualification of Gnosticism, based on the study of its texts, as either an interreligious phenomenon or as an independent religion. The word Gnosticism is a construction, from the Greek word gnosis. Gnosis refers to knowledge based on experience or perception. In a religious context, gnosis is mystical or esoteric knowledge based on direct participation with the divine, in most Gnostic systems the sufficient cause of salvation is this knowledge of the divine. It is a knowing, comparable to that encouraged by Plotinus. With gnosis comes a fuller insight, and gives an understanding of the deeper meanings of doctrines, scriptures. The usual meaning of gnostikos in Classical Greek texts is learned or intellectual, platos use of learned is fairly typical of Classical texts. By the Hellenistic period, it began to also be associated with Greco-Roman mysteries, the adjective is not used in the New Testament, but Clement of Alexandria speaks of the learned Christian in complimentary terms. The use of gnostikos in relation to heresy originates with interpreters of Irenaeus, some scholars consider that Irenaeus sometimes uses gnostikos to simply mean intellectual, whereas his mention of the intellectual sect is a specific designation. The term Gnosticism was derived from the use of the Greek adjective gnostikos by St. Irenaeus to describe the school of Valentinus as he legomene gnostike haeresis the heresy called Learned, the Syrian-Egyptian traditions postulate a remote, supreme Godhead, the Monad. From this highest divinity emanate lower divine beings, known as Aeons, the Demiurg, one of those Aeons, creates the physical world. Divine elements fall into the realm, and are locked within human beings. This divine element returns to the realm when Gnosis, esoteric or intuitive knowledge of the divine element within is obtained. Gnostic systems postulate a dualism between God and the world, varying from the radical dualist systems of Manicheanism to the dualism of classic gnostic movements. Radical dualism, or absolute dualism, posits two co-equal divine forces, while in mitigated dualism one of the two principles is in some way inferior to the other, in qualified monism the second entity may be divine or semi-divine. Valentinian Gnosticism is a form of monism, expressed in terms previously used in a dualistic manner, Gnostics tended toward asceticism, especially in their sexual and dietary practice
19.
Conceptions of God
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The first recordings that survive of monotheistic conceptions of God, borne out of henotheism and monism, are from the Hellenistic period. In his Metaphysics, Aristotle discusses meaning of being as being, Aristotle holds that being primarily refers to the Unmoved Movers, and assigned one of these to each movement in the heavens. God, according to Aristotle, is in a state of stasis untouched by change, the unmoved mover is very unlike the conception of God that one sees in most religions. It has been likened to a person who is playing dominos and pushes one of them over, so every other domino in the set is pushed over as well. The All is the Hermetic version of God and it has also been called The One, The Great One, The Creator, The Supreme Mind, The Supreme Good, The Father and The Universal Mother. The All is seen by some to be a panentheistic conception of God, One Hermetic maxim states that While All is in THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in All. The All can also be seen to be hermaphroditic, possessing both masculine and feminine qualities in equal part and these qualities are, however, of mental gender, as The All lacks physical sex. According to The Kybalion, The All is more complicated than simply being the sum total of the universe. Rather than The All being simply the physical universe, it is said that everything in the universe is within the mind of The All, since The All can be looked at as Mind itself. The Alls mind is thought to be more powerful and vast than humans can possibly achieve. The Kybalion states that nothing can be outside of The All or The All would not be The All, the All may also be a metaphor alluding to the godhead potentiality of every individual. That invisible power which all know does exist, but understood by different names, such as God, Spirit, Supreme Being, Intelligence, Mind, Energy, Nature. In the Hermetic Tradition, each and every person has the potential to become God, the All is also an allusion to the observer created universe. We create our own reality, hence we are the architect, another way would to be to say that the mind is the builder. Freemasonry often includes concepts of God as an entity, however, esoteric masonic teachings clearly identify God as the individual himself. We are all God and as such we create our own reality, although others believe God to be abstract. Meaning he is not seen in reality, but understood through deep contemplation and he is all around us everyday, just hiding in the miracles and beauty of our Earth. Judaism, Christianity and Islam see God as a being who created the world, God is usually held to have the following properties, holiness, justice, sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, benevolence and omnipresence
20.
Summum bonum
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Summum bonum is a Latin expression meaning the highest good, which was introduced by Cicero, to correspond to the Idea of the Good in ancient Greek philosophy. The summum bonum is generally thought of as being an end in itself, the term was used in medieval philosophy and in Kantianism, to describe the ultimate importance, the singular and overriding end which human beings ought to pursue. Platos The Republic argued that, “In the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, silent contemplation was the route to appreciation of the Idea of the Good. However, arguably at least, Aristotles concept of the unmoved mover owed much to Platos Idea of the Good, philo of Alexandria conflated the Old Testament God with the unmoved mover and the Idea of the Good. Plotinus, the philosopher, built on Platos Good for his concept of the supreme One. Augustine of Hippo in his early writings offered the summum bonum as the highest human goal, the summum bonum has continued to be a focus of attention in Western philosophy, secular and religious. Hegel replaced Platos dialectical ascent to the Good by his own dialectical ascent to the Real, earlier he had regretted the way the psychoanalyst must know, “Not only doesnt he have that Sovereign Good that is asked of him, but he also knows there isnt any”. Intrinsic value Meaning of life Omnibenevolence Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Dinneen
21.
Oxymoron
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An oxymoron is a rhetorical device that uses an ostensible self-contradiction to illustrate a rhetorical point or to reveal a paradox. A more general meaning of contradiction in terms is recorded by the OED for 1902. e and it is itself an example of an oxymoron. The most common form of oxymoron involves a combination of two words. To give an example from English poetry, the line from Tennysons Idylls of the King contains two oxymorons, And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true. Oxymorons are not always a pair of words, they can also be devised in the meaning of sentences or phrases, richard Lederer assembled a taxonomy of oxymorons in an article in Word Ways in 1990, running from single-word oxymorons such as pianoforte through doublespeak oxymorons and opinion oxymorons. A good example of use of oxymorons is found in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, in Henry James novella The Lesson of the Master, a character is described as dressed in a manner conventionally unconventional, suggesting a tortuous spontaneity. In this way James highlights the contradiction between the desire to appear spontaneous, and the efforts she makes to appear so. Voltaire we might call, by an oxymoron which has plenty of truth in it, J. R. R. Tolkien interpreted his own surname as derived from the Low German equivalent of dull-keen which would be a literal equivalent of Greek oxy-moron. Comical oxymoron is a term for the claim, for comical effect, the humour derives from implying that an assumption is so obvious as to be part of the lexicon. Garry Wills accused William F. Buckley of popularising this trend, examples popularized by comedian George Carlin include military intelligence and business ethics. Similarly, the civil war is sometimes jokingly as an oxymoron. Other examples include healthful Mexican food, affordable caviar, Microsoft Works. Listing of antonyms, as in good and evil, male and female, great and small, etc. are not oxymorons, in some languages, it is not necessary to place a conjunction like and between the two antonyms, such compounds are known as dvandvas. For example, in Chinese, compounds like 男女, 陰陽, 善悪 are used to indicate couples, ranges, auto-antonym Colorless green ideas sleep furiously Paradox Performative contradiction Pleonasm Tautology Retronym. Self refuting idea Meinongs jungle Principle of contradiction Shen, Yeshayahu, on the structure and understanding of poetic oxymoron
22.
Meditations on First Philosophy
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Meditations on First Philosophy is a philosophical treatise by René Descartes first published in 1641. The French translation was published in 1647 as Méditations Métaphysiques, the original Latin title is Meditationes de prima philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animæ immortalitas demonstratur. The title may contain a misreading by the printer, mistaking animae immortalitas for animae immaterialitas, as suspected already by A. Baillet. The book is made up of six meditations, in which Descartes first discards all belief in things that are not absolutely certain, Descartes metaphysical thought is also found in the Principles of Philosophy, which the author intended to be a philosophy guidebook. He further indicates how the very Scriptures say that the mind of man is sufficient to discover God and his aim is to apply a method to demonstrate these two truths, in a so clear and evident manner that result to be evident. This method he has developed for the Sciences, Preface to the reader Descartes explains how he made a mention of the two questions, the existence of God, and the soul, in his Discourse on Method. Following this, he received objections, and two of them he considers are of importance, the first is how he concludes that the essence of the soul is a thing that thinks, excluding all other nature. To this he says that he has a clear perception that he is a thing, and has no other clear perception. The second is that from the idea I have of something that is more perfect than myself, in the treatise we will see that in fact from the idea that there is something more perfect than myself, it follows that this exists. He says that we have to consider God as incomprehensible and infinite, finally says that the treatise was submitted to some men of learning to know their difficulties and objections, and are answered at the end of it. He has resolved to sweep away all he thinks he knows and to start again from the foundations and he has seated himself alone, by the fire, free of all worries so that he can demolish his former opinions with care. The Meditator reasons that he need only find some reason to doubt his present opinions in order to him to seek sturdier foundations for knowledge. Rather than doubt every one of his opinions individually, he reasons that he might cast them all into doubt if he can doubt the foundations, everything that the Meditator has accepted as most true he has come to learn from or through his senses. He acknowledges that sometimes the senses can deceive, but only with respect to objects that are small or far away. The Meditator acknowledges that people might be more deceived, but that he is clearly not one of them. However, the Meditator realizes that he is convinced when he is dreaming that he is sensing real objects. He feels certain that he is awake and sitting by the fire, though his present sensations may be dream images, he suggests that even dream images are drawn from waking experience, much like paintings in that respect. Even when a painter creates a creature, like a mermaid
23.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
24.
Oresteia
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This trilogy also shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theater trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC, many consider the Oresteia to be Aeschylus finest work. The principal themes of the include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. Orestia originally included a satyr play Proteus following the tragic trilogy, Agamemnon is the first of the three plays within the Oresteia trilogy. It details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Mycene, from the Trojan War, after ten years of warfare, Troy had fallen and all of Greece could lay claim to victory. Waiting at home for Agamemnon is his wife, Queen Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder. The play opens to a watchman looking down and over the sea, reporting that he has been lying restless like a dog for a year and he laments the fortunes of the house, but promises to keep silent, A huge ox has stepped onto my tongue. The watchman sees a far off in the distance and is overjoyed at the victory. Clytaemnestra is introduced to the audience and she declares that there will be celebrations and sacrifices throughout the city as Agamemnon, upon the return of Agamemnon, his wife laments in full view of Argos how horrible the wait for her husband, and King, has been. After her soliloquy, Clytaemnestra pleads, and later convinces Agamemnon to walk on the laid out for him. This is a very ominous moment in the play as loyalties and motives are questioned, the Kings new concubine, Cassandra, is now introduced and this immediately spawns hatred from the queen, Clytaemnestra. Cassandra is ordered out of her chariot and to the altar where, once she is alone, is crying out insane prophecies to Apollo about the death of Agamemnon. Inside the house a cry is heard, Agamemnon had been stabbed in the bathtub. The chorus separate from one another and ramble to themselves proving their cowardice when another final cry is heard, when the doors are finally opened, Clytaemnestra is seen standing over the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra. Clytaemnestra describes the murder in detail to the chorus, showing no sign of remorse or regret, suddenly the exiled lover of Clytaemnestra, Aegisthus, bursts into the palace to take his place next to her. Aegisthus proudly states that he devised the plan to murder Agamemnon, Clytaemnestra claims that she and Aegisthus now have all the power and they re-enter the palace with the doors closing behind them. Upon arriving, Orestes reunites with his sister Electra at Agamemnons grave, shortly after the reunion, both Orestes and Electra, influenced by the Chorus, come up with a plan to kill both Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus. Orestes then heads to the door where he is unexpectedly greeted by Clytaemnestra
25.
Thomas De Quincey
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Thomas Penson De Quincey was an English essayist, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater. Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quincey inaugurated the tradition of literature in the West. De Quincey was born at 86 Cross Street, Manchester, Lancashire and his father was a successful merchant with an interest in literature who died when he was quite young. Soon after his birth the family went to The Farm and then later to Greenheys, in 1796, three years after the death of his father, Thomas Quincey, his mother – the erstwhile Elizabeth Penson – took the name De Quincey. In the same year, De Quinceys mother moved to Bath, Somerset, De Quincey was a weak and sickly child. His youth was spent in solitude, and when his brother, William, came home. De Quinceys mother was a woman of character and intelligence. It is purported that at time, in 1799, De Quincey first read Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth. In 1800, De Quincey, aged fifteen, was ready for the University of Oxford and that boy, his master at Bath had said, could harangue an Athenian mob better than you or I could address an English one. He was sent to Manchester Grammar School, in order that after three years stay he might obtain a scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford, but he took flight after nineteen months. His first plan had been to reach William Wordsworth, whose Lyrical Ballads had consoled him in fits of depression and had awakened in him a reverence for the poet. From July to November 1802, De Quincey lived as a wayfarer and he soon lost his guinea by ceasing to keep his family informed of his whereabouts, and had difficulty making ends meet. Still, apparently fearing pursuit, he borrowed money and travelled to London. Having failed, he lived close to starvation rather than return to his family, discovered by chance by his friends, De Quincey was brought home and finally allowed to go to Worcester College, Oxford, on a reduced income. Here, we are told, he came to be looked upon as a strange being who associated with no one, in 1804, while at Oxford, he began the occasional use of opium. He completed his studies, but failed to take the oral examination leading to a degree and he became an acquaintance of Coleridge and Wordsworth, having already sought out Charles Lamb in London. His acquaintance with Wordsworth led to his settling in 1809 at Grasmere and he lived for ten years in Dove Cottage, which Wordsworth had occupied and which is now a popular tourist attraction, and for another five years at Fox Ghyll near Rydal. De Quincey was married in 1816, and soon after, having no money left and his wife Margaret bore him eight children before her death in 1837
26.
History of atheism
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Atheism is the absence or rejection of the belief that deities exist. The English term was used at least as early as the century and atheistic ideas. Over the centuries, atheists have supported their lack of belief in gods through a variety of avenues, including scientific, philosophical, within the astika schools of Hindu philosophy, the Samkhya and the early Mimamsa school did not accept a creator-deity in their respective systems. Philosophical atheist thought began to appear in Europe and Asia in the sixth or fifth century BCE, will Durant, in his The Story of Civilization, explained that certain pygmy tribes found in Africa were observed to have no identifiable cults or rites. There were no totems, no deities, and no spirits and their dead were buried without special ceremonies or accompanying items and received no further attention. They even appeared to lack simple superstitions, according to travelers reports, the Vedas of Ceylon admitted only the possibility that deities might exist but went no further. Neither prayers nor sacrifices were suggested in any way by the tribes and these religions claim to offer a philosophic and salvific path not involving deity worship. Deities are not seen as necessary to the goal of the early Buddhist tradition, their reality is explicitly questioned. There is a fundamental incompatibility between the notion of gods and basic Buddhist principles, at least in many interpretations, within the astika schools of Hindu philosophy, the Samkhya and the early Mimamsa school did not accept a creator-deity in their respective systems. The principal text of the Samkhya school, the Samkhya Karika, was written by Ishvara Krishna in the fourth century CE, the origins of the school are much older and are lost in legend. The school was both dualistic and atheistic and they believed in a dual existence of Prakriti and Purusha and had no place for an Ishvara in its system, arguing that the existence of Ishvara cannot be proved and hence cannot be admitted to exist. The school dominated Hindu philosophy in its day, but declined after the tenth century, the foundational text for the Mimamsa school is the Purva Mimamsa Sutras of Jaimini. The school reached its height c.700 CE, and for time in the Early Middle Ages exerted near-dominant influence on learned Hindu thought. The Mimamsa school saw their primary enquiry was into the nature of dharma based on interpretation of the Vedas. Its core tenets were ritualism, antiasceticism and antimysticism, the early Mimamsakas believed in an adrishta that is the result of performing karmas and saw no need for an Ishvara in their system. Mimamsa persists in some subschools of Hinduism today, jains see their tradition as eternal. Organized Jainism can be dated back to Parshva who lived in the ninth century BCE, and, more reliably, to Mahavira, a teacher of the sixth century BCE, Jainism is a dualistic religion with the universe made up of matter and souls. The universe, and the matter and souls within it, is eternal and uncreated, the school grew out of the generic skepticism in the Mauryan period
27.
Philip Pullman
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Philip Pullman CBE, FRSL is an English writer. He is the author of several best-selling books, most notably the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and the biography of Jesus, The Good Man Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945, in a 2004 poll for the BBC, Pullman was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. The first book of Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the years outstanding English-language childrens book. For the 70th anniversary of the Medal it was named one of the top ten winning works by a panel and it won the public vote from that shortlist and was thus named the all-time Carnegie of Carnegies in June 2007. It has been adapted as a film under its U. S. title, Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England, the son of Audrey Evelyn Pullman and Royal Air Force pilot Alfred Outram Pullman. The family travelled with his fathers job, including to Southern Rhodesia, though the majority of his formative years was spent in Llanbedr in Ardudwy, north Wales. His father, an RAF pilot, was killed in a crash in 1954 in Kenya when Pullman was seven. Pullman said at the beginning of a 2008 exchange that to him as a boy, his father was a hero, steeped in glamour, the main task of the Harvards has been bombing and machine-gunning Mau Mau and their hideouts in densely wooded and difficult country. This included diving steeply into the gorges of rivers, often in conditions of low cloud, testing conditions, yes, but not much opposition from the enemy, the journalist in the exchange continued. Very few of the Mau Mau had guns that could land a blow on an aircraft and his mother remarried, and with a move to Australia came Pullmans discovery of comic books including Superman and Batman, a medium which he continues to espouse. From 1957 he was educated at Ysgol Ardudwy in Harlech, Gwynedd, and spent time in Norfolk with his grandfather, around this time Pullman discovered John Miltons Paradise Lost, which would become a major influence for His Dark Materials. From 1963, Pullman attended Exeter College, Oxford, receiving a Third class BA in 1968 and he discovered William Blakes illustrations around 1970, which would also later influence him greatly. Pullman married Judith Speller in 1970 and began teaching children aged 9 to 13 at Bishop Kirk Middle School in Summertown, North Oxford and his first published work was The Haunted Storm, which was joint-winner of the New English Librarys Young Writers Award in 1972. He nevertheless refuses to discuss it, galatea, an adult fantasy-fiction novel, followed in 1978, but it was his school plays which inspired his first childrens book, Count Karlstein, in 1982. He stopped teaching shortly after the publication of The Ruby in the Smoke, his childrens book. Pullman taught part-time at Westminster College, Oxford, between 1988 and 1996, continuing to write childrens stories and he began His Dark Materials in about 1993. The first book, Northern Lights was published in 1995, Pullman won both the annual Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Childrens Fiction Prize, a similar award that authors may not win twice
28.
His Dark Materials
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His Dark Materials is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes. The three novels have won a number of awards, most notably the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year prize, Northern Lights won the Carnegie Medal for childrens fiction in the UK in 1995. The trilogy took place in the BBCs Big Read poll in 2003. The fantasy elements include witches and armoured polar bears, but the trilogy also alludes to ideas from physics, philosophy and theology. The trilogy functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Miltons epic Paradise Lost, with Pullman commending humanity for what Milton saw as its most tragic failing, the series has drawn criticism for its negative portrayal of Christianity and religion in general. Pullmans publishers have primarily marketed the series to young adults, North American printings of The Amber Spyglass have censored passages describing Lyras incipient sexuality. He has been working on another companion trilogy to the series, The Book of Dust, for several years, the first volume will be released in October 2017. The National Theatre in London staged a major, two-part adaptation of the series in 2003–2004, the trilogy takes place across a multiverse, moving between many parallel worlds. The dominant religion has parallels with Christianity, and is at certain points in the series explicitly named so, while Adam and Eve are referenced in the text, Jesus Christ is not. In The Subtle Knife, the moves between the world of the first novel, our own world, and in another world. In The Amber Spyglass the story crosses through an array of diverse worlds, at first glance, the universe of Northern Lights appears considerably behind that of our own world, but in many fields it equals or surpasses ours. For instance, it emerges that Lyras world has the knowledge of particle physics, referred to as experimental theology. In The Subtle Knife Pullman rationalizes the first books American title, Northern Lights revolves around Lyra Belacqua, a young girl who lives in a world in which humans are constantly accompanied by dæmons, the animal embodiments of their inner-selves. Dæmons alter their forms frequently when people are young but begin to settle into a fixed, the Magisterium is a powerful Church body that represses heresy, and believes Dust to be related to Original Sin. The experiments are directed by Mrs. Coulter and conducted in the distant North by experimental theologians of the Magisterium, the Master of Jordan College, who has been raising Lyra, turns her over to Mrs. Coulter under pressure from the Church. But first he gives Lyra the alethiometer, an instrument that uses Dust to reveal any truth, from them she learns that Mrs. Coulter is her mother and Lord Asriel is her father, not her uncle. Taking Lyra along, the Gyptians mount an expedition to rescue the missing children, Lyra hopes to find and save her best friend, Roger Parslow, who she suspects has been taken by the Gobblers
29.
Misanthropy
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Misanthropy is the general hatred, distrust or contempt of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings, the words origin is from the Greek words μῖσος and ἄνθρωπος. The condition is often confused with asociality, misanthropy has been ascribed to a number of writers of satire, such as William S. Gilbert and William Shakespeare. Jonathan Swift is widely believed to be misanthropic, molières play The Misanthrope is one of the more famous French plays on this topic. Less famous, but more contemporary is the 1970 play by Françoise Dorin, Un sale égoïste which takes the point of view of the misanthrope, fernando Pessoas factless autobiography The Book of Disquiet has been described as misanthropic. In Western philosophy, misanthropy has been connected to isolation from human society, and when it happens to someone often. There is a difference between philosophical pessimism and misanthropy, immanuel Kant said that Of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing can ever be made, and yet this was not an expression of the uselessness of mankind itself. Kant further stated that hatred of mankind can take two forms, aversion from men and enmity towards them. The condition can arise partly from dislike and partly from ill-will and this might be thought of as more of a criticism of conformity rather than people in general. Certain thinkers such as Ibn al-Rawandi, a skeptic of Islam, and Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-Razi often expressed misanthropic views
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Evil
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In religion, ethics, philosophy and psychology good and evil is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is usually perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, Evil, in a general context, is the absence or opposite of that which is described as being good. Often, evil is used to denote profound immorality, in certain religious contexts, evil has been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives, however, elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect. How to achieve good is also discussed in the social sciences, every language has a word expressing good in the sense of having the right or desirable quality and bad in the sense undesirable. A sense of judgment and a distinction right and wrong, good. This idea developed into a religion which spawned many sects, some of which embraced an extreme dualistic belief that the world should be shunned. Morality in this absolute sense solidifies in the dialogues of Plato, the idea is further developed in Late Antiquity by Neoplatonists, Gnostics, and Church Fathers. Medieval theology was shaped by St. Augustine of Hippo. According to the definition of St. Augustine of Hippo sin is a word, deed. Other later Germanic forms include Middle English evel, ifel, ufel, Old Frisian evel, Old Saxon ubil, Old High German ubil, differing views also exist as to why evil might arise. Many religious and philosophical traditions claim that evil behavior is an aberration that results from the human condition. Sometimes, evil is attributed to the existence of free will, Some argue that evil itself is ultimately based in an ignorance of truth. A variety of Enlightenment thinkers have alleged the opposite, by suggesting that evil is learned as a consequence of social structures. In physics and statistical thermodynamics, the property of goodness or order is referred to as a state of low entropy. Confucianisms primary concern is with correct social relationships and the behavior appropriate to the learned or superior man, thus evil would correspond to wrong behavior. By good, I understand that which we know is useful to us. By evil, on the contrary I understand that which we certainly know hinders us from possessing anything that is good
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Theism
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Theism, in the field of comparative religion, or when contrasted with atheism, is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a deity or deities. The term theism derives from the Greek theos meaning god, the term theism was first used by Ralph Cudworth. Atheism is commonly understood as rejection of theism in the broadest sense of theism, the claim that the existence of any deity is unknown or unknowable is agnosticism. Monotheism is the belief in theology that only one deity exists, some modern day monotheistic religions include Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bahai Faith, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Eckankar and some forms of Hinduism. Polytheism is the belief there is more than one god. In practice, polytheism is not just the belief that there are multiple gods, soft polytheism views the gods as being subsumed into a greater whole. Some other forms of Hinduism such as Smartism/Advaita Vedanta serve as examples of soft polytheism, polytheism is also divided according to how the individual deities are regarded, Henotheism, The viewpoint/belief that there may be more than one deity, but only one of them is worshiped. Kathenotheism, The viewpoint/belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity is worshiped at a time or ever, if they are worshiped one at a time, then each is supreme in turn. Monolatrism, The belief that there may be more than one deity, most of the modern monotheistic religions may have begun as monolatric ones, although this is disputed. Pantheism, The belief that the universe is equivalent to god. Panentheism, Like Pantheism, the belief that the universe is joined to a god or gods. However, it believes that a god or gods are greater than the material universe. Examples include most forms of Vaishnavism and the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza, some people find the distinction between these two beliefs as ambiguous and unhelpful, while others see it as a significant point of division. Pantheism may be understood a type of Nontheism, where the universe takes on some of the roles of a theistic God. Classical deism is the belief that at least one deity exists and created the world, Deism typically rejects supernatural events prominent in organized religion. Instead, Deism holds that religious beliefs must be founded on reason and observed features of the natural world. Pandeism, The belief that a god preceded the universe and created it, panendeism combines deism with panentheism, believing the universe is a part of, but not all of a god. Polydeism, The belief that gods exist, but do not intervene in the universe
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Atheism
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Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist, in an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists, the etymological root for the word atheism originated before the 5th century BCE from the ancient Greek ἄθεος, meaning without god. The term denoted a social category created by orthodox religionists into which those who did not share their religious beliefs were placed, the actual term atheism emerged first in the 16th century. With the spread of freethought, skeptical inquiry, and subsequent increase in criticism of religion, application of the term narrowed in scope, the first individuals to identify themselves using the word atheist lived in the 18th century during the Age of Enlightenment. The French Revolution, noted for its unprecedented atheism, witnessed the first major movement in history to advocate for the supremacy of human reason. Arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to social and historical approaches, although some atheists have adopted secular philosophies, there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere. Since conceptions of atheism vary, accurate estimations of current numbers of atheists are difficult, an older survey by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 2004 recorded atheists as comprising 8% of the worlds population. Other older estimates have indicated that atheists comprise 2% of the worlds population, according to these polls, Europe and East Asia are the regions with the highest rates of atheism. In 2015, 61% of people in China reported that they were atheists, the figures for a 2010 Eurobarometer survey in the European Union reported that 20% of the EU population claimed not to believe in any sort of spirit, God or life force. Atheism has been regarded as compatible with agnosticism, and has also been contrasted with it, a variety of categories have been used to distinguish the different forms of atheism. Some of the ambiguity and controversy involved in defining atheism arises from difficulty in reaching a consensus for the definitions of words like deity, the plurality of wildly different conceptions of God and deities leads to differing ideas regarding atheisms applicability. The ancient Romans accused Christians of being atheists for not worshiping the pagan deities, gradually, this view fell into disfavor as theism came to be understood as encompassing belief in any divinity. Definitions of atheism also vary in the degree of consideration a person must put to the idea of gods to be considered an atheist, Atheism has sometimes been defined to include the simple absence of belief that any deities exist. This broad definition would include newborns and other people who have not been exposed to theistic ideas, as far back as 1772, Baron dHolbach said that All children are born Atheists, they have no idea of God. Similarly, George H. Smith suggested that, The man who is unacquainted with theism is an atheist because he does not believe in a god. This category would include the child with the conceptual capacity to grasp the issues involved. The fact that this child does not believe in god qualifies him as an atheist, ernest Nagel contradicts Smiths definition of atheism as merely absence of theism, acknowledging only explicit atheism as true atheism
33.
Aeschylus
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Aeschylus was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is often described as the father of tragedy, academics knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in theater allowing conflict among them, fragments of some other plays have survived in quotes and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyrus, often giving us surprising insights into his work. He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy, at least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians second invasion of Greece. This work, The Persians, is the surviving classical Greek tragedy concerned with contemporary events. Despite this, Aeschylus work – particularly the Oresteia – is generally acclaimed by modern critics and scholars. As soon as he woke from the dream, the young Aeschylus began to write a tragedy, and his first performance took place in 499 BC and he won his first victory at the City Dionysia in 484 BC. In 510 BC, when Aeschylus was 15 years old, Cleomenes I expelled the sons of Peisistratus from Athens, Cleisthenes reforms included a system of registration that emphasized the importance of the deme over family tradition. In the last decade of the 6th century, Aeschylus and his family were living in the deme of Eleusis, the Persian Wars played a large role in the playwrights life and career. In 490 BC, Aeschylus and his brother Cynegeirus fought to defend Athens against the army of Darius I of Persia at the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians emerged triumphant, a victory celebrated across the city-states of Greece, Cynegeirus, however, died in the battle, receiving a mortal wound while trying to prevent a Persian ship retreating from the shore, for which his countrymen extolled him as a hero. In 480, Aeschylus was called into service again, this time against Xerxes Is invading forces at the Battle of Salamis. Ion of Chios was a witness for Aeschyluss war record and his contribution in Salamis, Salamis holds a prominent place in The Persians, his oldest surviving play, which was performed in 472 BC and won first prize at the Dionysia. Aeschylus was one of many Greeks who were initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, initiates gained secret knowledge through these rites, likely concerning the afterlife. Firm details of specific rites are sparse, as members were sworn under the penalty of not to reveal anything about the Mysteries to non-initiates. Nevertheless, according to Aristotle, Aeschylus was accused of revealing some of the secrets on stage. Other sources claim that a mob tried to kill Aeschylus on the spot. Heracleides of Pontus asserts that the tried to stone Aeschylus
34.
University of Texas at Austin
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Founded in 1881 as The University of Texas, its campus is in Austin, Texas—approximately 1 mile from the Texas State Capitol. The institution has the nations seventh-largest single-campus enrollment, with over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 24,000 faculty, UT Austin was inducted into the American Association of Universities in 1929, becoming only the third university in the American South to be elected. It is a center for academic research, with research expenditures exceeding $550 million for the 2014–2015 school year. J. Pickle Research Campus and the McDonald Observatory, among university faculty are recipients of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, the Wolf Prize, the Emmy Award, the Turing Award, and the National Medal of Science, as well as many other awards. UT Austin student athletes compete as the Texas Longhorns and are members of the Big 12 Conference and its Longhorn Network is the only sports network featuring the college sports of a single university. The first mention of a university in Texas can be traced to the 1827 constitution for the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although Title 6, Article 217 of the Constitution promised to establish education in the arts and sciences. On April 18,1838, An Act to Establish the University of Texas was referred to a committee of the Texas Congress. On January 26,1839, the Texas Congress agreed to set aside fifty leagues of land towards the establishment of a publicly funded university, in addition,40 acres in the new capital of Austin were reserved and designated College Hill. In 1845, Texas was annexed into the United States, interestingly, the states Constitution of 1845 failed to mention higher education. On February 11,1858, the Seventh Texas Legislature approved O. B,102, an act to establish the University of Texas, which set aside $100,000 in United States bonds toward construction of the states first publicly funded university. The legislature also designated land reserved for the encouragement of railroad construction toward the universitys endowment, Texas secession from the Union and the American Civil War delayed repayment of the borrowed monies. At the end of the Civil War in 1865, The University of Texas endowment was just over $16,000 in warrants, the more valuable lands reverted to the fund to support general education in the state. The legislature additionally appropriated $256,272.57 to repay the funds taken from the university in 1860 to pay for frontier defense, the 1883 grant of land increased the land in the Permanent University Fund to almost 2.2 million acres. Under the Act of 1858, the university was entitled to just over 1,000 acres of land for every mile of railroad built in the state. On March 30,1881, the legislature set forth the structure and organization. By popular election on September 6,1881, Austin was chosen as the site, galveston, having come in second in the election was designated the location of the medical department. On November 17,1882, on the original College Hill, smite the earth, smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth
35.
Elie Wiesel
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Eliezer Elie Wiesel KBE was a Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. He was the author of 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, along with writing, he was a professor of the humanities at Boston University, which created the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies in his honor. He was involved with Jewish causes, and helped establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, in his political activities he also campaigned for victims of oppression in places like South Africa and Nicaragua and genocide in Sudan. He publicly condemned the 1915 Armenian genocide and remained a defender of human rights during his lifetime. He had been described as the most important Jew in America by the Los Angeles Times and he was a founding board member of the New York Human Rights Foundation and remained active throughout his life. Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Maramureș in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and his parents were Sarah Feig and Shlomo Wiesel. At home, Wiesels family spoke Yiddish most of the time, but also German, Hungarian, Wiesels mother, Sarah, was the daughter of Dodye Feig, a celebrated Vizhnitz Hasid and farmer from a nearby village. Dodye was active and trusted within the community, Wiesels father, Shlomo, instilled a strong sense of humanism in his son, encouraging him to learn Hebrew and to read literature, whereas his mother encouraged him to study the Torah. Wiesel has said his father represented reason while his mother Sarah promoted faith, Wiesel was instructed that his genealogy traced back to Rabbi Schlomo, son of Yitzhak, and was a descendant of Rabbi Yeshayahu ben Abraham Horovitz ha-Levi, an author. Wiesel had three siblings—older sisters Beatrice and Hilda, and younger sister, Tzipora, Beatrice and Hilda survived the war and were reunited with Wiesel at a French orphanage. They eventually emigrated to North America, with Beatrice moving to Montreal, Quebec, Tzipora, Shlomo, and Sarah did not survive the Holocaust. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary which extended the Holocaust into that country, immediately after they were sent to Auschwitz, his mother and his younger sister were murdered. Wiesel and his father were selected to perform labor so long as they remained able-bodied, Wiesel and his father were later deported to the concentration camp at Buchenwald. Until that transfer, he admitted to Oprah Winfrey, his motivation for trying to survive Auschwitz was knowing that his father was still alive, I knew that if I died. After they were taken to Buchenwald, his father died before the camp was liberated, in Night, Wiesel recalled the shame he felt when he heard his father being beaten and was unable to help. Wiesel was tattooed with inmate number A-7713 on his left arm, the camp was liberated by the U. S. Third Army on April 11,1945, when they were just prepared to be evacuated from Buchenwald and this home was subsequently moved to Taverny and operated until 1947. Afterwards Wiesel traveled to Paris where he learned French and studied literature, philosophy and he heard lectures by philosopher Martin Buber and existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre and he spent his evenings reading works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Franz Kafka, and Thomas Mann
36.
Cthulhu Mythos
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The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a correspondent of Lovecraft, to identify the system of lore employed by Lovecraft. The name Cthulhu derives from a creature in Lovecraft literature from the short story The Call of Cthulhu. The writer Richard L. Tierney later applied the term Derleth Mythos to distinguish between Lovecrafts works and Derleths later stories, authors of Lovecraftian horror use elements of the Cthulhu Mythos in an ongoing expansion of the fictional universe. In his essay H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos, Price called the first stage the Cthulhu Mythos proper. This stage was formulated during Lovecrafts lifetime and was subject to his guidance, the second stage was guided by August Derleth who, in addition to publishing Lovecrafts stories after his death, attempted to categorize and expand the Mythos. An ongoing theme in Lovecrafts work is the complete irrelevance of mankind in the face of the horrors that apparently exist in the universe. Lovecraft made frequent references to the Great Old Ones, a pantheon of ancient, powerful deities from space who once ruled the Earth. This was first established in The Call of Cthulhu, in which the minds of the human characters deteriorated when afforded a glimpse of what exists outside their perceived reality. Lovecraft emphasized the point by stating in the sentence of the story that The most merciful thing in the world. Writer Dirk W. Mosig notes that Lovecraft was a mechanistic materialist who embraced the philosophy of cosmic indifferentism, Lovecraft believed in a purposeless, mechanical, and uncaring universe. Human beings, with their faculties, could never fully understand this universe. There have been attempts at categorizing this fictional group of beings, phillip A. David E. Schultz, however, believes Lovecraft never meant to create a canonical Mythos but rather intended his imaginary pantheon to merely serve as a background element. Lovecraft himself humorously referred to his mythos as Yog Sothothery, at times, Lovecraft had to remind readers that his mythos creations were entirely fictional. The view that there was no rigid structure is reinforced by S. T. here was never a rigid system that might be posthumously appropriated. He essence of the mythos lies not in a pantheon of imaginary deities nor in a collection of forgotten tomes. Price, however, believed that Lovecrafts writings could at least be divided into categories, many of Howards original unedited Conan stories also form part of the Cthulhu Mythos. Prices dichotomy dictates the second stage commenced with August Derleth, the principal difference between Lovecraft and Derleth being the latters use of hope and that the Cthulhu mythos essentially represented a struggle between good and evil
37.
H. P. Lovecraft
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Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American author who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. He was virtually unknown and published only in magazines before he died in poverty. Lovecraft was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent most of his life, among his most celebrated tales are The Call of Cthulhu and The Shadow over Innsmouth, both canonical to the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft was never able to support himself from earnings as author and editor and he saw commercial success increasingly elude him in this latter period, partly because he lacked the confidence and drive to promote himself. He subsisted in straitened circumstances in his last years, an inheritance was completely spent by the time that he died at age 46. Lovecraft was born on August 20,1890 in his home at 194 Angell Street in Providence. Both of his parents were of entirely English ancestry, and most of his ancestors had been in New England since the colonial period and his great-grandfather Joseph Lovecraft Jr. emigrated to Rochester, New York from Devon, England in 1831. Lovecraft maintained throughout his life that his father died in a condition of paralysis brought on by nervous exhaustion. It has been suggested that his fathers mental illness may have been caused by syphilis, all five resided together in the family home. Lovecraft was a prodigy, reciting poetry at the age of three and writing complete poems by six. His grandfather encouraged his reading, providing him with such as One Thousand and One Nights, Thomas Bulfinchs Age of Fable, and childrens versions of the Iliad. His grandfather also stirred the boys interest in the weird by telling him his own tales of gothic horror. Lovecraft was frequently ill as a child, and he attended school until he was eight years old because of his sickly condition. He read voraciously during this period and became enamored of chemistry. He produced several hectographed publications with a circulation, beginning in 1899 with The Scientific Gazette. Four years later, he returned to school at Hope High School. Beginning in his life, Lovecraft is believed to have suffered from sleep paralysis. Much of his work is thought to have been directly inspired by these terrors
