|
Non-theism
Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of god or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject of God and differs from atheism. Nontheism does not necessarily describe atheism or disbelief in God; it has been used as an umbrella term for summarizing various distinct and even mutually exclusive positions, such as agnosticism, ignosticism, ietsism, skepticism, pantheism, pandeism, transtheism, atheism, strong or positive atheism, implicit atheism, and apatheism. It is in use in the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology. An early usage of the hyphenated ''non-theism'' was by George Holyoake in 1852. Within the scope of nontheistic agnosticism, philosopher Anthony Kenny distinguishes between agnostics who find the claim "God exists" uncertain and theological noncognitivists who consider all discussion of God ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theological Noncognitivism
Theological noncognitivism is the non-theist position that religious language, particularly theological terminology such as "God", is not intelligible or meaningful, and thus sentences like "God exists" are cognitively meaningless. It may be considered synonymous with ignosticism (also called igtheism), a term coined in 1964 by Sherwin Wine, a rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism. Arguments Theological noncognitivists argue in different ways, depending on what one considers the " theory of meaning" to be. One argument holds to the claim that definitions of God are irreducible, self-instituting relational, circular. For example, a sentence stating that "God is He who created everything, apart from Himself", is seen as circular rather than an irreducible truth. Michael Martin writing from a verificationist perspective concludes that religious language is meaningless because it is not verifiable. George H. Smith uses an attribute-based approach in an atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Existence Of God
The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorized as logical, empirical, metaphysical, subjective or scientific. In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of God or deities involves the disciplines of epistemology (the nature and scope of knowledge) and ontology (study of the nature of being, existence, or reality) and the theory of value (since some definitions of God include "perfection"). The Western tradition of philosophical discussion of the existence of God or deities began with Plato and Aristotle, who made arguments that would now be categorized as cosmological. Other arguments for the existence of God or deities have been proposed by St. Anselm, who formulated the first ontological argument; Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Thomas Aquinas, who presented their own vers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Kenny
Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny (born 16 March 1931) is a British philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of Wittgenstein of whose literary estate he is an executor. With Peter Geach, he has made a significant contribution to analytical Thomism, a movement whose aim is to present the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas in the style of analytic philosophy. He is a former president of the British Academy and the Royal Institute of Philosophy. Education and early career Kenny initially trained as a Roman Catholic priest at the Venerable English College, Rome, where he received a degree of Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) degree. He was ordained in 1955 and served as a curate in Liverpool (1959–63). Having received his DPhil from the University of Oxford (St Benet's Hall) in 1961, he also worked as an assistant lecturer at the University of Liverpool (1961–63). However, he q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nontheistic Religions
Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious context—some otherwise aligned with theism, others not—in which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices. Nontheism has been applied and plays significant roles in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. While many approaches to religion exclude nontheism by definition, some inclusive definitions of religion show how religious practice and belief do not depend on the presence of a god or gods. For example, Paul James and Peter Mandaville distinguish between religion and spirituality, but provide a definition of the term that avoids the usual reduction to "religions of the book": Buddhism Existence of gods The Buddha said that ''devas'' (translated as "gods") do exist, but they were regarded as still being trapped in '' samsara'', and are not necessarily wiser than humans. In fact, the Buddha is often portrayed as a teacher of the gods, and superior to them. Since the time of the Buddha, the den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in History of India, northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a Bhavana, training of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pema Chödrön
Pema Chödrön (པདྨ་ཆོས་སྒྲོན། ''padma chos sgron'' “lotus dharma lamp”; born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown, July 14, 1936) is an American Tibetan Buddhist. She is an ordained nun, former acharya of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Chödrön has written several dozen books and audiobooks, and is principal teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. Early life and education Chödrön was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936 in New York City. She grew up Catholic. She attended Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, and grew up on a New Jersey farm with an older brother and sister.Haas, Michaela (2013). "Dakini Power: Twelve Extraordinary Women Shaping the Transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in the West". Snow Lion. , p. 123. She obtained a bachelor's degree in English literature from Sarah Lawrence College and a master's degree in elementary education from the University of California, Berkeley. Career Chödrön began study ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deism
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning " god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation of the natural world are exclusively logical, reliable, and sufficient to determine the existence of a Supreme Being as the creator of the universe. More simply stated, Deism is the belief in the existence of God solely based on rational thought without any reliance on revealed religions or religious authority. Deism emphasizes the concept of natural theology (that is, God's existence is revealed through nature). Since the 17th century and during the Age of Enlightenment (especially in 18th-century England, France, and North America), various Western philosophers and theologians formulated a critical rejection of the several religious texts belonging to the many organized religions, and began to appeal only to truths that they felt cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naturalism (philosophy)
In philosophy, naturalism is the idea or belief that only natural laws and forces (as opposed to supernatural ones) operate in the universe. According to philosopher Steven Lockwood, naturalism can be separated into an ontological sense and a methodological sense. "Ontological" refers to ontology, the philosophical study of what exists. On an ontological level, philosophers often treat naturalism as equivalent to materialism. For example, philosopher Paul Kurtz argues that nature is best accounted for by reference to material principles. These principles include mass, energy, and other physical and chemical properties accepted by the scientific community. Further, this sense of naturalism holds that spirits, deities, and ghosts are not real and that there is no "purpose" in nature. This stronger formulation of naturalism is commonly referred to as ''metaphysical naturalism''. On the other hand, the more moderate view that naturalism should be assumed in one's working methods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antitheism
Antitheism, also spelled anti-theism, is the philosophical position that theism should be opposed. The term has had a range of applications. In secular contexts, it typically refers to direct opposition to the belief in any deity. Etymology The word ''antitheism'' (or hyphenated ''anti-theism'') has been recorded in English since 1788. The etymological roots of the word are the Greek ''anti'' and ''theos.'' The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' defines ''antitheist'' as "One opposed to belief in the existence of a god". The earliest citation given for this meaning dates from 1833. The term was likely coined by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Opposition to theism ''Antitheism'' has been adopted as a label by those who regard theism as dangerous, destructive, or encouraging of harmful behavior. Christopher Hitchens (2001) wrote: : "I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an ''antitheist''; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deus Absconditus
The hidden God (Latin: ''Deus absconditus'') refers to the Christian idea of the fundamental unknowability of the essence of God. The name comes from the Bible, specifically from the book of Isaiah: "Indeed, you are a hidden God, you God of Israel, the Savior." (45:15). This concept was particularly important for the thinking of Nicholas of Cusa, John Calvin and Martin Luther. Luther unfolded his views on ''Deus absconditus'' in his Latin work '' De servo arbitrio'' in 1525. But he had already hinted at this idea in his lectures on the Psalms and in his lecture on Romans ten years earlier. The opposite of ''Deus absconditus'' in Lutheran theology is ''Deus revelatus'' ( the revealed God).E. Jüngel, ''The Doctrine of the Trinity: God’s Being is in Becoming''. 19 In France, the concept was important to the Jansenist movement, which included Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine. The French philosopher Lucien Goldmann would title a 1964 book on Pascal and Racine, ''The Hidden God: A St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvey Cox
Harvey Gallagher Cox Jr. (born May 19, 1929) is an American theologian who served as the Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, until his retirement in October 2009. Cox's research and teaching focus on theological developments in world Christianity, including liberation theology and the role of Christianity in Latin America. Biography Cox was born on May 19, 1929, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, to Dorothea Cox and Harvey Gallagher. He was raised in Malvern, Pennsylvania. After a stint in the US Merchant Marine, Cox attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in history. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in 1955, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the history and philosophy of religion from Harvard University in 1963. Cox was ordained as an American Baptist minister in 1957, and started teaching as an assistant professor at the Andover Newton Theological Sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Buchanan (minister)
James Buchanan (1804–1870) was a preacher and theological writer. He was born in 1804 at Paisley, and studied at the university of Glasgow. In 1827 he was ordained Church of Scotland minister of Roslin, near Edinburgh, and in 1828 he was translated to the large and important charge of North Leith. In this charge he attained great fame as a preacher, being remarkable or a clear, vigorous, and flowing style, a graceful manner, a vein of thrilling tenderness, broken from time to time by passionate appeals, all in the most pronounced evangelic strain. In 1840 Buchanan was translated to the High Church (St. Giles’), Edinburgh, and in 1813, after the disruption, he became first minister of St. Stephen‘s Free Church. In 1815 he was appointed professor of apologetics in the New College (Free church), Edinburgh, and in 1847, on the death of Dr. Chalmers, he was transferred to the chair of systematic theology, continuing there till his resignation in 1868. Life James Buchanan was b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> Buddhism")
