...article is that Mysticism does indeed exist. Stacie is trying to prove that the existence of mysticism cannot be denied and that it is not just some worthless delusion. He states that human beings cannot deny the existence of mysticism because it is beyond the confines of human understanding. One of the main concepts is that Mysticism is Independent of all our senses such as our physical senses of hearing, seeing or smelling. It also excludes any concepts or thoughts. Therefore whatever seems to deviate from our normal way of perceiving things such as having precognitions and visions are indeed not mystical occurrences because they still involve the senses. A man may claim to have a precognition of a neighbour’s death but he still pictured in his mind the image of a coffin and therefore this is not a mystical occurrence. Stacey advances several concepts to try and convince us that mysticism exist. One of his underlying arguments is that even though mystical experiences have different interpretations in different parts of the world, they have common characteristics which are agreed upon by those who practice it. One of the most important of these central characteristics is the existence of an ultimate unity in all things which they call a One or oneness and which is beyond our sensory intellectual consciousness. Stace further states that there are two main types of mystical experiences found in all higher cultures Extrovertive Mysticism and Introvertive mysticism. The extrovertive...
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...Mysticism is not the word used by such great mystics as St. Augustine and St. Bernard: “contemplation” is the word they employ to denote their unique experience of God. Mysticism historically has associations with the mystery cults of Greeks – one who had had the privilege of having been initiated into the secrets of Divine knowledge was called a gnostic. In the early history of European mysticism we find that mystical knowledge was regarded as worthy of being imparted to the inner circle of the devotees alone; it was revealed rather than acquired, through a long process of purgation and moral discipline, which we have now come to associate with mysticism. Clement of Alexandria holds that the divine secrets of the faith could be revealed or taught only to those who have already been...
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...History 200 14 December 2010 1 Mysticism and Diabolic Witchcraft: Female Susceptibility of the Italian Renaissance During the Italian Renaissance, Christianity experienced a heavy resurgence in mysticism. Mysticism was a type of devout faith or spirituality found throughout the convents in Italy and primarily exercised by Christian Italian women (Sheldrake 93-95). These women underwent vivid connections with God which involved an awakening of consciousness and awareness for God’s divine will. In extreme cases, women fell into a transcendental union with God in which they experienced ultimate illumination. In these rare occurrences, women could encounter faith miracles such as stigmatas, ecstasies, or the re-living of Christ’s Passion. During this period, Italy also experienced another intense spiritual movement labeled diabolic witchcraft (Tavuzzi 150). In the case of diabolic witchcraft, again experienced primarily by females, women underwent a concentrated level of worship and contractual relations with Satan. Historical examples show these women developing sexual relations with Satan, as well as maleficia or harmful magic (Tavuzzi 153). The women involved in diabolic witchcraft were pursued by the Church’s legal arm, the Dominican Inquisitors. They were put on trial, accused of heresy, and either imprisoned or killed. Similarly, the Dominican Inquisitors investigated women who were involved in mysticism and upon the examinations performed by the inquisitors;...
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...Matthew Caldwell 870072854 Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies – REL 2020 World Religions, Section IA and IB Instructor: Dr. Lily Vuong November 30, 2014 What is Christian mysticism? Discuss the influence of this movement on Christianity in the Medieval Period and consider its attraction especially for Christian women. Thesis: Christian Mysticism does not exist. The term ‘Christianity’ (from the Greek word “Christos”) comes from a Hebrew word meaning "the anointed one.” It is the belief system based upon Jesus Christ, whose death and resurrection eradicated the need for Judaic Law (a faith system based upon rituals, works, and sacrifices) and offered salvation through simple faith in one ultimate atonement. The word “mysticism”...
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...| Philosophy 101-01 | 9/21/2012 | | The definition of division causes a basis of argument in Plato’s “Euthyphro”. While awaiting trial, Euthyphro explains that he has brought his father in front of the Judge with a murder charge. The idea of bring one’s own father to court brings forth room for debate between Socrates and Euthyphro. The main question being what is the definition of piety? The main reason that Socrates asks this question is so that he can use the answer to defend himself, but while searching for the definition they find much controversy in Euthyphro’s action of bringing his father to court. It is clear that Socrates is looking for a universal definition of piety, in which all actions can be measure to determine whether or not they are pious. In order for the definition to be universal it must express what is essential about the thing being defined. The word piety was defined several ways throughout the reading. At first Euthyphro explains that “piety is what he is doing now, that is prosecuting his father for manslaughter (Plato 5d ).” Socrates disagrees stating that it was not a definition but simply an example of piety and therefore does not provide a fundamental characteristic which makes a pious thing pious. Euthyphro then continues to explain in his second definition that “piety is what is pleasing to the gods (Plato 6e-7a).” Socrates consents to this definition because it is expressed in a general form, but then criticizes it on the...
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...Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion The Mystical Within An Embodied Experience The term ‘religion’ has come to mean a wide variety of things over the years. It has ranged from “a statement of faith” (Gill, 968) to an element constructed to justify a human need for purpose in life. In the most distinguished writers of philosophy, religion, anthropology and psychology, the interpretations of religion and it forces within society, vary as much as their individual specialization fields. Thinkers have always had something to say about the experiences believers encounter when they immerse themselves in their deep-rooted belief systems. They reiterate, agree with, reject, and even propagate the theses brought forth by both past thinkers and their own contemporaries. In the writings of Friedrich Schleiermacher, Rudolf Otto, William James, Richard King, and Alan Cole, the view of how individuals and groups make religion an experience they embody through their actions both individually and as a result of the mystical aspects within the religion, is discussed expansively. These thoughts have led to deeply analytical observations of religious followers who allow themselves to have a more intimate embodied experience within their beliefs. In the writings of Friedrich Schleiermacher and William James, both philosophers, important observations referring to the mystical essence of religion were established. These thinkers were revolutionizing the way people thought about the religious...
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...disciplines. All three books, however, cite their practice as the solution for carnality and spiritual ineffectiveness of the church. All claim that spiritual disciplines are the means to bring God’s grace to bear on hearts that have become blind and dull of hearing. An implicit message of these books is that the practice of spiritual disciplines has been a hidden truth since Reformation days and that by going back to medieval days and exploring mysticism to find answers has merit. As pointed out in a previous critique of Westerhoff’s book,[4] mysticism, subjectivity, intuition and imaginative reflection weave their way through the descriptions of spiritual disciplines and this is also true, to some extent, in The Celebration of Discipline and The Spirit of the Disciplines. The apparent differences in style and emphasis appear to stem from each author’s religious orientation (i.e., Westerhoff functions as a priest in the Episcopalian Church and is oriented to Roman Catholic mysticism, Foster is a Quaker grounded in the mysticism and intuitive approach of the Friends and Willard is an evangelical Baptist who embraces the spiritual formation movement). They all seem draw heavily from extra-biblical sources and not upon exegesis for their contentions. In Celebration of Discipline Foster lists twelve spiritual disciplines: meditation, prayer, fasting, Bible study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance and celebration. Ultimately, however...
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...Sufism ideology helped spread Islam in South Asia because it is an amalgamation of the spiritual and mysticism of Islam that was appealing to Indians whose native religion focused on both of those aspects. Sufism is a spiritual tradition which originated within Islam, its development paralleled that of Islam but it focused more on the spirtual development of the individual and G-d. Sufism was influenced by cultures of peoples and itself influenced the culture, a fusion of traditions and religion came to define how Sufism created grassroots of Islam in northern India. Sufism paved the way for Islam in northern India because it acted as the intimidate stage by converting non-believers toward the path of Islam that allowed for future Islamic missionaries to convert faster. The fundamental tenets that make up Sufism deal with a spiritual focus of Islam rather than the dictated and systematic understanding of religion. Sufism developed a form of Islam that historinan Jonathan Berkey claims was “…graft[ed] onto ascetic traditions with a mystical dimension… that lead to a distinctly mystical approach to religious understanding.” (Berkey, 2003: p.156). This merging of mysticism, defined as “the spiritual apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect, attained through contemplation and self-surrender…”, produced a form Islam that connected an individual not with the material world but the spiritual world. This connection between an individual and G-d, seems intoxicating to...
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...Yeats and Symbolism Born in 1865, William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright and one of the twentieth century’s foremost literary masters. Yeats is partly credited with the Irish Literary Revival and was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature. Even though he rejected Christianity, Yeats was spiritual; he developed a unique, philosophical belief system that emphasized fate, historical determinism, and the notion that history is cyclical; Yeats eventually began using the image of a gyre to represent his spiritual canon. Yeats believed that the era he lived in was the end of the Christian-Cycle of the world and the beginning of the Human-Cycle. Much of Yeat’s inspiration was derived from mythologies, mysticism, and the occult of Ireland and other cultures, Christianity included; other inspiration, in his later years, developed from the Irish Rebellion, the Russian Revolution, World War I, and other political matters of his era. Much of the symbolism Yeats uses draws heavily from his metaphysical beliefs; he used well-known symbols to get his point across as well as cryptic and ambiguous symbols to keep his works relevant throughout time. In the poems “The Second Coming” and “Sailing to Byzantium”, Yeats uses symbolism to make poignant, haunting statements on the contemporary issues of his time involving society and human existence that, by his own design, are still relevant today. In the poem “The Second Coming”, Yeats is waxing poetic over the chaos created by war...
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...This was a practice essay I wrote a few years ago so naturally isn't perfect as I had only just begun writing essays at this stage. A religious experience is a non-empirical event in which a person can gain knowledge and understanding, they come in a range of forms including, visions, conversion and mystical experiences. They are spontaneous events in which it can be voluntary or not. They are always unique to the individual experiencing it and is always a positive event and they have a religious element to them. A believer can have a vision a vision is an image or event in which there is a message and are always non-empirical, this could mean a number of different things depending on the believer however most are numinous this is what Otto described as a feeling of fear and fascination. A vision could gain understanding, an example of this is Julian of Norwich who determined that God is a mother she had this feeling of sudden understanding this can also be described noetic quality. An effect on the believer could also be that it reinforces faith, for example in Genesis Jacob has an imaginary vision in which he sees a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending and at the top sat God, this reinforced his belief and when he awoke he felt God’s presence in the place. A result of a vision could also be a social influence, this could be by discovering a healing spring such as St Bernadette who had 18 corporeal visions in which she saw the Virgin Mary who told her...
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...In the article, To the World, They Are Muslims. To ISIS, Sufis Are Heretics, by Rukmini Callimachi, it’s discussed that ISIS does not consider Sufis to be one of them, they regard them as heretics. It is debated on whether it was ISIS behind the attack on the Sufi synagogue on November 24. ISIS believes that Sufis, which are people in Islam that basically belief in Sufism, or "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam" and express their religion by worshipping the shrines of Sufist philosophers, are “Mushrikin, an Arabic word meaning polytheists.” They are aggressive towards them because ISIS shares the belief of Islam, that there is only one God, and they take their demonstrations of praise to these idols as an offense to the Islamic State....
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...Mysticism means many things to many minds and is undeniably a term that is used in varying contexts with different shades of meanings. Many have used this term to designate a special mark of spiritual disposition, and others have employed it to mark off a higher and final development of life itself. Anyone who reflects God or the Holy Spirit as the vital, determining norm or principle of his or her life could validly be called “Mystical.” Mysticism means, the attainment of higher levels of being in which this knowledge is fully realized in conformity with man’s destiny on earth. Mysticism is a living tradition that continues to occupy a central place in philosophy of the Muslim world. Sufi orders continue to flourish openly in worldwide and its mystical presence is apparent even on the more external plane. In the contemporary world which is full of materialism, Islamic mysticism is...
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...^ISDOM OF THE EAST THE PERSIAN MYSTICS JALALU'D-DIN RUM! BY F. HADLAND DAVIS " AUTHOR OF IN THE VALLEY OF STARS " THERE IS A TOWER OP SILENCE "! LONDON STREET JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE 1912 ALL RIGHTS TO A. T. K. THIS LITTLE BOOK OF EASTERN WISDOM IS LOVINGLY INSCRIBED " OUR JOURNEY is TO THE ROSE-GARDEN OF UNION jALA"LU'D-DfN PREFACE to thank Mr. R. A. Nicholson for kind and generous permission to use selections from his Dwani Shamsi Tabriz, and I DESIRE his also his publishers, the Cambridge Press. I am deeply indebted to Mr. E. H. Whinfield for allowing me to use quotations from his rendering I of the Masnavi (Triibner's Oriental Series). also cordially thank Mr. John Hastie for giving permission to quote a few passages from the " " Festival of Spring late Rev. Professor Hastie's (James Maclehose and Sons, Glasgow). The poems quoted from this volume are entitled : "Thy Rose," "I saw the Winter weaving," " " Love sounds the Music of the Spheres," The " The Beloved All in Souls Love-moved," and All the other translations from the lyrical All." poetry of Jalalu'd-Din Rumi are by Mr. R. A. me Nicholson. To these gentlemen, 7 and to those 8 I have left PREFACE unnamed, I tender my warmest thanks my for their help, sympathy, and interest in " attempt to popularise the wisest of the Persian Stiffs." F. LONDON, January 22, 1907. HADLANB DAVIS. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...
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...`Arguments from religious experience are never convincing.' (35 marks) Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud present challenges to religious experiences. Marx's challenges to religious experience arguments are sociological he suggested that the origins of religious experience are to be found in society. He states religion is about mythological beliefs and an unreal god that distracted people from the real world, religion is `the opium of the people', religious experiences create alienation and a religious experience could be the product of the desperate situation in which a person lived. Freud's challenges to religious experience arguments are psychological he suggested that religious experiences are a product of human psychology. He states religion is an illusion, religion expresses people's desires and religion originates from a childlike desire for a God who resembles a father figure. Some people have rejected James' claim that religious experience is primary. For example, many sociologists point out that the most likely people to have religious experiences are those who are already religious. However James' view has its weaknesses, for example some people have suggested that religious experiences are similar to hallucinations caused by drugs such as LSD. Furthermore J.L. Mackie argued in `The Miracle of Theism' that if mystical experiences are explainable psychologically, which James' stated is possible, and then mystical experiences can have no authority even for the person...
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...The “Perfect Man,” or al-Insan al-Kalil, was first coined by Ibn Arabi, a Sufi mystic and philosopher. It was said that the “Perfect Man” embodied all that was man, an archetype per se. He had within him all the divine properties of God, but had since lost this state of perfection, leading to separation from God. In Sufism, it is believed that all people still have the ability regain that state of perfection. In this sense, the “Perfect Man” is said to be someone who has realized his true oneness with God; one who has reached this perfect state is called awliya. The foremost example of the Perfect Man is the Prophet Muhammad, who all Muslims aspire to imitate. It’s important in Sufism that a being like the Perfect Man exists because it makes it easier to picture a relationship with God, as the bridge formed by the Perfect Man makes Him close and accessible. In this way, Sufis can see themselves as a reflection of the Divine, though different due to the existence of human nature. To attain a state of perfection, one must always realize this difference between human nature and the Divine, while still trying to emulate the attributes of God. These attributes are commonly cited as the attributes of beauty, the attributes of majesty, the attributes of perfection, and the attributes of the essence. Reaching these attributes requires a person to relinquish his ego, and focus solely on how he can become more like God, while still staying humble and knowing his own human nature...
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