Paganism

تعد دراسة تاريخ الأوبئة, لاسيما في مصادر التراث العربي الاسلامي
من الدراسات المهمة وغير التقليدية, لأنها تبين واقع ظروف المجتمع الذي
عايش الوباء وما نتج عنه من متغيرات كان لها الاثر اجتماعيا واقتصاديا
وصحيا ونفسيا عند زوال البلاء, فضلا عن معرفة نوع هذا الاوبئة في العالم
اليوم لما مرت به الامة وتضررت منها سنين عجاف, لاسيما فترة هذا
الدراسة التي امتدت من (6-897ه = 628-1492), اذ كانت مهلكة
للأنسان والدواب والحرث والزرع, كما أن قسما من الاوبئة عرف عن
أعراضه وعلاجه, زسجله العلماء العرب سواء أكانوا من المسلمين ام غير
المسلمين قبل وبعد الاسلام,

Os vikings ficaram conhecidos por sua fama de navegantes, aventureiros, invasores e saqueadores, isso se deveu graças a habilidade naval desenvolvida ao longo de gerações, que possibilitou a criação de diferentes embarcações, principalmente os navios-longos (langskip), os quais se tornaram um ícone da cultura material, virando sinônimo de "navio viking". No entanto, para além dessa embarcação, outras foram feitas para serem utilizadas em atividades como o comércio, a pesca, a travessia em rios e lagos, assim, o presente artigo apresentou os outros tipos de embarcações que existiram durante a Era Viking.

Pop singer Zolita claims herself a witch. How is neopagan witchcraft incorporated in her music? The Wiccan movement in North America raises among young females, who search for an unique identity. A locality of this community can be found in cyberspace.

The prohibition against idolatry is one of the main precepts of Judaism. However, while everyone in the Jewish tradition would agree on condemning idol worship, agreement is far from being reached about what idolatry is and why it is deplorable. 
Considering the theological foundations and aesthetic implications of the ban on idolatry, this lecture explores the reception of the Second Commandment in modern Jewish thought.

The tabernacle of David refers to the tent on Mount Zion, in which the ark was placed as the focal point for worship during David’s reign, and which has been largely overlooked by theologians in comparison with the tabernacle of Moses or Solomon’s temple. This article explores the theological significance of David’s tabernacle for Christian worship by examining the views of authors from ‘Burn 24-7,’ an international worship and prayer organisation founded in 2006. The Burn 24-7 interpretation of key texts is brought into dialogue with the perspective of Reformed theologian Peter Leithart, whose book 'From Silence to Song' is a rare scholarly exploration of this topic. Different hermeneutical models for determining what constitutes ‘Biblical worship’ are also considered with reference to Michael Farley’s paper on the subject. While the Burn 24-7 interpretation of the principal texts is at variance with many evangelical scholars, it finds broad support from Leithart, who makes a strong case for the thesis that Amos 9:11 and Acts 15:16 both refer to David’s worship tabernacle.

Neopaganism (Dievturība) in Latvia has undergone phenomenal transformations which have been driven by socio-political conditions. The history of the Dievturi movement makes it possible to outline the historical change in the movement due to differing political circumstances. In the first period of its development (1925-1940), Neopaganism displayed itself as a form of politicised phenomenon; it became part of prevailing policies of nationalism by offering a Latvian national religion. With Latvia’s occupation by the Soviet forces (1940) Latvian Neopagans, Dievturi, became a disadvantaged group. Persecution and repression faced by Dievturi (1940-1953) were due to the imposition of Communist ideology and restrictions on freedom. Later during the Soviet regime (1953-1986), the Dievturi were not part of an organised religious movement, their teaching and ritual practice were not further developed during this time period. However, it was while in exile that the Dievturi had the opportunity...

Text reaguje na univerzalistické nároky alternativní spirituality. Tím, že se identifikuje jako (jediná a pravá) univerzální spiritualita lidstva a odmítá, že by byla „náboženstvím“, rýsuje zároveň distanci mezi sebou a tradičními systémy. Specificky tím ale zároveň o sobě tvrdí, že nemá „dogmata“, „hierarchie“, ani „autority“. Je to ale skutečně pravda?

Post-sekulární Evropa se se stále větší intenzitou prosycuje motivy, které vyvěrají z hnutí nového věku. Jeho původní podoba vznikla v šedesátých letech, a to především na základech kontrakulturního hnutí propojeného s pozdní podobou evropského esoterismu. Nejpozději v devadesátých letech se však původní název „new age“ (česky „hnutí nového věku) postupně vytrácí a fenomén již zcela ztrácí obrysy hnutí, pokud kdy vůbec jaké měl. V současné době jej jeho příznivci stále častěji označují pojmem „spiritualita“, případně „nová spiritualita“ či „nenáboženská spiritualita“, a od nich tento termín, často poměrně neproblematicky, přejímají vědci. Je však záhodno podívat se pečlivěji na to, jakou implicitní zátěž s sebou
výraz „spiritualita“ doopravdy nese a nakolik je vhodné s ním bez dalšího operovat ve vědeckém diskursu.

This research studier the duration of Elaa and its Judgment in Islamic law. The importance of this research is shown when a man neither wants to marry a woman nor he let her marry another man. He swears not to approach her. He doesn't her as divorced nor married. The purpose behind the Elaa is to do harm to the wife. Even muslims did Elaa too. But God prevented it and gave the husband a duration so that he may think again and not to rush. A Fter that if he thinks that it is better to leaves this harm awm away, he can teave. And if he thinks it is better to devorce, he can devorce. God limited the duration in Four months. So anyone who swears to Elaa for Four months or less, he doesn't need to wait for the end of it. Because the duration of Elaa ends before the time limit or in the time limit. Waiting for four month and ten days should be in the time of Elaa Because only after the duration of Elaa the wife can demand to raise the case to the Judge. If the wife has no right fo...

El estudio de la imagen de los emperadores cristianos es complejo por su indefinición y por la variedad de puntos de vista que ofrece. Esta contribución presenta una serie de preguntas generales que plantean los puntos más conflictivos del análisis del culto imperial y la veneración de imágenes imperiales, dos conceptos que determinan el estudio de la imagen imperial.The study of the Christian imperial image is complex because of its lack of definition and the varity of possible points of view. The present paper shows a row of general questions which raise the most conflictive points of the analysis of imperial cult and the veneration of imperial images, two concepts which determine the study of the imperial image.

Presentation on Water in The Tarot of the Drowning World, in the Cabaret of the Drowning World: A Variety Spectacle with the Truppe Fledermaus and Very Special Guests, Sunday, September 10 2023. Hosted by Morbid Anatomy. Artists Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick and fellow traveler Sarah Falkner, were joined by a troupe of fascinating, erudite, and adept colleagues while professional cartomancer Laetitia Ante Delictum hosted an afternoon in NYC/evening in Europe/morning in Australia featuring a Tarot demonstration reading with Damon Stang; a mini-symposium exploring art history, ancient history, ecocriticism, and divinatory, magical, and sorcerous practice with presentations from Caroline J. Tully, Maura Coughlin, Una Maria Blyth, and Sasha Ravitch; films by David Sater; and a guided meditation with Erik Jampa Andersson.

Background: Mandrake (Mandragora spp.) is perhaps the most famous medicinal plant in western cultures since Biblical times and throughout written history. In many cultures, mandrake is related to magic and witchcraft, which and is said to have a psychosomatic effect (especially when mandrake contains narcotic compounds) in addition to the pharmacological influence, as occurs with other narcotic magical plants. Due to its unique properties and related myths, it is not surprising that this plant has many names in many languages.Methods: This paper presents an attempt to reconstruct the etymological, ethnobotanical, and historical and folkloristic roots of 296 vernacular names of Mandragora sp. in forty-two languages. We used the plant’s morphological data, philology, myths and legends, medicinal properties and uses, as well as historical evidence and folkloric data, to explain meaning, origin, migration, and history of the plant’s names.Results: The names were classified into the foll...

This paper aims to provide an account of the connections between faith and religious, political, and social identity in the context of the three treatises written by John Lydus, an employee of the Eastern Praetorian Prefecture in Constantinople (in office from 512 to 552 AD). The analysis of some of
the most controversial excerpts leads us to conclude that – rather than evidence of either opposition to Justinian’s Christianization of the Roman Empire or a merely simulated and hypocritical adherence to the new religion – John Lydus resorts to themes and stylistic features drawn from traditional Greco-Roman culture to pursue two main purposes:
1) Asserting his own and Eastern Empire’s romanitas, in accordance with the imperial propaganda: the claim for romanitas can be discerned in the definition of Justinian’s expansionistic plans as renovatio imperii, a concept grounded on the cultural continuity between Rome and Constantinople (cf. Nov. Iust. 30, 11, 2 [a. 536]). Scholars have shown how in the V-VI century classical culture was mostly unrelated to faith and religious practice, being perceived as a legitimate reuse of a prestigious tradition, without any hazardous implication of paganism.
2) Claiming cultural affiliation with the Constantinopolitan and provincial elite: his ideal readers belonged to the VI century middle and upper classes of society and shared with the author a classical education, legal training, and knowledge of the Latin language. The numerous references to classical
authors and antiquarian digressions should not be interpreted as alleged opposition of a writer who promotes pagan beliefs, but rather as the author’s intention to emphasize a shared social and cultural ground with his readers.

The God Connection by Yigal Bin-Nun
God Exists. There's No Need To Fight Him
We often say that an atheist is someone who has given up believing in God. The prefix "a" indicates an action of negation. An atheist is someone who has freed themselves from a personal attachment to God and theology. It is clear that one can only negate what exists. The atheist refutes the claim that God created the world. They prefer to say that it is rather man who created God. It cannot be denied that throughout the history of humanity, man has needed worship and divinity. In the past, it was out of fear of death and the unknown. Modern man needs God because of a rejection of chaos and the lack of coherence in nature, but also because of a certain fascination with mystery, the miraculous, the metaphysical, and everything beyond our comprehension. Even the rational thinker is concerned with the origin of the universe: how did all this begin? They can easily conceive of infinity but struggle to accept the absence of a beginning. Is this why the Big Bang theory was born?

espanolEn un articulo de opinion publicado a finales de 2009 en el "New York Times", Ross Douthat afirmo que la pelicula de James Cameron, "Avatar", era un ejemplo de propaganda panteista disenada para animar a la adoracion de la naturaleza en vez de a Dios. En este ensayo, evaluo las afirmaciones de Douthat, clasificandolas como un malentendido sobre el panteismo y como un sintoma del temor cristiano conservador de que el ambientalismo sea cripto-paganismo. Ofrezco una interpretacion alternativa de Eywa, la inteligencia planetaria de la pelicula, como una criatura, una figura de la diosa cristiana Natura, una descendiente del paganismo literario, y un indicio de una incipiente ecumene ambiental cristiana. EnglishIn an op-ed piece published in late 2009 in the "New York Times", Ross Douthat claimed that James Cameron's film "Avatar" was a piece of pantheist propaganda designed to encourage the worship of nature rather than God. In this ess...

• Om Österfärnebo (Gästrikland) från missionstid till nutid med nedslag i tre öden: bonden Vilev, känd från runstenen Gs 1, Sankta Barbara, kyrkans medeltida skyddshelgon och ”onde prästen” Wittingh, verksam omkring 1800.
• A story of the parish Österfärnebo (Gästrikland province) during a thousand years.

In the popular imagination those tried for witchcraft were people who dealt with the Devil, engaging in horrific acts in his service and empowered by a demonic familiar. However the evidence from Scottish witchcraft trials and related contemporary sources offers a more complex view, which includes not only the expected diabolism but also a witchcraft taught, guided, and fuelled by fairies. This is a liminal witchcraft which existed with one foot in mortal earth and another in the fairy knowe, where a witch or cunning person learned their skill from the 'Gude Nichtbors', where the human swore allegiance to the Queen of Fairy, and where the witch's familiar is a fairy rather than an imp. Testimony from accused witches provides a picture of a witchcraft that existed side by side with the diabolic type but separated from it by the powers being drawn on and connected to, providing a practice that was more socially acceptable. Witchcraft intertwined with fairy belief existed within the wider framework of that fairy belief and benefited from its pervasiveness across the culture, so much so that accused witches used their association with fairies as a defence against criminal accusations. Exploring these connections, the evidence for fairy powered witchcraft, and the place that such practices found in the culture, shows that witches who dealt with fairies were viewed as and acted as a unique class of cunningfolk, making this a distinct approach, different from other types of witchcraft.

“Si el uno es lo negro, el todo es lo blanco; si el uno es lo blanco, el todo es lo negro.” (Bi Lee)

“Lo autoritario es el fetiche del fascismo; de hecho, es más difundida la idea fascista con los métodos más pedagógicos. Pero el fundamento del fascismo es lo totalitario, lo absoluto; eso significa la jerarquía.” (Rene Mostrenco)

When committing to the construction of speaking in tongues, it grad- ually turns indistinguishable from the discovery of language without referent. If laying down the conditions for the leap — the babble will be forgiven, the meaning that is eternally outside of itself.
When seen from the outside — reading the book of nature is indistin- guishable from making the book of nature readable. And the sound of a crowd speaking in tongues is indistinguishable from the force that is constructed of that very tongue. “Forgive the babble.” If Goethe leapt into the book of nature, then what is the leap made by the feverish na- ture-book when it takes root in ourselves?
“I cannot tell you how readable the book of nature is becoming for me; my long efforts at deciphering, letter by letter, have helped me; now all of a sudden it is having its effect, and my quiet joy is inexpressible.”
-Preamble by Mandus Ridefelt

Do ut Des — I give so that you may give to others. Conjuring this work, through a choice of carefully selected narrations, thinking styles, aesthetics and emblematic realities, not relative, but not wholly true — I attempted to bring these worlds nearer. Occultosophia consists of ordered narratives from fiftenn years of discoveries on metaphysical paths, contained in a concise form for the niche reader. I had no one to guide me on my journey except for books, insights, and most importantly experiences I have gathered from spiritual inspirations remade into a working philosophy. The main motive was to prepare a small contribution to modern neohermetics in a vast ocean of occult literature. It has elements of hypothetical-inductive-deductive method applied to magical or peak experiences that can serve as a basis for further exploration, a modular philosophical toolkit that can be useful for research, performance, and action.

Исследование терминов, обозначающих эмоции, – основа изучения представлений о человеческих переживаниях, бытовавших в прошлом. В силу особенностей древнерусской книжной культуры мы не можем найти в произведениях этого периода развернутые и детальные описания, связанные с переживаниями людей. Тем не менее указанные тексты содержат эмотивную лексику. Именно ее анализ особенно важен для понимания представлений об эмоциях людей, живших в средние века. Анализ эмотивной лексики страха в «Повести временных лет» показывает, что ее авторы не только и не столько стремились передать ощущение этого чувства своими персонажами, сколько выстраивали характеристики героев летописи с помощью эмотивов. В статье анализируются рассказы «Повести временных лет» о князьях, содержащие лексемы, которые обозначают страх. Особое внимание обращается на контекст употребления обнаруженных эмотивов. Результаты проведенного исследования позволяют утверждать, что эмотивная лексика страха используется летописцем для нравственной характеристики князей. Сообщения об этой эмоции маркируют персонажей как злодеев и определяют их действия как неправедные. Бесстрашие же рассматривается как позитивная характеристика того или иного князя. Следовательно, эмотивная лексика страха в летописном повествовании прежде всего играет символическую роль и является важным элементом оценки, которую книжник дает своим героям.

Revue des Moines de Chevetogne trimestrielle Éditorial « Un don gratuit » • Le discernement en commun dans la Règle de Saint Benoît, par Michel van Parys • L'Église d'Éthiopie et les Coptes, par Ugo Zanetti • Le Christ ou la vérité ? Aux sources du Credo de Dostoïevski, par Antoine Lambrechts • Relations entre les communions • Chronique des Églises • Bibliographie 2019/N° 2

Julian (emperor) CE 331 – 26 June 363

Julian was  Roman Emperor from CE 361 to 363; Julian’s Reign was the most important of the entire Roman Empire, what happened during Julian’s short reign is still revibrating in the world today, and may destroy the world before it can be corrected or controlled.

There are two major books on Emperor Julian, the one we present here: ‘JULIAN PHILOSOPHER AND EMPEROR, and the last struggle of Paganism against Christianity’, 1895, and the other is; ‘Julian the Apostate’ 1899. Julian the Apostate is clearly a Christian History to counteract the facts in Julian Philosopher and Emperor. You may download a very good free copy of Julian the Apostate here:

https://archive.org/details/julianapostate00mereiala

Julian saw his family murdered in the great Christian massacre of 337 when Christian Emperor Constantius II had all non-Christians of the royal family murdered to assure that no non-Christian would become Emperor – but Julian was overlooked and survived. Constantius II had Julian well-guarded and educated as a Christian, but Julian saw the horror of the Christian system, and when Julian became Emperor, he made a valiant effort to rescue the Empire from the grasp of the Christians; he failed, and Europe was cast into the Christian Dark Ages.

Had Julian succeed in returning Rome to Paganism, the world of today would be an entirely different place than it has become under two thousand years of Christian tyranny – there would have been no war against science and progress; and the natural evolution of human intelligence would have produced a world of peace and progress. We can never know what the world would have become had Julian succeed, but we do know that Christianity was the worst insanity that could have happened to the world.

Emmett F. Fields

This paper will attempt to explore and map the occultural side of contemporary Icelandic musical subcultures and the influence of esoteric ideas, in particular the impact of Icelandic heathenism and neopaganism. From its founding in 1972 by farmer Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson and its recognition by the Icelandic state in 1973 as an official religious denomination, the Icelandic heathen fellowship or Ásatrúfelagið has become one of the main non-Christian religious groups in the country, with approximately 5500 members as of 2022. The association seeks to promote the folklore and traditions of the Æsir, that is, the pantheon of pre-Christian Norse religions, while also performing a variety of social functions and rituals such as weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies, and confirmations.
Using Christopher Partridge’s concept of occulture in the context of the permeation and dissemination of the esoteric, mystical, spiritual, and paranormal within popular culture, I shall examine how one of the main factors in the growth and relevance of Ásatrúfelagið and its beliefs in Icelandic society has been its relationship with Icelandic musical and artistic subcultures. Alongside the use of pagan and occult images, symbols, and motifs, members of Ásatrúfelagið, in particular the current head of the society Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, have collaborated with Icelandic bands and musicians from Björk to Sigúr Rós, or have participated in music scenes such as punk, post-punk, industrial and neo-folk, and black metal, both in Iceland and abroad. In a society whose religious landscape is thought as being predominantly secular, esoteric inspired artistic expression, alongside associated scenic networks and personal relationships, has contributed to an ongoing discourse with spiritual ideas and the continuing influence of heathenism that far outweighs the relatively small size of Ásatrúfelagið’s membership.

The relationship between cinema and paganism dates back to the first years of cinema history. The inherent features of paganism and pagan female characters have been interesting for cinema and cinema audences.In this article, within the framework of the relationship between cinema and paganism, the pagan women's  representations in Tarkan films produced by Arzu film together with their examples in world
cinema and the effects of these representations on Turkish cinema are examined.

According to the view that is relatively common in the wider Christian culture, heaven and hell basically deserve compensation for the kind of earthly life we lead. Good people go to heaven as a worthy reward for a virtuous life, and bad people go to hell as a just punishment for an immoral life; in that way, the scale of justice is sometimes considered balanced. But almost all Christian theologians regard such a view, however commonly it may be in popular culture, as too simplistic and unsampled; the biblical perspective, as they see it, is much more subtle than that. It is important to acknowledge the polemical and apologetic setting of its development. Judaism underwent modifications to protect the Jewish faith and chastise apostates in the face of invading Hellenism. For the early Christ-movement, continued growth was necessary to defend itself against both internal defection and first-century Judaism and Greco-Roman paganism. The early church fathers believed that using the dre...

Summary Recent research has increasingly questioned the “grand dichotomy” between “Paganism” and Christianity and brings into light the prominence of spaces with shared meanings in diverse cults related to mystic beliefs and practices. An excellent example is Vibia's tomb within Praetextatus' catacomb, on the Via Appia. Dated to the 4th century AD, this place combines epigraphy and a fascinating iconography pointing to a mystic initiation of the deceased within a syncretic context.