Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam PDF Author: Moshe Idel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474281184
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Mystics who have spoken of their union with God have come under suspicion in all three major religious traditions, sometimes to the point of condemnation and execution in the case of Christianity and Islam. Nevertheless, in all three religions the tradition of unio mystica is deep and long. Many of the spiritual giants of these three faiths have seen the attainment of mystical union as the heart of their beliefs and practices. Despite its importance, mystical union has rarely been investigated in itself, apart from the wider study of mysticism, and even more rarely from the aspect of comparative studies, especially those based upon broad and expert knowledge of the inner life of the three related monotheistic faiths. This text brings together essays that equally explore the broader idea of unio mystica as well as the mystic traditions within each religion.

Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam PDF Author: Moshe Idel
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474281184
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Get Book Here

Book Description
Mystics who have spoken of their union with God have come under suspicion in all three major religious traditions, sometimes to the point of condemnation and execution in the case of Christianity and Islam. Nevertheless, in all three religions the tradition of unio mystica is deep and long. Many of the spiritual giants of these three faiths have seen the attainment of mystical union as the heart of their beliefs and practices. Despite its importance, mystical union has rarely been investigated in itself, apart from the wider study of mysticism, and even more rarely from the aspect of comparative studies, especially those based upon broad and expert knowledge of the inner life of the three related monotheistic faiths. This text brings together essays that equally explore the broader idea of unio mystica as well as the mystic traditions within each religion.

Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Mystical Union in Judaism, Christianity and Islam PDF Author: Mosheh Idel
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781474292146
Category : Mysticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This Bloomsbury Academic Collection consists of classic titles in religious studies.

“And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On The Language of Mystical Union in Judaism

“And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On The Language of Mystical Union in Judaism PDF Author: Adam Afterman
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004328734
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
In “And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On the Language of Mystical Union in Judaism, Adam Afterman offers an extensive study of mystical union and embodiment in Judaism. Afterman argues that Philo was the first to articulate the notion of unio mystica in Judaism and is the source of the henōsis mysticism in the later Neoplatonic tradition. The study provides a detailed analysis of the Jewish medieval trends that developed different forms of mystical union and mystical embodiment through the divine name and spirit. The book argues that the development of unitive mysticism in Judaism is the fruit of the creative synthesis of rabbinic Judaism and Hellenistic and Arab philosophy, and a natural outcome of the theological articulation of the idea of monotheism itself.

Sacrifice in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Sacrifice in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam PDF Author: David L. Weddle
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814762816
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
An examination of the practice and philosophy of sacrifice in three religious traditions In the book of Genesis, God tests the faith of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham by demanding that he sacrifice the life of his beloved son, Isaac. Bound by common admiration for Abraham, the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam also promote the practice of giving up human and natural goods to attain religious ideals. Each tradition negotiates the moral dilemmas posed by Abraham’s story in different ways, while retaining the willingness to perform sacrifice as an identifying mark of religious commitment. This book considers the way in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims refer to “sacrifice”—not only as ritual offerings, but also as the donation of goods, discipline, suffering, and martyrdom. Weddle highlights objections to sacrifice within these traditions as well, presenting voices of dissent and protest in the name of ethical duty. Sacrifice forfeits concrete goods for abstract benefits, a utopian vision of human community, thereby sparking conflict with those who do not share the same ideals. Weddle places sacrifice in the larger context of the worldviews of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, using this nearly universal religious act as a means of examining similarities of practice and differences of meaning among these important world religions. This book takes the concept of sacrifice across these three religions, and offers a cross-cultural approach to understanding its place in history and deep-rooted traditions.

The Theology of Louis Massignon

The Theology of Louis Massignon PDF Author: Christian S. Krokus
Publisher: CUA Press
ISBN: 0813229464
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
In The Theology of Louis Massignon, author Christian Krokus argues that Louis Massignon’s achievements in Christian-Muslim understanding, his activism on behalf of Muslim immigrants, refugees, and Middle Eastern Christians, as well as his developing understanding of Islam must be understood in the light of his Catholic convictions in relation to God, Christ, and the Church. With ample references to primary works, many translated into English for the first time, Krokus offers a comprehensive account of the main points of Massignon’s religious thought that will prove essential to theologians and historians working on questions of Christian-Muslim dialogue, comparative theology, and religious pluralism.

The Abrahamic Archetype

The Abrahamic Archetype PDF Author: Samuel Zinner
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781901383416
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Abrahamic Archetype is a major scholarly achievement that sheds light on what is similar and what is distinctive in the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It examines the interplay between outward historical forces in religious and esoteric domains and the inward worlds of transcendent values and ideas. Intellectual archetypes, or constellations of religious and esoteric ideas, are the principles which determine the organic integration of outward historical influences which the various religions encounter and share. Zinner emphasizes the unity and diversity of faith which characterize esoteric traditions of Jewish Kabbalah, Sunni Sufism, Shi'i Gnosis, and Christian theology, especially accentuating the dogmas of the Trinity, Christology, and crucifixion on the one hand, and on the other, esoteric ideas regarding unio mystica (mystical union) in the three Abrahamic faiths. The book contains a detailed reconstruction of the esoteric traditions, theology, and history of Jewish Christianity beginning in the era of Jesus' 'brother' and successor James the Just and elucidates to what extent this Jamesian Christianity might parallel Islamic history and ideas.

Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism

Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism PDF Author: Algis Uždavinys
Publisher: The Matheson Trust
ISBN: 1908092025
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
In this groundbreaking work of comparative religion, Algis Uzdavinys takes us deeply into the "closed and blessed gardens of myth", showing us the capital importance of the many varieties of "ascent to heaven". From the Pyramid Texts down to Second Temple Judaism and apocalyptic Christian literature; and, in parallel, down the theurgic path of Platonic and Hermetic literature to the sanctum of the Islamic revelation in Mecca, we are vividly presented with the sacramental impact of anagoge: elevation to the domain of the supernal archetypes and heavenly principles. As with other books by the author, the face of antiquity is revealed anew, full of intriguing, challenging and enraptured insights.

The Shadow of Dante in French Renaissance Lyric

The Shadow of Dante in French Renaissance Lyric PDF Author: Alison Baird Lovell
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 1501513591
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This book presents an interpretation of Maurice Scève’s lyric sequence Délie, object de plus haulte vertu (Lyon, 1544) in literary relation to the Vita nuova, Commedia, and other works of Dante Alighieri. Dante’s subtle influence on Scève is elucidated in depth for the first time, augmenting the allusions in Délie to the Canzoniere of Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca). Scève’s sequence of dense, epigrammatic dizains is considered to be an early example, prior to the Pléiade poets, of French Renaissance imitation of Petrarch’s vernacular poetry, in a time when imitatio was an established literary practice, signifying the poet’s participation in a tradition. While the Canzoniere is an important source for Scève’s Délie, both works are part of a poetic lineage that includes Occitan troubadours, Guinizzelli, Cavalcanti, and Dante. The book situates Dante as a relevant predecessor and source for Scève, and examines anew the Petrarchan label for Délie. Compelling poetic affinities emerge between Dante and Scève that do not correlate with Petrarch.

Sufi Commentaries on the Qur'an in Classical Islam

Sufi Commentaries on the Qur'an in Classical Islam PDF Author: Kristin Sands
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134211449
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Meeting the ever increasing interest in Islam and Sufism, this book is the first comprehensive study of Sufi Qur’anic commentaries and includes translations of many writings previously unavailable in English. It examines the shared hermeneutical assumptions of Sufi writers and the diversity in style of Sufi commentaries. Some of the assumptions analyzed are: * the Qur’an is a multi-layered and ambiguous text open to endless interpretation * the knowledge of deeper meanings of the Qur’an is attainable by means other than transmitted interpretations and rational thought * the self is dynamic, moving through states and stations which result in different interpretations at different times. The styles of Sufi commentaries are explored, which range from philosophical musings to popular preaching to literary narrative and poetry. Other commentaries from the classical period are also investigated to provide context in understanding Sufi approaches and exegetical styles.

Abu Al-Ḥasan Al-Shushtarī

Abu Al-Ḥasan Al-Shushtarī PDF Author: ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh Shushtarī
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 0809105829
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Mystic and poet Abū al-Hasan al-Shushtarī (1212-1269) remains a towering figure in North African Sufism. His verses are still well loved and often recited, and his songs are arguably the most vibrant element of Islamic Spain's cultural legacy. He is crucial to an understanding of the history of mysticism in Islamic Spain and North Africa. Yet, he is overlooked by Western scholars and few of his poems have been translated. This book seeks to correct this deficit by (1) setting Shushtarī and his work in the political and intellectual contexts of his time; (2) introducing his thought to an English-speaking audience through a presentation of his poetry. Each of the chapters that presents the poetry starts with a thematic introduction that explores the symbolic, poetic, and doctrinal import of the material that follows. Sensuous and spiritual, erotic and ethereal, this selection of works will delight everyone, whether or not they are devotees of Islamic literature. +