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46544
Why Believe That There Is a God?
Richard Swinburne
richard.swinburne@oriel.ox.ac.uk
1
Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Oxford
This article presents an argument for the existence of God, showing that the evident phenomena are best explained by supposing that a God causes them. The argument is based on the inductive force of four very evident general phenomena: that there is a physical Universe; that it is governed by very simple natural laws; that those laws are such as to lead to the existence of human bodies; and that those bodies are the bodies of reasoning humans, who choose between good and evil.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46544_648af92b294e34391f27f0a34b77622c.pdf
natural theology
the Existence of God
Natural Laws
theism
eng
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46546
Are Miracles Violations of the Laws of Nature?
Andrea Aguti
andrea.aguti@uniurb.it
1
Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion, University of Urbino, Italy
Classical theism holds that God rules the world not only indirectly, by the natural laws established with creation, but through actions or direct interventions that interfere with natural processes and human actions. These direct interventions are usually called miracles. Modern Western philosophy, at least starting from Spinoza and Hume, has defined miracles as “violations of the laws of nature” and criticized them on this ground. Actually, if God is the author of the natural laws, it seems contradictory that he violates them performing miracles. In the last decades, analytical philosophy of religion developed a considerable discussion on this topic. This debate has seen, on the one hand, those, like N. Smart and R. Swinburne, who defend the definition of miracle as a violation of natural laws, and those, like K. Ward, R. Larmer, and D. Corner, who reject it and sustain alternative definitions of miracle. In my article, I refer to this debate with the purpose of showing that the notion of miracle as a violation of the natural law is a coherent one from a theistic point of view.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46546_05c8c3bcd4c9d14cb1d7d5e97d90f944.pdf
miracle
God
theism
eng
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46549
Problem of Evil in Taoism
Qorban Elmi
gelmi@ut.ac.ir
1
Mojtaba Zarvani
zurvani@ut.ac.ir
2
Associate Professor of Religions and Mysticism, University of Tehran, Iran
Associate Professor of Religions and Mysticism, University of Tehran, Iran
This paper attempts to present the Taoist understanding of evil. In the Taoist tradition, especially in Tao Te Ching, evil is divided into two categories: causal evil and consequential evil. Causal evils are those evils that are said to be the causes of other evils; consequential evils are those that are said to be the consequences of the causal evils. Causal evils originate from human will, and cause suffering. This means that evil is not equal to suffering. Lao Tzu does not clearly talk about natural suffering. He regards all evil and suffering as resulting from human actions that are not in accordance with Tao, which is the source of all life. Therefore, the way to overcome evil is to follow Tao, to actualize wu-wei in life.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46549_ef964fff6dcba3a11a5569138f25c90b.pdf
The Problem of Evil
Taoism
Lao Tzu
Causal Evil
Consequent Evil
eng
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46552
The Nietzschean Verification of the Missing God and Steps to a Completest Self
Mirushe Hoxha
hmirushe@yahoo.com
1
Professor of Philosophy, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia
This paper aims to present Friedrich Nietzsche’s critique of Christianity as a Western example that reconfirms the necessity for man’s inner development up to the stage of the Completest Self (nafs-i safiyya). With the advent of Christianity and the resultant triumph of its “morality of slave” (1886, sec. 260), the “death of God” (1882) becomes the “fundamental event of Western history” and its “intrinsic law” so far (Heidegger 1977, 67). The central question is how the West shall return the lost God, and so answer adequately to the drive of the eternal return? Nietzsche’s answer is expressed within the concepts of the “death before death,” the “man of Greek tragedy,” the “nomad” (“traveler”), and the “overman,” while this paper identifies their essence in the teachings of Sufism. The “death before death” declared by Prophet Mohammad (s), the Sufi exercise Stop, the background of Sufi teaching, and the seven stages of nafs, including the Completest Self, are juxtaposed to the concepts of the German philosopher. It results that according to Nietzsche, what the West should bring from the state of absence to the state of presence is the summarizing truth of Sufism.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46552_292aa758ace93d43974d9ce208608227.pdf
“Death of God
” Nihilism
“Death before Death
” Sufism
Overman
Completest Self
eng
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46556
The Origin of Islamic Mysticism in the Light of the Personal Unity of Existence
Ebrahim Rezaei
e.rezaei@ahl.ui.ac.ir
1
Jafar Shanazari
j.shanazari@ltr.ui.ac.ir
2
Assistant Professor of Ahl al-Bayt and Quranic Studies, University of Isfahan, Iran
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Islamic Theology, University of Isfahan, Iran
The question of the origin of Islamic mysticism has been one of the major concerns of many researchers in the field of mysticism in the recent decades. Some have maintained that Islamic mysticism is an imported product: a combination of Eastern spiritual traditions or a mixture of Manichaeism and Alexandrian philosophy. However, in order to find out the real origin of Islamic mysticism, the best way is to investigate the main questions of Islamic mysticism and to trace them in the Islamic culture and tradition. Reflecting on the personal unity of existence, the most important principle of Islamic mysticism, the author shows that Muslim mystics have been so inspired by the teachings of the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet and the Imams that there remains no need to look for the origin of Islamic mysticism outside the Muslim tradition.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46556_e96e4c45463360d46d19bf619fc0783b.pdf
Personal Unity of Existence
manifestation
Islamic mysticism
The Oneness Of God
Encompassing Distinction
eng
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46557
A Historical Analysis of the Quranic Concept of Lapidating Devils with Meteors
Jafar Nekoonam
jnekoonam@gmail.com
1
Fatemeh Sadat Moosavi Harami
saba3711@gmail.com
2
Associate Professor of Quran and Hadith, Qom University, Iran
PhD Candidate in Comparative Exegesis, Qom University, Iran
The Quranic concept of lapidating devils with meteors has received a variety of interpretations throughout Islamic history. In the past, it was interpreted to mean heavenly meteors thrown at devils in order to prevent them from giving ear to heavenly tidings. However, in the fourteenth century AH and as a result of modern scientific achievements, different non-literal interpretations were suggested. These interpretation and their place in the contemporary Quranic exegesis will be studied in this article.
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_46557_60aa8bce08ad026d0be6ad7ee5afb54c.pdf
Meteor
Star
Devils
Jinn
allegory
eng
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50307
the complete version of this issue
https://ri.urd.ac.ir/article_50307_eab5b0a9eeeee82caac44b55c60177b1.pdf