Provides philosophical definitions which help scholars and students to understand Plotinus' notions of eternity and time; presents a way in which to understand the relationship between eternity, ...time, and the hypostases; conveys the practical and experiential aspect of Ennead III.7.
Timelessness à la Leftow Page, Ben
Theologica (Louvain-la-Neuve),
02/2025, Letnik:
9, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Brian Leftow has argued in significant detail for a timeless conception of God. However, his work has been interacted with less than one might expect, especially given that some have contended that ...divine timelessness should be put to death and buried. Further, the work that has critically interacted with Leftow does a very poor job at discrediting it, or so I will contend. As we shall see, the main reason for this is either because what is central to Leftow’s view is not affected by the objection, or because Leftow provides another way of getting his theory off the ground. Why, then, do so many objections miss the mark? I suspect it’s because many struggle to understand Leftow’s view and what is central to it. As such, one of the main goals of this paper will be to make Leftow’s account more accessible and to elucidate the main elements of the theory, whilst also providing responses to the main objections raised against his view. The overall result of this, I hope, will be a more fruitful examination of Leftow’s view in the future.
Emerging religions typically lack an established theology initially. Their theology develops gradually; and Islam exhibits traces of influence from earlier belief systems. Therefore, some novel ...concepts in Muslim theology emerged through the contributions of converts from other faiths. The second and third centuries AH were the formative periods, after which thought degenerated into a split of hairs. Religion was in a ferment, which brought in many strange ideas. Nonetheless, some Muslim scholars disagree that even Judaism and Christianity had some influence on certain Muslim worldviews. Focusing on the doctrine of eternity of the Qur’ān, this paper finds out the extent to which not only Judaism and Christianity but even Greek philosophical principles had some influence on certain Muslim beliefs. The methodology was historical reasoning and analysis of facts in Greek, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The aim is to go beyond the semantic surface into the inner reaches of these traditions to see exactly where the notion of scriptural eternity is anchored. The paper draws attention to the fact that examining the theories about the Qur’ān in the light of inter-textual reasoning with the bible and pre-biblical literature produces interesting data for the Islamic theology of inclusivism although cross-cultural nexus with certain theories about the Qur’ān and Islam in general is rejected by Muslim researchers. The paper revisits the debate and traces the origin of the doctrine arguing that it has possible connections with Greek and Judeo-Christian beliefs. It also appraises some of the arguments of the principal theological groups that defended or refuted the doctrine, respectively.
The article uses Svidrigailov’s image to consider the correlation of pagan and Christian themes as dominant in the religious and philosophical understanding of Dostoevsky. The basis of this approach ...lies in Dostoevsky’s works and letters, where an interest in various philosophical trends that often stood apart from the official teaching of the Orthodox Church can be found: a fact that allows us to talk about religious syncretism in Dostoevsky’s work. One of the most vivid and convincing examples of religious syncretism, implying a layering of mystical and pagan images, intersecting with Christian themes, is the character of Svidrigailov. The article focuses on the concept of eternity presented by Svidrigailov, who, along with Raskolnikov, concurs to the formation of the philosophical and religious level in the novel Crime and Punishment. The article emphasizes that the concept of eternity is the center of Svidrigailov’s metaphysic, figuratively symbolizing his vision of an existence connected with the boundary “now,” related to present time. It is traced the possible temporal-spatial, cosmological, and (anti)theological origins of Svidrigailov’s eternity, expressed in the image of the “bathhouse with spiders,” and its correlations with the second coming of Christ in Marmeladov’s confession and the New Jerusalem mentioned by Raskolnikov. The author points out the mythological saturation, as well as the otherworldly “coloring” of Svidrigailov’s image when related to other characters of the novel. Svidrigailov evokes a special sense of “otherness” and “incongruity” with the surrounding world, according to which a background of visions and hallucinations, rumors and dark backstories, impulsive actions are layered on his concept of eternity and extremely ambiguous future plans.
We have found a particular, fundamental and, to this point in time, little-explored concordance between Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, essentially the two founders of modern continental philosophy. Both, ...that is to say, link eternity with recurrence. They also both emphasize that the will is central to this type of eternity – one must correctly want – while at the same time linking recurrence with the core of reality itself, with the core of the world. This union of eternity and recurrence is, moreover, linked in both cases with the rejection of existing metaphysics. The author of the study queries the connection between these thusly-conceived “repetitive eternities.” At the same time she makes reference to the interpretation of Friedrich Nietzsche that was put forth by Pavel Kouba, the interpreter who emphasized that the very heart of eternal return is recurrence.
Is the Bible clear on heaven, hell, and eternity? This question is important for the mission of the church. In recent books, N.T. Wright challenges the concepts of heaven and hell and the saving of ...souls for eternal heaven or the proclamation of judgement to those who are lost. Although his view is one of critical realism, which differs substantially from Bultmann’s demythologizing of the Bible as viewpoint, there are some similarities. Hans Küng also has some questions regarding traditional views on eternity. Bram van de Beek, however, explains that it is necessary to mention that this world is not our abode. In discussing biblical texts such as many parables and many of Paul’s utterances, one must regard the references to eternal life and the reality of heaven and hell as essential in the proclamation of the gospel. God’s grace is, however, much more glorious and encompassing than his wrath.
The author of the article examines the role of music in Evgeny Vodolazkin’s novel Brisbane, analyzing individual manifestations of the widely understood intermediacy. The musical code of the text is ...expressed in audibility of the sounds the world of the novel is filled with, and in musical ecphrasis (the profession of the protagonist, professional vocabulary and slang, references to musical compositions; descriptions of the world of music through the prism of the characters’ perception). These techniques perform plot and semantic functions, combine two equal plot plans, and constitute the image of the protagonist and other important characters. Fragments with musical ecphrasis have a vivid narrative, emotionally saturated (“moments of explosion”). The main emotional codes (or affects) find expression in the selection of musical compositions that assert the dramatic direction of the narrative. Music in the novel expresses the hero’s inner state, his relationship to the world, and symbolizes the metaphysical breakthrough experienced by the hero: from love and sound, to silence and eternity.
Dean Zimmerman has made significant contributions to metaphysics, philosophy of time, and philosophy of religion. In this paper, I set my focus on Zimmerman’s approach to God, time, and creation. ...Zimmerman has defended a model of God called open theism on which God is essentially temporal. In this paper, I will first articulate open theism. Then I will explore a series of puzzles related to God’s perfect rationality and creation. These can be stated as the following three questions. Why didn’t God create sooner? Why did God create anything at all? Why did God create this universe in particular?
La atribución de la eternidad a los modos finitos es una de las cuestiones más difíciles y polémicas de todo el pensamiento spinoziano. Nuestro objetivo en este artículo apunta a elucidar la ...doctrina oscura y polémica de la eternidad de la mente, o más precisamente del entendimiento humano. Esta meta incluye dos propósitos: por un lado, indagar los motivos que determinan el rechazo por parte de Spinoza de concebir la eternidad de la mente en los términos tradicionales de la inmortalidad del alma y, por el otro, comprender qué puede significar que, cuando muere el cuerpo, permanece algo de la mente que es eterno, tal como afirma Spinoza en la proposición 23 de la Quinta Parte.
The article examines the painting of Isaac Levitan “Over Eternal Rest” and its interpretation in modern poetic texts. Any cultural text, whether it is painting, fiction, music, etc., functions in a ...single socio-cultural space against the background of important modern integration processes in the world. In this regard, the study of the mutual influence and mutual enrichment of different types of art, in particular painting and poetry, is quite relevant. The main general scientific methods of observation, description, analysis and interpretation were used in the analysis of the material. The author explores the very concept of peace in dictionaries, absolute peace as an inhuman cold in the ninth circle of hell in Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. The understanding of peace in the Christian Church is considered, namely: to enter the Heaven, to accept the kingdom there, to commune with God, to rest in the bliss there, to commune with angels, to live an immortal life. “If a man does not know what sorrow is, he will not know what peace is.” The philosophical concept of the Ukrainian philosopher of the 18th century is close to this understanding. Grigory Savvich Skovoroda: peace is the reward for all the earthly sufferings of a “true” person, peace represents eternity, the eternal home. In Levitan’s painting, judging by the image depicted on it, by the predominance of dark and cold colors, by the very plot (a church and an abandoned cemetery), eternal rest is understood by the artist not as death, but as a special state of mind: this is the macrocosm, the microcosm, and the biblical understanding of eternity. The article analyzes the world of poetic images that arise under the influence of I. Levitan’s painting.
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