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[German Version] I. Religious Studies Both the etymology and the usage of the word sect are disputed. Derivation from Latin secare (“separate”) is possible, as is derivation from secta (from sectus, sequi, “school of thought”…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Philosophy of Religion – III. Christianity – IV. Taoism I. Religious Studies It is inherent in the conditio humana that we are forced to master everyday situations and withstand critical moments. To do so, members of every society need handy codes of conduct to survive the manifold crises. Life and death, time and eternity, meaning and meaninglessness mark such critical moments in both individual lives and the course of the world. The responses of cultures and religions to these questions document our yearning for immortality. 1. Models We can list systematically the various models and forms that religions have used to frame their ideas of immortality. The following strategies for representation, ¶ action, and symbolization can be identified as ways of countering the fate of death with the prospect of immortality. a. Physical: Both archaic and modern religions provide arrangements to guarantee survival through physical procedures, e.g. laying food and flowers in the tomb, reburial (Madagascar), mummification of the corpse, preservation of the body or individual somatic cells (e.g. by deep cooling), avoidance of death through earthly immortality or “eternal” youth (fountain of youth, wate…

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Biblical – III. Greco-Roman Antiquity – IV. Judaism – V. Practical theology I. History of Religions 1. Term . Astrology is the functional use of quantitative astronomical observations and calculations in the service of a qualitative cosmic and anthropological interpretation of the heavens. Inasmuch as the first of these two elements has not yet been, or is minimally, developed, it is better to speak of astral mythology (there has never been a f…

[German Version] (Oct 21, 1838, Aalen, Württemberg – Apr 11, 1917, Hauptwil, Switzerland). Stockmayer was converted while working as a private tutor in Switzerland. After studying theology, he served Free churches in Tavannes, Geneva, and L’Auberson. In 1874 he took part in the Oxford Meeting to Promote Scriptural Holiness and became a leading theologian and itinerant preacher for the Holiness movement (I). After 1878 he ser…

[German Version] I. History of the Concept With its very first appearance in the writings of I. Kant( Kritik der Urteilskraft, 1790; ET: Critique of Judgment, 1951, 1987), the term Weltansc…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. New Testament – III. Psychology of Religion I. Religious Studies Glossolalia is a universal religious phenomenon in which utterances are produced that from the viewpoint of the speaker belong to a foreign “language.” Glossolalia appears in many cultures. In non-Christian contexts, it is often shamans (Shamanism), magicians (Magic), or other religious virtuosos who make use of it. When the ¶ spirit leaves the body or the body is taken over by another spirit, the shaman often signals the event by uttering alien sound…

[German Version] I. Religious History 1. Since the dawn of time, human birth has been associated with many religious ideas, rituals, and customs, includi…

[German Version] I. Greek and Roman Antiquity – II. Practical Theology – III. Islam– I. Greek and Roman Antiquity ʿΩροσκόπος/ hōroskópos “the watcher of the hours,” was originally a term for the ascendant, then the first 30° section of the Dodecatropos, and finally the position of all the stars at a particular time. The approx. nine Egyptian (between 38 bce and 93 ce) and 180 Greek (from 62 bce until 621 ce) horoscopes have been passed down on stone, papyrus, ostracon, or as graffiti, and also in didactic poetry (as sphragis in Manetho's writings) and in specialized literature, with only one title in Latin. We know, for example, the birth charts of Manetho, the emperor Hadrian, and the philosopher Proclus. Conception charts were rare. Horoscopes related not only to individuals but also to cities and entire countries, and there wa…