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[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Systematic Theology – V. Practical Theology – VI. Judaism – VII. Islam I. Terminology 1. Religious Studies a. As an emic linguistic term, “faith” is found not only in the context of the Christian West (cf. fides, foi, Glaube, etc.), but also in other religious traditions. The Sanskrit term śraddhā (cf. Pāli saddhā; Avestan zrazdā-) seems to represent an Indo-European etymological pendant to Lat. credo, as demonstrated by the possible reconstruction of Indo-Germanic * k'red-dhē-, “set one's heart o…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Practical Theology – III. Ethics (Phases of Maturation) – IV. Judaism – V. Hinduism I. Religious Studies In almost all cultures and religions, a person apparently experiences his life not only as a straight line, but more as cyclically sequenced, more-or-less discontinuous phases with varied social status and role claims. The transition between these phases usually takes place as a controlled “growing process,” not only accompanied by so-called rites of passage, but in fact realized and dramatized by them (individually and collectively). In traditional religions, especially, female and male initiation rites (social puberty), which mark people's transition from sexually unspecified childhood to adult existence as men or women are of particular significance. Indeed, several steps of initiation follow each other here which can be linked with further, independent “life-cycle rituals” such as marriage, induction into certain professional activities, offices and positions or (secre…

[German Version] I. Natural Sciences and Psychology – II. Religious Studies – III. Philosophy – IV. Old Testament – V. New Testament – VI. Church History – VII. Dogmatics and Ethics – VIII. Judaism – IX. Islam I. Natural Sciences and Psychology 1. Evolution From the perspective of the natural sciences, the theory of evolution offers the most comprehensive framework for understanding human beings. It views the human species as a late product of a biogenetic process that began with the origin of life (VI) on earth some 3.8 billion years ago. Huma…

[German Version] (Mar 27, 1923, Tokyo – Sep 29, 1996, Tokyo), internationally known and much celebrated Japanese author. From his youth, he felt “foreign” in his homeland bec…

[German Version] Missio Dei, “mission of God,” was introduced into the discussion by K. Hartenstein; the term advanced after the missions conference in Willingen (1952, Mission Conferences, German) and soon became a central concept in the theology of mission. In spite of many different emphases, it implies a new Trinitarian foundation for the understanding of missions (cf. opera and missiones in the context of the “economic Trinity”). For, in distinction to ecclesiocentric mission concepts, the Triune God is to be understood as the real “subject” of mis…

[German Version] I. In a series of organizations that followed each other in hectic succession, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (Mar 13, 1911 – Jan 24, 1986) sought to capitalize on the unexpected boom of autonomous Dianetics groups that followed upon his self-help bestseller Dianetics, published in 1950, and preceded the Church of Scientology ¶ (as it began calling itself in 1954, initially in California; later Church of Scientology International). The name reflects Hubbard’s expansion of Dianetics “therapy” to a comprehensive philosophy of salvation with the programmatic label Sciento…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Dogmatics I. Religious Studies …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. History – III. Philosophy of Religion – IV. Fundamental Theology. – V. Missiology I. Religious Studies 1. The Concept and Its History Myth may be defined by either content or function. Defined by content, myth is a belief about something significant, such as the world or society. Defined by function, myth accomplishes something significant, such as explaining the world or supporting society. Most theories of myth are concerned with the function of myth, but many are also concerned with either the origin or the subject matter of myth. Mythology then refers to the system of different myths within a religion or culture. ¶ Nineteenth-century theories tended to view myth as a prescientific explanation of the physical world. For the key theorists, E.B. Tylor and J.G. Frazer, a myth says, for instance, that rain falls because a god decides to send it. The explanation is personalistic rather than, as in science, impersonal. For Tylor myth provides knowledge of the world for its own sake. For Frazer, that knowledge is a means to control the world. For both, myth is the “primitive counterpart” to science, itself entirely modern. “Modern myth” is a self-contradiction. Twentieth-century theorists have not challenged science as the reigning explanation of the physical world. Instead, they have recharacterized the myth to make it compatible with science. Either the function has been taken as other than explanation, or the subject matter has been read as other than the physical world. The issue has not been whether “primitives” but whether moderns can have myth…

[German Version] I. I. New Testament – II. Missiology…

[German Version] I. Comparative Religion – II. New Testament – III. Practical Theology – IV. Liturgy – V. Missiology …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Fundamental Theology and Dogmatics – IV. Philosophy – V. Philosophy of Religion – VI. Natural Sciences – VII. Ethics…

[German Version] I. Concept – II. Religious Studies – III. Early Christianity – IV. Early Church to the Reformation – V. Modern Era – VI. Orthodox Churches – VII. Asia, Africa, Latin America – VIII. Systematic Theology – IX. Ethics – X. Practical Theology – XI. Ecumenical Discussion – XII. Law I. Concept …

[German Version] I. Throughout the world, water appears as the fundamental and original element of the world and life (cf. Earth, Fire, Wind), and thus plays an important role in religious protologies. In the form of a primordial ocean or subterranean lakes, cosmogonic myths describe it as a created or already preexistent original substance. From an anthropological perspective, other fluids or “humors” can also be distinguished as constitutive of the human being. The vital importance of water, its purifying power, but also its threatening aspects ¶ (floods, tidal waves, massive rainfall) cause it to be addressed in the most varied religious discourses – frequently in a decidedly ambivalent manner, with both life-giving and life-destroying aspects. II. Actual cosmic or topographical representations of water can be mythologically charged and “sacralized” when they are conceived of as a medium of numinous powers, as their representation, or as the sphere of their manifestation. (a) Rain, for instance as the gift of a (vegetation) deity or as the consequence of cosmic con…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies From the outset, religions are involved in …

[German Version] Documents and personal property are protected by seals (Seal/Stamp). Sealing is designed to protect against unauthorized appropriation or access; it protects the authenticity and authority of the person affixing the seal (sender, owner) with symbolic power. The meaning of sealing in secular legal usage provides the background for the many references to sealing in religious contexts. Tatoos and amulets, for example, place their bearers in the numinous protective …

1. Terminology and methodological approach When the first Europeans were about to set foot on the dual landmass of the Americas the continent was home to an estimated number of 40 or 50 million people, who were characterized by an extraordinary diversity of population density, languages [3. 94] and cultures as well of social, economic and political organization [4]. They ranged from seasonally foraging hunters and gatherers led by informally chosen chiefs to sedentary farmers integrated in comprehensive political systems which included urban centers an…

1. Introduction The Maya is the name given to speakers of the largest indigenous language family in Mesoamerica, who now number 8 million, and to the archaeological cultures in their settlement region. They already inhabited this region in pre-Columbian times, in what is now southern Mexico (Yucatán Peninsula and Chiapas), Belize, Guatemala, western Honduras, and El Salvador. It encompasses the karstic northern lowlands of Yucatán, the hot and humid southern Petén Basin, the highlands o…

1. Begriff und methodischer ZugangUnmittelbar vor der Ankunft der Europäer lebten auf dem amerikan. Doppelkontinent schätzungsweise 40 bis 50 Mio. Menschen, die in Bevölkerungsgröße, Sprache [3. 94] und Kultur sowie sozialer, wirtschaftlicher und politischer Organisation außerordentlich divers waren [4]. Das Spektrum reichte von saisonal umherziehenden Jägern und Sammlern mit informeller politischer Führerschaft bis hin zu ansässigen Bauern, die in übergreifende politische Systeme mit urbanen Zentren und Klassenschichtung integrier…

Der Herrschaftsbereich der mesoamerikan. A. erstreckte sich am Ende des 15. Jh.s vom Pazifischen Ozean bis zum Golf von Mexiko und stellte daher das erste Großreich auf dem amerikan. Kontinent dar, mit dem die span. Konquistadoren 1519 in Berührung kamen (Reiche, außereuropäische; Kulturkontakt). Die in Bilderhandschriften und späteren Aufzeichnungen mündlicher Traditionen erhaltenen Wandersagen der Mexica erzählen von der noch jungen Geschichte dieser Nahuatl sprechenden, von Norden her eingewanderten Volksgruppe. Ihre entbehrungsreichen Wanderungen unter der Führung des Volks- und Kriegsgottes Hutzilopochtli (in der europ. Literatur verballhornt zu Vitzliputzli u.Ä.) kamen erst mit der Ansiedlung auf einer sumpfigen Insel im See Texcoco (bzw. Tetzcoco) mitten zwischen rivalisierenden Stadtstaaten zum Abschluss. Aus der bescheidenen Ansiedlung Tenochtitlan (im Zentrum des heutigen Mexiko City) entstand in kurzer Zeit ein straff organisiertes Staatsgeb…

[English Version] Wasser, religionsgeschichtlich. I. W. erscheint weltweit als fundamentales und urspr. Element der Welt und des Lebens (vgl. Erde, Feuer, Wind) und spielt daher in rel. Protologien eine wichtige Rolle. In Gestalt eines Urmeeres oder unterirdischer Seen wird es in kosmogonischen Mythen als eine geschaffene oder bereits vor aller Zeit existente Ursubstanz angesprochen. Anthropologisch können weitere, den Menschen konstituierende »Säfte« unterschieden werden. Die lebenswichtige Bedeutu…

[English Version] Versiegelung, religionsgeschichtlich. Dokumente und Eigentumssachen werden durch Siegel geschützt. Die V. soll vor unberechtigter Aneignung oder Einsicht bewahren, sie sichert Authentizität sowie Autorität des Siegelnden (Absenders, Besitzers) mit symbolischer Macht. Die profan-rechtliche Bedeutung begründet die häufig bezeugten rel. Bezugnahmen auf V. So können z.B. Tätowierungen (Tatauierung) oder Amulette ihre Träger der numinosen Macht- und Schutzsphäre einer Gottheit überstel…

[English Version] I. Religionsgeschichtl…

[English Version] . I. Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (13.3.1911–24.1.1986) suchte in mehreren, sich hektisch ablösenden Organisationen dem unerwarteten Boom autonomer Dianetikgruppen Herr zu werden, die seinem 1950 veröff. Selbsthilfe-Bestseller »Dianetics« folgten. Diese gingen der »Church of Scientology« (CS, Selbstbez. seit 1954, zuerst in Kalifornien; später mit Zusatz »international«, CSI) voraus. Der Name spiegelt Hubbards Erweiterung der Dianetik-»Therapie« zu einer umfassenden weltanschaulichen …