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[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Philosophy of Religion – V. Dogmatics – VI. Ethics – VII. Judaism I. History of Religions From the standpoint of the study of religion, evil – which is offensive, threatens order and existence, and is therefore feared and avoided – is an aspect of hidden power that is uncontrollable and unfathomable, to which human beings feel exposed and by which the…

Reincarnation, or metempsychosis, metensomatosis, transmigration, is the belief in the passing of a spiritual being, the soul, after death into some other body. The four terms quoted are synonymous, although “reincarnation” is sometimes improperly reserved for the passing of the soul into a specifically human body, whereas “metempsychosis” and “transmigration” are said to include animal or vegetal bodies. In fact, this distinction does not hold for classical theories. There is a wide-spread belief among pre-literate societies that each human being possesses one …