Chapter 8, History of God:
Europe in 15th and 16th century - transitioning to new world
Western conception of god
Catholics and protestants
Period of crisis for Greeks, Jews and Muslims
Destruction of Muslim Spain was fatal for Jews
They were either had to take baptism or expulsion
Annihilation of Jews and new form of kabbalah
Succeeding Mongol invasion, started conservatism in Muslims - closed the door of ijtihad
Ibn taimiyah and al-Jawziyah - back to the sources - Quran and hadith and rejection of all later accretions
3 new Muslim empires, but consertavism still prevailed
Safavid dynasty, 1503, forced shiah on the subjects
Ottoman also started suppressing shiah and Christians
Shiah ulema refused safavid; in course of ijtihad; mobilized poor
Falasafah of shiah, mulla sadra, 17th ce
Priority for mysticism than pure science and metaphysics
Believed in God's essence (cannot be sensed) and attributes
Union with god is possible in this world
Like ibn Arabi, god is not in different objective world, but in personal divine world
Expulsion of Jews from European cities in 15th century
This led to new form of spirituality in dislocated Jews who settled in ottoman empire.
Kabbalah appealed to common Jew after 1492 disaster
Falasah weakened in Jew spirituality
In Safed, kabbalah developed new intensity - absolute homelessness equated with absolute Godliness
Kabbalist - platonic view of god - emanation and god comprised whole of reality
Luria 1572, kabbalist - en sof vacated a region where he can self-reveal and create
God's mercy separated from wrath and thrusted into empty space
Rest of the divine light penetrated there to become primordial man
Complete mess of God's essense in sefiroth
After break through, re-integrated the 10 essence to 5 countenance - 2 couples in that
Made humanity to help redeem the scattered divine light
Since Adam sinned it again scattered and he chose Israel to redeem and they are also scattered
By observing Torah, Jew help god in re-forming.
Divine copulation between last 2 countenance and about reintegrate - Adam's sin fell shekinah
Luria's myth widely accepted because it brought hope to Jews
Luria's disciplines - seclusion, fasting
Before spirtual exercise attain peace of mind and happiness
Sadness is related to evil
Christians in the same time cudnt produce positive spirituality amidst disasters - black death, ..
Upsurge of mysticism in 14th century in Europe
Imitation of Christ - meditating abt Jesus as man and his physical pain
Western concentration of human Christ in 15th century and also Mary and saints
Christian philosopher and humanist turned to religious experience than metaphysics
Nicholos of cusa, 1444, explained abt god rationally, but aware leaving everything behind when approaching him
Witch craze in 16th and 17th ce, Satan a figure of ungovernable evil and with priapic sexual appetite, black mass worshiping devil, all was revolt against reppressive religion and inexorable god
Martin Luther, 1546, believed in witchcraft and believed Christian life battle against Satan.
Protestant and Catholic reformation
God characterized by wrath. Trying to do best to please him.
God active and man passive
God can be only found in suffering and cross
Rejected scholasticism and abstruse theology, but stick to trinity
Existence of god cannot be proved rationally
Luther has been aggressive
John Calvin, 1564, his reformation had more profound effect on western ethos
Like Zwingli, Calvin not interested in dogma and his concern was centered on social, political and economic
Executed servetus for his denial of trinity
Believed in God's absolute sovereignty.
Protestants - rejection of intermediary
puritans and protestants - image smashing and condemnation of graven images
Idea of predestination was not central to Calvin's thought - choice of some and damnation of other by god
predestination became distinguishing for calvanist after his death
projected Christianity rationale and coherent ideology unlike Reformers who had rejected rationalistic discussion of God
Puritans obsessed with predestination
Ignatius, 1556, Jesuits, emphasis on direct experience of god, introduced spiritual exercise
Experienced god peace, hope and joy; evil spirit as disquiet, sadness
Jesuits travelled across globe and evangelized
Catholic saint regarded worldly affairs and god as irreconcilable.
Period of extreme anxiety in europe - God seems unable to alleviate anxiety of people.
New sect of atheism.. denial of existence of God.. not LIKE a full fledged atheism prevalent today.
French didnt HAVE vocabulary or syntax for scepticism
Accused atheist on polemic rather than unbeliever
Reformers god supported new science
But Roman catholic church opposed heliocentric concept of coppernicus and Galileo, because it contradicted scripture
Literalist inerpretation of scripture conflicted with new scientific findings - solar system vs hell and heaven
This stand enabled new 'atheist ' in 18th ce
New Jesuit explained God rationally and didnt consider imaginative god
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