Sacred Science

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Loewen
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Science

scholarly journals Porphyry and Black Magic

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Muscolino
Keyword(s):  
Black Magic ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sacred Science ◽  
Exact Definition

In the De abstinentia (ii, 41, 5) Porphyry is the first philosopher to give an exact definition of goeteia or black magic saying: “All black magic is accomplished through the opposite sort [i.e. evil] daemons.This paper will be presented in two parts: in the first part, there is the description about the difference between Magic—the sacred science of the Persian Magi (De abstinentia iv, 16, 1)—, and the black magic (De abstinentia ii, 41, 5); in the second part, using Porphyry’s definition of black magic and other philological data, it’s shown that Porphyry was not merely a philosopher interested in black magic in a theoretical manner, but also a practicing sorcerer.

Caring Science as Sacred Science

EXPLORE ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Dossey
Keyword(s):  
Caring Science ◽  
Sacred Science

scholarly journals Said Nursi’s Notion of ‘Sacred Science’: Its Function and Application in Hizmet High School Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 209-232
Author(s):  
Caroline Tee ◽  
David Shankland
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Natural Science ◽  
Teacher Commitment ◽  
Religious Culture ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Market Competitiveness ◽  
Intellectual Knowledge ◽  
Hizmet Movement ◽  
Sacred Science ◽  
Said Nursi

This paper explores the teaching of natural science subjects in high schools associated with the Gülen-Hizmet movement in Turkey. It focuses on the apparent reconciliation of scientific learning in a pervasive, albeit unofficial, Sunni Islamic religious culture. The framework for such an accommodation is found in the teachings of Fethullah Gülen and his predecessor, Said Nursi. Following Nursi, Gülen encourages scientific pursuit, and intellectual knowledge in general, as a pious and spiritually meritorious act. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at two Hizmet-affiliated high schools in Turkey, this article explores the “sanctification” of science and learning in the Gülen Movement by highlighting the principle of fedakarlık (self-sacrifice), as the primary motivation of the teaching staff. Focusing also on the schools’ highly disciplined and competitive learning environments (as exemplified in preparations for the prestigious International Science Olympiads), the article suggests that although teacher commitment and prestigious competitive awards bolster the Hizmet schools’ market competitiveness, they fail in actually producing students who pursue careers in natural science fields. By contrast, this article concludes that the movement’s engagement with science, at least at present, is less interested in furthering scientific inquiry than it is in equipping what Gülen has called a ‘Golden Generation’ with the tools it needs to compete with secularist rivals in Turkey.*

Rebirth of the Sacred : Science, Religion, and the New Environmental Ethos

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Nadeau
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Cultural Narratives ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The World ◽  
Economic Reality ◽  
The One ◽  
National Economies ◽  
Sacred Science

In the dream of earth, Thomas Berry makes the following comment about the environmental crisis: “It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective.” The intent in this book is to tell the new story that could greatly enhance the prospect of resolving the environmental crisis. One of the frame tales for this story is science. On the most obvious level, scientific knowledge has gifted us with an understanding of the causes of this crisis and how it can be resolved. What is not so obvious is that this knowledge has also revealed that the old stories about political and economic reality are badly in need of revision. The old story is imaged on the conventional globes that sit in classrooms, government offices, libraries, and home offices like the one in which I am writing this book. On these globes, boundaries between nation-states are marked with dark lines, and the regions or territories governed by these states are painted different primary colors. The parts (nation-states) are separate and discrete entities, the whole (planet earth) is static, and the sum of the parts constitutes the whole. In the geopolitical reality imaged on these globes, seven billion people live within the borders of sovereign nation-states and construct their identities based on diverse cultural narratives about nationalism, ethnicity, political ideology, and religious beliefs and practices. The only source of political power in this reality is the sovereign nation-state, and these states endlessly compete with one another for the capital and scarce natural resources needed to sustain and grow their national economies. The new story is imaged in the digital photographs and videos taken by earth-orbiting satellites that environmental scientists use to study the complex web of interactions between human and environmental systems.

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