Many Australians believe in the existence of the soul. Here is a brief guide to how the five major world religions imagine the soul’s origin and journey.
- Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland
Easter celebrates the Christian belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And for centuries, this resurrection was seen as a guarantee that our own bodies would do the same.
The Christian tradition says the Antichrist will come before the end of the world as we know it. So it’s good to know some background on him … or her … or them.
It was only in the 19th century the West became aware of Buddhism as a religion in its own right – but the Buddha had been a Christian saint for centuries.
The big questions don’t get much bigger. After the Lisbon earthquake killed thousands, philosopher Voltaire took aim at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and skewered his view that God is good.
What is God’s plan? Whether the faithful pray harder, accept their fate or feel safe from harm depends on their interpretation of Divine Providence.
With President Donald Trump’s frequent use of the term “witch hunt” he paints himself as a victim. The women persecuted in one of history’s darkest chapters should not be forgotten so easily.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has asked Australians to pray for rain, but can God answer prayers? And if He can, should He?
This doctrine is not for the fainthearted.
Along with a belief in miracles, other key aspects of Pentecostal doctrine – from divine providence to pietism – will likely shape the actions of our re-elected Prime Minister.
For centuries, Westerners viewed Islam as an inherently violent religion. But the struggle today, for all religions, including Christianity, is between liberals and conservatives, fundamentalists and moderates, reason and revelation.
As parody goes, this infamous Monty Python film is a pretty gentle, even, respectful sort. It is now more likely to be criticised for breaching the boundaries of ‘political correctness’.
Notions of heaven have changed through the ages, from an eternity centred on God to a more secular place where loved ones will reunite.
The Vatican is training priests to recognise and deal with the demonically possessed. This re-emergence of the Devil in popular Western culture is part of a new engagement with an enchanted world.
The founder of Islam, Muhammad, saw himself as the last in a line of prophets that reached back through Jesus to Moses, Abraham and Noah. But while the three religions worship the same God, he divides as much as he unites.
Mother Teresa will become a saint on Sunday, on the basis of two miracles of healing. But let’s not remove our thinking caps and go all medieval: we should be wary of uncritical endorsement of claims to the miraculous.
Marginalised outsiders, community conflict and a bad reputation – the prosecution of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey has all the hallmarks of the early modern witchcraft persecution. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Islam, like Christianity, has a capacity for violence and a capacity for peace, and neither is in essence peaceful or violent.
In suggesting the ultimate restoration of all creatures in his recent encyclical, Pope Francis is breaking with the weight of Western philosophical and theological tradition.
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