Category: History of religion

(Published in GralsWelt 33/2004) In esoteric circles the view is widespread that humans were already conscious at the beginning of the incarnation; that the actual human being - his soul or his spirit - continues to exist after shedding his earthly body, that there is thus a “this world” and a “hereafter”. This human soul can then either be in [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 8/1998) The German prophetess It was the Staufer Friedrich I - Emperor Barbarossa - who called Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1179) so. But as famous as the seer was during her lifetime, after her death her visions got lost and her work was forgotten. In the century after her (13th century) the monastery and [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 45/2007) Centuries before Christ: the first end-time proclamation between 1,500 and 600 BC BC - archaeologists and philologists are far apart in their dates - the Persian bringer of truth Zarathustra (Greek: Zoroaster. Cf. “A Persian bringer of truth” under “History of religion”) proclaimed the supreme god Ahura Mazda, the creator of all things, from whom only Good comes out. [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 40/2006) If we find a clock while walking, we will hardly ponder the way in which a hurricane might have raged in a junkyard so that this clock could come about purely by chance. Because it is clear to everyone that it must have been a watchmaker who designed and built them. A clock is [...]

(Published in GralsWelt Special Issue 16/2005) When a stroke of fate hits people, when the death of a loved one is to be mourned, or even severe material losses, then the question inevitably comes: “Why?” Everyone then looks for explanations for such confusing events , and would like to calm himself down with answers that are plausible to him and give him the strength to go on living. [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 42/2007) Voodoo and Co. Various religions claim to be growing rapidly, while others - including Christianity in Europe - have to put up with withdrawals and loss of reputation. Perhaps the fastest growing religion, which in some countries is even in the process of pushing back Christianity, is hardly known to us: The mixing of African [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 44/2007 page 66) Religious scholars assume that religions have accompanied cultural development since the beginning of human history. Religious feeling is therefore an essential part of the specifically human characteristics and is expressed, for example, in myths and rituals. Religiousness is also one of the basic human drives that shape societies and cultures. Religiousness therefore appears [...]

(Published in GralsWelt 26/2002) THE HOLY LAND A strip of land at the transition from Africa to Asia, the only land bridge between these great continents, has been a passage and connection point between peoples, countries, nations and cultures for thousands of years: Palestine. Trade and cultural exchange enriched, war campaigns devastated the country, which, like most transit countries, wedged between larger empires, only found tranquility temporarily. [...]

(Published in GrailWorld 37/2005) Since Donna W. Cross' historical novel "The Popes" (3) became a worldwide success, an enigmatic figure has once again moved into the general consciousness, which has been the subject of controversial discussions for centuries: Pope Joan. Although this novel is fictional, historical novels can sometimes convey a more impressive picture of past times than scholarly historiography. [...]

Published in GralsWelt 40/2006 “If God wants to remedy the misery in the world and cannot, he is incapable, which does not apply to God; if he can and does not want to, he is malevolent, which is far from God; if he neither wants nor can, he is both malevolent and incapable and therefore not God; if […]