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How does Otto start the idea of the Holy?
Otto starts The Idea of the Holy by arguing that the non-rational in religion must be given its due importance, then goes on to introduce and develop his notion of the numinous. As a kind of first approximation for the wholly new concept he is giving us, Otto characterises the numinous as the holy (i.e. God) minus its moral and rational aspects. A little more positively, it is the ineffable core of religion: the experience of it cannot to be described in terms of other experiences.
What does Otto see in the New Testament?
In the New Testament likewise, Otto looks at the balance between non-rational and rational. Here the rational aspect of God reaches its consummation, but the numinous aspect has not been lost. Thus Otto sees the numinous in New Testament references to a God of vengeance, who will destroy wicked men [p 84].
What is the significance of Otto's chapter on the numinous?
The Awefulness of God. Also worthy of attention is Otto's effort in his chapters on the numinous in the Old Testament, in the New Testament and in Luther to emphasise that the rise of the rational in the Judeo-Christian tradition did not eliminate the non-rational numinous.
What does Otto argue about the numinous?
He argues that the experience of the numinous leads in people to much more than the sense of personal unworthiness he had spoken of in his discussion of creature-feeling.
What are Otto's two most important themes?
In this first part of this brief study of The Idea of the Holy we summarise what we take to be Otto's two most important themes: the numinous and religious progress. In the second part, we comment on them in turn.
What is the idea of the Holy 1?
In this first part of this brief study of The Idea of the Holy we summarise what we take to be Otto's two most important themes: the numinous and religious progress. In the second part, we comment on them in turn.
What does Otto mention in the discussion of the five elements?
Thirdly, note that although Otto initially mentions participation in ceremonies and visits to holy buildings as occasions for profound religious experience, he proves in the discussion of the five elements to be concerned above all with mysticism. This is surely a matter of personal piety.
Who taught us language is the house of being?
Martin Heidegger taught us language is the house of being.
Who said the silence speaks?
For Rudolf Otto, the silence speaks. And he echoes Soren Kierkegaard in one his lesser known religious discourses on The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air
What is rationalism in Otto's The Idea of the Holy?
Rationalism In Rudolf Otto's The Idea Of The Holy. The human mind’s ability and innate desire to justify and explain the world and its phenomena has led to some of the most significant and world-altering discoveries and inventions, illustrated throughout the renaissance , enlightenment, scientific revolution, and industrial revolution .
What is the rational definition of Otto?
Otto’s basic definition of the rational stems from the establishment and application of concepts evidenced in “they can be grasped by the intellect; they can be analyzed by thought; they even admit of definition. An object that can thus be thought conceptually may be termed rational ” (Otto, 1). Therefore, Otto establishes the.
What is the Sensus Divinitatis?
The Sensus Divinitatis is another belief forming mechanism similar to our memory, reason, senses, and credulity. It is a built in cognitive faculty that predisposes, or inclines us from the beginning, to believe in God. We have this Sensus Divinitatis because we bear the image of God.
What is the Tonghak religion?
As for the significance of the Tonghak religion which was founded by Ch’oe Cheu, is a teaching that is an amalgamation of numerous belief systems. It is combination of Neo-confucianism and indigenous Korean spirituality with traits of Taoism. While his conception of God may have been inspired by christianity it differs in an enormous way, while still maintaining that God had created humans, he quotes this divine power saying, “MY mind is your mind.” This differs a lot with the Christianity as this God says that it could lead society into harmony, the individual into personal salvation through the requirement of constant self cultivation of mind and material force. In an essay written by Ch’oe Cheu, he states that there are similarities yet
What is rational in the Holy?
“Rational,” in The Idea of the Holy, refers to the conceptualization of religion and the divine itself. Otto’s basic definition of the rational stems from the establishment and application ...
Why did Rudolph Otto prioritize the non-rational?
Rudolph Otto prioritizes the non-rational as offering a truer understanding of religion because he claims the core of all religious life revolves around experiences and feeling, not simply rational thought. Overall, the rational is but an attempt to define the undefinable. To understand Otto’s rejection of the rational, ...
What does Pope John Paul II mean by the capacity of human reason?
Thus, as Pope John Paul II sponsors the capacity of human reason to be aware of the truth and demand that faith and philosophy again find their profound unity. He, as head of our Church wanted to affirm the need to reflect on the truth. It is somewhat less true that human beings through the ages, have raised important questions about their own identity, and which also is its origin, as well what will happen after their death, on these issues in search of truth itself and what is its foundation, the reason finds its most gifted beauty in faith support. One aspect that catches my attention, among many others, is when the Pope states: "The Church, meanwhile, appreciated the effort of reason to achieve the goals that make more and more worthy personal existence. She sees in philosophy the way to know fundamental truths about human existence.
What does Otto emphasize about the Mystic?
Otto stresses two aspects of this element: That the experience of the Mystic is of something "wholly other" than anythingelse, and that it should not be separated from the elements of the "Tremendum".
What is the second element of the Mystic experience?
In addition to the feeling that the Divine is unapproachable, Otto identifies the second element of the Mystical experience asa feeling of Absolute Majesty or Overpoweringness. This is the element which gives rise most especially to the attitude ofreligious humility. This humility is most evident in the attitude of self-depreciation on the part of the Mystic. The Mysticwill not want others to see them as "blessed" or "special", indeed they are most acutely aware of the fact that of all thebeings in the universe, they are the most un-worthy to experience God.
Who is Rudolf Otto?
Rudolf Otto (25 September 1869 – 7 March 1937) was an eminent German Lutheran theologian, philosopher, and comparative religionist. He is regarded as one of the most influential scholars of religion in the early twentieth century and is best known for his concept of the numinous, ...
What is the idea of the Holy?
Otto's most famous work, The Idea of the Holy was one of the most successful German theological books of the 20th century, has never gone out of print, and is available in about 20 languages. The central argument of the book concerns the term numinous, which Otto coined.
What is the philosophy of religion based on?
In 1909, he published his next book, The Philosophy of Religion Based on Kant and Fries, in which he examines the thought of Kant and Fries and from there attempts to build a philosophical framework within which religious experience can take place. While Kant's philosophy said thought occurred in a rational domain, Fries diverged and said it also occurred in practical and aesthetic domains; Otto pursued Fries' line of thinking further and suggested another nonrational domain of the thought, the religious. He felt intuition was valuable in rational domains like mathematics, but subject to the corrective of reason, whereas religious intuitions might not be subject to that corrective.
What is Otto's first book?
Otto's first book, Naturalism and Religion (1904) divides the world ontologically into the mental and the physical, a position reflecting Cartesian dualism. Otto argues consciousness cannot be explained in terms of physical or neural processes, and also accords it epistemological primacy by arguing all knowledge of the physical world is mediated by personal experience. On the other hand, he disagrees with Descartes ' characterization of the mental as a rational realm, positing instead that rationality is built upon a nonrational intuitive realm.
Which philosophers said that thought occurred in a rational domain?
While Kant's philosophy said thought occurred in a rational domain, Fries diverged and said it also occurred in practical and aesthetic domains; Otto pursued Fries' line of thinking further and suggested another nonrational domain of the thought, the religious.
Who is the philosopher who said "wholly other"?
The philosopher and sociologist Max Horkheimer, a member of the Frankfurt School, has taken the concept of "wholly other" in his 1970 book Die Sehnsucht nach dem ganz Anderen ("longing for the entirely Other"). Walter Terence Stace wrote in his book Time and Eternity that "After Kant, I owe more to Rudolph Otto's The Idea of the Holy than to any other book." Other philosophers influenced by Otto included Martin Heidegger, Leo Strauss, Hans-Georg Gadamer (who was critical when younger but respectful in his old age), Max Scheler, Edmund Husserl, Joachim Wach, and Hans Jonas.
Who was Aldous Huxley influenced by?
Aldous Huxley, a major proponent of perennialism, was influenced by Otto; in The Doors of Perception he writes: The literature of religious experience abounds in references to the pains and terrors overwhelming those who have come, too suddenly, face to face with some manifestation of the mysterium tremendum.
