Let's Talk Religion

Today we talk about an often asked question - what is the relatioship between Sufism and Islam? Are they the same thing or is there some difference?Sources/Suggested Reading:Karamustafa, Ahmet T. (2007). "Sufism: The Formative Period". Edinburgh University Press.Knysh, Alexander (2017). "Sufism : A New History of Islamic Mysticism". Princeton University Press.Malik, Jamal & John Hinnells (ed.) (2006). "Sufism in the West". Routledge.Ridgeon, Lloyd (ed.) (2014). "The Cambridge Companion to Sufism". Cambridge University Press.Van Bruinessen, Martin & Julia Day Howell (ed). (2007). "Sufism and the Modern in Islam". I.B. Tauris.#Sufism #Islam #Mysticism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spinoza is one of the most controversial and debated philosophers in the last few centuries. This episode attempts to give a very general overview of his perspective on God as well as some ways that it can be interpreted.Sources/Suggested Reading:Garrett, Don (1996). "The Cambridge Companion to Spinoza". Cambridge University Press.Nadler, Steven (2018). "Spinoza: A Life". Cambridge University Press.Wolfson, Harry Austryn (2014). "The Philosophy of Spinoza: Unfolding the Latent Processes of His Reasoning". Harvard University Press.#Spinoza #Pantheism #Philosophy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores the historical and religious context of the first Assassin's Creed Game.The episode uses sound taken from gameplay footage from No Copyrightgfg Gameplaykj.Link to their video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3k2CfOK74c&list=UUMcIQ4ZIKaYC6YescDoyw2w&index=663Sources/Suggested Reading:Daftary, Farhad (2007). "The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines". Cambridge University Press.#AssassinsCreed #Islam #History Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abraham Abulafia (d. 1291) is one of the most fascinating jewish mystics of all time, who is credited with founding the "Ecstatic/Prophetic Kabbalah".Sources/Suggested Reading:Hames, Harvey J. (2007). “Like Angels on Jacob’s Ladder”. State University of New York Press.Ide, Moshe (1988). “The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia”. Translated from the Hebrew by Jonathan Chipman. State University of New York Press.Idel, Moshe (1988). “Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah”. State University of New York Press.Wolfson, Eliot R. (2011). “Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia and the Prophetic Kabbalah”. In Jewish Mysticism & Kabbalah (ed. Frederick E. Greenspahn). New York University Press.#Abulafia #Kabbalah #Mysticism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk about Jesus, who is was and if he even existed.Sources/Suggested Reading:Chilton, Bruce & Craig A. Evans (ed.) (1998). Studying the historical Jesus: Evaluations of the state of Current Research. Brill.Ehrman, Bart D. (2013). Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth. HarperOne.Holmén, Tom & Stanley E. Porter (ed.) (2011). Handbook for the study of the historical Jesus. Volume 1. Brill.Levine, Amy-Jill; Dale C. Allison Jr. & John Dominic Crossan (2006). The Historical Jesus in Context. Princeton University Press.#Jesus #History #ProjectHistoricity Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk about the great 14th-15th century saint Shah Ni'matullah Wali and the order that carries his name.Sources/Further Reading:Dahlén, Ashk (2001). "Sufismen i det moderna Iran". In Levande Sufism. Edited by David Westerlund.Graham, Terry (1999) "Shah Ni'matullah Wali: Founder of the Ni'matullahi Sufi Order". In The Heritage of Sufism: Legacy of Medieval Persian Sufism (Volume 2). Edited by Leonard Lewisohn.Herman, Denis & Mathieu Terrier (2020). "Shi'i Islam and Sufism: classical views and modern perspectives". I.B. Tauris.Nurbakhsh, Javad (1980). "Masters of the Path: a history of the masters of the Nimatullahi sufi order". Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi Publications: New York.Pourjavady, Nasrollah (?). "Shah Nematollah Vali: an Heir to Two Mystical Literary Traditions". Article.Various (2002). "Celebrating a Sufi Master: A collection of works on the occasion of the First (& Second) international symposium on Shah Nematollah Vali". San Jose State University. Volumes 1 & 2.#Nimatullahi #Sufism #Islam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is one that leans heavily on the academic side. Here we talk about the effects that religion and migration have on each other.Sources/Further Reading:Levitt, Peggy (2009). "God Needs No Passport: Immigrants and the Changing American Landscape". The New Press.Frederiks, Martha (2014). "Religion, Migration & Identity: A conceptual and theoretical exploration". In "Religion, Migration & Identity: A conceptual and theoretical exploration". Edited by Martha Frederiks & Dorottya Nagy. Brill.#Religion #Migration #Immigration Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meister Eckhart, an influential Christian theologian and philosopher, shares his insights on the mystical aspects of Christianity. He discusses his revolutionary thoughts on the unity between God and the soul, revealing the complexities he faced from accusations of heresy. Eckhart elaborates on apophatic theology, presenting a God that transcends human understanding. He emphasizes the soul's journey toward divine unity and the importance of detachment from material desires, inspiring a deeper connection to spirituality in an increasingly complex world.

In this video, we talk about one of the most central texts and figures in Daoism.Sources/Further Reading:Komjathy, Louis (2013). "The Daoist Tradition: An Introduction". Bloomsbury Academic.Lao Tzu (2013). "Tao Te Ching - A New Translation. Translated by William Scott Wilson. Shambala Publications. Hackett Publishing Co, Inc.Zhuangzi (2008). "Zhuangzi - The Essential Texts: With Translations from Traditional Commentaries". Translated by Brook Ziporyn.#Zhuangzi #Daoism #Philosophy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We follow up the last episode on Shankara & Advaita Vedanta by talking about the most influential response to that school.Sources/Suggested Reading:Bartley, C.J. (2002). "The Theology of Ramanuja - Realism and Religion". Routledge.Flood, Gavin (ed.) (2003). "The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism". Blackwell Publishing. "Sri Ramanuja Gita Bhashya - with text in Devangari & English rendering". Translated by Swami Adidevananda. Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math.Thibaut, George (translated by) (2006). "The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja". The Echo Library.#Vedanta #Ramanuja #Hinduism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.