EXISTENTIAL WORLDS OF THE IDEA OF ETERNAL ALL-WORLDLINESS: THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS
Abstract
This article focuses on advancing and refining the semantic framework (genealogy) of pivotal concepts generated by religious consciousness. Utilizing an existential approach, it interprets the spiritual dimensions of various religious cultures, drawing on the insights of theologians, philosophers, and critical thinkers. The discourse emphasizes the necessity of uncovering the historical significance underlying these interpretations. It posits that traditional stereotypes in cultural histories can only be transcended through rigorous scholarly inquiry. The article seeks to broaden the spectrum of interpretations and elucidations pertaining to foundational theological ideas, highlighting the nature of their existential interpretations. This exploration facilitates the identification of the fundamental, profound, and universal aspects of religious phenomena, positioning them as essential concepts within the intellectual heritage of humanity.
The analysis of theological perspectives reveals inherent paradoxes within theological discourse. Philosophers have encapsulated the concept of soul transitions through various terminologies such as incarnation, disembodiment, pre-existence, renewal, and rebirth. It has been demonstrated that the notion of eternal life is elucidated through theological reflections on the cyclical states of the universe and its worlds, particularly through the mechanics of reincarnation. This encompasses the manifestation of the Spirit in the empirical domain and the movement of souls throughout the cosmos. The universe itself is conceptualized as a continuum in which souls traverse different states of being. The term "resurrection" serves as a linguistic marker that captures the semantic nuances associated with the reincarnation of souls into corporeal forms as understood in theological frameworks. The various semantic contexts identified in theological thought allow for a multifaceted presentation of eternal life: as a continuous process of transformations of both souls and the universe, and as the perpetual embodiment of the World Spirit that pervades the cosmos, ultimately materializing in the physical realm. Through comparative analysis, it has been established that Christian consciousness retains elements of ancient metaphysical thought in a fragmented manner. This transmission occurs subtly.
Downloads
References
Apologists: A Collection of Writings by Early Christian Apologists Translated into Ukrainian / Edited by His Holiness Patriarch of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine Filaret. (2010). Kyiv: Publishing Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. – 590 p. (in Ukrainian)
The Bible. The Books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments / Newly Translated from Hebrew and Greek into Ukrainian. (1991). Ukrainian Bible Society: Kyiv. – 1255 p. (in Ukrainian)
Kompaniets, L. (2014). The Idea of Reincarnation in World Culture. Kyiv: H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy, NAS of Ukraine; UAR. – 312 p. (in Ukrainian)
Aurelian Botica. (2011) The Concept of Intention in the Old Testament, Philo of Alexandria and the Early Rabbinic Literature. Gorgias Press LLC. – 513 p.
Donato, A. (2012) Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy and the Greco-Roman Consolatory Tradition. Traditio, Vol. 67, pp. 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0362152900001318.
Daniélou, J. (2014) Philo of Alexandria. [Translated into English by James G. Colbert]. The Lutterworth Press, James Clarke & Co Ltd. – 200 p. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1cgfbr8.
Maximus the Confessor. (2020) The Ascetic Life, The Four Centuries on Charity. [Translation to English by Polycarp Sherwood O.S.B.]. Angelico Press. – 294 p.
Nicholas of Cusa. (1997) Selected Spiritual Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality). [Trans. H. Lawrence Bond]. Paulist Press; Illustrated edition. – 400 p.
Origen. The Writings. London: Hamilton & Co., Dublin: John Robertson & Co. – 478 p. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/70693/70693-h/70693-h.htm. (Accessed 19.02.2025).
Origen. (2018) On First Principles, Reader's Edition (Oxford Early Christian Texts). Oxford University Press. – 784 p.
St. Augustine. (1887) The City of God. [Translated into English by Rev. Marcus Dods, D.D.]
Edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., New York. – 1136 p. https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/augustine/The%20City%20of%20God%20-%20Augustine.pdf. (Accessed 09.02.2025).
St. Gregory of Nyssa. (1893) On the Making of Man. [Translated by H.A. Wilson]. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 5. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2914.htm. (Accessed 09.02.2025).
St. Thomas Aquinas. (1924) The Summa contra gentiles. [Translated by the English Dominican Fathers from the Latest Leonine Edition]. First book. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne LTD. – 236 p. https://ia801307.us.archive.org/18/items/summacontragenti01thomuoft/summacontragenti01thomuoft.pdf (Accessed 08.02.2025).
St. Thomas Aquinas. (1947) The Summa Theologica. [Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province]. Benziger Bros. edition. https://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/home.html (Accessed 08.02.2025).
Tertullian. (2020) A Treatise on the Soul. Wyatt North Publishing, LLC. – 103 p.
Tertullian. (2014) Selected Works. Beloved Publishing LLC. – 594 p.
Tillich, P. (1951) Systematic Theology, Volume I. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. – 300 p.
Tillich, P. (1976) Systematic Theology, Volume 3. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. – 434 p.
Villar, J.R. (2016) Gregory of Nyssa’s View of the Church. In: Dumitraşcu, N. (ed.) The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 215–233. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-50269-8_14.
Zachhuber, J. (2020) The Rise of Christian Theology and the End of Ancient Metaphysics: Patristic Philosophy from the Cappadocian Fathers to John of Damascus. London: Oxford University Press. – 32 p. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198859956.001.000