The problem of fatalism

Since in most languages the words for 'destiny' are rather ambiguous, it is necessary to make it clear from the outset what we mean when referring to a man's destiny. As has already emerged, there are two English words that should be taken into consideration, "destiny" and "fate". According to the Oxford dictionary, "destiny" means (1) That which is destined or fated to happen. (2) That which is destined to happen to a particular person, country, institution, etc.; (one's) appointed lot or fortune. (3) What in the course of events will become, or has become, of a person or thing. (4) The power or agency by which events are unalterably predetermined. The word 'fate' is analyzed as having approximately the same shades of meaning, although in a different order

Islamic fatalism

The author sketches the historical background, then the teaching of the Koran, and finally, the development of the typical Islamic fatalism. The fatalism of Islam has to be viewed against the background of the ideas of pre-Islamic Arabia. Unfortunately, there is no other evidence from this epoch that a few poems on a very restricted range of topics which have been able to survive Islamic censure. The conventional and stereotyped character of these poems makes it difficult to decide to what extent they reflect commonly accepted views or the ideas of a certain group. In any case, they present a picture of the pagan Arab which is extremely idealized and formed after a rigid pattern. Historically speaking, Islamic 'fatalism' is the result of a combination of pre-Islamic fatalism and Muhammad's belief in God's omnipotence. From another point of view it is an interpretation of destiny that expresses man's feeling of total dependence, not on an impersonal power or universal order, but on an omnipotent God

On the Islamic theory of the state

From the very beginning, Islam has devoted more interest to polities and political theory than most other religions. If it can be said with some right that Jesus was unpolitical, Muhammad was certainly not. Islam makes no distinction between religion and polities, but the two are intimately connected, and political theory has a religious and theological motivation. That implies that, in theory, it is based on the Koran and on Tradition (sunnah) in the same way as jurisprudence in general or as any other theological discipline

The problems of syncretism

That which happens when two religions meet is obviously different from case to case. It is possible for two "organized" religions to exist side by side for centuries without any exchange taking place. But otherwise, we are obviously moving along a continuum, the one pole of which is the repression of one of the two religions, the other a complete fusion of them. From another point of view, the results of syncretism may be grouped according to the degree in which the foreign elements are felt as essential or less essential. On this broad definition, the topic before us is vast. As a matter of fact few religions are totally "pure" or homogeneous and free from elements of syncretism or traces of an encounter with other religions

The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History

This paper presents the history of the Donner Institute. The Donner Institute is an institution for the study of the history of religion and culture at the university of Åbo Akademi (Åbo, Finland). It was founded in 1957 following a stipulation in the last will of Mr. and Mrs. Uno Donner of Helsingfors, who died in 1958 and 1956 respectively. Uno Donner had shown an early interest in philosophical questions. During a visit to Egypt at the beginning of this century both he and his wife were impressed by ancient Egyptian culture and certain mysterious aspects of religion. They both seem to have had a firm conviction that intuition is an important way to true knowledge. When, in 1913, an artist friend of theirs, Henry Collison, introduced them to the thinking of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, their interest was easily kindled, and they became eager students of anthroposophy. They visited Dornach near Basel, the center of the anthroposophic movement, several times and made the personal acquaintance of Dr. Steiner. When an Anthroposophic Society was established in Finland in 1922, Uno Donner became its president. The library of the institute possesses an almost complete collection of Dr. Steiner's works and all available works of various anthroposophic authors

Burden of mortality in Greenland--today and tomorrow.

OBJECTIVES: Investigation of the relative impact of three factors expected to influence the future mortality burden in Greenland: demographic change, epidemiological transition and behavioural patterns. STUDY DESIGN: To identify general trends in public health status, evaluating the effect of public health campaigns and providing the basis for making predictions of future trends in the mortality burden data from the Greenlandic Death Causes Register to estimate Years of Life Lost (YLL) in the period 1976-1998 has been used. METHODS: YLL were estimated according to the Burden of Disease Method. Age standardised death rates were calculated per 10,000 person years. Regression analysis (ordinary least squares) using time as the explanatory variable was applied to project the time series 1976-1998 into the prediction period 1999-2028. RESULTS: The projections indicate that the demographic component in combination with behavioural patterns will have a dominant effect in the expected increase in the future burden of mortality. Relative to these two components, epidemiological transition will constitute a relatively insignificant impact on the future mortality burden in Greenland. CONCLUSION: Concerted multi-sectoral approaches and broad holistic health strategies related to health promotion and prevention today will strategically improve the capability of the Greenlandic society to manage the future disease burden from ageing via its health care sector and the institutional sector for care of the elderly