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

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

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 symbolism of Mesopotamian cult images

Is. 44: 12-20 contains a satirical description of the way the pagans, i.e., the Babylonians, make their "gods", i.e., their idols. "The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals; he shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm ... The carpenter stretches a line, he marks it out with a pencil; he fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, he plants holm trees and oaks and lets them grow. Some he uses for fuel to warm himself or to bake bread, of others "he makes a god and worships it. With these and similar words the prophet ridicules those who make cult images. This might of course be an independent literary creation—and perhaps it is—but interestingly enough there is a Babylonian text that could well have served as the prophet's model. In a ritual for the akitu festival in Babylon from Seleucid times we read about the third day as follows: "When it is three hours after sunrise, he shall call a metalworker and give him precious stones and gold from the treasury of the god Marduk to make two images for (the ceremonies of) the sixth day. He shall call a woodworker and give him (some) cedar and tamarisk (pieces). He shall call a goldsmith and give him (some) gold." It is obvious that the images in question are not cult images in a real sense, i.e., images to be set up in a temple to receive sacrifices and worship, but images intended to be used in a "magical" ceremony: they represent evil forces that shall be annihilated by means of destroying their images in fire. At the same time, the text shows that it was well known how these images were made, but also that this did not detract from their symbolic, or magical, value

Book review

Leitwort-Tendenz-Synthese. Programm und Praxis in der Exegese Martin Bubers (Karl-Johan Illman, 1975, diss.) is reviewed by Helmer Ringgren