A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis (esoteric or intuitive knowledge) is the way to salvation of the soul from the material world. Gnostic s ...
Gerhard Scholem was born in Berlin to Arthur Scholem and Betty Hirsch Scholem. His interest in Judaica was strongly opposed by his father, a printer, but, thanks to his mother's intervention, he was a ...
The concept of Western esotericism is a modern scholarly construct rather than a pre-existing, self-defined tradition of thought. Scholars constructed this category in the late 18th century after iden ...
A primary concern of Hermetic Qabalah is the nature of divinity, its conception of which is quite markedly different from that presented in monotheistic religions; in particular there is not the stric ...
The movement was influenced by a desire to interpret aspects of Christianity even more mystically than current Christian Mystics. Greek Neoplatonic documents came into Europe from Constantinople in th ...
The Oxford English Dictionary first attests the word syncretism in English in 1618. It derives from modern Latin syncretismus, drawing on Greek συγκρητισμ?? (synkretismos), meaning "Cretan ...
In the Bible the word "Zohar" appears in the vision of Ezekiel Chapter 8 Verse 2 and is usually translated as meaning radiance or light. It appears again in Daniel Chapter 12 Verse 3, "The wise ones w ...
The characteristic feature of Luria's theoretical and meditative system is his recasting of the previous, static hierarchy of unfolding Divine levels, into a dynamic cosmic spiritual drama of exile an ...
Nahmanides, in his commentary on the Torah, (Genesis 1) is one of the first to quote the work under the title Midrash R. Nehunya ben HaKanah. ("R. Nehunya ben HaKanah said," the opening sentence)Among ...
The modern word "Hebrew" is derived from the word "Ibri" (plural "Ibrim"), one of several names for the Jewish people. It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham's ...
Origen's Greek name ?rigénēs (?ριγ?νη?) probably means "child of Horus" (from ?ρο?, "Horus", and γ?νο?, "born"). His nickname or cognomen Adamantios (?δαμ?ντιο?) derives ...
The Kabbalistic form of Jewish mysticism itself divides into three general streams: the Theosophical/Speculative Kabbalah (seeking to understand and describe the divine realm), the Meditative/Ecstatic ...
Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works, and the list of his works consists of more than one hundred separate titles. They include apologetic works against the ...
Augustine was born in 354 in the municipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian; his father Patricius was a Pagan who converted to Christi ...
Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus was born at Stridon around 347. He was not baptized until about 360 - 366, when he had gone to Rome with his friend Bonosus (who may or may not have been the same Bonosu ...
