Tag: revelation

Comparative Religious Studies

The main goal of the seminar is a better understanding of the key concepts of Abrahamic traditions through comparative religious studies methodology. The seminar discusses theological subjects in the philosophical realm, descriptive not prescriptive, as a historian or an outsider of these traditions, not as an insider or believer. The discussions are purely neutral, critical analysis, historical, and based on modern scholarship of religious studies. Is the scripture infallible? Are Jews, Christians, and Muslims worshiping the same God? What is the initial capacity for violent interpretation in each tradition?

Philosophy of Religion

Philosophy of religion is a critical examination of metaphysics and rational justification for religious claims, as well as philosophical exploration of faith, religious experience, and the distinctive features of religious discourse. The course explores the nature of God’s attributes; arguments for God’s existence; the problem of evil; religious epistemology; religious language; God, science, and naturalism; faith and revelation; morality and religion; death and afterlife; miracles; and religious diversity. We compare the advantages and disadvantages of four methods of practicing the philosophy of religion: analytic, Wittgensteinian, continental, and feminist.

Understanding the Qur’an

The Spring 2024 course explores the history of revelation or words of God in Islam; the formation of the Qur’an as a book; its interpretation from medieval to modern times; its major themes; how the Qur’an introduces itself: the book of guidance, and virtues; the question of translatability; teaching the Qur’an as religious literature from a neutral viewpoint that could be understood from a secular/non-theological perspective; the lessons one might apply from literary criticism, biblical studies, and historical methodology; and its message for human beings in the contemporary world.

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Contact

Email: kadivar.mohsen59 (at) gmail.com

About

Mohsen Kadivar is a mujtahid, Islamic theologian, philosopher, writer, leading intellectual reformist, and research professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University.