پژوهشنامه ادیان
سال دوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 4، پاییز و زمستان 1387)

The period between composition of the last book of the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament is called Intertestamental Period. Jewish literature in this era, because of the encounter of the Jews with other nations, flourished in various forms and genres. For example, the genre of apocalypse as a result of the Iranian influence on Judaism became prevalent in Jewish literature. The Greco-Roman persecutions brought about a new eschatology in the intertestamental apocalypses, which was on the one hand in accordance with the teachings of the Old Testament, and on the other, it consoled the historical sufferings of the Israelite nation. This eschatology depended on a historical determinism which observed the depravities of the human society as the cause of cosmic misfortunes, which in its turn was the prologue to the advent of the Messiah. The apocalypse's transhistorical approach to the end time events altered the historical views of the Old Testament. The apocalyptists of the intertestamental period believed that the hereafter was in motion parallel to this world and heavenly Jerusalem, which was the symbol of the kingdom of God, was established in the heart of the righteous men.

This article firstly embarks on introducing the leading characters of the myth; such as the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, and the god of the underworld, Hades. Afterwards the main story of the myth, which is the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades, is told; while the other gods and secondary characters are mentioned. The story goes on to the point where the return of the goddess Persephone to the earth brings prosperity and fertility back to it. So the article continues with analyzing the myth and comparing its symbolic elements with the changes of seasons and the cycle of the nature and human life. In the end, due to the setting of the myth, which is called Eleusis, the traditions and the rites of Eleusis are mentioned.

One of the leading scholars in the field of history of religions is Mircea Eliade, who lived in France and England for the last decade of his life. Although mythologists believe that myth has various functions, according to Eliade myth is always an account of creation. It tells how creation has begun and how it will accomplish. Therefore myth has a close relation with ontology. It speaks of primordial realities, of what really happened, and what was fully manifested. Eliade believes that the reality is the sacred, which pre-eminently is real. His analysis is based on the distinction between the sacred and the profane. This article mentions Eliade's perspectives within a variety of academic fields, including mythology, philosophy of religion, and religious study, and surveys the relation between religion and myth. Finally, it discusses about mythic- symbolic characteristics of religions.

Comparative studies of mysticism tries to compare mystical phenomena in different cultures in order to bring about a better understanding of these cultures and make an intercultural relation between them. This article classifies the sources of the study into the first hand, second hand and third hand sources, and differentiate the translated sources from exegeses. It reviews the difficulties of the comparative method of research on mysticism, like: unavailability of the first hand sources, misunderstanding of the original sources by the foreign researchers, and word by word translation of mystical terms. It also suggests some resolutions for dealing with such problems (e. g. functionalist approach).

In the ancient times, sacrifice was the most important rite in India and Iran. In India, sacrifice gradually became a sophisticated rite, to such a degree that its performance required the attendance of several priests. There was a rigid doctrine that the cosmic order was in accordance with the rite of sacrifice. The detailed description of the ritual was collected in several books which are called Brahmanas. In fact, Brahmanas reflect the age of ritualism, in which the priests were the most powerful men in India. In ancient Iran, for the orthodox Zoroastrianism, sacrifice was a religious obligation and its obligatory character is traceable from Yasna. Comparing the Indian and Iranian traditions, reveals many similarities: Firstly, in both traditions, sacrifice grew out of a common Indo-Iranian root. Although there are some references to the ritual in Rgveda, its full development occurred in the later scriptures (in Brahmanas). On the other side, in the Gathas of Zoroaster, sacrifice is described as an undesirable act, but later (in Yasna) it became the central rite of Zoroastrianism. In later periods, the glorious rite of sacrifice declined in both lands, in India because of esotericism and in Iran due to the external factors (i.e. the advent of Islam).

The scientific study of religions commenced with the attempts of the influential scholars of 19th century such as Max Müller. These studies were naturally different from what theologians said about religions. Max Müller can be regarded as one of the founding fathers of the "science of religion", but the science was also indebted to Cornelius Petrus Tiele, whose attempts brought about new outcomes in the studies of religious phenomena. This article surveys the viewpoints of Max Müller. By emphasizing the experimental approach in the study of religion, Müller decided to use comparative method in this field. Max Müller devoted his life to the study of classical Indian religious documents, the comparative study of religious history and myth, and the publication of the religious history of the world. He was an expert Sanskritist and mythologist; but his innovative theories about mythology have not been accepted by other scholars working on religions. Nevertheless, his scientific and experimental standpoints about myths and the origin of religion drew the attention of scholars for many years. His theory about origination of Hinduism from myth, particularly his solar mythology, was strongly criticized by many scholars.

Divine love is the cornerstone of John's mystical life. His heart was surrounded by the flame of love, so much so that every teaching in his mind was strongly connected to it. He believed that by transformation of soul into the divine love, it achieves all virtues and could be able to receive God's epiphanies. On the other hand, the spiritual itinerary could not come to an end without love. Thus love is both the way and the goal of the mystical journey. For John, love is the bearer of bliss and knowledge and brings about the unity of the lover and the beloved. He emphasized the annihilation of oneself in Christ, so that the true lover for him is one who abandons his will to the Lord.