نشریه معرفت ادیان
سال دهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 40، پاییز 1398)

One of the central and common themes of the Quran and the Testaments is the rule of God, meaning that in the apocalypse the rule of the world will be absolutely that of God, in which the righteous and the wicked will be punished. The subject of this article is the imminent rule of God and what it means. In this article, while reporting on the Quran and the Bible, the theories that have been interpreted in such a way are reviewed and criticized. There are six theories or probabilities in the history of the interpretation of the "imminent rule of God": first, it is true and it has precise timing. The second theory is that while this is true, the timing cannot be determined. The third theory also emphasized the fact that the news was true, but it was stated that due to the lack of readiness of the people, the timing of God's rule was constantly delayed. The fourth theory is also based on the fact that the news is true; but, contrary to the first three, it considers it spiritual. In the fifth theory, the imminent news of God's rule is merely a motive for moral living. In the sixth theory, the establishment of God's rule is considered to be hopeful. Of these, the second is the most popular and accepted view of followers of the Abrahamic religions. The research method used in the present study is comparative and historical, meaning that the themes of the imminent reign of God in the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as the Quran are studied and compared historically. The approach of this research is phenomenological.

For a long time, the realization of a world government free from all oppression and violence with a bright future for life has been one of human aspirations. The prophets and divine religions have given the good news that in the end, the rule of a single universal world based on justice will be formed and that the future will be realized by universal peacemaker and savior. Therefore, the prophets and the authorities invite people to wait for the realization of the divine world-a constructive and dynamic expectation. In Islam, world government is realized by the Prophet Mahdi, and in Christianity, the kingdom of God is realized through the Prophet Jesus. This government has characteristics that distinguish it from other governments, including: the caliphate of the righteous; the establishment of divine judgments; the rule of justice; economic prosperity, etc. Believers of these two religions, on the basis of authentic texts, prepare themselves for that day and wait. In the article, the author is going to make a descriptive-analytical comparison of the reasons for expectation of a world government in the two religions of Christianity and Islam; the first is based on the New Testament and the second is based on verses and narrations.

The word “بور” twice and its root (ب و ر) have been used five times in the Quran. The commentators and translators of the Quran have generally regarded the word as perished, corrupted, and rotten. These concepts are problematic verbally and in relation to the category of determinism. On the other hand, some Quranic scholars believe that the word is derived from other languages. Therefore, in the present article, we have first rooted the word in the Semitic languages, with emphasis on Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac; then, based on this rooting, we have discussed the meanings of the word in the Quran and the Jewish-Christian sacred texts and by providing a fairly detailed account of its implications, we have shown that the term has a real meaning in the texts mentioned; i.e. a wasted land or an implantable land, and has a metaphorical meaning, that is, uneducated, ignorant, or undeveloped. In addition, we have referred to the concept of conceptual metaphors and explained the relation between the true and metaphorical meanings of the word, and have stated that in this conceptual metaphor the fertility and counterpoint, or the opposite, of sterility and inertia are highlighted. Finally, based on the above analysis, we have identified the combined presence of both meanings in the texts as having arisen from a systematic linguistic phenomenon that rejects the statement of the word being derived from other languages.

In 1945, ancient documents were discovered in the Nagaa Hammadi area of Egypt, dating back to or even older than the Gospel age of the New Testament. Comparison of these documents with the Christian Bible and today's Christian beliefs reveals fundamental discrepancies between their contents; Incompatibility in issues such as the identity and deity of Jesus, the cross and the salvation, the authority and authenticity of the church, and the denial of the religious law. The question is whether these documents can influence Christian history and theology. The purpose of this article is to analyze the religious and historical validity of the Nagaa Hammadi discoveries for influencing Christian history and theology. This descriptive-analytical study shows that the discovery of these documents can provide more familiarity with various Gospels and beliefs in Christianity by making it possible to gain more direct and broader information access to the Gnosis and their affected Christians; But obstacles such as the question of the historical validity of these documents, official church proclamations, and acceptance of the heresy of the Gnosis, make it unlikely that the divergent attitude of the Nagaa Hammadi discoveries would have a direct and pervasive influence on Christian theology; However, their long-term and indirect impact on Christianity is not unexpected.

The mourning tradition has been one of the prominent aspects of the cultural and social life of various societies throughout history, and is one of the traditions that all societies with different religions and cultures care about. In Iran too, this tradition has always been celebrated on various occasions throughout history, including the mourning ceremony of Zoroastrians in ancient Iran. This paper is based on a conventional descriptive-analytical method in historical research, relying on data from major texts and sources and research conducted, and examines how mourning customs (including cleansing, burial, clothing, and food) were common among Zoroastrians in ancient Iran. The findings of the present study indicate that simple mourning ceremonies, avoidance of excessive mourning, the use of simple food and clothing, and the holding of a third ceremony were among the most important teachings of the Zoroastrian religion.

In the history of Abrahamic religions, many examples of peaceful interactions can be seen, but many believe that the dialogue of religions is a modern matter and fundamentally different from those in the pre-modern world. The question here is what separates the dialogue of religions from the peaceful interactions of religions in the past and gives it a distinct identity. To answer this question, this article analyzes the components of religious dialogue. The analysis of these components highlights three characteristics: the mastery of modern values, the promotion of another religious position, and a pragmatic approach. Pragmatism has transformed the dialogue of religions into a meta-theological matter which can be adapted to diverse and different theological foundations. Promoting another religious position is also a feature that separates the dialogue of religions from the history of peaceful interactions between religions. These two features and other modern values that guide the dialogue of religions are the same distinction that distinguishes the dialogue of religions and make it a way of reconstructing the interactions of religions in the modern world.