Incarnation

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Incarnations" redirects here. For other uses, see Incarnations (disambiguation).
Further information:
Epic cycles of incarnations

Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It is the

conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form[1] or an anthropomorphic form of a god.[2] It is used to mean a god, deity, or Divine Being in human or animal form on Earth. The proper noun, Incarnation, refers to the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ.[1]

Abrahamic religions

Main article: God in Abrahamic religions

Christianity

Christ Pantocrator, God incarnate in the Christian faith, shown in a mosaic from Daphni, Greece, ca. 1080–1100.
Main article: Incarnation (Christianity)

The incarnation of

Virgin Mary.[3] Biblical passages traditionally referenced in connection with the doctrine of the Incarnation include John 3:1–21, Colossians 2:9, and Philippians 2:7–8
.

Islam

See also: Allah, God in Islam, Kalam, Tawhid, and Tanzih

Islam completely rejects the doctrine of the incarnation (Mu'jassimā[4] / (Tajseem) Tajsīm) of God in any form, as the concept is defined as shirk. In Islam, God is one and "neither begets nor is begotten".[5]

Judaism

Main article: God in Judaism
See also:
Chabad-Lubavitch related controversies

According to many modern scholars, the

Babylonian Talmud contains stories of earthly appearances of God, Elijah, Satan, and demons.[7]

Since the time of Maimonides, mainstream Judaism has mostly rejected any possibility of an incarnation of God in any form.[8]

However, some modern-day

Hasidic leader, said that the Rebbe is God's essence itself put into the body of a tzadik.[9]

Druze faith

See also: Druze § Beliefs

ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018.[11][12][17][18]

Baháʼí Faith

Further information: God in the Baháʼí Faith

In the Baháʼí Faith, God is not seen to be incarnated into this world and is not seen to be part of creation as he cannot be divided and does not descend to the condition of his creatures.[19] The Manifestations of God are also not seen as incarnations of God but are instead understood to be like perfect mirrors reflecting the attributes of God onto the material world.[20][21]

Buddhism

See also: Rebirth (Buddhism)

Buddhism is a nontheistic religion: it denies the concept of a creator deity or any incarnation of a creator deity. However, Buddhism does teach the rebirth doctrine and asserts that living beings are reborn, endlessly, reincarnating as devas (gods), demi-gods, human beings, animals, hungry ghosts or hellish beings,[22] in a cycle of samsara that stops only for those who reach nirvana (nibbana).[23][24][25]

In Tibetan Buddhism, an enlightened spiritual teacher (lama) is believed to reincarnate, and is called a tulku. According to Tulku Thond, there are three main types of tulkus. They are the emanations of buddhas, the manifestations of highly accomplished adepts, and rebirths of highly virtuous teachers or spiritual friends. There are also authentic secondary types, which include unrecognized tulkus, blessed tulkus, and tulkus fallen from the path.[26]

Hinduism

Main article: Avatar
Parshurama, Rama & Narasimha). Painting from Jaipur, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum

In

nirguna Brahman or Atman (soul).[31]

Neither the

Principal Upanishads ever mentions the word avatar as a noun.[30] The verb roots and form, such as avatarana, do appear in ancient post-Vedic Hindu texts, but as "action of descending", but not as an incarnated person (avatara).[32] The related verb avatarana is, states Paul Hacker, used with double meaning, one as action of the divine descending, another as "laying down the burden of man" suffering from the forces of evil.[32]

The term is most commonly found in the context of the Hindu god

Puranic stories for many deities, and with ideas such as ansha-avatar or partial embodiments.[34][33]

While avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional.[37] The incarnation doctrine is one of the important differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism.[38][39]

Avatar versus incarnation

The translation of avatar as "incarnation" has been questioned by Christian theologians, who state that an incarnation is in flesh and imperfect, while avatar is mythical and perfect.[40][41] The theological concept of Christ as an Incarnation into the womb of the Virgin Mary and by work of the Holy Spirit God, as found in Christology, presents the Christian concept of incarnation. This, state Oduyoye and Vroom, is different from the Hindu concept of avatar because avatars in Hinduism are unreal and is similar to Docetism.[42] Sheth disagrees and states that this claim is an incorrect understanding of the Hindu concept of avatar.[43][note 1] Avatars are true embodiments of spiritual perfection, one driven by noble goals, in Hindu traditions such as Vaishnavism.[43]

Serer religion

The

Roog (also called Koox in the Cangin language). However, the reincarnation (ciiɗ)[45] of the ancient Serer saints and ancestral spirits, called Pangool, is a well-held principle in Serer religion. These Pangool (singular : Fangool) act as intermediaries between the living world and the divine. When the Serers speak of incarnation, it is these Pangool they refer to, who are themselves holy by virtue of their intercession with the divine.[45][46][47]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Buddha, a real person, is included as an avatar of Vishnu in many Hindu texts.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b "Definition of Incarnation". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  2. ^ "Cambridge Dictionary: Incarnation". Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press.
  3. ^ "Incarnation". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  4. ^ Muhammad Abu Zahra, İslâm’da Siyâsî ve İ’tikadî Mezhepler Tarihi, History of Madhhabs in Islam, pp: 257 - 259, Fığlalı, Ethem Ruhi and Osman Eskicioğlu translation to Turkish, Yağmur, İstanbul, 1970.
  5. ^ Quran, (112:1-4).
  6. ^ Brand, Ezra. "Some Notes on the Anthropomorphization of God in the Talmud".
  7. ^ Brand, Ezra. ""He appeared to him as a [X]": Talmudic Stories of Incarnations of God, Eliyahu, Satan, and Demons". www.ezrabrand.com/. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  8. ^ L. Jacobs 1973 A Jewish Theology p. 24. N.Y.: Berman House
  9. ^ Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 2, pp. 510-511.
  10. ISBN 978-1440841385
    .
  11. ^ a b Willi Frischauer (1970). The Aga Khans. Bodley Head. p. ?. (Which page?)
  12. ^
    JSTOR 605981
    .
  13. ^ Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-expression - Page 95 by Mordechai Nisan
  14. ^ The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status - Page 41 by Nissim Dana
  15. ^ Encyclopaedic Survey of Islamic Culture - Page 94 by Mohamed Taher
  16. S2CID 201807131
    .
  17. ISBN 9780691134840
    .
  18. ISBN 9780030525964
    .
  19. ISBN 0-87743-190-6
    .
  20. ^ Cole, Juan (1982). "The Concept of Manifestation in the Baháʼí Writings". Études Baháʼí Studies. monograph 9. Ottawa: Canadian Association for Studies on the Baháʼí Faith: 1–38. Retrieved 2020-10-11 – via Bahá'í Library Online.
  21. ISBN 0-87743-264-3
    .
  22. ISBN 978-0-19-517398-7
  23. ISBN 978-0-521-85942-4
    .
  24. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8
    .
  25. ISBN 978-0-415-18715-2
    .
  26. ^ Tulku Thondup (2011) Incarnation: The History and Mysticism of the Tulku Tradition of Tibet. Boston: Shambhala.
  27. ISBN 978-1-139-47206-7
    .
  28. ^ a b c Monier Monier-Williams (1923). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 90.
  29. ^ Sheth 2002, p. 98.
  30. ^
    ISBN 978-1-349-08642-9
    .
  31. ISBN 978-81-208-0170-7
    .
  32. ^ a b Paul Hacker 1978, pp. 415–417.
  33. ^
    ISBN 0-8239-2287-1
    , pages 72-73
  34. ^ a b Sheth 2002, pp. 98–99.
  35. ^ Paul Hacker 1978, pp. 405–409.
  36. ^ Paul Hacker 1978, pp. 424, also 405-409, 414–417.
  37. ISBN 0-8239-2287-1
    , page 635
  38. ISBN 978-981-230-754-5
    .
  39. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5
    .
  40. ^ Sheth 2002, pp. 107–109.
  41. ISBN 978-0-7007-1281-6
    .
  42. ISBN 978-90-420-0897-7
    , p. 111.
  43. ^ a b Sheth 2002, p. 108.
  44. ^ Sheth 2002, p. 99.
  45. ^
    ISBN 2-7236-0868-9
  46. ^ (in French) Thaiw, Issa Laye, « La religiosité des Seereer, avant et pendant leur islamisation », in Éthiopiques, no. 54, volume 7, 2e semestre 1991 [1] Archived 2019-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ISBN 2-7236-0877-8

Bibliography

External links
Look up incarnation or incarnate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Incarnation.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Incarnation&oldid=1217814388"