Category Archives: Intellectual, Religious, or Cultural Tradition
THICH NHAT HANH
(1926- )
from Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire: In Search of the Enemy of Man
Thich Nhat Hanh, a scholar in the field of philosophy of religion and an internationally revered figure of Zen Buddhism, was born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in Vietnam in 1926. (The word “Thich” [pronounced tick] is not a title, but … Continue reading
Filed under Asia, Buddhism, Hanh, Thich Nhat, Selections, The Modern Era
MURTAZA MUTAHHARI
(1920-1979)
The Martyr: On Jihad, Suicide, and Martyrdom
Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari (also spelled Morteza Motahhari or Motah-hary), a traditional Shi’ite mujtahid and scholar influential in the Islamic Revolution of Iran (1978–79), was born in a small town in the province of Khorasan, Iran, and studied at the … Continue reading
Filed under Islam, Middle East, Mutahhari, Murtaza, Selections, The Modern Era
JAPANESE NAVAL SPECIAL ATTACK FORCE (KAMIKAZE CORPS)
(b. 1920s, d. 1944-1945)
Kamikaze Diaries
Last Letters Home
In October 1944, toward the end of World War II, as it was becoming clear to the Japanese command that American aircraft carriers massing at the mouth of Leyte Gulf represented a serious threat, the new commander of Japanese … Continue reading
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
(1906–1945)
from Ethics: The Last Things and the Things Before the Last
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian, was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), the son of a famous psychiatrist. From 1923 to 1927, Bonhoeffer studied theology at the universities of Berlin and Tübingen. He also studied under Reinhold … Continue reading
Filed under Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Christianity, Europe, Selections, Sin, The Modern Era
PAUL-LOUIS LANDSBERG
(1901-1944)
from The Moral Problem of Suicide
Paul-Louis (also known as Paul-Ludwig) Landsberg was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1901 to a prominent family. Landsberg became a professor of philosophy at the University of Bonn in 1928. He wrote several works on anthropology and German philosophy, … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Europe, Landsberg, Paul-Louis, Martyrdom, Selections, Sin, Stoicism, The Modern Era
SZMUL ZYGIELBOJM
(1895-1943)
Letter to the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Szmul Zygielbojm was born in a village in what is now Poland, then part of the Russian empire. At the age of 10, he left school and began working in a factory. As a young man, he became involved … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Judaism, Selections, The Modern Era, Zygielbojm, Szmul
PAUL TILLICH
(1886-1965)
from The Courage to Be
Paul Tillich was a German-American theologian whose work helped to revolutionize Protestant theology in light of a philosophical analysis of existence. Born in a small Prussian town, the son of an authoritarian Lutheran minister, Tillich attended universities in Berlin, … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Europe, Existentialism, Protestantism, Selections, The Modern Era, Tillich, Paul
MOHANDAS K. GANDHI
(1869-1948)
from Indian Home Rule
from An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth
from Non-Violence in Peace and War
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (often called “Mahatma,” or “great soul”), the Indian nationalist and advocate of non-violence, was born in Porbandar to the local chief minister and a mother who was an active disciple of Vaishnavism, the worship of the … Continue reading
Filed under Asia, Gandhi, Mohandas K., Hinduism, Selections, The Modern Era
HINDU WIDOW
(c. 1889)
The Plight of Hindu Widows as Described by a Widow Herself
This anonymous selection was originally published in the Methodist Church Missionary Society’s magazine The Gospel in All Lands in April of 1889. Little is known about its author or its exact date of composition, except that the author, “a … Continue reading
Filed under Asia, Hindu Widow, anonymous, Hinduism, Honor and Disgrace, Love, Selections, Slavery, The Modern Era
DINKA
#23 Burial Alive: The Master of the Fishing-Spear
When a master of the fishing-spear has fallen sick and is becoming weak, he will call all his people and tell them to bring his whole camp (tribe or subtribe) to his home to bury him whilst he lives. His … Continue reading