Abstract
This paper looks at the central concept of Islamic cosmology and then goes on to explain Sufism and why it should be viewed as a spiritual dimension of Islam. Furthermore, based on the research cited, the paper concludes that the emergence of Sufism is a natural development within the religion and a necessary revelation of Islamic faith.

From the Paper
"Nasr states categorically that Sufism is a part of the Islamic tradition that extends the spiritual and the ' esoteric' dimensions of the faith. "The truth and reality of the inner teachings of Islam became crystallized mostly in Sufism. Sufism therefore embodies more than any other facet of Islam the various aspects of Islamic spirituality". (Nasr, 1987. p 3) As such, Islamic Sufism also extends and adds to the understanding of the essential cosmological elements that characterize Islam. Sufism is related to these cosmological aspects as an extension and a deepening of the spirituality of Islam."

Tags:tasawwuf, mystical, esoteric, spirituality, cosmological, elements, muhammad, absolute, relative

Abstract
This paper discusses Dine cosmology and how it is structured. It describes Dine as a homology and shows how Dine holds that all elements derive from a common source. The paper discusses the roles of baskets, hooghans and textiles and then shows how they represent universal structures, elements, colors, numbers, shapes and forms within Dine belief.

From the Paper
"Without the strict binaries that characterize the cosmologies of other cultures, the Dine propose a more integrated vision of the universe. The breath of life permeates everything, and life is cyclical and eternal. Death means only a transition from one phase of life or one form of life to another. Upon death, the same basic elements of creation continue to characterize life and that individual. The number four is structural and represents not only the four elements of moisture, air, substance and heat but also the four cardinal directions and the movement of the sun throughout the year. Directionality and the compas points denote the sacred geography that characterizes the Navajoland and Dine cosmos. As a result, the hooghan is constructed with four main structural poles. Each pole corresponds to a direction with the entrance of the house always in the east. The poles create special sections within the hooghan that are also linked to sacred geography and directionality. A fifth pole flanks the doorway, demarcating the presence of the fifth element."

Tags:hooghan, elements, creation

Abstract
This paper critiques and analyzes Mary Douglas's major work, "Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology", and looks at the main thesis of the book, which revolves around the idea that rules of physical body turn into natural symbols for decoding the norms of the society.

From the Paper
"Douglas believes natural symbols play an important role in determining the nature of various social and religious rituals and practices. How we perceive a norm is connected with how we view bodily functions and vice versa. In this book, the author gives us an explanation of how our perception of human bodily functions is an extension of different social experiences."

Tags:cultural, nature, bodies, relations, pattern, meaning, beliefs, ideologies, identities

Abstract
This paper analyzes the life story of Muhammad according to the rites-of-passage model of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner, the relationship between the life story of Muhammad, and some of the key principles of Islamic cosmology and the ways in which Muhammad's life story might be linked to the cosmological traditions of the religions out of which Islam emerged.

From the Paper
"The rites-of-passage model, explained by Victor Turner, "indicate and constitute transitions between states" of "relatively fixed or stable conditions." This model contains three phases, pre-liminal, liminal, and post-liminal characterized by certain transitional traits: during the pre-liminal phase the individual or group "comprises symbolic behavior signifying detachment from an earlier fixed point in the social structure or a set of cultural conditions;" during the liminal phase "the state of the ritual subject is ambiguous; he passes through a realm that has few or none of the attributes of the past or coming state;" and during the post-liminal "the passage is consummated." "

Tags:islam, van, gennep, turner

Abstract
The paper discusses how the change from Aristotle's world view to Newton's ideas was slowed down by the religious backlash of the time and a lack of technology. The paper rhwn explains how the transition happened and relates that when the change occurred, it was perhaps the most dramatic shift in view that mankind has ever known. The paper points out that at the same time, every step along the way was logical and fit the standard scientific method almost perfectly.

From the Paper
"The Aristotelian world view was unique when compared to previous views of the universe because "it furnished a complete physical description of the universe and the forces acting within the universe" (Hetherington 177). His cosmology was a coherent chain of thought that was "closely interwoven" (Hetherington 177) with his version of physics. While his view of the cosmos managed to maintain for around two millennia, it was purely philosophical and did not provide any quantitative basis on which to make predictions for various observed phenomena, such as the retrograde movement of planets. For this reason, Ptolemy's astronomical work must also be included in the discussion of the Aristotelian world view, despite its contradictions with Aristotle's claims."

Tags:Galileo, Copernicus, religion, technology, laws, of, motion

Abstract
Discusses Dante's use of astronomy and astrology to explain the cosmos, the themes in his epic poem "The Divine Comedy", which includes "Inferno," "Purgatorio," "Paradisio" and the view of Earth as the center of he universe.

From the Paper
"Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was the author of several important works that Harold Bloom (p. 7) considers to be essential in the Western Canon of literature. A man interested in many different topics, ranging from love and ..."

From the Paper
"Cosmology and the Big Bang Theory

Overview
Since the beginning of human history, there have been questions about where the "stuff" that composes our universe comes from. In cosmology, the study of the origin and evolution of the universe, theories are put forward to explain the known facts and assumptions about the stars and everything we know and sense.
There are "steady state" theories that propose that everything in the universe is pretty much the way it always has been. The steady state theory posits that the universe is contained within a "closed" system, and so the assumption could be made that the universe extends for a vast though finite distance in all directions. However, in 1823 a German cosmologist named Wilhelm Olbers asked the question, "Why is the sky dark at night?" Olbers ..."

Abstract
A reflection upon the absence of meaning in the modern world in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001. It will be argued, through an analysis of three different texts in the crucible of personal experience, that the key element in all three is the human capacity to create myth. In this analysis, the central myths of human experience will be seen to revolve around the act of sacrifice, and the most profound sacrifice is one made for love.

Abstract
This paper explores some theories about the beginning of the universe and focuses on the Big Bang Theory. It explains that depending on whose research you follow, the universe could be anywhere from 9.5 billion to a few trillion years old. This paper introduces and discusses the Big Bang Theory, explaining how, according to the theory, the universe came in being. It then discusses the Redshift critique of the theory.

From the Paper
"In 1929, Edwin Hubble decided that because the light coming from most galaxies was redshifted, the universe must be expanding after exploding from an infinitesimal volume of superhot, superdense concentration of matter and energy. The explosion is called the big bang which propelled matter in all directions and at all speeds. According to the big bang theory, the farther away an object is from us, the more redshifted its light. Also, a greater redshift means the object is moving away faster than objects with less redshift. If the universe is not expanding, this cannot be true and the redshift must be due to other causes. An astronomer can tell how old the universe is by the rate of expansion. If the redshift is due to something other than expansion, nothing can be said about the universe's age. The old paradigm of a steady state universe suggests that the universe is a closed system, with matter and energy in a constant flux."

Tags:redshift, energy, matter, space, hubble

Abstract
The paper discusses cosmology as the locus of human experience and looks at the ways in which Western thought constructs the context for the experience.

From the Paper
"Philosophers, astronomers, astrologers, theologians and poets have all been concerned with the nature of the universe and mankind's place in it. Their responses have ranged from learned discourse to charting the heavens to constructing elaborate rituals meant to affect behavior of the environment to a search for a mode of questioning and answering. As a study of the world, cosmology is an arena of metaphysics that aims to identify the contextual reality of human experience to locate and understand its environment as far as is possible. In a..."

Tags:time, space, memory, future, unitary essence, cosmology