Faust and the new idolaters: Reflections on shirk |
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Authors: | Shabbir Akhtar |
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Affiliation: | Muslim philosopher and writer , 64 Nearcliffe Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD9 5AU, UK |
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Abstract: | We are accustomed to hearing that modern secularized humanity rejects the sovereignty of God in favour of inferior, purely human powers and realities. Yet this new idolatory (shirk) is typically unintentional. It is not identical in character to the intentional idolatry of a Faust who consciously repudiates God for the sake of a purely natural or human ideal. There are minimal conditions for (successfully) committing the sin of idolatry; and the central one is potentially conscious belief in the true divinity. Can one meaningfully accuse the modern rejector of idolatry, given that he rejects the very outlook presupposed by the accusation? |
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