theosophy

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But the majority of Gnostic undertakings may also be viewed as attempts to transform Christianity into a theosophy, that is, into a revealed metaphysic and philosophy of history, with a complete disregard of the Jewish Old Testament soil on which it originated, through the use of Pauline ideas,[306] and under the influence of the Platonic spirit.

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Definitions (5)

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  1. noun Religious philosophy or speculation about the nature of the soul based on mystical insight into the nature of God.
  2. noun The system of beliefs and teachings of the Theosophical Society, founded in New York City in 1875, incorporating aspects of Buddhism and Brahmanism, especially the belief in reincarnation and spiritual evolution.

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Examples (50)

  • To this 'theosophy' Julius adds a few comments, evidently of later origin, which show that he has now become aware of its intellectual inadequacy. —  The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller
  • It was well-furnished, showed a television set, a portable radio and a surprisingly well-filled bookcase containing, Dame Beatrice noted, works on spiritualism, theosophy, poltergeists, cookery and gardening. —  Spotted Hemlock - Gladys Mitchell - Bradley 31: 1958
  • There have been other attempts to do this - theosophy and Bahai in some ways too.
  • Only a moderate power of perception was needed to understand what dangers for the official hierarchy lurked in the ideas of these enthusiasts who claimed to derive divine wisdom from a source so different to that of which the Ulemas believed themselves to be the sole dispensers It is true that Arab mysticism had never taken such a bold flight as Persian theosophy, which proclaimed openly a Pantheistic system, in which the authority of the books revealed to different prophets was displaced by a poetic belief. —  Mystics and Saints of Islam
  • "[172] In the language of theosophy, this means: He who has overcome the animal soul, shall, by mystic Communion, be united to the divine soul, which, in the Apocalypse_, is the symbol of the Christ I, Jesus, am the bright and morning star. —  Reincarnation A Study in Human Evolution
 

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Medieval Latin theosophia, from Late Greek theosophiā : Greek theo-, theo- + Greek sophiā, wisdom.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French théosophie, from LGr. θεοσοφία, knowledge of things divine, wisdom concerning God, from θεόσοφος, wise in things concerning God: see theosoph.
 

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/θəˈɑsəfi/
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