The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2689 page)
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Authors: John Bowker
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Wei Hua-tsun
(founder of Tao-chiao movement):
(founder of Tao-chiao movement):
Weil, Simone
(1909–43)
. Religious philosopher of intense personal commitment. Born into a non-practising Jewish family, she taught in various French schools between 1931 and 1937, while at the same time being politically active on behalf of the humiliated—all whom she identified as exploited, such as factory-workers, peasants, and the colonized, or, historically, the Provençal
Cathars
. In 1934–5 she worked in a factory, and in 1936 worked in the front line in the Spanish Civil War as a cook. Out of these experiences came her early appeals, not simply for greater justice in the distribution of power in relation to work, but for the transformation of the process of work in the direction of its humanization. In 1942, she left France to join the Free French in England. Here she became deeply and dialectically involved in Catholic Christianity. She was never baptized (for that reason she has been called
‘a Saint outside the Church’
) and remained fiercely critical of the hierarchical organization of Christianity.
In all religions (and outside them) the awareness of God is possible and has left its mark. The mark of truth is goodness.
. Religious philosopher of intense personal commitment. Born into a non-practising Jewish family, she taught in various French schools between 1931 and 1937, while at the same time being politically active on behalf of the humiliated—all whom she identified as exploited, such as factory-workers, peasants, and the colonized, or, historically, the Provençal
Cathars
. In 1934–5 she worked in a factory, and in 1936 worked in the front line in the Spanish Civil War as a cook. Out of these experiences came her early appeals, not simply for greater justice in the distribution of power in relation to work, but for the transformation of the process of work in the direction of its humanization. In 1942, she left France to join the Free French in England. Here she became deeply and dialectically involved in Catholic Christianity. She was never baptized (for that reason she has been called
‘a Saint outside the Church’
) and remained fiercely critical of the hierarchical organization of Christianity.
In all religions (and outside them) the awareness of God is possible and has left its mark. The mark of truth is goodness.
Wei P’o-yang
or Pai-yang
or Pai-yang
(2nd cent. CE)
. Foundation figure in religious
Taoism
(
taochiao
), who attempted to unify the practices of
alchemy
with Taoist philosophy and
I Ching
. His major work,
Chou-i ts’an-t’ung-ch’i
(very roughly, the unifying and harmonizing of the three ways, Lao-Tzu, and
I Ching
) aims to show how life can be prolonged and the cosmic forces brought into harmony and balance.
. Foundation figure in religious
Taoism
(
taochiao
), who attempted to unify the practices of
alchemy
with Taoist philosophy and
I Ching
. His major work,
Chou-i ts’an-t’ung-ch’i
(very roughly, the unifying and harmonizing of the three ways, Lao-Tzu, and
I Ching
) aims to show how life can be prolonged and the cosmic forces brought into harmony and balance.
Wei-t’o
.
.
Chinese general, regarded by Buddhists as the guardian of the South. He wears a helmet and holds a
vajra
, with which he destroys opponents of the
Buddha's
teaching.
vajra
, with which he destroys opponents of the
Buddha's
teaching.
Wellhausen, Julius
(1844–1918)
. German biblical critic. Wellhausen put forward the theory in his
Die Composition des Hexateuchs
(1887) that the
Pentateuch
was compiled from four separate sources. Although his views were to a great extent accepted by most modern biblical scholars, they remained anathema to
Orthodox
Jews and to those Christians who maintain the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.
. German biblical critic. Wellhausen put forward the theory in his
Die Composition des Hexateuchs
(1887) that the
Pentateuch
was compiled from four separate sources. Although his views were to a great extent accepted by most modern biblical scholars, they remained anathema to
Orthodox
Jews and to those Christians who maintain the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.
Wenceslas, St
(
c.
907–29)
. Bohemian prince and
martyr
. The son of Duke Wratislaw and Drahomira, he was brought up a Christian by his grandmother, St Ludmilla. After his father's death, he took over the government from his mother in
c.
922. In pursuit of the religious and cultural improvement of his people he formed friendly links with Germany. This, and pagan opposition to him, led to his murder by his brother Boleslav. He was soon venerated as a martyr, and by the end of the century had come to be regarded as the patron
saint
of Bohemia. The connection with the carol is one of imagination, not fact.
c.
907–29)
. Bohemian prince and
martyr
. The son of Duke Wratislaw and Drahomira, he was brought up a Christian by his grandmother, St Ludmilla. After his father's death, he took over the government from his mother in
c.
922. In pursuit of the religious and cultural improvement of his people he formed friendly links with Germany. This, and pagan opposition to him, led to his murder by his brother Boleslav. He was soon venerated as a martyr, and by the end of the century had come to be regarded as the patron
saint
of Bohemia. The connection with the carol is one of imagination, not fact.
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