The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (355 page)

Batuque
:

see
AFRO-BRAZILIAN CULTS
.

 
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Baugs
(places for worship)
:

see
PARSIS
.

 
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(Bengali, ‘mad’). In India a kind of minstrel, mystic, and/or adept in esoteric practice, as well as a category of ‘folk-song’ composed and sung by such people. Those called ‘B
ul’ belong to the Bengali-speaking region of S. Asia: W. Bengal (India) and Bangladesh.
‘B
uls’ are to be found among both Hindus and Muslims, and some B
ul lineages recruit from both these communities.
One meaning of the word ‘b
ul’ is ‘mad’, and B
uls are associated with madness in part through their liminal status. Their challenge to and partial transcendence of conventional structures and boundaries has caused them to be both extolled and vilified.
Most of their practices are esoteric (often classified as T
ntric) and are centred on the human body, almost invariably in conjunction with a partner of the opposite sex.

 
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(1792–1860).
German Protestant theologian, who was Professor of Theology at Tübingen from 1826 to his death, and founded the ‘
Tübingen school
’. Influenced by F. D. E.
Schleiermacher
and by G. W. F.
Hegel's
understanding of history, he saw conflict and synthesis as the key to understanding early Christianity. So, e.g. in his controversial work on Paul (1845; Eng. tr. 1873–5), he held that only the letters reflecting his lifelong opposition to the older disciples (viz., Galatians, 1–2 Corinthians, Romans) were authentic. He applied similar historical criticism to the development of Christian doctrines, especially the
atonement
,
Trinity
, and
incarnation
.