Antiquity
135-576: The Serpent Crown is a fictional mystical power object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . It was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Marie Severin , and first appeared in Sub-Mariner #9 (January 1969). In the comic books, the Serpent Crown object is depicted as a crown that resembles a coiled, seven-headed serpent . It is made of an unknown material. The similarity
270-492: A form of prayer distinguished from discursive meditation in both East and West. This threefold meaning of "mystical" continued in the Middle Ages . According to Dan Merkur, the term unio mystica came into use in the 13th century as a synonym for the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence." Mysticism
405-510: A futurist and transhumanist , stated in his book The Singularity Is Near that he believes that advanced medical nanorobotics could completely remedy the effects of aging by 2030. According to Richard Feynman , it was his former graduate student and collaborator Albert Hibbs who originally suggested to him (circa 1959) the idea of a medical use for Feynman's theoretical micromachines (see biological machine ). Hibbs suggested that certain repair machines might one day be reduced in size to
540-476: A "cap" at the end of DNA, are thought to be the cause of cell aging. Every time a cell divides the telomere becomes a bit shorter; when it is finally worn down, the cell is unable to split and dies. Telomerase is an enzyme which rebuilds the telomeres in stem cells and cancer cells, allowing them to replicate an infinite number of times. No definitive work has yet demonstrated that telomerase can be used in human somatic cells to prevent healthy tissues from aging. On
675-648: A broad spectrum of religious traditions, in which all sorts of esotericism , religious traditions, and practices are joined together. The term mysticism was extended to comparable phenomena in non-Christian religions, where it influenced Hindu and Buddhist responses to colonialism, resulting in Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism . In the contemporary usage "mysticism" has become an umbrella term for all sorts of non-rational world views, parapsychology and pseudoscience. William Harmless even states that mysticism has become "a catch-all for religious weirdness". Within
810-436: A computer system, and exist indefinitely in a virtual environment. This could be accomplished via advanced cybernetics, where computer hardware would initially be installed in the brain to help sort memory or accelerate thought processes. Components would be added gradually until the person's entire brain functions were handled by artificial devices, avoiding sharp transitions that would lead to issues of identity , thus running
945-438: A continuous physical life is to be maintained. This aversion to trauma risk to the brain would naturally result in significant behavioral changes that would render physical immortality undesirable for some people. Organisms otherwise unaffected by these causes of death would still face the problem of obtaining sustenance (whether from currently available agricultural processes or from hypothetical future technological processes) in
1080-466: A copy of the original mind, and not the conscious mind of the living entity associated in such a transfer. Without a simultaneous upload of consciousness, the original living entity remains mortal, thus not achieving true immortality. Research on neural correlates of consciousness is yet inconclusive on this issue. Whatever the route to mind upload, persons in this state could then be considered essentially immortal, short of loss or traumatic destruction of
1215-591: A cyborg. Some people believe that such modifications would make one impervious to aging and disease and theoretically immortal unless killed or destroyed. As late as 1952, the editorial staff of the Syntopicon found in their compilation of the Great Books of the Western World , that "The philosophical issue concerning immortality cannot be separated from issues concerning the existence and nature of man's soul." Thus,
1350-425: A form of mysticism, in which the world of spirits is accessed through religious ecstasy . According to Mircea Eliade shamanism is a "technique of religious ecstasy ". Shamanism involves a practitioner reaching an altered state of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with spirits, and channel transcendental energies into this world. A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in,
1485-416: A future physical resurrection ), proclaims an amalgamated view of resurrected believers where both the physical and the spiritual are rebuilt in the likeness of post-resurrection Christ, who "will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (ESV). This thought mirrors Paul's depiction of believers having been "buried therefore with him [that is, Christ] by baptism into death" (ESV). N.T. Wright ,
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#17328521857221620-514: A great influence on medieval monastic religiosity, although it was mostly a male religiosity, since women were not allowed to study. It was influenced by Neo-Platonism , and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology . In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology". In the 1400s, leading theologian Jean Gerson wrote several books on "mystical theology" which
1755-637: A living, breathing conscious body, rather than to an immortal soul. In the New Testament, the Greek word traditionally translated "soul" ( ψυχή ) has substantially the same meaning as the Hebrew, without reference to an immortal soul. "Soul" may refer either to the whole person, the self, as in "three thousand souls " were converted in Acts 2:41 (see Acts 3:23 ). The Hebrew Bible speaks about Sheol (שאול), originally
1890-510: A manifestation of Namor's guilt and inadequacy, would attempt to influence his host to take more extreme action, culminating in a plot to turn all surface dwellers into Atlanteans. Machan would give private orders to the Atlantean king's troops behind his liege's back, blocking out Namor's memory of the incidents afterwards. One such order was the acquisition of the Serpent Crown, under the pretext of using it to protect Namor's damaged mind. Namor uses
2025-402: A nanorobotics theorist, suggests tiny medical nanorobots could be created to go through human bloodstreams, find dangerous things like cancer cells and bacteria, and destroy them. Freitas anticipates that gene-therapies and nanotechnology will eventually make the human body effectively self-sustainable and capable of living indefinitely in empty space, short of severe brain trauma. This supports
2160-479: A new creation" , he said. Christian apocrypha include immortal human figures such as Cartaphilus who were cursed with physical immortality for various transgressions against Christ during the Passion. The medieval Waldensians believed in the immortality of the soul. Leaders of sects such as John Asgill and John Wroe taught followers that physical immortality was possible. Many Patristic writers have connected
2295-442: A phenomenological de-emphasis, blurring, or eradication of multiplicity, where the cognitive significance of the experience is deemed to lie precisely in that phenomenological feature". Mysticism involves an explanatory context, which provides meaning for mystical and visionary experiences, and related experiences like trances. According to Dan Merkur, mysticism may relate to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness, and
2430-443: A religious framework. Ann Taves asks by which processes experiences are set apart and deemed religious or mystical. Some authors emphasize that mystical experience involves intuitive understanding of the meaning of existence and of hidden truths, and the resolution of life problems. According to Larson, "mystical experience is an intuitive understanding and realization of the meaning of existence." According to McClenon, mysticism
2565-525: A sense of unity, but of nothingness , such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart . According to Merkur, Kabbala and Buddhism also emphasize nothingness . Blakemore and Jennett note that "definitions of mysticism [...] are often imprecise." They further note that this kind of interpretation and definition is a recent development which has become the standard definition and understanding. According to Gelman, "A unitive experience involves
2700-451: A solution to each of these causes, a program de Grey calls engineered negligible senescence . There is also a huge body of knowledge indicating that change is characterized by the loss of molecular fidelity. Disease is theoretically surmountable by technology. In short, it is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism, something the body should not typically have to deal with its natural make up. Human understanding of genetics
2835-454: A spirit world, and is associated with New Age practices. Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess ' biological immortality ' due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit . Some scientists, futurists and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immortality may be achievable in
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#17328521857222970-462: A subject of research and debate. Programmed cell death and the telomere "end replication problem" are found even in the earliest and simplest of organisms. This may be a tradeoff between selecting for cancer and selecting for aging. Modern theories on the evolution of aging include the following: Individual organisms ordinarily age and die, while the germlines which connect successive generations are potentially immortal. The basis for this difference
3105-637: A synonym of the grave – the repository of the dead or the cessation of existence, until the resurrection of the dead . This doctrine of resurrection is mentioned explicitly only in Daniel 12:1–4 although it may be implied in several other texts. New theories arose concerning Sheol during the intertestamental period . The views about immortality in Judaism is perhaps best exemplified by the various references to this in Second Temple period . The concept of resurrection of
3240-485: A theologian and former Bishop of Durham , has said many people forget the physical aspect of what Jesus promised. He told Time : "Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return . Part of this will be the resurrection of all the dead , who will 'awake', be embodied and participate in the renewal. Wright says John Polkinghorne , a physicist and a priest, has put it this way: 'God will download our software onto his hardware until
3375-541: A transcendental reality. An influential proponent of this understanding was William James (1842–1910), who stated that "in mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness." William James popularized this use of the term "religious experience" in his The Varieties of Religious Experience , contributing to the interpretation of mysticism as a distinctive experience, comparable to sensory experiences. Religious experiences belonged to
3510-408: Is "the doctrine that special mental states or events allow an understanding of ultimate truths." According to James R. Horne, mystical illumination is "a central visionary experience [...] that results in the resolution of a personal or religious problem." According to Evelyn Underhill, illumination is a generic English term for the phenomenon of mysticism. The term illumination is derived from
3645-415: Is a fundamental problem in biology. The Russian biologist and historian Zhores A. Medvedev considered that the accuracy of genome replicative and other synthetic systems alone cannot explain the immortality of germlines . Rather Medvedev thought that known features of the biochemistry and genetics of sexual reproduction indicate the presence of unique information maintenance and restoration processes at
3780-408: Is a reference to the malevolent seven-headed exiled serpent demon/ god "Set" to whom the crown holds a mystical link from which it draws its powers. Those powers confer various abilities on the wearer. These abilities can include superhuman strength, the power to read and control the minds of others, the power to levitate oneself and/or other persons and objects , the ability to cast illusions ,
3915-511: Is a state of life that allows a person to avoid death and maintain conscious thought. It can mean the unending existence of a person from a physical source other than organic life, such as a computer. Pursuit of physical immortality before the advent of modern science included alchemists , who sought to create the Philosopher's Stone , and various cultures' legends such as the Fountain of Youth or
4050-406: Is also a state that the gods at times offer humans. In Christianity , the conviction that God may offer physical immortality with the resurrection of the flesh at the end of time has traditionally been at the center of its beliefs. What form an unending human life would take, or whether an immaterial soul exists and possesses immortality, has been a major point of focus of religion, as well as
4185-686: Is attributed in a religious way, mysticism as "enlightenment" or insight, and mysticism as a way of transformation, "mysticism" can be found in many cultures and religious traditions, both in folk religion and organized religion . These traditions include practices to induce religious or mystical experiences, but also ethical standards and practices to enhance self-control and integrate the mystical experience into daily life. Dan Merkur notes, though, that mystical practices are often separated from daily religious practices, and restricted to "religious specialists like monastics, priests, and other renunciates . According to Dan Merkur, shamanism may be regarded as
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4320-519: Is gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say, 'Why, this is what we were fed with before,' for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein forever." In contrast, the kafir hold the contradictory notion that they abide in Jahannam perpetually. Angels in Islam are reckoned as immortals from
4455-455: Is given a long life but not immortality or there is more than a little argument stated about the demise of khidr ; however, it is the matter of debate, and there is a fabrication point that goes around the Khidr drank from the fountain of Life , which is thoroughly invalid. Jesus in Islam was summoned to the sky by Allah's sanction to preserve him from the cross and endow him with long life until
4590-449: Is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences. The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings. Derived from the Greek word μύω múō , meaning "to close" or "to conceal", mysticism came to refer to
4725-521: Is human transformation, not just experiencing mystical or visionary states. According to McGinn, personal transformation is the essential criterion to determine the authenticity of Christian mysticism. In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals like the Eleusinian Mysteries . The use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. A "mystikos"
4860-433: Is indeed possible for a creature to be biologically immortal , these are animals which are physiologically very different from humans, and it is not known if something comparable will ever be possible for humans. Immortality in religion refers usually to either the belief in physical immortality or a more spiritual afterlife . In traditions such as ancient Egyptian beliefs, Mesopotamian beliefs and ancient Greek beliefs,
4995-731: Is leading to cures and treatments for a myriad of previously incurable diseases. The mechanisms by which other diseases do damage are becoming better understood. Sophisticated methods of detecting diseases early are being developed. Preventative medicine is becoming better understood. Neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's may soon be curable with the use of stem cells . Breakthroughs in cell biology and telomere research are leading to treatments for cancer. Vaccines are being researched for AIDS and tuberculosis . Genes associated with type 1 diabetes and certain types of cancer have been discovered, allowing for new therapies to be developed. Artificial devices attached directly to
5130-415: Is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities." According to Peter Moore, the term "mysticism" is "problematic but indispensable". It is a generic term which joins together into one concept separate practices and ideas which developed separately. According to Dupré, "mysticism" has been defined in many ways, and Merkur notes that the definition, or meaning, of the term "mysticism" has changed through
5265-488: Is more accurate than "union", since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. He also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about "new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts." However,
5400-604: Is now "largely dismissed by scholars", most scholars using a contextualist approach, which considers the cultural and historical context. "Mysticism" is derived from the Greek μύω , meaning "I conceal", and its derivative μυστικός , mystikos , meaning 'an initiate'. The verb μύω has received a quite different meaning in the Greek language, where it is still in use. The primary meanings it has are "induct" and "initiate". Secondary meanings include "introduce", "make someone aware of something", "train", "familiarize", "give first experience of something". The related form of
5535-452: Is popularly known as union with God or the Absolute. In the 13th century the term unio mystica came to be used to refer to the "spiritual marriage", the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God's omnipresence in the world and God in his essence." In the 19th century, under the influence of Romanticism, this "union" was interpreted as a "religious experience", which provides certainty about God or
Serpent Crown - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-619: Is set in contemporary times — various subsequent stories expanded and developed its earlier history in the Marvel Universe. In the prehistory of the Marvel Universe Earth, Set exiled himself from Earth's dimension and used his influence to spawn a race of humanoid , sentient reptilian beings that became known as the Serpent Men . The Serpent Men are depicted as a race that devoutly worships Set and are in constant conflict with
5805-618: Is to be used to facilitate Set’s return to Earth. Before this happens, however, several superheroes, including Doctor Strange , Spider-Man , the Thing, and the Scarlet Witch intervene to once again disrupt Set's plans. The superheroes use the Cosmic Cube to destroy the massive Crown and reduce it to metallic dust, and Strange casts a spell exorcising Set from the Earth dimension forever. However, with
5940-419: Is warranted in exploiting this property, as exactly this same unbounded growth is a crucial step in enabling cancerous growth. If an organism can replicate its body cells faster, then it would theoretically stop aging. Embryonic stem cells express telomerase, which allows them to divide repeatedly and form the individual. In adults, telomerase is highly expressed in cells that need to divide regularly (e.g., in
6075-667: The Dead Sea scrolls texts. Both Josephus and the New Testament record that the Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife , but the sources vary on the beliefs of the Pharisees . The New Testament claims that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but does not specify whether this included the flesh or not. According to Josephus , who himself was a Pharisee, the Pharisees held that only
6210-505: The Living Laser . The original Crown native to that Earth is then found by Hugh Jones, who is still under Set's control. Jones also manages to locate and retrieve the second, alternate universe Serpent Crown, which he mystically merges with the original Crown to create a new Serpent Crown, identical in appearance to the others, though now possessing the combined power of the original two Crowns. Using this power, Jones then takes control of
6345-515: The Peaches of Immortality inspiring attempts at discovering an elixir of life . Modern scientific trends, such as cryonics , digital immortality , breakthroughs in rejuvenation , or predictions of an impending technological singularity , to achieve genuine human physical immortality, must still overcome all causes of death to succeed. There are three main causes of death: natural aging , disease , and injury . Such issues can be resolved with
6480-455: The human race . As human societies developed, the Serpent Men began to falter and eventually their race dwindled when King Kull became ruler of Valusia and launched a campaign against them. Five centuries after the time of Kull, their numbers dwindling even further, a group of Serpent Men ally themselves with some human alchemists from Deviant -dominated pre-cataclysmic Lemuria to create
6615-583: The nervous system may restore sight to the blind. Drugs are being developed to treat a myriad of other diseases and ailments. Physical trauma would remain as a threat to perpetual physical life, as an otherwise immortal person would still be subject to unforeseen accidents or catastrophes. The speed and quality of paramedic response remains a determining factor in surviving severe trauma. A body that could automatically repair itself from severe trauma, such as speculated uses for nanotechnology , would mitigate this factor. The brain cannot be risked to trauma if
6750-447: The "Ancients". This civilization goes on to develop telepathic powers and, though they use the Crown for various purposes, they manage to largely escape Set's dominance by encasing the helmet in an unknown substance which for a time prevents Set from controlling those around it. However, the malignant influence of Set eventually manifested itself, with Piscatos finally becoming a follower of
6885-453: The "Atlantean" Homo mermanus who settled in the sunken Atlantis) eventually uncover the Serpent Crown in the ruins of the city. The emperor of the Lemurians, Naga , dons the crown and quickly came under the influence of Set. Naga's physical appearance is changed from exposure to the crown, his facial features coming to resemble those of a snake and his skin becoming scale-like and green (from
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#17328521857227020-403: The "personal religion", which he considered to be "more fundamental than either theology or ecclesiasticism". He gave a Perennialist interpretation to religious experience, stating that this kind of experience is ultimately uniform in various traditions. McGinn notes that the term unio mystica , although it has Christian origins, is primarily a modern expression. McGinn argues that "presence"
7155-455: The Absolute, the Infinite, or God—and thereby the perception of its essential unity or oneness—was claimed to be genuinely mystical. The historical evidence, however, does not support such a narrow conception of mysticism. Under the influence of Perennialism , which was popularised in both the west and the east by Unitarianism , Transcendentalists , and Theosophy , mysticism has been applied to
7290-551: The Ancient's equipment to place himself in suspended animation . Destine emerged from this state decades later, his powers further increased during his period in stasis. The crown appears in its original form, worn by Lilia Calderu , queen of the Gypsies, during the time period when Destine is in suspended animation. The Crown next appears in disguised form as the "Helmet of Power." Calling himself "Destiny," Paul Destine seeks to take over
7425-420: The Crown and both Naga and the crown are cast into an undersea chasm and thought dead and destroyed. The Crown returns, having been recovered by the rebel Atlantean Warlord Krang , who delivered it to the superhuman criminal Viper . Viper, at this point leader of the original Serpent Squad , then kidnaps the president of Roxxon Oil , Hugh Jones , and places the Crown on his head. Jones immediately falls under
7560-477: The Crown and unleashes Giganto on both groups. Using a special sonic arrow, Hawkeye disables the Crown's control over Giganto, taking the former into Avengers custody. Mystical Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute , but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which
7695-593: The Divine as residing within human, an essence beyond the varieties of religious expressions. The 19th century saw a growing emphasis on individual experience, as a defense against the growing rationalism of western society. The meaning of mysticism was considerably narrowed: The competition between the perspectives of theology and science resulted in a compromise in which most varieties of what had traditionally been called mysticism were dismissed as merely psychological phenomena and only one variety, which aimed at union with
7830-490: The Earth dimension, as the spirit of the exiled god animates the Crown for a short while, before he was defeated by Thor , Quasar, Thing and Doctor Strange. The Crown itself was pushed into an underground crevice. Later, Ian McNee recovers the crown from Nagala. Nova is sent to Mars by Steve Rogers to investigate the halting of Roxxon Energy Corporation 's mining operations. While fleeing from unknown assailants, he flies into an artificial mountainside, where he discovers, at
7965-620: The Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. Until the sixth century, the Greek term theoria , meaning "contemplation" in Latin, was used for the mystical interpretation of the Bible and the vision of God. The link between mysticism and the vision of the Divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers , who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation. Theoria enabled
8100-693: The Fall , although this initial "imperishability of the bodily frame of man" was "a preternatural condition". Christians who profess the Nicene Creed believe that every dead person (whether they believed in Christ or not) will be resurrected from the dead at the Second Coming ; this belief is known as universal resurrection . Paul the Apostle , in following his past life as a Pharisee (a Jewish social movement that held to
8235-458: The Fathers to perceive depths of meaning in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical approach to interpretation. The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual. Later, theoria or contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with
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#17328521857228370-470: The Latin illuminatio , applied to Christian prayer in the 15th century. Comparable Asian terms are bodhi , kensho , and satori in Buddhism , commonly translated as "enlightenment" , and vipassana , which all point to cognitive processes of intuition and comprehension. Other authors point out that mysticism involves more than "mystical experience". According to Gellmann, the ultimate goal of mysticism
8505-405: The Serpent Crown (which is still disguised by its encasement in a protective substance). Calling it the "Helmet of Power" Destine puts the crown on his head and immediately received a vast increase of his latent psionic powers and was changed physically into a stronger and larger man than he had previously been. Destine, who is thought lost by the expedition which left without him, then uses some of
8640-639: The Serpent Crown for his own ends. Machan, now in Roman's body, would use the crown as a means of directly commanding the Atlantean Guard, rather than relying on Namor's authority. The Machan/Roman amalgam would use the crown to its fullest effect as the Invaders lay siege to the Atlantean device known as the Spear, a transmatter portal that siphons water from an all-aquatic world to Earth as heavy rain, threatening to drown
8775-464: The Serpent Crown, a device which gives them access to some of the enormous mystical power of their "god" Set. However, just as the alchemists and Serpent Men were about to exploit the power of the Crown, the Great Cataclysm occurred. This event was a worldwide natural disaster that brought about the sinking of both Atlantis and Lemuria and leads to the deaths of most of the surviving Serpent Men and
8910-546: The US government energy-research facility, Project: PEGASUS, for safe-keeping. The Crown began to exert Set's influence again at Project: PEGASUS, mind controlling the staff at the complex and eventually overpowering the wills of everyone who works there. These workers then set about transporting other Serpent Crowns from alternate dimensions to the Project, finally amassing 777 such crowns which are then merged to create one giant Crown, which
9045-524: The academic study of religion the apparent "unambiguous commonality" has become "opaque and controversial". The term "mysticism" is being used in different ways in different traditions. Some call to attention the conflation of mysticism and linked terms, such as spirituality and esotericism, and point at the differences between various traditions. Based on various definitions of mysticism, namely mysticism as an experience of union or nothingness, mysticism as any kind of an altered state of consciousness which
9180-506: The advanced industrial societies are already markedly longer than those of the past because of better nutrition, availability of health care, standard of living and bio-medical scientific advances. Technological immortality predicts further progress for the same reasons over the near term. An important aspect of current scientific thinking about immortality is that some combination of human cloning , cryonics or nanotechnology will play an essential role in extreme life extension. Robert Freitas ,
9315-572: The advent of the Dajjal . Dajjal is, additionally, given a long life. Jesus Christ dispatches the Dajjal as he stays after 40 days, one like a year, one like a month, one like a week, and the rest of his days like normal days. The Qur'an states that it is the ultimate fate of all life, including humans , to die eventually. كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ (Every soul will taste death) The traditional concept of an immaterial and immortal soul distinct from
9450-411: The ages. Moore further notes that the term "mysticism" has become a popular label for "anything nebulous, esoteric, occult, or supernatural". Parsons warns that "what might at times seem to be a straightforward phenomenon exhibiting an unambiguous commonality has become, at least within the academic study of religion, opaque and controversial on multiple levels". Because of its Christian overtones, and
9585-401: The aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God". This limited definition has been applied to a wide range of religious traditions and practices, valuing "mystical experience" as a key element of mysticism. Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the scientific research of "mystical experiences". The perennial position
9720-415: The allegorical interpretation of the bible, and condemned Mystical theology, which he saw as more Platonic than Christian. "The mystical", as the search for the hidden meaning of texts, became secularised, and also associated with literature, as opposed to science and prose. Science was also distinguished from religion. By the middle of the 17th century, "the mystical" is increasingly applied exclusively to
9855-503: The amount or proportion of telomerase in the body, a naturally forming enzyme that helps maintain the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes , could prevent cells from dying and so may ultimately lead to extended, healthier lifespans. A team of researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Centre ( Madrid ) tested the hypothesis on mice. It was found that those mice which were " genetically engineered to produce 10 times
9990-404: The biblical, liturgical (and sacramental), spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity . During the early modern period , the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind". In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning
10125-670: The body was not found in Judaism before the Babylonian exile , but developed as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophies . Accordingly, the Hebrew word nephesh , although translated as "soul" in some older English-language Bibles, actually has a meaning closer to "living being". Nephesh was rendered in the Septuagint as ψυχή ( psūchê ), the Greek word for 'soul'. The only Hebrew word traditionally translated "soul" ( nephesh ) in English language Bibles refers to
10260-577: The common blue of other Homo mermanus ). He converts the Lemurian people to the worship of Set and uses its power to gain immortality , ruling over his people for centuries. Through his prolonged use of the crown the skin color and texture of Lemuria's population also becomes green and scale-like over time. Naga's use of the crown came to an end when a rebel named Piscatos stole it from him as he slept. Piscatos and his allies then fled with it to Antarctica , where they develop their own civilization, now known as
10395-474: The creators yet. After defeating Destine, Namor takes the "Helmet of Power" to Atlantis. The power of the Crown manages to overcome the Ancient's protective casing, revealing its true form and allowing Set to once again convey its influence through it. This story is the first true, revealed appearance of the Crown, though it had appeared in a disguised form previously and some later appearances are set chronologically before this one. The Crown initially takes over
10530-479: The crown's powers to psychically conceal the fact that he is wearing it, allowing him to escape an ambush by the Invisible Woman . After another bloody incursion by Roxxon mercenaries, Namor finds himself growing more and more frustrated with Machan's subterfuge. The apparition reveals his true intentions by using the crown's power to transfer himself into the body of their shared ward, Roman Peterson, while taking
10665-402: The dead becomes known as βάκχος . Such initiates were believers in the god Dionysus Bacchus who took on the name of their god and sought an identification with their deity. Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio , c.q. theoria . According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the eye of love which
10800-455: The death of a certain individual, it will be arbitrated consistent with its beliefs as well as actions and will embark on the ever-lasting place where they will abate. The Muslim who holds the five pillars of Islam will make an entrance into the Jannah , where they will inhabit eternally. Al-Baqarah (2:25): "But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion
10935-491: The different stages of gametogenesis . In particular, Medvedev considered that the most important opportunities for information maintenance of germ cells are created by recombination during meiosis and DNA repair ; he saw these as processes within the germ cells that were capable of restoring the integrity of DNA and chromosomes from the types of damage that cause irreversible aging in somatic cells . Chemical Neurological Some scientists believe that boosting
11070-424: The entire structure in a computer. What level of detail such scans and simulations would need to achieve to emulate awareness, and whether the scanning process would destroy the brain, is still to be determined. It is suggested that achieving immortality through this mechanism would require specific consideration to be given to the role of consciousness in the functions of the mind . An uploaded mind would only be
11205-431: The existence of biologically immortal species demonstrates, there is no thermodynamic necessity for senescence: a defining feature of life is that it takes in free energy from the environment and unloads its entropy as waste. Living systems can even build themselves up from seed, and routinely repair themselves. Aging is therefore presumed to be a byproduct of evolution , but why mortality should be selected for remains
11340-418: The face of changing availability of suitable resources as environmental conditions change. After avoiding aging, disease, and trauma, death through resource limitation is still possible, such as hypoxia or starvation . If there is no limitation on the degree of gradual mitigation of risk then it is possible that the cumulative probability of death over an infinite horizon is less than certainty , even when
11475-417: The first few decades of the 21st century with the help of certain technologies such as mind uploading ( digital immortality ). Other advocates believe that life extension is a more achievable goal in the short term, with immortality awaiting further research breakthroughs. The absence of aging would provide humans with biological immortality, but not invulnerability to death by disease or injury . Whether
11610-440: The future after cures to the patients' diseases have been discovered and aging is reversible . Modern cryonics procedures use a process called vitrification which creates a glass-like state rather than freezing as the body is brought to low temperatures. This process reduces the risk of ice crystals damaging the cell-structure, which would be especially detrimental to cell structures in the brain, as their minute adjustment evokes
11745-414: The hidden wills of humans, but is more often used for the hidden will of God. Elsewhere in the Bible it takes the meaning of the mystic or hidden sense of things. It is used for the secrets behind sayings, names, or behind images seen in visions and dreams. The Vulgate often translates the Greek term to the Latin sacramentum ( sacrament ). The related noun μύστης (mustis or mystis, singular) means
11880-460: The idea of "union" does not work in all contexts. For example, in Advaita Vedanta, there is only one reality (Brahman) and therefore nothing other than reality to unite with it—Brahman in each person ( atman ) has always in fact been identical to Brahman all along. Dan Merkur also notes that union with God or the Absolute is a too limited definition, since there are also traditions which aim not at
12015-461: The ideas and explanations related to them. Parsons stresses the importance of distinguishing between temporary experiences and mysticism as a process, which is embodied within a "religious matrix" of texts and practices. Richard Jones does the same. Peter Moore notes that mystical experience may also happen in a spontaneous and natural way, to people who are not committed to any religious tradition. These experiences are not necessarily interpreted in
12150-458: The immortal gods consequently were considered to have physical bodies. In Mesopotamian and Greek religion, the gods also made certain men and women physically immortal, whereas in Christianity, many believe that all true believers will be resurrected to physical immortality. Similar beliefs that physical immortality is possible are held by Rastafarians or Rebirthers . Physical immortality
12285-477: The immortal rational soul to the image of God found in Genesis 1:26. Among them is Athanasius of Alexandria and Clement of Alexandria, who say that the immortal rational soul itself is the image of God. Even Early Christian Liturgies exhibit this connection between the immortal rational soul and the creation of humanity in the image of God. Islamic beliefs bears the concept of spiritual immortality within it; following
12420-408: The immune system), whereas most somatic cells express it only at very low levels in a cell-cycle dependent manner. Technological immortality is the prospect for much longer life spans made possible by scientific advances in a variety of fields: nanotechnology, emergency room procedures, genetics, biological engineering , regenerative medicine , microbiology , and others. Contemporary life spans in
12555-417: The individual's mind. One idea that has been advanced involves uploading an individual's habits and memories via direct mind-computer interface . The individual's memory may be loaded to a computer or to a new organic body. Extropian futurists like Moravec and Kurzweil have proposed that, thanks to exponentially growing computing power, it will someday be possible to upload human consciousness onto
12690-433: The initiate, the person initiated to the mysteries. According to Ana Jiménez San Cristobal in her study of Greco-Roman mysteries and Orphism , the singular form μύστης and the plural form μύσται are used in ancient Greek texts to mean the person or persons initiated to religious mysteries. These followers of mystery religions belonged to a select group, where access was only gained through an initiation. She finds that
12825-434: The institutional/historical, the intellectual/speculative, and the mystical/experiential. For Erasmus , mysticism subsisted in contemplating the deep secrets contained in the Bible, notably the startling personality of Christ. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century mysticism came to be used as a substantive. This shift was linked to a new discourse, in which science and religion were separated. Luther dismissed
12960-563: The lack of similar terms in other cultures, some scholars regard the term "mysticism" to be inadequate as a useful descriptive term. Other scholars regard the term to be an inauthentic fabrication, the "product of post-Enlightenment universalism". Richard Jones notes that "few classical mystics refer to their experiences as the union of two realities: there is no literal 'merging' or 'absorption' of one reality into another resulting in only one entity." He explicates mysticism with reference to one's mode of access in order to include both union of
13095-596: The loss of the Serpent Crown for centuries. A mystical object with many similarities to the Serpent Crown — the "Cobra Crown" — is shown to have existed during the Hyborian Age that followed the Great Cataclysm. A follower of Set called Thoth-Amon allies himself with some surviving Serpent Men and briefly wields this second Crown. Another receptacle of Set's vast power, the Cobra Crown also enables its wearer to control
13230-447: The machines that maintained them. Transforming a human into a cyborg can include brain implants or extracting a human processing unit and placing it in a robotic life-support system. Even replacing biological organs with robotic ones could increase life span (e.g. pace makers) and depending on the definition, many technological upgrades to the body, like genetic modifications or the addition of nanobots would qualify an individual as
13365-527: The mainstream Marvel Universe Earth travel to the Squadron Supreme's Earth and free many of that planet's people from the dominance of the Crown, during the course of which they briefly fell under its influence themselves. The Avengers then brought the Serpent Crown from that alternate world back with them to their own Earth, eventually losing it when it was dropped into the Pacific Ocean after a battle with
13500-675: The mental control of Set. At the conclusion of the storyline the police and Captain America interrupt the Squad's plan and the Crown is temporarily lost to an underground sewer. It is shown that in the alternate universe where the superhero group the Squadron Supreme resides, that universe's version of the Serpent Crown has managed to gain control of the minds of many of the leaders of America's largest corporations and even that alternate America 's President, Nelson Rockefeller . The Avengers from
13635-445: The mind of Namor's consort , Lady Dorma , and through her the entire population of Atlantis fell under its control. Namor then dons the helmet himself and, through the strength of his will, subverts the influence of Set, thus freeing his people. The Crown is stolen and returned by Lemurian agents to the possession of Naga, who it is revealed has remained immortal despite his loss of the Crown centuries earlier. Namor attempts to reclaim
13770-454: The minds of others. However, it appears that it was much inferior to the Serpent Crown as its abilities eventually burn out and it is apparently destroyed during the course of a conflict between Thoth-Amon and Conan the Barbarian . Many centuries later, the sunken city of Lemuria becomes home to a race of water-breathing humanoids called Homo mermanus . These new "Lemurians" (as distinct from
13905-615: The minds of the entire population of Washington, D.C., including most of the federal government of the United States. Jones then comes into conflict with a group of super-heroes including the Thing and the Scarlet Witch . The Scarlet Witch engages Set in a battle on the Astral Plane , which allows the Thing to snatch the Crown from Jones' head, severing his link with Set. The Crown is brought to
14040-476: The mystic with some transcendent reality and the non-sensory revelation of that reality. The mystic experience can be defined by the mystic's purported access to "realities or states of affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way of ordinary sense-perception structured by mental conceptions, somatosensory modalities, or standard introspection." Whether or not such an experience is veridical remains undecided. Deriving from Neo-Platonism and Henosis , mysticism
14175-435: The normal levels of telomerase lived 50% longer than normal mice". In normal circumstances, without the presence of telomerase, if a cell divides repeatedly, at some point all the progeny will reach their Hayflick limit . With the presence of telomerase, each dividing cell can replace the lost bit of DNA , and any single cell can then divide unbounded. While this unbounded growth property has excited many researchers, caution
14310-458: The other hand, scientists hope to be able to grow organs with the help of stem cells, allowing organ transplants without the risk of rejection, another step in extending human life expectancy. These technologies are the subject of ongoing research, and are not yet realized. Life defined as biologically immortal is still susceptible to causes of death besides aging, including disease and trauma, as defined above. Notable immortal species include: As
14445-415: The period when Namor was believed to have been amnesiac, Charles Xavier made contact with him as part of an attempt to locate more mutants, and sought to ease his mental instability by using a memory of a fallen friend to form a psychic construct to serve as therapist. This instead catalyzed his bipolar tendencies and would effect his more violent episodes for years to come. Throughout the decades, Machan, as
14580-482: The perspective of Islam but most people believe is that the angels will die and that the Angel of Death will die, but there is no clear text concerning this. Rather there are texts which may indicate this, and there is the well known hadeeth (narration) about the "trumpet", which is a munkar hadeeth (rejected report). alternatively, Jinn have a long lifespan between 1000 and 1500. In some Muslim Sufi mystics, Khidr
14715-507: The physical body is found in 2 Maccabees , according to which it will happen through recreation of the flesh. Resurrection of the dead is specified in detail in the extra-canonical books of Enoch , and in Apocalypse of Baruch . According to the British scholar in ancient Judaism P.R. Davies , there is "little or no clear reference ... either to immortality or to resurrection from the dead" in
14850-668: The point that it would, in theory, be possible to (as Feynman put it) "swallow the doctor". The idea was incorporated into Feynman's 1959 essay There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom . Cryonics , the practice of preserving organisms (either intact specimens or only their brains) for possible future revival by storing them at cryogenic temperatures where metabolism and decay are almost completely stopped, can be used to 'pause' for those who believe that life extension technologies will not develop sufficiently within their lifetime. Ideally, cryonics would allow clinically dead people to be brought back in
14985-527: The power to project destructive bolts of mystical energy, and even the mental ability to manipulate matter and energy. However, the use of the crown usually leads the wearer to fall under the mental domination of Set, who then has the wearer perform various tasks which would help facilitate its physical return to the Earth dimension . Although the first appearance of the crown was in 1969 in Sub-Mariner #9 — which
15120-405: The process of internal immortality is delivered within the upcoming years depends chiefly on research (and in neuron research in the case of internal immortality through an immortalized cell line) in the former view and perhaps is an awaited goal in the latter case. From at least the time of the ancient Mesopotamians , there has been a conviction that gods may be physically immortal, and that this
15255-415: The religious realm, separating religion and "natural philosophy" as two distinct approaches to the discovery of the hidden meaning of the universe. The traditional hagiographies and writings of the saints became designated as "mystical", shifting from the virtues and miracles to extraordinary experiences and states of mind, thereby creating a newly coined "mystical tradition". A new understanding developed of
15390-447: The risk of fatal trauma in any finite period is greater than zero. Mathematically, this is an aspect of achieving 'actuarial escape velocity' . Biological immortality is an absence of aging. Specifically it is the absence of a sustained increase in rate of mortality as a function of chronological age. A cell or organism that does not experience aging, or ceases to age at some point, is biologically immortal. Biologists have chosen
15525-407: The risk of the person to be declared dead and thus not be a legitimate owner of his or her property. After this point, the human body could be treated as an optional accessory and the program implementing the person could be transferred to any sufficiently powerful computer. Another possible mechanism for mind upload is to perform a detailed scan of an individual's original, organic brain and simulate
15660-517: The root word of the English term "mystery". The term means "anything hidden", a mystery or secret, of which initiation is necessary. In the New Testament it reportedly takes the meaning of the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof, the Christian revelation generally, and/or particular truths or details of the Christian revelation. According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon,
15795-583: The serpent god, which led him to (unwittingly) cause a landslide which ended the civilization of the Ancients. The Serpent Crown apparently remained buried underneath the Antarctic ice until the twentieth century. In 1920 an Antarctic expedition, led by Captain Leonard McKenzie of the icebreaker Oracle discovers some remnants of the Ancients' civilization. One of the expedition party, Paul Destine , uncovers
15930-869: The solutions provided in research to any end providing such alternate theories at present that require unification. See also: DNA damage theory of aging Aubrey de Grey , a leading researcher in the field, defines aging as "a collection of cumulative changes to the molecular and cellular structure of an adult organism , which result in essential metabolic processes, but which also, once they progress far enough, increasingly disrupt metabolism, resulting in pathology and death." The current causes of aging in humans are cell loss (without replacement), DNA damage , oncogenic nuclear mutations and epimutations , cell senescence , mitochondrial mutations, lysosomal aggregates, extracellular aggregates, random extracellular cross-linking, immune system decline, and endocrine changes. Eliminating aging would require finding
16065-471: The subject of speculation and debate. In religious contexts, immortality is often stated to be one of the promises of divinities to human beings who perform virtue or follow divine law . Life extension technologies claim to be developing a path to complete rejuvenation . Cryonics holds out the hope that the dead can be revived in the future, following sufficient medical advancements. While, as shown with creatures such as hydra and Planarian worms, it
16200-485: The temporary loss of many of Strange's magical talismans, the spell keeping Set's influence from Earth was greatly weakened. The Deviant priest Ghaur , a disciple of Set, and his ally, the Lemurian Llyra , attempt to engineer his return once again through the use of another giant Serpent Crown. This one, however, was composed of elements that rendered it indestructible. He is briefly successful in bringing Set back to
16335-454: The term μυστήριον in classical Greek meant "a hidden thing", "secret". A particular meaning it took in Classical antiquity was a religious secret or religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. In the Septuagint and the New Testament the meaning it took was that of a hidden purpose or counsel, a secret will. It is sometimes used for
16470-544: The terms were associated with the term βάκχος ( Bacchus ), which was used for a special class of initiates of the Orphic mysteries. The terms are first found connected in the writings of Heraclitus . Such initiates are identified in texts with the persons who have been purified and have performed certain rites. A passage of Cretans by Euripides seems to explain that the μύστης (initiate) who devotes himself to an ascetic life, renounces sexual activities, and avoids contact with
16605-516: The theory that we will be able to continually create biological or synthetic replacement parts to replace damaged or dying ones. Future advances in nanomedicine could give rise to life extension through the repair of many processes thought to be responsible for aging. K. Eric Drexler , one of the founders of nanotechnology , postulated cell repair devices, including ones operating within cells and using as yet hypothetical biological machines , in his 1986 book Engines of Creation . Raymond Kurzweil ,
16740-528: The time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves.' That gets to two things nicely: that the period after death (the Intermediate state ) is a period when we are in God's presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering Christ's kingdom ." This kingdom will consist of Heaven and Earth "joined together in
16875-533: The top of an ancient staircase, an artifact similar to the Serpent Crown, referred to as the "Thorn Crown". Despite warnings by Worldmind, Nova puts on the crown. It is later removed by Steve Rogers and taken away by its guardian, the Archon. Namor the Submariner would once again declare war upon the surface world under the influence of a hallucination in the guise of fallen war veteran and close friend, Thomas Machan. In
17010-480: The vast majority of speculation on immortality before the 21st century was regarding the nature of the afterlife. The viewpoints of Christianity , Islam , and Judaism regarding the concept of immortality diverge as each faith system encapsulates unique theological interpretations and doctrines on the enduring human nature soul or spirit . Christian theology holds that Adam and Eve lost physical immortality for themselves and all their descendants through
17145-460: The verb μυέω (mueó or myéō) appears in the New Testament . As explained in Strong's Concordance , it properly means shutting the eyes and mouth to experience mystery. Its figurative meaning is to be initiated into the "mystery revelation". The meaning derives from the initiatory rites of the pagan mysteries. Also appearing in the New Testament is the related noun μυστήριον (mustérion or mystḗrion),
17280-588: The word "immortal" to designate cells that are not limited by the Hayflick limit , where cells no longer divide because of DNA damage or shortened telomeres . The first and still most widely used immortal cell line is HeLa , developed from cells taken from the malignant cervical tumor of Henrietta Lacks without her consent in 1951. Prior to the 1961 work of Leonard Hayflick , there was the erroneous belief fostered by Alexis Carrel that all normal somatic cells are immortal. By preventing cells from reaching senescence one can achieve biological immortality; telomeres,
17415-534: The world and comes into conflict with the son of Captain Mackenzie, Namor the Sub-Mariner. Destine continues to draw on the power of the Crown throughout the story though he is never shown to fall under the overt influence of Set, perhaps due to the protective encasement under which the Ancients had placed the Crown centuries before and (more probably) the fact that the concept of the Crown had not been fully developed by
17550-470: The world of benevolent and malevolent spirits , who typically enters into trance during a ritual , and practices divination and healing . Neoshamanism refers to "new"' forms of shamanism , or methods of seeking visions or healing, typically practiced in Western countries. Neoshamanism comprises an eclectic range of beliefs and practices that involve attempts to attain altered states and communicate with
17685-617: The world. He is eventually defeated by the combined forces of the Invaders, and the crown is afterwards confiscated by Namor. The Serpent Crown appears in the Avengers Assemble episode "Beneath the Surface." Attuma 's chief advisor Lady Zartra plans to use the Serpent Crown to free her group from his tyranny, but following a misunderstanding between the Avengers and Zartra's group, Attuma obtains
17820-456: Was also manifested in various sects of the time such as the Waldensians . Under the influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite the term mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible, and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names." Pseudo-Dionysius' Apophatic theology , or "negative theology", exerted
17955-635: Was an antidote the "self-aggrandizing hyper-inquisitiveness" of Scholasticism and was attainable even by simple and uneducated people. The outcome of affective mysticism may be to see God's goodness or love rather than, say, his radical otherness. The theology of Catherine of Sienna was analysed in terms of mystical theology by Baron Friedrich von Hügel in The Mystical Element of Religion as Studied in St. Catherine of Genoa and Her Friends (1908). Von Hügel proposed three elements of religious experience:
18090-408: Was an initiate of a mystery religion. In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures. The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in
18225-426: Was any theology (or divine-human knowledge) that occurred in the affective (relating to the will including the emotions) realm rather than the intellective. This kind of mysticism was a general category that included the positive knowledge of God obtained, for example, through practical "repentant activity" (e.g., as part of sacramental participation), rather being about passive esoteric/transcendent religious ecstasy: it
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