101-week4a

## The Appearance of the Sacred

• Categorizing Manifestations of the Sacred: 3 basic types
  • Prophetic Sacred Appearances
  • Sacramental Sacred Appearances
  • Mystical Sacred Appearances
• 4 varieties of media
  • Sacred Persons
  • Sacred Objects
  • Sacred Space
  • Sacred Time
• Complexity of Traditions

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## Sacred Language

• Names for the Sacred Reality
• The Sacred Defies Language
• Forms of Language in the Bible
• Myth
• Myths vs. Stories
• Sacred Texts
• Story as Parable
• Preservation of Sacred Language
• Scriptural Cultures

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## The Appearance of the Sacred

• The appearance of the sacred is technically called a hierophany, from the two Greek words that mean “to reveal the sacred.”
• The “appearance of the sacred” can be understood as the ways in which the sacred is made manifest in the world of human experience.
• Examples:
  • The Angel who appeared to Muhammad
  • The Enlightenment of the Buddha

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## Categorizing Manifestations of the Sacred

• Patterns of Sacred Appearances
  • Prophetic
  • Sacramental
  • Mystical
• Sacred Media
  • Characterizes hierophanies according to the particular vehicle of a sacred appearance.
  • Sacred media might include sacred persons, objects, time, and space.

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## Prophetic Sacred Appearances

• Identified primarily with Judaism and Islam.
• Focuses on a person (the prophet) who receives a revelation that deals in various ways with historical events in the life of a community.
• The prophet is the “sacred media”.
• The revelation is one of the patterns of sacred phenomema.

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## Sacramental Sacred Appearances

• Most apparent in certain forms of Christianity, Shinto, and various tribal religions.
• Emphasizes the presence of the sacred through aspects of material reality.
• Stresses the role of priests or shamans in the community.

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## Mystical Sacred Appearances

• Is most characteristic of Buddhism and Hinduism.
• However, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam also manifest mystical traditions.
• Focuses on the importance of a certain state of being or consciousness in the quest for enlightenment or union with the sacred.

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## Sacred Persons

• The association of the sacred with certain persons is a characteristic of numerous religious traditions.
  • Sacred persons are most obviously found in those religious traditions whose history points to a “founder” or great figure at the beginning of the tradition.
  • Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha, Confucius, and Lao-tzu are famous examples of sacred persons who were also “founders” of religious traditions.

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## Moses (Prophetic Pattern)

• The great prophet of Judaism.
• In Hebrew, a prophet is one who speaks with the authority of another (i.e. God).
• Moses’ connection with sacred reality is, in one sense, the point of many of the stories told in the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
  • In the biblical stories, Moses’ primary role is as a spokesman, that is, a prophet, for the “Holy One of Israel.”

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##. Moses

• Moses is sacred as a spokesman for God.
• He brings to the people of Israel the Torah or instruction he receives from God.
• He receives from God not only the written Torah of the various biblical commandments but also the oral Torah by which to interpret these commandments.
• In the end, Moses is regarded as the best of all humanity.
• Buddha (Mystical Pattern)
  • The Buddha is sacred as the teacher of the truth about human existence.
  • The Buddha is also sacred as the sage who, having attained enlightenment, is able to guide others to the experience of Nirvana.
  • Like Moses, the Buddha has a message to proclaim. But the message of the Buddha is not the “instruction” of God.
• Buddha
  • The “message” of the Buddha is the insight of a master of meditation into the essential nature of all things.
  • As a “sage,” he speaks with the authority gained from his personal acquisition of wisdom.
  • Thus, the Buddha grasps something that is, for most, “hidden” (the root meaning of “mystic”) and brings it forth.

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##. Buddha

• The Buddha gives his life to the teaching of his doctrine, known as “dharma.”
• This dharma teaches that the way to enlightenment is a “middle way,” a way given neither to sumptuous living nor to extravagant self-discipline, but to the contemplation of the Four Noble Truths.
• Ultimately, the Buddha’s connection with the sacred has to do with this dharma–or the wisdom that he is able to impart to seekers of the truth.

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##. Buddha

• The Buddha teaches anyone willing to listen, and he has useful advice to offer, no matter how far short one is of the ultimate goal.
• For those ready to renounce all in pursuit of Nirvana, the Buddha holds out participation in the sangha or order of monks and nuns.
• For those less far along, he offers basic spiritual practice, including the “five precepts”: avoid taking life (animal or human), stealing, illicit sexual relations, lying, and intoxicants.

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##. Jesus (Sacramental Pattern)

• Jesus is the fulfillment of the divine plan that began with the history of Israel.
• Jesus is believed by some to be the messiah, or Christ, described in the Jewish religious tradition.
• Jesus is also described as the Son of God, but there is disagreement as to whether this means that Jesus is an actual incarnation of the divine.

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##. Jesus

• Classical Christian doctrine views Jesus as something more than a prophet or sage.
• In his life, death, and resurrection, God is incarnate, or present “in the flesh.”
• The actions of Jesus can be seen as signs of his divine nature.
  • Healing = God’s power over sickness
  • Teaching = God’s willingness to guide humanity
  • Raising People from the Dead = God’s power over death

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##. Sacred Objects

• Sacred objects are material items that have, or have had, importance in religious contexts.
• For example, books, statues, relics, foods.
• Some communities have perceived sacred reality in rocks, trees, or animals; others have focused on the sky, the earth, or the sun.
• Even the garments associated with holy persons take on the character of the sacred.

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##. The Qur’an as a Sacred Object

• The Qur’an occupies a unique place in Muslim understanding.
  • It is recited in worship
  • It is an object of ongoing and intensive study
  • It is the first source for Islamic thinking about law, theology, and ethics
• The Qur’an is thus understood as a vehicle for the manifestation of sacred reality; therefore, it is a sacred object.

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##. Tea as a Sacred Object

• In Zen Buddhism, practitioners attempt to concentrate in order to “see” the one thing that is essential.
• In the tea ceremony, attention is given to every detail of the preparation and drinking of tea.
• Thus, the tea is the focal point of concentration and can be understood as a sacred object in Zen Buddhism.

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##. Holy Communion

• In the Christian tradition, some of the most sacred objects are the bread and wine used during communion.
• In some traditions, the bread and wine are representative of the body and blood of Christ.
• In other traditions, most notably Roman Catholicism, the bread and wine are in fact the body and blood of Christ.

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##. Sacred Time

• In those traditions most associated with a prophet, time appears as the creation and, in a sense, the “field of revelation” for sacred reality.
• In some religious traditions, the overall conception of time is linear: time has a beginning, and it will have an end.
• In other religious traditions, a cyclical view of time prevails: focuses on repetition, implying a story of slow yet ceaseless movement around a central point.

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##. Samsara

• Popular in the great religions of India.
• Samsara may be translated as “migration”
• Implies the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that is characteristic of all beings.
• Samsara indicates a highly developed set of beliefs about personal and historical existence in which time is a medium of the sacred.

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##. Moksha

• Both Buddhism and Hinduism speak of Moksha: the “release” or “liberation” from Samsara.
• Thus, for Buddhists and Hindus, time is a negative reality to be escaped.
• Contrast this notion of time with the notions of time associated with religions that worship an Earth goddess.

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##. Sacred Space

• Includes traditional places of worship– mosques, synagogues, churches, temples.
• Also includes “holy” places– Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina, etc.
• In Shinto, the Torii marks the entrance to the territory of a kami. The Torii are therefore sacred because they are the dwelling places of important deities.
• Burial mounds are also sacred spaces.

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##. Complexity of Traditions

• The identification of patterns in the appearance of the sacred suggests that there are characteristic “types” of religion, but these should not be pushed too far.
• Most religions have complex traditions that incorporate prophetic, sacramental, and mystical components.

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## Sacred Language

• Many religious traditions possess a sacred language.
• Examples:
  • For Muslims, the Arabic language in which the Koran is written are Allah’s very words.
  • Many Orthodox Jews refuse to speak in modern Hebrew because the language of the Torah is sacred and cannot be used until the Messiah comes.
  • Many Christians believe that it is a sin to misuse the name of God or Jesus.

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## Names for the Sacred Reality

• The term sacred is used to refer to a dimension of reality beyond the world of immediate experience, but one with which human beings have contact.
• But there are many different names for this sacred reality.
  • God
  • Brahman
  • Nirvana
  • Heaven
  • The Kami (sacred beings and powers in Shinto)
  • Allah

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## The Sacred Defies Language

• In many traditions, there is an attempt to convey that the sacred defies language because it is unlike other realities.
• John of the Cross described his sense of God as Todo y Nada (everything and nothing).
• Hindu mystics describe the ultimate principle of the universe (Brahman) as “Neti, Neti” (neither this nor that).
• Saint Thomas argued that God’s revelation comes to us in metaphorical language barely adequate to express the reality of God.

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## Forms of Language in the Bible

• The Bible conveys information in varied styles.
  • Narratives (e.g., the gospels)
  • Poems and hymns (e.g., the Psalms)
  • Proverbs
  • Legal codes
  • Sermons
  • Letters
  • Stories of beginnings and endings
  • Parables and ethical reflections
  • Chronicles and histories

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## Myth

• Myth is the oldest and most widespread form of religious discourse.
• In the field of religious studies, myth indicates a narrative concerning sacred reality and its relationship to humanity.
• In its concern with sacred reality, myth is designed to disclose the ultimate truth about crucial human questions.

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## Myth as an Explanatory Model

• Myth is often used to explain the world and to answer important questions.
• For example, myths have been used to address the following topics:
  • The origin of the cosmos
  • The final destiny of the world and its inhabitants
  • How evil got into the world
  • What the world was like at its beginnings
  • How the world will eventually end and what will come after that ending

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## Creation Myths

• Every religious tradition has a myth (or story) that explains the origins of the world.
• Examples:
  • The creation story in Genesis
  • Stories of great struggles between the Gods
  • Stories of primordial chaos

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## Understanding Creation Myths

• In religious studies, creation myths should not be analyzed for their factual truth as a matter of historical fact.
• Rather, such myths should be analyzed to determine the **basic premises behind the story and the notions of sacred reality reflected in the language and imagery of the creation myth.

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## Biblical and Qur’anic Creation Myth

• This creation myth conveys the following notions of sacred reality:
  • God is not only independent of the world but “stands outside” it as its effortless creator
  • The world is created as good–it is not evil, nor is it an illusion
  • At the center of creation, both as apex and as steward, stand the primordial man and woman (Adam and Eve)

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## Myths vs. Stories

• Myths are stories, but they are stories of a certain kind.
• Myths deal with “cosmic” questions: the origin of the world; the creation and meaning of human beings; stories of a lost paradise or golden age; stories about the end of the world and the manner of that end.
• Beyond those great mythic reconstructions are other stories– narratives embedded in the historical religious experience of the people.

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## Official and Unofficial Stories

• Every religious tradition has its official stories.
• For example, in Hinduism, the great Mahabharata is an epic poem and an “official story” for that tradition.
• But every tradition also has a large number of “unofficial stories”.
• Such unofficial stories consist primarily of narrative accounts of an individual’s personal encounter with the sacred.

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## The Function of Religious Stories

• Stories are a kind of discourse that passes on information, insights, lessons, and instructions.
• In this sense, religious stories contain material that people think is worth remembering.
• Such stories give shape to religious tradition.
• Religious stories also recall paradigmatic moments and/or persons.
• Religious stories thus are not simply “handed down”; they provide models to emulate.

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## The Function of Religious Stories

• Religious stories are vehicles for disclosure or revelation.
• Such stories may recount events that could be called “ordinary,” but for the believing community, they mediate sacred reality

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## Sacred Texts

• In many traditions, religious myths and stories are set down in a written text and receive an official form.
  • Bible
  • Qur’an
  • Torah
• Many of these books are themselves treated as sacred objects.
  • Enshrining the scrolls of the Torah in an ark
  • Kissing the scriptures
  • Memorization of the Qur’an

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## Story as Parable

• The parable is another special type of religious language that is distinct from both myth and story.
• Unlike the myth, which deals with great, cosmic issues such as origins, the parable deals with immediate, existential realities
• A parable is a story, usually fictional, in which the narrative thrust is to make a point, but the elements of the story do not always stand for something else. The point to be grasped arises from the story in its own right.

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## Parables

• The parable is meant to arrest the hearer or reader in such a way that he or she must think of things in a new and unaccustomed manner.
• The parable has a certain element of the puzzling or the outrageous that carries with it a kind of “shock value,"which calls into question comfortable assumptions.
• The gospels depict Jesus as a teller of parables–a technique that is also common in rabbinic literature.

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## Preservation of Sacred Language

• For many religious people, words have a peculiar power because they point to and/or reveal the sacred dimension of reality.
• For this reason, religious stories, myths, etc. are preserved within religious communities.
• Such stories constitute the peculiar memory and the accumulated power of a given religious tradition. In fact, one way different kinds of religions may be distinguished is according to the manner in which they effect this preservation.

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## Oral Cultures

• In oral cultures, religious stories and myths are transmitted orally from one generation to the next.
• Examples of oral cultures abound among the indigenous or aboriginal peoples of various parts of the world:
• Indians of North, Central, and South America
• Tribal cultures of Africa
• Aborigines of Asia, Australia, and New Zealand

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## Transmission in Oral Cultures

• The transmission of religious stories may be the special task of certain families or designated “wise persons.”
• Certain stories may be taught to the young of the tribe at appropriate times (e.g., at the onset of sexual maturity).
• These stories or myths are often told only at certain occasions or at certain times; they are sacred and, more to the point, sacred for specific reasons and specific times.

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## Scriptural Cultures

• The word “scripture” comes from Latin and means simply “that which is written.”
• Many of the great religions of the world preserve their inherited past and their religious language in writing.
• The three great religions of the West are referred to as “religions of the book” because of their emphasis on the written word.
• However, written records of religious language are also important for the great religions of the East.

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## Canonical Texts

• Canon (from the Greek word meaning a “list”) refers to a particular set of books or a single book that is authoritative for a religious community.
• In Christianity, the canon of scripture (the Bible) is the list (canon) of texts read in public worship.
• In Theravada Buddhism, numerous works systematize and comment on discourses of the Buddha. But only the collection of texts known as tripitaka are authoritative or canonical.

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## Why Do Religious Stories Persist?

• Sacred stories are a means of connecting with the sacred dimension of existence.
• Religious stories “order the cosmos.” The basic purpose of myth is to provide coherence to the world in which the believer lives.
• With respect to the communal or social aspect of religion, stories give shape to memory; they sustain and nourish a tradition.
• Also in connection with the communal aspect of religion, stories serve an ethical function.

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## Language of Theology

• A theologian is a believer who reflects on the fact of personal and communal faith in such a way as to clarify it and/or to argue that such faith is worthy of consideration by those outside his or her community.
• Theology is a second level discourse.
  • The theologian attempts to set forth, systematically and conceptually, the meaning of the stories of a particular tradition.

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## Visual Language of Religion

• The visual language of religion includes the use of painting, sculpture, architecture, and the other arts as a means of conveying a sense of the sacred.
• Long before writing became the primary vehicle for communication, people used visual images to communicate and preserve their religious traditions.
• The oldest examples of religious language available are paintings (e.g., the cave paintings of neolithic peoples).