Object Of Worship Research Articles

A Tragic Venus. Idolatry, Desire and Suffering in “The Planter of Malata” by Joseph Conrad

The article is devoted to the analysis of the modern experience of love, to which the entire narrative of the Planter of Malata has been devoted. The modern approach to the subject will be understood here as the penetration of the sacred sphere into the domain of the profane. Thanks to this mechanism, it becomes possible to create the expression of an indirect, confused, quasi-sacred experience. Conrad’s protagonist thus sees a woman in terms of “sanctity,” which will be interpreted in terms of “modern idolatry” (J.-L. Marion), eliminating any distance between the worshiper and the object of worship. The main scope of the analyses will concern the consequences that result from the starting point established in this way. Conrad’s text confirms the assumption that “pain is a sign and a means of contact with the divine” (D. Morris), but at the same time indicates many levels at which this process takes place.

The Anti-Yahweh Label lassaw' in Jeremiah (PART 1)

ABSTRACT The traditional stance is that לשׁוא in Jeremiah (2:30; 4:30; 6:29; 18:15 and 46:11) denotes futility, mostly translated as "in vain. " This study scrutinises the first three texts (Jer 2:30; 4:30 and 6:29) in an effort to substantiate and modify a recent hypothesis that this term is instead a reference to the god Baal, " The Vain/Worthless One." Support for the said hypothesis is gained by (1) a tentative observation in the discussion of Jer 2:30 that שׁוא futility, "in vain ") is apparently limited to wisdom literature, whereas the Jeremiah texts are part of a cultic-legal corpus within a covenantal setting where the lexeme consistently appears as the prepositional prefixed definite form לשׁוא and apparently refers to prohibited objects of worship; (2) a search for intertexual clues in Jer 4:30; and (3) alertness to recurring key words and chiastic patterns in the context of Jer 6:29. In the course of working through the relevant texts, the notion took shape that the preposition ל־ is -besides meaning "for, for the sake of - a technical term indicating covenantal relationship.1 It therefore seems that לַשָּׁוְא is not only a pejorative reference to Baal but also a label of the contra and anti-Yahweh overlord/s (בעלים/בעל) in (illegal) covenant relation to Israel. Keywords: Jeremiah, Exegesis, Baal, Deities, Worthless

Witraż świecki i kościelny: sens i walor

In the modern world, so strongly surrounded by sound, light and colour, it is worth to notice their impact on various fields of our everyday life and celebrating. The multicoloured play in the sun is a phenomenon of stained glass windows. They enliven our life, stimulate imagination, encourage reflection, meditation and even contemplation. Secular stained glass windows usually show the beauty of nature, for example: flowers, but also heraldic themes, or portraits. In an object of worship it should be decided whether or not a stained glass window should be placed. The stained glass cannot be treated only as a decoration or an extra under any circumstances. It should refer to the title or dedication of the particular church. It is advisable to reach for Christian symbolism or iconography, the message of Bible and the spirit of liturgy celebrated. It is the stained glass itself that has to contribute to the atmosphere of prayer, to increase integrity, sense and dignity of a sacred object. Naturally, the proper quality of the stained glass windows should also be helpful.

Identifikasi Awal Bentuk Bangunan di Situs Candi Ronggeng

The research that was conducted at Ronggeng Temple has not yet describe the complete shape of the building. The studies that have been carried out only classify the type of temples as a simple building. This article is attempting to describe the shape of Ronggeng Temple based on the results of excavation. This article uses the results of excavations that have been carried out in 2019 as a data, and then compared it with the results of previous excavations. The data is then analyzed toget an overview of the shape of Ronggeng Temple. The excavation result shows that Ronggeng Temple is a short fence with an object of worship in the middle of the site. The objects of worship are in the form of yoni and nandi was placed protectively under a roof supported by pillars with a round shape stone footsteps.

A Critique of the Images of Heaven in the Scriptures of The Abrahamic Religions: An Existentialist Perspective

In this paper, we critically examine the scriptural images of heaven as captured in the Abrahamic religions from the existentialist perspective. The three dominant Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam opine that there is life beyond this earthly existence for all human beings and that God (their object of worship) has prepared a special place of eternal happiness for those who obey His commands on earth. This place is frequently referred to as the Kingdom of God, Heaven or Paradise. We argue that the above construct of heaven throws up a lot of problems, especially from the existentialist perspective. Some of these problems include the fact that these constructs of heaven eliminate all the challenges that stimulate human existentiality, throw into oblivion the scourging evils of boredom arising from the eternal passivity of existence in heaven and fail to lay down exactly the political structure and the legal status of the earthlings in heaven since a Kingdom presupposes a feudalist structure where there are kings, lords and serfs. We conclude by showing that the scriptures‘ constructs of heaven appear self-contradictory and fail to strike a chord with the contemporary image of the ideal society when perused from the existentialist perspective and should, therefore, be discarded.

Придворні танці в культурі західно-європейського високого середньовіччя

The purpose of the article is to analyze the historical context of the court dance formation as a cultural phenomenon of the High Middle Ages, to identify its characteristic features and to find out the role and significance in the establishment of a civilizational model of behaviour in the European cultural space. Methodology. The historical-chronological, cultural and analytical approaches are applied to highlight the historical context of the court dance formation. The scientific novelty. For the first time, the court dances of the West European High Middle Ages are analyzed in the context of the then worldview concepts. Conclusions. Court dances, as a characteristic feature of the knight courteous culture of the High Middle Ages, the playful phenomenon and at the same time the pious action, contain deep sacral meaning and with the help of gestures (gestus), the plasticity of hands and bodies represent the requirements of courteous theology – worship of the Lady of the Heart, which is actually identified with the attitude towards the Mother of God. In court dances, as a result of “feudalization of love”, the roles of participants in the dance action are distributed according to which the Beautiful Lady becomes an object of worship, and the knight in non-verbal form testifies to her his “love service”. This distribution lays the foundation for the development of pair dances as a new phenomenon in the history of choreography. The growth of the generalization of flexible movements and codified gestures (gestus), their abstractness, allowed us to present in more detail the models of behaviour in interpersonal communication. And therefore, court, courteous dances demonstrated the “correctness” of the aesthetic behaviour of knights as a statement of the ideals of beauty in relations between the sexes. A pious and respectful attitude to the Beautiful Lady, emphasizing the moral and spiritual component in the relationship between a woman and a man-knight contributed to the increase of the social status of women. And the chivalrous ethos, whose visible representation was court dances, became the basis of a civilizational model of behaviour that was gradually formed in the European space.

A Theological Analysis of Issues Arising from the Christian Asante Chief’s Relationship with the Black Stool (Akonwa Tuntum)

One of several issues of contention that have created a gulf between Christianity and the traditional Asante chieftaincy institution is the chief’s relationship with the black stool. The general perception of Christians is that the black stool is an object of worship, it is demonic and should be avoided by Christian chiefs. This paper theologically analyzes the issues of contention in the Christian chief’s relationship with the black stool and presents a Christian response to guide them. This is an empirical qualitative study, and it uses a phenomenological approach to understand the phenomena related to the issues of contention in the Christianity-chieftaincy encounter. The method of obtaining information included interviews of fifty (50) Christian Asante chiefs, a representative group obtained by the purposeful sampling method. Information was also obtained through personal observation of some of the traditional religious rituals they perform. The issues of contention were then examined in the light of scripture in order to help bridge the seeming gulf between Asante chieftaincy and Christianity. This research has established the fact that the black stool is not a demonic object. In fact, the issues of contention in the Christianity and chieftaincy encounter, relating to the black stool, have arisen not only from a lack of understanding and proper appreciation of the traditional rituals but also from lack of proper understanding and poor interpretation of scriptural texts used in relating the gospel to the chieftaincy institution. Keywords: Tradition, ritual, Christianity, Black stool (Akonwa Tuntum), worship.

A Theological Analysis of Issues Arising from the Christian Asante Chief’s Relationship with the Black Stool (Akonwa Tuntum)

One of several issues of contention that have created a gulf between Christianity and the traditional Asante chieftaincy institution is the chief’s relationship with the black stool. The general perception of Christians is that the black stool is an object of worship, it is demonic and should be avoided by Christian chiefs. This paper theologically analyzes the issues of contention in the Christian chief’s relationship with the black stool and presents a Christian response to guide them. This is an empirical qualitative study, and it uses a phenomenological approach to understand the phenomena related to the issues of contention in the Christianity-chieftaincy encounter. The method of obtaining information included interviews of fifty (50) Christian Asante chiefs, a representative group obtained by the purposeful sampling method. Information was also obtained through personal observation of some of the traditional religious rituals they perform. The issues of contention were then examined in the light of scripture in order to help bridge the seeming gulf between Asante chieftaincy and Christianity. This research has established the fact that the black stool is not a demonic object. In fact, the issues of contention in the Christianity and chieftaincy encounter, relating to the black stool, have arisen not only from a lack of understanding and proper appreciation of the traditional rituals, but also from lack of proper understanding and poor interpretation of scriptural texts used in relating the gospel to the chieftaincy institution.

A Model of the Universe in Kathmandu's Old Royal Palace

This paper discusses a model of the universe found in Mohan courtyard of the old royal palace of Kathmandu, the Hanumānḍhokā. It was commissioned and installed by King Pratāpa Malla in 1656 CE. The artifact is referred to as “earth-ball” or terrestrial globe (bhūgola) in an inscription and is based on Purāṇic concepts of the universe. An eighteenth-century ritual text indicates that it was an object of worship in the courtyard.

«Let's think, think, brothers»: popular religiosity before and after the 1917 revolution (on the example of the Middle Volga Region)

In the article, the authors attempted to consider the urgent problem of the evolution of relationship between the government and the church at the everyday level of the people's faith without a chronological divide in the form of events of the 1917 revolution. Folk faith is a kind of apocrypha, generated by the daily adaptation of various religious teachings by the congregation, with their level of education and cultural development. The congregation within the boundaries of this work refers to the representatives of the simple social classes in the pre-revolutionary period, bourgeois and peasants, and ordinary residents of the Samara region in the Soviet period, that is, the so-called little man. This little man in such a multinational region as the Middle Volga region, was largely embraced, despite the russification and Christianization (Orthodox), by confessional and national traditions. In the late XIX early XX century, before the 1917 revolution, religious persecution in relation to religious dissent manifested itself in such practices of church and secular power as exhortation procedures, seizures of literature, objects of worship, in the rigorism of verbal culture, when offensive connotations were used in clerical work against Old Believers and sectarians. After the 1917 revolution, the period when the construction of ideology was only taking place is of particular interest. And, despite the ideological atheism of the new Soviet regime, despite the struggle against the church and religion, the 1920-ies were a period of some tolerance towards sectarians. This period continued until the 1930-ies, when the Soviet government already clearly led anti-religious and anti-sectarian policies. The study of the popular religiosity of the representatives of the Middle Volga during the period of social upheaval is necessary for the further improvement of religious-state relations and the formation of the spiritual consciousness of citizens, which confirms the scientific relevance of this topic. The purpose of this article is to examine the evolution of the relationship between the government and the church at the everyday level of the people's faith without a chronological divide in the form of events of the 1917 revolution. The results of the work done prove that everyday life, from the perspective of consideration, as is customary in ethnographic methods, from the inside, shows that the picture of the human world cannot change due to a change in the political system instantly. A person can adapt to the new rules of the game, but what we call the people's faith is much deeper, this is how a person behaves alone with himself.

Interpretations of the Mythologeme “Tree-Cross” in Old English

The topicality of the appeal to the interpretation of a tree-cross mythologeme is caused by the change of the pagan worldview into Christian. The development of ideas about the Christian sign is complex, in one of the approaches to transforming the tree-cross, a part of the overcome ideas about the world as space around the world axis is preserved, i.e. the world tree. The coming era of Christianity inherits this view, and the cross itself appears as a world axis that defines the coordinates of space. The purpose of the article is to show the evolutionary semiotic row, which represents both Christian and pagan symbolism. Initially, the cross appears as a motivated view. Then the terms of the denotative plan appear, devoid of pagan connotations of the tree-cross type. In general, in the evolution of the term continuity is traced, one designation is replaced by another. For some time, the second item copies the functions and forms of the first, replacing it in the subject line. The cross as an object of worship in Christianity replaces the world tree. All new nominations of the cross are associated with the motivation of the world as the center where the altar is installed, which was initially presented in the tradition as a world tree, and then became designated by the cross. The cross, as the main Christian symbol, often appears as made of wood and is identified with the cosmic world tree growing directly into heaven. Research methods which are used in this article are as follows: philological analysis of the text and semiotic analysis of texts. The set of communicatively relevant factors that determine the statement, as well as the situational and contextual relevance of the lexical meaning, are taken into account. In turn, the necessary initial amount of communicatively relevant information is obtained on the basis of linguistic methods. In particular, data from an etymological analysis are involved. The research material was provided by the Old English written monuments accessible to the modern researcher. Texts in other Indo-European languages are occasionally referred; they act as a background showing some parallels

CULT SANCTUARIES AS A SOURCE FOR THE STUDY OF IDEOLOGICAL IDEAS OF THE POPULATION OF DAGESTAN OF THE EARLY AND MIDDLE BRONZE AGE

The article is devoted to the study of cult sanctuaries of the early and middle bronze age, which are one of the most important sources for the reconstruction of ideological ideas of the population of Dagestan. The work is based on the materials of settlements, burial grounds, research sanctuaries, attraction and analysis of religious objects, rock paintings, which reflect the ideological ideas of the ancient population of the North-Eastern Caucasus, and Dagestan, in particular. The purpose and objective of this article is a comprehensive study of religious sanctuaries and monuments of art, on the basis of which the study of ancient religious and ideological ideas of the local population in the early and middle bronze age. A comprehensive study of household, burial and religious monuments, the study of which reveals the various religious beliefs and rituals, as well as objects of worship of the population of Dagestan in the early and middle bronze age allowed to highlight many of the problems associated with the ideological beliefs of the local population. The considered materials show that the tribes of Dagestan in the early and middle bronze age had a fairly complex and developed ideology for that time. At the heart of the beliefs of ancient farmers and pastoralists, judging by the study of religious sanctuaries, rock paintings and hearths was the worship of various cults: fertility cults, agricultural cults, cults of animals, wood, etc. They are also expressed in different characters – solar, agricultural, female, etc. Their study helped to get an idea of the spiritual culture of the population of the region to reveal that the population of Dagestan during the early and middle bronze age there existed a complex and diverse beliefs.

The Imperial Qualities in Roman Greece (31 BC – AD 235) : The Evidence and a First Assessment

The imperial cult in the Roman provinces is a major subject in current scholarly works on religion in the Roman world. Scholars so far have perhaps undervalued an interesting aspect: not only was the emperor himself worshipped, but also the various qualities of the emperors were objects of worship (e.g. ‘Pietas Augusti’, ‘Providentia Augusta’). The latter are often regarded as merely subordinate to the ‘main’ imperial cult. Yet, qualities had a rich past in Greek religion as well as in the Roman political tradition. This paper aims to examine how events throughout the empire were interpreted through the worship of imperial qualities in Roman Greece. Did the emperor himself give the example by honouring an imperial quality in Rome or can we speak of a more provincial practice? If the latter is more valid, did Roman officials, associated with the imperial rule, introduce ‘Roman’ ideals and combine them with traditional Greek beliefs? Or, alternatively, was it the initiative of Greek inhabitants, who wished to approach the emperor by exploiting ancient concepts? The following imperial qualities are discussed; the imperial ‘Hygieia’, ‘Dikaiosyne’, ‘Providentia’, ‘Aequitas’, ‘Quies’, ‘Nemesis’, ‘Tutela’ and ‘Tyche’. These various Augustan qualities were mainly celebrated in response to events in Rome (e.g. the sickness of an emperor led to the public honouring of ‘Sebaste Hygieia’ in Athens), within the borders of the Empire (a military campaign caused the dedication to ‘Nemesis Augusta’ by an ex-soldier in Corinth) or within the cities themselves. Moreover, the flexible character of the imperial qualities is also demonstrated by the fact that dedications to such qualities occasionally honoured the ability of the emperor to bestow benefits (e.g. ‘Tutela Aug.’). In this way, a glance upon the imperial qualities in Roman Greece offers us a fruitful reconstruction of the perceptions the provincials formed on the person of the princeps and the latter’s rule.

Drzewa magiczne w "Baśniach dla dzieci i dla domu" braci Grimm

On the basis of Children’s and Household Tales by Jakub and Wilhelm Grimm, translated by Eliza Pieciul-Karminska, a folklore analysis was carried out in search of magic treesappearing in these narratives. None of the trees presented in this collection were objects of worship, but represented specific beliefs related to its appropriate treatment or magicalfeatures. Two groups of trees can be distinguished from the collected material: mediating and miraculous. In the first group, various species of plants appeared, according to folkbeliefs they connected reality with the underworld, the supersensory world, or had a connection with the devil. The souls of prematurely deceased people were enchanted in trees, but also living people were turned into them. In the second group of miracle trees there was a talking apple tree, a birch that was the home of a golden bird, a golden-silver tree that had grown from the guts of the magic helper. The analyzed examples represent specific meanings they have in a complex system of folk symbols and stereotypes.

African Art: The Journey from Ethnological Collection to the Museum of Art

This article aims to show the transformation in the way African art is displayed in museums which has taken place over the last few decades. Over the last 70 years, from the second half of the twentieth century, the field of African Art studies, as well as the forms taken by art exhibitions, have changed considerably. Since W. Rubin’s controversial exhibition Primitivism in 20th Century Art at MoMA (1984), art originating from Africa has begun to be more widely presented in museums with a strictly artistic profile, in contrast to the previous exhibitions which were mostly located in ethnographical museums. This could be the result of the changes that have occurred in the perception of the role of museums in the vein of new museology and the concept of a “curatorial turn” within museology. But on the other hand, it seems that the recognition of the artistic values of old and contemporary art from the African continent allows art dealers to make large profits from selling such works. This article also considers the evolution of the idea of African art as a commodity and the modern form of presentations of African art objects. The current breakthrough exhibition at the Bode Museum in Berlin is thoroughly analysed. This exhibition, entitled Beyond compare, presents unexpected juxtapositions of old works of European art and African objects of worship. Thus, the major purpose of this article is to present various benefits of shifting meaning from “African artefacts” to “African objects of art,” and therefore to relocate them from ethnographic museums to art museums and galleries

Элементы заповедания в природопользовании адыгской (черкесской) культуры

The historical roots of the origins of the reserve management among the Adyghe (Circassian) tribes, archival and historical materials, oral information, legends associated with the life of mountain peoples, which testify to the established relationship with nature, are considered. The objects of worship of the highlanders are indicated: sacred groves, age-old trees, examples of careful and reverent attitude to the forest are given. People’s nature protection among the Adyghe tribes prepared a fairly solid foundation for the subsequent state form of protection.

Doctors as objects of worship: Reconsidering doctors’ competency based on cultural context

Doctors as objects of worship: Reconsidering doctors’ competency based on cultural context

Handover of the buildings and equipment remaining after the dissolution of the Pauline monastery in Leśna Podlaska in 1864 to the Eastern Orthodox Church and its further history

In Leśna Podlaska, the image of Mother of God has been an object of worship since 1683. In 1727, the Leśna parish was taken over by monks from the Pauline Order. In 1875, on the basis of Tsar Alexander II's decree, the church in Leśna Podlaska, together with the venerated image, the great altar, and votive offerings, were handed over to the Eastern Orthodox Church. The remaining furnishings were transferred to 18 parish churches of the liquidated dioceses of Podlasie and Lublin. The organ was transferred to All Saints Church in Warsaw. The book collection of the Pauline monks from Leśna was donated to the library of the seminary in Lublin. In the years 1879–1881, the exterior of the church was changed, giving the building an appearance characteristic of Orthodox Church temples. Leśna Podlaska became an important centre of Russification policy carried out by Russia.

World Subterranean Heritage

For the first time, the World Subterranean Heritage explorations are represented. Regarding the type of heritage, the unique remarkable properties can be divided into three main groups: cultural, natural, and mixed, cultural-natural ones. The distribution of the World Subterranean Heritage by the parts of the world and by the countries is analyzed. The following outstanding subterranean cultural properties are considered: the objects of worship, sites with pre-historical paintings, with archeological materials, mining sites, and site of settlement. Natural properties are presented by karst and lava caves. Geographical analysis of World Subterranean Heritage sites is carried out. The World Subterranean Heritage map is presented.

The Concept of polytheism in the Religious Studies as a Result of lingual misunderstanding

In 1921 was published the book of the famous Austrian-British philosopher and funder of the analytic philosophy Ludwig Johann Wittgenstein, in which he wrote, that the big part of our philosophical problems, which were subject of the thinking of the thousands philosophers, are created not by the difficulty of reality but by the complication of the language. When a philosopher analyzes a language he uses, he will find that the biggest part of the philosophical problems is illusory. Following Wittgenstein's advices, in this article we probe to analyze what means the concept "polytheism" and to answer the questions: did the phenomenon, what is with this word described, anytime exist, or it is only a phantasies' fabrication, and all attempts to think about it are wandering in the dark labyrinths without exit. The first problem we have in our way is absolutely darkness in this question. We could not find any research, in which the concept of polytheism is analyzed in this way we changed. So we must get through the forest of an unknown ourselves without opportunity to have support from the experience of the predecessors. We hope our mistakes might be useful for the following researches. The Greek word "doxa polytheos" was first time used by Philo of Alexandria and after them many Judaic and Christian authors repeated this word opposing own religion to the paganism. Jan Bodin 1n 16th Century used this word in the modern mean as a France word "polythéisme". The Greek word "doxa polytheos" and the France one "polythéisme", though they are constructed of the same Greek word "Θεός", based on the different concepts, because in 16 centuries the word "Θεός" changed its means. In Greek-speaking society this word was used to detonate any being who overstate the material world. When Thales of Millet wrote, that "the world is full of gods", he did not mean that there is an Absolut in every small part of the world. When he used the word "Θεός" in this mean, Thales thought about different objects, as we called "God" now. The mean of the term "polytheism" is unclear and is the cause of many researches problems in the religious studies. The Greek word "Θεός" detonated every sacral being, which was the object of the worship, but not the Absolut. When this word went in the term "polytheism", its mean was changed, and it was used for the calling Absolut in the Christian meaning. This transformation of the meaning created the wrong conception that in the world there were or are religions, the members of them believes in the existence of some or many Absolutes. The problem of using concept "polytheism" is not a real academic problem but an illusions problem, what is caused by the wrong and incorrect using of the term. The Greek word "Θεός", of them are created the terms "monotheism" and "polytheism", is used in both terms in different meanings. In the term "monotheism" the word "Θεός" means God-Absolut, and in the term "polytheism" – any beings, what are the objects of the religious worship. The monotheism and polytheism are not two different phase of the entvelopment of the religious consciousness. These ideas are created by the wrongness of Hegel's philosophy and must be uprooted from the lexicon of the religious studies.