DIETY CONCEPTS OF THE DIVINE & ULTIMATE REALITY In a two-tiered view of reality; the divine & the profane the immanent & the transcendent the natural & the supernatural In a unitary reality animism or there is no divinity (a.k.a dualism) (a.k.a monism)
Diety Concepts of the Divine & ultimate reality. In a two-tiered view of reality; the divine & the profane the immanent & the transcendent the natural & the supernatural In a unitary reality animism or there is no divinity. ( a.k.a dualism ). ( a.k.a monism ). - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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DIETYCONCEPTS OF THE DIVINE & ULTIMATE REALITY
In a two-tiered view of reality; the divine & the profane the immanent & the transcendent the natural & the supernatural
In a unitary reality animism or there is no divinity
(a.k.a dualism)
(a.k.a monism)
POLYTHEISM & THE WORSHIP OF NATURE
Early man
Neanderthal hunters: revered the cave bear (burial chambers & rituals)
Paleolithic: rituals and sacrifices for the success of the hunt (magical)
Neolithic: Farming gods of Sun, Sky and Earth.
Dualism: male sky & female earth . Pleiades of Dodona (ancient Greek hymn): The Earth is our mother, the Sky is our father. The Sky fertilizes the Earth with rain, the Earth produces the grains and grasses.
THE SKY GOD:A PRIMAL MONOTHEISM/HENOTHEISMWilhelm Schmidt, ethnologist, found a sky god or high god almost universally in primal societies in Africa
High god is creator; far away and withdrawn (most of his work is done already)
Lower gods: deal with daily activities (the hunt, fertility etc)
THE ANCIENT POLYTHEISMS Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indian
Sky god is creator and also sovereign; guarantees cosmic order.
Varuna is an all-seeing king in the Rg Veda (see p157)
IndoEuropean language group has similar names for the sky god: Persian
SanskritLatin
divdevadeus
Greek Zeus in Homer’s Illiad and Hesiod’s Theogony is a divine king. A pantheon of secondary gods are like the kings court.Different
manifestations of Zeus
Zeus Herkejos:Zeus Polieus:Zeus Katharsios:
household protectorprotects the city-state
purification
THE MOTHER GODDESS
Nearly universal, but especially prevalent in the ancient near east and Mediterranean.
Neolithic (farming) rituals connecting human life cycle with agricultural cycle. Goddess of life, death and rebirth Isis
IshtarDemeter
Isis is mother of Pharaohs.
Ishtar is a prostitute goddess.
Demeter is an earth – harvest goddess.
MOTHER & CHILD IMAGERY Comparisons between images of Isis and her child Horus and Mary and the infant Jesus are commonly made. The mother & child image is an archetype; widespread and emotionally evocative