Voodoo

The cross is a significant symbol to the Haitian Voodoo religion. Voodoo originated in Africa. When slaves were brought to the land that is now called Haiti, they brought the religion with them. In order for them to continue to practice their religion they had to disguise it with the religion that the colonizers had. Catholicism was the religion that they had to blend in with. This was not incredibly difficult because Voodoo is also a monotheistic religion and their spirits act much like the saints. The main voodoo God does not deal with human affairs, so it is the job of the loa’s to interact with the human world. In the Voodoo religion, the chicken is seen as a pure animal. In some rituals, a chicken is rubbed on a person’s body in order to purify the body. These animals are also sacrificed.       

There are many spirits that are important and that are worshiped in everyday life; one of the major spirits in the voodoo religion is Baron Samedi. He is the loa, or spirit, of death, resurrection and sex. Each loa has a veve or a symbol that represents them. They also have colors that they are associated with; Samedi’s colors are black and purple. Samedi’s veve is represented with a cross and two coffins.  On each of his shrines his veve must be present with other things that his spirit likes. This particular loa likes smoking, so cigarettes are placed in his shrine along with rum that has hot peppers in it. When someone is possessed by this loa they drink this rum. There are many different loas with their own veves and own colors.

In this short youtube video, you see the voodoo priest get possessed by Baron Samedi. The loa aids the priest in finding the cause of the problem with the young man. He aids the priest in finding the cause, so that he may find a solution. Also you are able to see that they drink blood. This is another practice that is used in order to purify the body. Sometimes the blood that they drink is that of an animal that they have sacrificed, such as a chicken. These are just some of the many symbols used in voodoo.

Some of the symbols discussed so far can be used to define Voodoo as a religion. The veves that are present on the shrines are symbols of the loas. Each loa has its own purpose. The shrines act as a connection for the people to the loas. These spirits affect the emotions of their followers. For example, when the followers of Baron Samedi pray to him they do it with great respect. He is a loa that demands great respect, and when he posses someone like in the youtube video people listen because they fear him. Because there are different loas assigned to different aspects of life it creates order because you pray to the loa that has to do with whatever you’re going through. All of this is real to the followers of voodoo, ad according to Geertz definition of religion voodoo would qualify. 

Unity

The Baha’i temple in Chicago symbolizes the Baha’i religion. The temple was built with 9 entrances which symbolize the welcoming of all of humanity from every direction. Also in the Baha’i faith the number nine signifies completion. The unity of all of the earth’s religions and people is a goal of the religion. In the design of the temple there are symbols of many religions on the surface. This goes along with the idea that all of the earth’s religions praise God. The temple was created for all the people of the world all of the people of God to worship him under one roof.
The Garden is also an essential part to the design of the temple. Like the other Baha’i temples in the world the garden was created to represent the people of the earth and it is also a place of peace. Baha’u’llah said that the people of the world are like the many different types of flowers in a garden. He said that we should coexist together like the flowers do in a garden. In the Baha’i temple in Chicago their garden has many species of flowers that represent this idea. The temple is a place where people of any religion or any background can come to worship.

New Religions

It is really interesting to me that there can be so many new religions created. I feel like there is a lot that can be lost in translation when religions are changed or modified. It seems like the main religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Have there own variations. There are also translations of there own bibles or holy books that are changed. 

It is hard for me to see where the line is drawn between man made creation and a true religion that was created by God. The line seems to be blurred. How many people are actually sent by God to spread a new word. 

Also I feel like religion is a strong and dangerous tool that people can use. There are many people that died in the name of religion because they had a charismatic leader that told them God sent them. It is scary to me that so many new people accept these religions. I feel like it shows that the human race can be easily changed or manipulated. 

Baha'u'llah

When founding a new religion there are a few main elements that must be present. The religion has to be fundamentally different from the others. Also it needs to solving a problem or filling in a gap that the other present religions can’t. It needs to be able to be a system of symbols that people can relate to and accept. People need to feel moved by it.
The process of creating a new religion is usually a long one. It can begin as a variation of a major religion and eventually it evolves different values or symbols so that it becomes fundamentally different. For example the Bahais took a while to come about. It was a long process. They began as a variation of Islam. The Bahais share some of the same beliefs as the Islamic faith, but, they are different. For example when Tihrani entered the tent without her veil on, it signaled a major change. This was a huge distinguishing factor between the Islamic faith and the new religion that was being created.
Having a founder for a religion is very important. It is actually fundamental. Without a founder the creation of a new religion is not the same. There needs to be at least one person in control or with the power. There needs to be that one divine person that gives direction and guidance from whatever entity that is being believed in. It was very important to the Bahais that Baha’u’llah be a founder, because he had a lot of power both financial and political. He assisted greatly in the creation and progression of the religion.

Babylon

After doing some reading on the Rastafari and their beliefs I came across something I found interesting. The Rastas believe that Jesus Christ was God himself and that he taught God’s teachings but that they were distorted by Babylon. I find it interesting that Jesus Christ teachings could be distorted by Babylon. I would say that Babylon is just human kind in general. I feel that all types of people have made many different interpretations of what they felt the meaning of the bible is or what some prominent figure in a religion was saying. I don’t feel that it is necessarily fair for the Rastafari to blame it all on Babylon since there are corrupt people everywhere and in every society. Western society is not the cause of all evil and corruption.
I also find it interesting that they agree with the majority of Christian teachings and the Christian bible, yet they believe that someone human is God. If they believe in the Christian bible and the accept Revelations, then how would it be possible for God to have come down to earth again without the apocalypse. Maybe there are logical questions to this but I haven’t read anything yet to answer the question and it’s just weird to me.

Rastafari

In the Rastafari video they had a series of symbols that they had. They had the turbans as well as the dreads that were prominent symbols. They also had various signs of good and evil and the R of righteousness over the X of wrong. I also noticed that the good is written in black and the evil in white. I don’t really know if this is a religious thing or if it’s maybe more of a political symbol. Also the color red seems to be present a lot in their surrounding, with their clothes and turbans.
Bob Marley’s presentation of Rastafarian life was one of a somewhat stress less care free lifestyle. But in his song “No Woman No cry”, he presents a life that seems to have some political stress in it, but there is still this idea that the person should not be stressed. One thing that I feel is not presented in Bob Marley’s music is how devote the Rastafari can be. In the video they spoke about the times that they get up to perform ceremonies. They also strictly observe the Sabbath day.

God ok with rape?

I was outraged when I read Kebra Negast. I couldn’t believe that a follower of the Lord, King Solomon, was allowed to commit a crime and a sin. He basically committed rape, but it was ok because God allowed it. In the origin story King Solomon believed that because Queen Sheba had come from afar and was so beautiful that this had to be God giving him the opportunity to impregnate her. He cheated his way into sleeping with her. If it was God’s will for him to get the Queen pregnant then why did he have to trick her? He deliberately fed her food that would make her thirsty, and he also placed the water in a location that she would see. She did not take the water by force, but he took her by force. Since when is rape ok with God? But, for some reason this story is ok with everyone. It definitely doesn’t make sense to me.

The Light

The story of Kebra Negast shows that God had a special purpose for the nation of Ethiopia. It seems as if things just fell right into place and as if things were destined to work out the way they did. The merchant saw King Solomon’s wisdom and the Queen just so happened to love wisdom and wanted to learn.  It seemed as if God had laid down a path for the Queen to follow.

Solomon was a great man. He was very wise and well respected. He was a follower of the lord and the Queen of Ethiopia also became a loyal follower of the God of Israel. The Queen had the child of this well renowned king. After reading about the dream that King Solomon had of the light shinning over the land of Ethiopia it was clear to me that the Lord claimed that land as his, and the child that the Queen was to bear was the light. It showed that Israel was now not the only kingdom with God’s blessing, and this gave Ethiopia special significance. 

Conceptual Blending

Conceptual blending is an interesting idea. It is not one that is known to be related to religion, but when you try to understand religion and faith by apply some of the information of conceptual blending it all makes sense. In conceptual blending there are two ideas that are put together to create a new blended idea. In religion there are many ideas that are taken such as human actions and God. These two concepts are brought together and they can help to create this idea of religion.
In religion conceptual blending is used a lot. The bible is a prime example of this. There are many examples in the bible of human actions being compared to odd things. At first glance they may not make sense. Augustine might argue that when the bible say odd things like killing babies that it is to be taken figuratively. This is a form of conceptual blending. You have your input or your ideas that are blended together to create a new reality or idea. This idea of killing babies doesn’t literally mean that we should do so, rather it means that we should kill all evil ideas. After the metaphor of killing the babies is taken away the new blended idea comes forward.
Conceptual blending is a tool that most religions use. It is key to faith and explanations of certain things such as the bible. This tool is important to the study of religion because it allows people to grain a lot of insight in to the world of religion.

Love is the Key

The love for God and your neighbors is a reoccurring theme in book three of St. Augustine’s book. It is interesting because this love for God and our neighbors is something that one needs to develop in order to fully understand the bible according to Augustine. One of the things that happen when you fully love God is that you trust in him and you trust his word. This faith in God and his truth is what allows a person to believe in the bible and all that it says without prejudice.
But, one has to wonder whether or not this love for God and faith in his truth really allows you to understand the bible or whether it blinds you to what is really there. When you have faith in God and his truth you are believing in something that cannot necessarily be proven. It is a blind faith. This might actually hinder a person from asking questions that should be asked. Or it might give you an insight into the true meaning of some bible verses. It may also give a person more faith in the bible because not all things that God does can be explained just like the bible. So it seems that love and trust in God are the keys to fully understanding the bible according to Augustine. But this may not be in the way that a person seeking all truth might want. So it is up to you to take Augustine’s route or the route of a person that wants all the facts.

Augustine's take on the Psalms

After reading Book Two in Saint Augustine’s book I find it easier to understand the purpose of the psalms and how they are read and interpreted. In the beginning of book two, Saint Augustine speaks of symbols and how they have great meaning to people. He speaks of different ways that symbols take form and how they can be interpreted. He speaks of music being a form of a symbol. The psalms were written to be used in song, making them a powerful symbol. This helps me to understand the power of the psalms during this time of a symbol of religion.
Also St. Augustine speaks of how there are different levels of belief and understanding in a religion. He speaks of the knowledge that one can gain when they are in the third stage. He says that when a person is in the third stage he understands the scripture and has a reading knowledge of it. I feel that, as a person that is not really religious, we have a reading knowledge. But the person in the third stage also has a belief in the truth of the religion and the word. With this belief the religious person will be able to read the bible without prejudice and will be able to believe it. This helps me understand how it is religious people are able to believe and have faith in what they are reading without passing little to no judgment on it. Overall, reading book two was helpful in understanding the importance of the symbolism used in the psalms and in understanding the religious people’s faith in the bible.

Is God a Lover or a Fighter?

In Psalm 18 God is presented as a warrior. But in many other psalms and in many other books in the bible the Lord is presented as a loving God. In many places in the bible God is shown as being patient and forgiving. But, if at any time you sin against God you are condemned and so too are your children. So is God a lover of all his creations, or is he a fighter and enforcer of his laws?
If the Lord loves all his creations and wants them to prosper then why would he condemn them? Why would he choose sides and help one of his children to destroy the other? In Psalm 18 it seems as if God has chosen a side. He is helping to destroy this other person and it seems as if he has declared war against his enemy. But how could his creation be his enemy? How could he love all yet destroy them? Many religions believe that there is favoritism, but this is contradictory to the teachings of the bible.
The majority of the books in the bible present evidence of God being more of a lover than a fighter. And although there is a lot of evidence of this there are still historical events that show God as more of a fighter than a lover. Now with the addition to the bible which is the New testament it gives people another way to be on God’s good side. In the past before the New testament it seems like God was more of a fighter but now with the hope of being saved in present day he is more of a lover.

An angry God

The image of God in Psalm 18 is that of a very scary God. The idea of God as a fighter is not seen very frequently in the bible. The Lord is usually portrayed as being very loving, patient and forgiving. I feel that it is problematic for this idea to have been taken from other religions because I feel that it does not match that of the God in the rest of the bible. There are not many instances were the Lord declared full on war on somebody.

            It seems that the God in Psalm 18 is angry and destructive. It almost contradicts the image of God through out the rest of the bible. I would not want an angry destructive God that would declare war on his own people. God has become angry in other books of the bible and has destroyed people be he was really portrayed as being extremely destructive. He was compared to a volcano in the way that he got angry and the destruction that he created. I feel that this is not the purpose of a God and it is a very scary thought.

Is the bible obsolete

The bible consists of multiple books that were written thousands of years ago. The majority of the books with the exception of Revelations and maybe a few other verses were written about that a particular point in time. For example the book of Psalms was written during a time when there was war. Since the majority of the books in the bible were written about a particular time in history it could be said that the bible no longer applies to present day.
But why is the bible not obsolete? Many people argue that some of the rules in the bible are in practical for this time. One example, of a rule that wouldn’t be as practical today would be having premarital sex. In the past if a person was to engage in premarital sex, particularly a woman, she would have no chance of getting married because it would unacceptable. And the woman would need a man in this society in order to provide for her. But in this day and age females are independent and can provide for themselves and so it is socially acceptable for people to engage in premarital sex. But although I don’t agree with all the rules in the bible and although I feel that it is partially out dated, I don’t believe that the bible is obsolete. Since the bible is written in a manner that draws it to be interpreted. This allows humans to still feel like the bible can give them guidance thousands of years later.

An Early American Interpretation of Psalm II

Psalm two speaks of the kings of the earth uniting against God and his people. It can be said that this Psalm could have been interpreted by early Americans as being important. Before the creation of American there were colonies, and these colonies were ruled by people in the old world. For example English colonies were ruled by Britain. These colonies were being treated unfairly by the King. Then Britain declared war on the colonies.The people could have read these first few verses and identified themselves as the people of God. They could have looked to the Lord for support in this situation. The people gave power to the Lord just like in the psalm. I believe the colonist felt that God was going to deliver them from this situation by destroying the other nations just as it said in Psalm 2 verse 9. I believe that it is possible for this psalm to have had almost as much meaning to the people at this time as it did in the past when it was written.

Did Native Americans Believe in An After life?

There is evidence that Native Americans believe in an after life. Conical mound building provided proof. These mounds were created for the purpose burying the dead. The Henschel site in Wisconsin is a great example of Native Americans believing in an afterlife. The conical mounds built in this particular site are next to a spring. Springs were believed to be a place of entry in to the watery underworld.

In addition to the specially chosen locations of the conical mounds, grave offering were found. Grave offerings seen in many other cultures have indicated the belief in an afterlife. In Egyptian burials, valuables would be placed in the chambers along with the dead so that they could take their belongings with them to the afterlife.  In some of the mounds some of the people were buried with personal items such as knife, spear points, and beads. These things could potentially aid the person in the new world that they would be living in when they reached their afterlife.

The natives believed in a renewal of the world after death and this was shown in the location of the mounds, which were mostly by springs. The Native American belief in an afterlife is apparent in the time and effort that was taken to bury the dead and in the process of creating the burial sites.

Effigy Mounds a Reflection of a System of Symbols

The effigy mounds of Wisconsin served a religious purpose to the Native Americans in the area.  They were a series of mounds created that were made in the shapes of different animals. These animals had special significance in the spiritual world of the natives. There were two worlds, the upper and lower worlds. There were many different animals that were associated with these worlds such as the thunderbird for the upper -world and the snake or bear for the lower -world.

These beliefs in an upper and lower world were represented through the creation of these mounds. The effigy mounds were created in shapes that represented the animals that were associated with these worlds. The upper-world was associated with the sky and the lower with water. An upper-world animal such as a thunderbird would be made on a cliff of another high area, and a mound in the shape of a lower-world animal such as a snake would be created near a spring or another source of water.

The creation of these mounds showed a desire to create a connection between people, the land, the animals and the spiritual world. The mounds were a way to create a form of order and understanding of the world around the natives. They symbolized death, as they were usually burial sites. They also symbolized renewed life, as they would be located near springs that represented the renewing of life to these peoples. In conclusion effigy mounds help create a general order of existence by allowing the Native Americans create a physical form of their beliefs.

Religion…man made or God made?

When I begin to think about religion and why there are certain rules and guidelines I start to think about the creation of religion and the purpose that it serves to human kind. No matter where you live in the world be it in a large city or secluded jungle all people have some form of religion. It is almost as if we as humans are built to have a need to believe in something more than just us. It is as if we are programmed to believe in a God or gods, and with that belief comes the belief in the supernatural world and supernatural power.

 Human kind was also programmed with a need to control and understand their environments. The creation or rather existence of religion is a way that humans can feel a sense of control and understanding in a world of chaos and uncertainty. So I find it only natural to wonder whether or not religion was just a man made creation. I wonder whether or not man just created a God and rules from this God to benefit themselves and try to exercise control over people and their environments. There are so many religions in this day and age that cater just about every want and need that a human might experience. Humans have molded and bent different religions into what they find to be ideal for them. What rules from one religion are best for their life style mixed with some ideals from another.

So I’m left thinking whether religion created by God and then dulled down by man or whether it created by man and just further evolved it to what best served them during whatever point in time they are living? 

Did Cave Drawings Serve a Religious Function or Were They Merely Art Created for “Art’s Sake”?

When reading the chapter on Paleolithic Art and Religion you are presented with two theories about what purpose cave drawing served to the people that created them. The first was that it really served no practical function. It was just “art for art’s sake” as put in the chapter. This theory was written off by a new theory. This second theory explains how cave drawing actually served a religious function.

When thinking about the Paleolithic time it is hard for me to believe that humans would have done anything that was not of practical use to them in anyway. It is hardly unlikely that they would have spent time doing something that was not going to aid in their survival. Although humans have a creative side engraved in them during this point in time I feel that was not yet developed. The development of religion and the expression of religion in a physical way would have been extremely important and practical. Religion would have made more sense to have been developed first since at this point in human kind’s history I don’t think that we had yet reached the point where art was a normal way to express emotions. The showing of emotions during this point in time was most likely viewed as a weakness. Humans during this time were more focused on survival than anything else; their needs were raw and basic.  

The art that was created during this time did not seem to be replications of the human’s entire environments but rather it was drawings about different types of animals. Animals were essential to their survival because of all they supplied. Because the world during that time was such a harsh place to survive it would have made sense for humans to try and create a way that they could feel that they could control a part of this dangerous and random world. The creation of hunting magic with the drawings of certain animals with spear like objects through them is a way to control their environment, and must have been extremely functional to these people at this time. It would have given  them a sense of control which may have motivated them to go out and hunt and be optimistic about the outcome of their hunt. Religion is a way to live life, a way to create the illusion of some control in your life. I feel that cave drawings and the hunting magic is a perfect example. It depicts a certain ritual that was done that gave the illusion of control. I feel that religion is made up of beliefs that are of practical use to people and cave drawing and hunting magic were of pratical use to people during the paleolithic time.