Sacred

racism, sexism, and domestic violence. Yet some have taken the back seat in terms of acceptance and understanding. Complete pluralism in society with an emphasis on religious understanding and acceptance is the ultimate goal of Eboo Patel in his book Sacred Ground. In his eyes, it is “the idea that different religious communities can live in the same place and not simply coexist in a lukewarm tolerance, but…

Divine Thirteen: The Sacred Aztec Number Throughout the world, the number thirteen is fraught with varying degrees of superstition. In most cultures today, the number is seen as an ill omen meant to be avoided. Rarely will the number ever be considered lucky or have a positive connotation. In the time of the Aztec Empire in the Valley of Mexico (1318 C.E. – 1524 C.E), however, thirteen was a sacred number that reflected the beliefs of the Aztec people; not only was it symbolic for the empire’s…

The Sacred Search The author of The Sacred Search, Gary Thomas, wrote this book on the premise of, “What if It's Not about Who You Marry, but Why?” He goes over the meticulous process of finding a potential spouse and the best ways to go about it. He talks about how to approach relationships and dating with intention, individual maturity and preparation, understanding infatuation, pursuing someone with Godly characteristics and spiritual maturity, gender roles, relational compatibility, how to…

In Richard Steele’s essay “An Hour or Two Sacred to Sorrow,” Steele explores the benefits of grieving and remembering past deaths. Steele begins by remembering how, as a child, his father died. He truly didn’t comprehend what was happening until he saw his mother grieving, allowing him to make the connection between the death and his mother’s emotions; thus, Steele began to feel “an instinct of sorrow.” Steele moves on to compare a young mind to “the body in embryo,” emphasizing the…

Art is a way that cultures can be unique from others and have something that is solely theirs. It also acts as a bridge for religion, which can cause the art to be done in a certain way. In the reading entitled West African Sculpture: Sacred Space, Spirit, and Power by John W. Nunley, he argues that African art “acquires a spiritual and aesthetic life of its own” (p. 1) implying that this art makes its own spiritual significance when it is created. The artists who do these African sculptures…

To be religious is to be spiritual. A sacred space is designated by the people as a holy place or even a burial ground. These places have some similarities and some differences. In this essay I will describe each location, similarities and differences each one has. Despite any religion or deity each place signifies a specific time in history where God was reverenced. In 100 B.C., the pyramid of the sun was created in Teotihucan, Mexico. Teotihucan means “place where the Gods where born.” The…

Defining Sacred: Sacred meaning in Christianity and Buddhism The Bible verses in Mathews and the Jataka Tales both offer morality teachings to all the followers by which many of them have come to consider the teachings sacred. Also, Devutt Pattanik, a Mumbai-based speaker, writer, and mythology specialist called Jataka Tales to be real and historical to any Buddhists as story of Christ’s resurrection in the Bible (Cianfarani, 4.2) Also in the same sacred respect that Buddhist give Jataka Tales,…

The Cairo Genizah or “Sacred Trash” is the collection of 300,000 manuscript of Jewish literary collected from the storeroom of Ben Eza Synagogue in old Cairo, Egypt. Genizah in Hebrew means hide away or keeping aside, like Janaza (means burial) in Arabic is derived from Persian word ganj denotes a treasure. These manuscripts dated from 870 CE to 19th century, contain approximately 1000 years of information about the Jewish communities of Cairo (Schechter). Genizah contains the largest…

In the book, Sacred and Profane: Religious Clergy by Kevin Delany, religious leaders describe money in ways that allow it to take on meanings that blend elements of the sacred and the profane. Delany explains, “If money is thought of only in the secular accounting sense, when a person makes a donation of money, he or she now has less money as a simple mathematical formulation.” (Delany) Sacred could also be a person or figure, for example, “founder or…

Santiago’s Sacred Struggle Many know the story of Jesus of Nazareth and are able to confirm the historical figure whether they believe in him or not. The holy story can be divided and interpreted to explain Christ 's struggle, death and resurrection for the sake of mankind. Many see the modern-day allusion to Christ’s story in Ernest Hemingway 's The Old Man and the Sea. When compared side-by-side, these plot situations may help the reader see beyond the text on the page and visualize and…