Belief and Knowledge - Religion

Re-li-gion

–noun

1. set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME religioun (<>religion) <>religiōn- (s. of religiō) conscientiousness, piety, equiv. to relig(āre) to tie, fasten (re- re-+ ligāre to bind, tie; cf. ligament ) + -iōn- -ion; cf. rely

It's a pretty loaded word, isn't it? Brings up some deep, passionate feelings and beliefs. I have had many a debate simply because someone mentioned this one simple word in such a way that contradicted my meaning. But what is it really?

In a conversation about belief vs knowing (belief as in religion ; knowledge as in scientific proof and such), I came to the conclusion that belief fills the holes knowledge cannot. At least that is how it seems to work for me. If I don't know something or I find myself afraid of something, I turn to my religion for answers. It seems like that was common among at least a few others in the group (and please correct me if I'm wrong about that)

-I don't know how the world was created so I turn to the bible.

-I am afraid when I am alone in the dark so I turn to prayer.

-I worry about what comes after death so I turn to the church's teachings.

With this realization, I got to thinking. How can someone live without religion? I would surely go absolutely insane without it. ((Of course, I guess you could argue one could absolutely insane with it too...)) I really can't imagine my life without it. Does anyone have any thoughts on the topic? Or another definition of religion to ponder?

Panther

The Panther; Fierce, strong, violent, endangered

Throughout all of our discussions, we have found the panther to be almost like an alternate personality or an outside representation of Ama in the novel Power. Ama is seen in much the same light as the panther. When Omishto describes Ama for the first time, she mentions how beautiful Ama looks from a distance but as you get closer, you see her ribs and her gray hair. When Omishto describes the panther, she mentions much the same thing. As she nears the creature, she sees the scratches on it's skin and the signs of aging. The comparison between the character and the creature is very clear and is expressed often but there are other less obvious ties to the panther:

1. The endangered nature of the Taiga culture
2. The possible death of the culture
3. Omishto and Ama's tie to nature

The story leaves the panther as a general symbol, one that cannot be tied directly to anything but rather connects to almost everything. The magnificent creature plays a very important role in the novel. A different version of the novel actually shows the panther on the cover.


It is interesting to note that even after it's death, the panther plays a very important role in the novel. Only about half way through is it killed by Ama, but the consequences of that act and the mark it left on Omishto still exists and the panther continues to impact the story.

Here is a video about the florida panther I found very interesting. Some facts I found shocking: 17 were killed in 2007 and here are only about 70-100 of them left.

Omnia Vincit Amor!

How can one make them self sufficiently holy to participate in a Holy war?!

The question perplexed me as I heard it echo through the cold, silent auditorium. How is it even possible? Can a person ever be Holy enough to take the lives of other human beings? I thought the choice of life or death was meant to be only up to God?

Professor William Chester Gordon attempted to answer this question in his lecture Crusader Prologues: Preparing for War in the Gothic Age. He mentioned 6 specific tasks: confession, prayer, the blessing of weapons, the vesting of shields, the making and publishing of a will.

In the middle ages, confession was meant only to be done around Easter or when a person was on their deathbed. Taking confession before leaving for battle merely allowed the person to fight with some peace of mind. If they were to be killed in battle, they would be reassured their soul would enter the pearly gates of Heaven. In the last fifteen minutes while Professor Gordon took questions from the audience, a woman asked if the men requested forgiveness for the lives they were to take in battle. The response? No! This surprised me for a minute, but listening to the explanation, it made more sense. They honestly believed they were killing in the name of God and that those who died by their sword were meant to be killed. No forgiveness was needed.

The next step was to undo all the wrongs committed during their lifetimes. They had to improve relations with anyone they may have hurt over the years as well as return any money they may have earned unjustly. I can't imagine they actually were able to undo EVERY wrong, but I guess they must have made a pretty good effort...

Prayer was extremely important. They prayed for strength and protection from God and the saints. They even saw death and injury on the battle field as the saints method of testing those fighting. Prayers were done individually, but most were embedded in elaborate ceremonies.

The blessing of weapons was such a ceremony. Each individual celebrated the ceremony at the church with the most meaning to them. They picked the one they grew up in or wanted to be buried by or something of that sort. The blessing of arrows was supposed to be done on January 20th because that was the day of Saint Sebastian. He is said to have been shot by many arrows after being caught protecting and acting as a Christian during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. Seems like a strange day to pick, but I guess it works!

The vesting of the shield followed. They blessed each shield to protect both the body and soul of whoever may hold it. It was blessed in the name of the Holy Trinity.

The creation and publishing of a will was simply meant to be a way to hope for salvation and forgiveness.

(These last two seemed pretty rushed. Must have been a time constraint or something...)

A few other tid bits of information I found interesting were: some crusaders actually requested to be branded with a cross prior to battle... today tattooing is a far more common choice, crusaders did not have a "willingness for war" but rather a "hope for returning", most weapons were actually given holy names, Mary was seen as a protector who would watch over her "adopted sons" in battle, her figure was printed on flags carried out to war.