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Spirits

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Title: Spirits


1
Spirits
  • A supernatural being that is less powerful than a
    god and is usually more localized often one of a
    collection of nonindividualized supernatural
    beings that are not given specific names and
    identities.
  • Spirits are very much involved in humanly affairs
    and can have a negative or positive influence.
  • Spirits also reside in the human world, and are
    often seen as inhabiting natural or man-made
    objects.
  • Ireland, Brittish Isles
  • Leprechaun, Fairy
  • Statues and Shrines
  • A shrine is an object or building that contains
    sacred objects or is associated with a venerated
    person or deity
  • Ex Fairy Circle
  • Ex Aten temple, Akhenaten
  • Japan
  • Kami, Obake (bakemono) or a thing that changes,
    and Yokai (usually has some sort of supernatural
    power)
  • Hayao Miyasaki Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke,
    Howls Moving Castle
  • Spirited Away clip (in-class film)
  • Princess Mononoke clip http//www.metacafe.com/wat
    ch/1522442/princess_mononoke_part7_eng/

2
Spirits cont.
  • Jinn
  • A spirit being created of fire without smoke.
  • 1 of 3 types of beings (Jinn, humans, angels)
    described in the Quran.
  • When visible, can alter shape and features at
    will.
  • Like humans in that they can be good or bad, have
    different personalities, get married, have
    families
  • A person can form an alliance with a jinn,
    gaining supernatural powers in the process
  • Ex Genii from Arabian Nights stories
  • Anthropological study Jinn of the Hofriyat
    village
  • Black Jinn Possession leads to serious illness
    and sometimes, death.
  • Red Jinn (Zairan pl., Zar sing.) cause illness.
    Of different cultures and ethnic groups. Can be
    good/bad, have diff. behaviors, but tend to be
    amoral and easily lead by emotions, fickle.
  • A Zar may possess members of the community,
    usually women of childbearing age. Possession is
    lifelong and women will attend possession
    ceremonies, wear clothing and eat a specific diet
    designed to pacify the Zar.
  • The woman will therefore maintain a cure and
    the Zar will gain access to the human world.
  • Christian Angels and Demons
  • Angles In Christianity, Judaism and Islam
    mediators between humanity and God. Often
    represented as agents of revelation, executors of
    divine will or as witnesses to divine activity.
  • Besides Ghosts, Angels are most highly popular
    supernatural entities in American Culture.
  • Demons An evil spirit being
  • Demons and Satan rebelled against God and were
    cast out of heaven
  • Closely associated with human evil, Hell, and
    Adam/Eves casting out of The Garden of Eden
  • In Catholicism, they are those that are cast out
    during Exorcism.

3
Gods
  • An individual supernatural being, with
  • a distinctive name and personality
  • control or influence of a major aspect of nature
    that encompasses the life of an entire community
    or a major segment of the community
  • Gods are Anthropomorphic
  • Non-human entities that are made to resemble
    humans in physical appearance and behavior.
  • Creator Gods and Otiose Gods
  • Creator God Responsible for the creation of the
    physical earth and the plants and animals that
    live on it.
  • Often very powerful and at the top of the God
    hierarchy.
  • Also, can be many Creator Gods in a hierarchy,
    responsible for the creation of specific types of
    plants, animals, geological features, humans.
  • Ex
  • Olodumare (Yoruba) who dwells in the heaven/sky
  • Gnostic Demiurge and the God of the Old Testament
  • Otiose God A remote God who is too uninterested
    in human activity to participate in human fate.
  • Categorizes Creator Gods who withdraw themselves
    from humanity after time of creation.
  • Ex
  • Olorun (Yoruba) the source of all supernatural
    power but can only be contacted through the
    Orisha (intermediary gods like Esu)
  • The all-encompassing, all-powerful concept of Ntr
    (netcher) in Ancient Egypt

4
God Theory
  • Functionalist Approach
  • Èmile Durkheim
  • Religious symbolism marks as sacred important
    institutions of human society that are necessary
    for the groups survival.
  • Loyalty, respect, obligation, hierarchy, etc.
    found in human society mirrored in the activities
    of the gods. Roles (brother/sister/father/mother/
    ) also reflected in the gods.
  • Robin Horton
  • Supernatural beings function to extend the realm
    of social relations.
  • Lesser gods associated with interpretations of
    events occurring in the local area
  • High god associated with interpreting world
    events that relate to the local area
  • The more contact with other societies, the more
    necessary that this High god has traits that are
    in league with perceived human universals.
  • Ex Incoming Spanish conquistadors to Mayan
    society.
  • Ex Roman pantheon gods to absorbing traits of
    local deities to create a unifying religion
    within the expanding Roman empire.
  • Nature of gods depend on how one acquires status
    in society.
  • Ascribed status (status is given/handed down,
    i.e. gender, family line)
  • Focus is more on lesser gods who focus on local
    issues within the community.
  • Achieved status (Based upon an individuals
    personal achievements)
  • Personal success and failure a reference to a
    high god who rules over a wider realm.
  • Psychosocial Approach
  • Sigmund Freud
  • Gods as anthropomorphic entities that take on
    attributes of parents. Symbolic of the
    relationship between parents and children.

5
Polytheism
  • The belief in many gods
  • Pantheon A collection of gods within a
    polytheistic religious system
  • Supreme God The head of the gods within a
    pantheon
  • Ex Zeus, Jupiter, Amun, Isis and Osiris
  • Attribute Gods Gods who rule over a narrowly
    defined domain
  • Associated with specific activities such as
    forces of nature, human fertility and the human
    life cycle, economic activities and war.
  • Ex Ares, Artemis Table 9.1 pg. 205.
  • Famous Gods?
  • Famous Goddesses?

6
Monotheism
  • The belief in one god
  • Big 3 Christianity, Judaism, Islam
  • Must reconcile God as being
  • Omnipotent (all powerful)
  • Omniscient (all-knowing)
  • Omnibenevolent (all-good)
  • Questions such as How can there exist an
    Omniscient God alongside human free will? How
    about an Omnibenevolent God with the existence of
    evil?

7
Atheism and Agnosticism
  • Atheism (literally, no God) Disbelief in or
    denial of the existence of God or gods.
  • Historical meaning Not accepting the current
    conception of the divine.
  • 16th century (Europe) used as an insult to
    describe someone who did not agree with you about
    the nature of God. At this time, there was no
    separation of (some sort of) God/gods from day to
    day living.
  • This was before The Enlightenment, before Science
    became a substitute for religion in Western
    lives.
  • 18th century and the Enlightenment
  • Separation of Church and State, advent of the
    Scientific Method. God was seen as a fact of
    life that could be examined in much the same way
    as the natural world.
  • Concept of God was not rejected outright, but
    rather the anthropomorphism attached to God was
    rejected.
  • Atheist was becoming less of an insult and more a
    badge of intellect and learning.
  • Agnosticism (literally, knowledge not
    attainable) The question of the existence of a
    god is unsolvable, unprovable.
  • Compare to Gnosis direct experiential knowledge
    of the supernatural or divine.

8
Additional terms to know
  • Avatar What it really means
  • From the root word descent in Arabic
  • The incarnation or embodiment of a god in human
    form
  • Ex Zeus, Ishtar
  • Misogynistic
  • Characterized by a hatred of women
  • An accusation leveled at modern (circa 3,000ish
    B.C.E. onward) Western religion as a whole.
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