Religious Symbolism of Spirit

In its widest sense, all religious symbolism is a representation of spirit, of that essence of the universe which people have variously characterized as gods, goddesses, energies, and voids. In the narrow sense, the religious symbolism of a religion, like Christianity, can distinguish between various aspects of the whole, designating one, like the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, as the spirit aspect. In this analysis, the focus starts with a general look at religious symbolism, spirit in religion, followed by consideration of some ways in which spirit has been characterized in religious symbolism.

Most of our living is communicated through symbols, which includes words and gestures. According to Livingston (1993), the basic characteristic of signs and symbols is that they point to something beyond themselves. They are ways of expressing meaning in the world. For human beings, they are also ways of communicating meaning in order to be understood, and in order for that meaning to be shared.

Sign is the larger category, with symbols a part of that category. While signs are symptoms or natural reminders, according to Langer (1954), signs that are not symptoms of things but abstractions referring to things not in the immediate environment are called symbols. These can be either representational or presentational.

Religious symbols can be either representational or presentational. Presentational symbols ar

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ain the experience and talk about it, which Otto thought was a way of weakening or deadening the experience itself. Yet, these representations, as Livingston noted, provide the means for people to share their religious experiences and build communities and institutions. Michael Novak (1978) noted that symbols precede the articulated theology. Theology is a systematic exploration, and explanation of a particular viewpoint, along with a set of stories and symbols. The symbols draw together significant details of the stories and values of the community, reminding the religious community of who it is and what it stands for. The symbols are also chosen because they are embodiments of all of life. Thus, trees, animals, sun, stars, rivers, and other concrete elements are often aspects of religious ritual and symbols of religious experience and story. According to Novak (1978), ritual is unsuccessful if its symbols do not diffuse significance throughout all of human life. The symbols need to be part of our common and ordinary life, but they need to be vested with greater meaning that bridges the ordinary life and the transcendent. The spirit, too, is often a bridge between ordinary life and the transcendent, as it clearly is in the

Category: Philosophy - R