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Most Recent Articles
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- The Ancient Hellenic Divine Practices
Hellenic polytheism, also known as the Ancient Greek religion or "Dodekatheon"-a term that comes from the number twelve, which in Greek is pronounced "dodeka"-has been extensively studied over the centuries as a vital part of the ancient Hellenic times. The Twelve Olympians, residing according to Hellenic mythology in Mount Olympus, encompassed human and divine characteristics that were portrayed in the popular stories of the times. Although Greeks did not have a term for religion back then in the sense of a dimension of existence distinct from all others, they believed that gods exercised authority of the fortunes of human beings and demanded recognition as a condition for salvation.
One distinct characteristic, of the ancient Hellenic beliefs in the "theia" (things having to do with gods), was that there was not a single truth about gods. The twelve main gods, which were Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Ares, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, and Aphrodite, had been depicted within different contexts and they shared different virtues, depending on the each locality's legends. The vast collection of beliefs and rituals practices in Ancient Greece demonstrated that there was no single way to live in accordance with the gods' wishes. Through the worship of the main deities in temples located all over the Greek peninsula and islands, Greeks used to identify different ways to deal with their gods "commandments." There was no single place that one should or should not worship the god of his or her choice, while practices varied in forms and duration. Games, rituals, theatrical works, festivals, processions, and autonomous religious practices within households were held in honor of the gods. This autonomy in dealing with the "theia" gave Greeks the opportunity to portray their gods' superpowers or human weaknesses and associate their everyday practices or behaviors with those of their gods. This uniquely defined line between divinity and humanity illustrated the ancient Greeks desire to understand the forces of nature and to comprehend, to a certain extend, the world around them. - Soccer Brothers
Do you remember the famous movie of the early 80s "the Blues Brothers" with Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi. The two heroes were able to overcome all the obstacles in their way and to avoid their pursuers until the last scene of the film. "They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God" was the tagline of the film. The current Brazilian national soccer team, which plays at the World Cup in Germany, reminded me of the Blues Brothers. Although they prefer samba music to blues, they seem to be unstoppable and although they are not on a mission from God their religiosity is obvious.
The Brazilian players often pray and some of them wear T-shirts with religious slogans under their uniforms. Lucio, one of the team's best defenders was wearing a T-shirt with the message «Jesus loves you» in last World Cup's final game in Yokohama. Kaka, a talented midfielder wears similar T-shirts, while Ze Roberto another midfielder according to the Columbian newspaper "El Pais" plans to become a pastor of the Evangelical Church. Another Brazilian, Luis Felipe Scolari, who is the coach of the national team of Portugal, has chosen for his team a training center in Marienfeld close to a 12th-century monastery, in order for him to visit it every morning and pray. - Focusing On Religion
According to the online etymology dictionary, religion, in its modern sense, is the "recognition of, obedience to, and worship of a higher, unseen power." Numerous studies over the centuries have supported that religion is a human phenomenon of interaction and spiritual exchange based on a group of beliefs or attitudes concerning a real or imagined object or person. In particular, religion is a system of thought considered to have a supernatural, sacred, or divine character, which is based on a set of moral codes, practices, institutions, values, and rituals, associated with the specific beliefs examined.
Also referred to as "faith" or "system of beliefs," religion is usually defined as an agreed set of rules illustrated by a set of commonly exercised practices. These practices are carried out by humans in their effort to understand the natural forces that govern their lives and accept the biggest change of them all; that of death. In fear of the unknown, humans have been able to confront the never-ending change in life and interact with each other by creating a particular set of beliefs and practicing rituals that do represent their commonly agreed principles. - A Look Into Egyptian Religion
By far, the ancient Egyptian culture represents one of the least understood and most interesting facets of beliefs throughout human history. In this article, we'll give you a basic idea of what modern day man knows about what the ancient Egyptians put their faith in.
Our understanding of Egyptian religion is far from complete. Many of the things that we know about their religion seem incomplete; we seem to have found alternate gods they've worshipped that served the same purposes, as well as conflicting stories about what they believed about how the world was formed. While our knowledge is somewhat lacking, we'll focus on what we do know.
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