For open minds
Do you know why you belief in some superstitions and not others? Do you even know where some of these superstitions came from? A lot, of course, are due to old religions.
We’ve got four-leaf clovers, Friday the 3th (fear of Friday the 13th is called Friggatriskaidekaphobia), lucky 7, 666 the number of the beast, throwing salt over your left shoulder, walking under a ladder and a host more.
In Pure Spirit
Are you superstitious? Which superstitions do you pay the most attention to?
The video below is a response to this one in which a woman connects the dots between Satan and Monster energy drink.
As you can tell – the creator isn’t convinced that there is any connection between Satan, Lord of Darkness, and Monster, Lord of Headbuzz, at all. The suggestion is that any connections are just coincidence.
It’s a sobering thought. What if early man turned to supernatural explanations when they encountered coincidences they couldn’t explain? Wouldn’t that set back wisdom and science by creating a belief system that functioned on speculation rather than discovery?
In Pure Spirit
What do you think? Is Monster (or Red Bull) the spawn of Satan? Exactly what are you drinking when you pour the juice down your throat?
If Monster energy drink is evil what does that make Moshi Monsters and My Mini Monsters?
This is a real church. Funds were collected by a charity called Temple for Antarctica which paid for this Eastern Orthodox, staffed, church. Trinity Church can accommodate up to 30 people and was opened by in 2004 by Theognost, the Biship of Segiyev Posad and the Namestrnik of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra. The Orthodox church is staffed by one or two volunteer priests who rotate out each year.
The church is on King George Island which is near the Russian Bellingshausen Station in Antarctica. When the priests aren’t busy with Church duties they help maintain the station.
In Pure Spirit
Would you be up for a trip to King George Island and a visit to Trinity Church?
Know of any other impressive church photographs? Share the links in the comments below.
Do you know where the mistletoe Christmas kiss tradition comes from? Is it Christian? What about Santa? Does he wear that red suit because he was coloured that way by a Coke-a-Cola advertising campaign? What secret Hanukkah practises are still going on today?
This video from the every entertaining Mental Floss is a fun and informative few minutes.
In Pure Spirit
Are you surprised at all the pagan origins to the Christmas holiday that we know today? Or do you disagree with this video and suggest they’ve got their facts wrong?
Spring reminds us of new beginnings and plans for the year ahead. With it comes the imagery of chicks and bunnies, eggs and flowers, which heralds the start of Easter. These images, which embody ideas of rebirth, are not just attached to the Christian festivities of Easter; they are formed from ancient beliefs and mythology, including the celebration of the pagan goddess Eostre.
The name Eostre derives from Northumberland Old English and was first identified in Bede’s work, De temporum ratione, written in the 8th century AD. The mythology goes back much further to pre-Christian times and, aside from the similarities in name, the themes of Easter can also be traced to these pagan beliefs.
Eostre was regarded as a goddess of fertility and has been associated with the Northern European Saxons, though there are variations of her name as she was adopted by different pagan civilisations. Today, Wiccans and Neo-pagans recognise Eostre in the form of Ostara, from Old German, and they celebrate Ostara, the start of the zodiacal year, as one of their eight annual Sabbats. Ostara occurs at the spring equinox, which falls around the same time as Christian Easter festivities, and celebrates the planting of seeds and the return of fertility to the land after the darkness of winter.
Eostre’s association with renewed life means that she has been characterised as bringing light, with her name suggestive of the sun rising in the east. Commenting on an entry he had read for Eostre in a dictionary of etymology, John Andrew Boyle described how she was supposedly imagined as surrounded by lights which were held up by hares. Hares and rabbits are appropriate symbols for new life because they sleep longer throughout winter and tend to mate in spring.
Some commentators have also been tempted to link Eostre with the Norse goddess of love and fertility, Freyja, who was said to have ridden in a chariot pulled by cats. As John Andrew Boyle states, the idea of cats and hares are seen as synonymous with witch familiars in Wiccan and Neo-pagan beliefs, and it is sometimes thought that the hare was Eostre’s incarnation.
Today we see these representations of the hare and light in the modern festivities of Easter: the Easter bunny brings eggs, which are symbols of fertility, and the longer hours of daylight brings life to crops, flowers and animals.
The Eostre figure is common across many belief systems, with several goddesses of fertility and rebirth found in the ancient pantheon of gods and goddesses. Among those most familiar to us today are Aphrodite, Demeter, Cybele and Ostara.
As well as the similarities with ancient myths, the pagan belief in Eostre also ties in with the Christian belief in Jesus. At Easter Christians celebrate the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ as a powerful cyclical motif of the promise of life after death.
One origin of this concept can be seen in Greek mythology with Cybele, the Great Mother goddess, who desired Attis. Attis, like Jesus, was said to be born to a virgin mother during winter and died and was resurrected around the spring equinox. It has been suggested that, as pagan spiritual beliefs pre-existed the Christian faith, many pagan rituals were transposed onto Christian belief during the pagan conversion to Christianity.
While it is difficult for us to be sure of the origins of particular beliefs, it seems clear that there are dominant themes which remain throughout certain festivals. Nowhere is this more obvious than the ways in which Easter and Eostre celebrate the positive regeneration of life.
In Pure Spirit
Do you still have any faith or time for Eostre? What about Easter? What does Easter mean to you?
The word “emeritus” comes from Latin. It’s an adjective that means “retired” but it is also used to honour the position once held by the retired person.
The most common usage is with professors who are still professors even if they’re not teaching any more. However, presidents, prime ministers and bishops also use the title.
In February 26th 2013 the Vatican announced that the retiring Pope Benedict XVI would keep the name Benedict (birth name: Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger), would dress in white without the mozzetta and become known as pope emeritus.
Benedict is the first pope to resign since 1415 when Pope Gregory XII was forced out of office thus ending the Western Schism. The Western Schism of 1378 to 1417 was a time when the Catholic Church was split and two different Popes (both elected by the same people) claimed the title.
What does Pope Emeritus mean? It means the honourable and former Pope. Who is the Pope Emeritus? There may have only been one Pope Emeritus in the history of the church to date and he is Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
In Pure Spirit
Does the retirement of a Pope mean anything to you? Does it feel like you’re living through an incredibly rare moment in history to you or is this just background news?
Benedict XVI has become the first pope in hundreds of years to resign. The last pope to do so was Celestine V. Celestine tried to flee but was captured by the next Pope, Boniface VIII, and arrested. He died in jail. The name Celestine has never been used by a Pope again.
So, could you become the new Pope? In theory; yes you could.
In Pure Spirit
Do you have any views on the new Pope? Tradition suggests he should be Italian, history suggests he’ll be European but there are many people who think an Asian or African Pope is long overdue.
The Polish Press Agency is reporting that the archbishop of Szczecin-Kamien, of the Polish Catholic Church, will read out a letter at Sunday sermons that warns against the dangers of Halloween.
The archbishop is expected to say;
“This kind of fun, tempting children like candy, also poses the real possibility of great spiritual damage, even destroying spiritual life,”
The Church is believed to be concerned that Halloween promotes the occult and that modern Halloween includes rituals that contradict Church teaching and Christianity. One archbishop pointed out that the 31st of October celebrations were promoting paganism to young people.
Of course, the Polish Church is partly right – Halloween does have its roots in “pagan” religions of Europe; but so does Easter and the current date for Christmas. Other Churches have expressed concern before and last year an American movement asked Should JesusWeen replace Halloween?.
In Poland the All Saints religious feast is popular but the American-born practice of carving pumpkins and dressing up is becoming increasingly common.
In Pure Spirit
Do you agree with the Church? Are there occult rituals in Halloween? Is it wrong? Should good Christians celebrate Halloween?
Via BBC.
This advert was intended for Brazil. You’ll probably be familiar with the art style and recognise it as an advert for Red Bull. You’d be spot on – it’s a Red Bull ad.
The video is going viral today because it has (apparently) been banned by Brazilian regulators who found it offensive. At the time of posting it has nearly as many dislikes as likes on YouTube.
In Pure Spirit
What do you make of the video? Would you ban it?
The clergy of St Paul’s Cathedral are split over how to handle the Occupy London Stock Exchange (#occuplylsx on Twitter) protest. Protesters outside have set up a camp and are refusing to move; they wish to see support the 99% against the corporate greed of the 1%.
The cathedral has been forced to shut over health and safety grounds. While some of the clergy considered using legal powers to force an eviction of the protesters – sending in the police – others, like Dr Giles Fraser were appalled at the idea. Was this anyway for for the cathedral to act? He threatened to resign.
Sadly, today, Dr Giles Fraser felt it necessary to resign in order to support the humane treatment of the protesters outside and St Paul’s Cathedral accepted the resigionation.
The dean of St Paul’s, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles told press;
Giles has brought a unique contribution to the life and ministry of St Paul’s and we will be very sorry to see him go.
“He has developed the work of the St Paul’s Institute and has raised the profile of our work in the City.
“We are obviously disappointed that he is not able to continue to his work with Chapter during these challenging days.
“We will miss his humour and humanity and wish Giles and his family every good wish into the future.”
In Pure Spirit
Do you think Dr Giles Fraser has done the right thing? Has the cathedral authorties acted correctly and fairly during the protest?
What do you think about the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest? Do you agree with their message or their means?
Picture credit: Peter Morgan
