Revealed Religion - Essay Example

Revelation The word 'Revelation' refers to the disclosure of something which was previously unknown. A 'revealed' religion, therefore, is different from a religion that has evolved as a collection of men's thoughts on the subject, a spiritual self-expression, or an accumulation of ancient wisdom. (Gatiss2005) Judaism, Christianity and Islam are examples of revealed religions. Revelation may be direct (insertion of meaning directly into the heart of the prophet), behind a veil (as spoken to Moses), or through an agent - the angel Gabriel. In Christianity, the revelation is direct. "It is a union between the Soul of man and God to convey the mind of God to man to be revealed in the Holy Bible." (Boutros) Jesus was born at the height of Roman power, when Augustus Octavian was the emperor. Judea was by then a part of the Roman Empire, which being secular, required that the Emperor be looked on as divine. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, and its followers could not accept this. Apart from this, the Rabbis were divided on the issue of interpretation of the Scripture. Some also predicted the arrival of a messiah. Not much is known of the historical figure, Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are dated around forty years after the death of Christ, and although they emphasize the events leading to Christ's death, they also talk about the revelations by God to Christ. Christ was against the highly ritualistic practices of Judaism. He was against the accumulation of too much of wealth, stating that this came in the way of a person's readiness to embrace the after-life. He preached the message of unconditional love - a lofty ideal indeed. After Christ, his apostles sought to spread his word. St Thomas even traveled to Asia, and established Christianity in South India much before it reached Europe. It was mainly due to the efforts of St Paul, though, that Christ's teachings gained ground, and a new religion came to be established. Christ was no longer seen as a reformer of Judaism, but as the founder of Christianity. St Paul is said to have written from ten to fourteen of the twenty-seven books that comprise the New Testament. (The Old Testament is the Bible of Judaism.) Apart from the work done by St. Paul, the decline of the Roman Empire, and the abject poverty of many of its subjects was one of the factors that led to the popularity of Christianity. A religion that offered succor (everlasting life) from the daily grind, and did not subscribe to elaborate and costly practices appealed to the common man. In the latter half of the third century, Christians were persecuted, and many martyrs went willingly to their death. In 313 AD King Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which not only stopped the persecution of Christians, but encouraged the consolidation and spread of the religion, and the evolution of a distinct Christian identity. The first Ecumenical (worldwide) Council (called for by Constantine) held in Nicaea in 325 AD laid the basis for a uniform Christian dogma like the virgin birth, resurrection and the concept of the 'Trinity' (a union of the Holy Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in Godhead) By the end of the fourth century, Christianity was established as the most important religion in Rome. The Bishop of Rome gained primacy in the Catholic Church, and Latin, the local language became the language of worship. The Roman legal system also became the basis for Church canon (law). In the western part of the Empire, the Roman Catholic Church established itself, and in the eastern, the Greek Orthodox Church gained strength. By the end of the 6th Century, Christianity had established itself as a powerful force, under the control of a powerful church. (Fiero) A monastic order evolved in Christianity. The first order was set up in Southern Italy -sometime towards the close of the fifth century - by Benedict of Nursia. The doctrines of simplicity and poverty, celibacy, and the barring of women were established. Women were barred from holding positions of authority, though they were allowed to join a religious order and live in convents, a life committed to prayer. Jerome, Ambrose, Gregory and Augustine (the Latin Church Fathers) were the four persons who contributed considerably to the development of Christian dogma and liturgy between the 4th and the 6th century. Jerome translated the Hebrew Bible and the Greek books of the New Testament into Latin. This resulted in the Vulgate, the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. Ambrose amalgamated Roman, Greek and Southwest Asian traditions to develop Christian liturgy. Gregory, who became Pope, organized the Papacy, and took steps to spread Christianity in England and to consolidate the strength of the Church. Augustine from Roman Africa was the most influential of the four Latin Church Fathers. Augustine, in his writings and teachings emphasized the dual model of the pure and the impure, the physical and the spiritual, the church and state, God and Satan, the sin of Adam and the sacrifice of Christ(Fiero) The symbolism involved in Christianity is studied by a science called Iconography. Often the symbolic interpretation of a sign was more important than the literal interpretation. In the early stages before Christianity was legalized (before 313) symbols also aided a follower of the religion to identify another. Christians adopted the sign of the fish, because Ichthys, the Greek word for fish was an acrostic (a combination of the first letter of each word) for the words, 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior'. Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet were used to represent Christ (an allusion to the beginning and end of all things). In early Christian art and music, numbers also had their significance. 3 stood for the Trinity, 5 referred to Christ's wounds, 12 represented the Apostles, and so on. The halo became an ubiquitous symbol to depict divinity or sainthood, and the crucifix is a symbol for Christ himself. The early evidences of Christian art are found in the Catacombs (underground burial chamber just outside the city of Rome). Architecture had also a special symbolism showing a transition from the worldly to the spiritual. For example, one entered St Peter's Basilica through an unroofed atrium, surrounded on three sides by an ambulatory (walkway), and on the fourth side, directly in front of the entrance, by a vestibule. The Church exterior was often left very plain while the interiors were richly decorated. This probably referred to the transcendent nature of Christian religious teachings. Church building plans often followed the 'cross' shape, as well. (Fiero) Roman Catholic depiction of the divine was extravagant, while Byzantine depiction was more somber. Besides, there was a clash of styles in the Roman and Byzantine approaches, with the Byzantine favoring the iconoclastic (not depicting figures of God) approach. Works Cited Boutros, Zacharia The Concept of Revelation in Christianity and Islam, date retrieved 25th June, 2007 Fiero, Gloria K Landmarks in Humanities - ch4- Revelation: The Flowering of World Religions. ISBN: 0-07-299550-5. Gatiss, Lee The Theologian: Is Christianity a Revealed Religion 2005; date retrieved 25th June, 2007 Read More