Space and Time in the Religious Life of the Near East
Overview
Space and time are basic features of the world-view, even the theology, of many religions, ancient and modern. How did the world begin, and how will it end? What is the importance of religious architecture in symbolizing sacred space? Where and how do we locate the self? The divine world?
Wyatt's textbook treats ancient Near Eastern religions from a perspective that allows us to access how religion shapes and orders the world of human thought and experience. The book is designed especially for classroom use, each chapter provided with suggested reading, copious quotations from ancient texts and summaries. The subject matter is treated by topic, not according to individual religions, so that the reader understands the essential points of similarity and difference between religious systems and how they model their universe.
Top Highlights
“In most cultures orientation means just what it says: it means turning one’s face towards the rising sun (Latin oriens).” (Page 35)
“An important feature to remember in speaking in these terms is the enormous power generated by language. Words had a life of their own. Names were an essential part of a person. Erase the name, as in Egyptian rituals (§§8(5), 11(16)), and the consequence was ‘his name is not; he is not!’ The power and authority of language, whether divine, royal, or merely individual utterance, was not to be lightly ignored.” (Page 38)
“Thus we face the past4. This is crucial to much human, and especially religious experience and practice. We ‘see’ the past, which thus provides us, through memory and narrative, with accounts of how we came to be where we are. Such accounts are often called ‘myth’. Even our modern forms of history are mythical in so far as we see ‘teachings’ in our reflexion on the past.” (Pages 35–36)
“This is of necessity on the right side. For evolutionary and neurological reasons, resulting in the way the two hemispheres of the brain process different functions, the right side is associated with security, well-being and the morally ‘right’. Its geographical direction is a metaphorical extension of the body-term.” (Page 36)
“On the other hand (!), the left, which is towards the north, represents ‘sinister’ (Latin sinister=‘left hand’) and dangerous things and functions, including where the gods dwell, for they are dangerous powers. Its geographical direction is again a metaphorical extension of the body-term.” (Page 36)
- Title: Space and Time in the Religious Life of the Near East
- Author: Nicolas Wyatt
- Publisher: Sheffield
- Publication Date: 2001
- Pages: 368