Spirits

1
Spirits

• A supernatural being that is less powerful than a
  god and is usually more localized often one of a
  collection of nonindividualized supernatural
  beings that are not given specific names and
  identities.
• Spirits are very much involved in humanly affairs
  and can have a negative or positive influence.
• Spirits also reside in the human world, and are
  often seen as inhabiting natural or man-made
  objects.
• Ireland, Brittish Isles
• Leprechaun, Fairy
• Statues and Shrines
• A shrine is an object or building that contains
  sacred objects or is associated with a venerated
  person or deity
• Ex Fairy Circle
• Ex Aten temple, Akhenaten
• Japan
• Kami, Obake (bakemono) or a thing that changes,
  and Yokai (usually has some sort of supernatural
  power)
• Hayao Miyasaki Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke,
  Howls Moving Castle
• Spirited Away clip (in-class film)
• Princess Mononoke clip http//www.metacafe.com/wat
  ch/1522442/princess_mononoke_part7_eng/

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Spirits cont.

• Jinn
• A spirit being created of fire without smoke.
• 1 of 3 types of beings (Jinn, humans, angels)
  described in the Quran.
• When visible, can alter shape and features at
  will.
• Like humans in that they can be good or bad, have
  different personalities, get married, have
  families
• A person can form an alliance with a jinn,
  gaining supernatural powers in the process
• Ex Genii from Arabian Nights stories
• Anthropological study Jinn of the Hofriyat
  village
• Black Jinn Possession leads to serious illness
  and sometimes, death.
• Red Jinn (Zairan pl., Zar sing.) cause illness.
  Of different cultures and ethnic groups. Can be
  good/bad, have diff. behaviors, but tend to be
  amoral and easily lead by emotions, fickle.
• A Zar may possess members of the community,
  usually women of childbearing age. Possession is
  lifelong and women will attend possession
  ceremonies, wear clothing and eat a specific diet
  designed to pacify the Zar.
• The woman will therefore maintain a cure and
  the Zar will gain access to the human world.
• Christian Angels and Demons
• Angles In Christianity, Judaism and Islam
  mediators between humanity and God. Often
  represented as agents of revelation, executors of
  divine will or as witnesses to divine activity.
• Besides Ghosts, Angels are most highly popular
  supernatural entities in American Culture.
• Demons An evil spirit being
• Demons and Satan rebelled against God and were
  cast out of heaven
• Closely associated with human evil, Hell, and
  Adam/Eves casting out of The Garden of Eden
• In Catholicism, they are those that are cast out
  during Exorcism.

3
Gods

• An individual supernatural being, with
• a distinctive name and personality
• control or influence of a major aspect of nature
  that encompasses the life of an entire community
  or a major segment of the community
• Gods are Anthropomorphic
• Non-human entities that are made to resemble
  humans in physical appearance and behavior.
• Creator Gods and Otiose Gods
• Creator God Responsible for the creation of the
  physical earth and the plants and animals that
  live on it.
• Often very powerful and at the top of the God
  hierarchy.
• Also, can be many Creator Gods in a hierarchy,
  responsible for the creation of specific types of
  plants, animals, geological features, humans.
• Ex
• Olodumare (Yoruba) who dwells in the heaven/sky
• Gnostic Demiurge and the God of the Old Testament
• Otiose God A remote God who is too uninterested
  in human activity to participate in human fate.
• Categorizes Creator Gods who withdraw themselves
  from humanity after time of creation.
• Ex
• Olorun (Yoruba) the source of all supernatural
  power but can only be contacted through the
  Orisha (intermediary gods like Esu)
• The all-encompassing, all-powerful concept of Ntr
  (netcher) in Ancient Egypt

4
God Theory

• Functionalist Approach
• Èmile Durkheim
• Religious symbolism marks as sacred important
  institutions of human society that are necessary
  for the groups survival.
• Loyalty, respect, obligation, hierarchy, etc.
  found in human society mirrored in the activities
  of the gods. Roles (brother/sister/father/mother/
  ) also reflected in the gods.
• Robin Horton
• Supernatural beings function to extend the realm
  of social relations.
• Lesser gods associated with interpretations of
  events occurring in the local area
• High god associated with interpreting world
  events that relate to the local area
• The more contact with other societies, the more
  necessary that this High god has traits that are
  in league with perceived human universals.
• Ex Incoming Spanish conquistadors to Mayan
  society.
• Ex Roman pantheon gods to absorbing traits of
  local deities to create a unifying religion
  within the expanding Roman empire.
• Nature of gods depend on how one acquires status
  in society.
• Ascribed status (status is given/handed down,
  i.e. gender, family line)
• Focus is more on lesser gods who focus on local
  issues within the community.
• Achieved status (Based upon an individuals
  personal achievements)
• Personal success and failure a reference to a
  high god who rules over a wider realm.
• Psychosocial Approach
• Sigmund Freud
• Gods as anthropomorphic entities that take on
  attributes of parents. Symbolic of the
  relationship between parents and children.

5
Polytheism

• The belief in many gods
• Pantheon A collection of gods within a
  polytheistic religious system
• Supreme God The head of the gods within a
  pantheon
• Ex Zeus, Jupiter, Amun, Isis and Osiris
• Attribute Gods Gods who rule over a narrowly
  defined domain
• Associated with specific activities such as
  forces of nature, human fertility and the human
  life cycle, economic activities and war.
• Ex Ares, Artemis Table 9.1 pg. 205.
• Famous Gods?
• Famous Goddesses?

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Monotheism

• The belief in one god
• Big 3 Christianity, Judaism, Islam
• Must reconcile God as being
• Omnipotent (all powerful)
• Omniscient (all-knowing)
• Omnibenevolent (all-good)
• Questions such as How can there exist an
  Omniscient God alongside human free will? How
  about an Omnibenevolent God with the existence of
  evil?

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Atheism and Agnosticism

• Atheism (literally, no God) Disbelief in or
  denial of the existence of God or gods.
• Historical meaning Not accepting the current
  conception of the divine.
• 16th century (Europe) used as an insult to
  describe someone who did not agree with you about
  the nature of God. At this time, there was no
  separation of (some sort of) God/gods from day to
  day living.
• This was before The Enlightenment, before Science
  became a substitute for religion in Western
  lives.
• 18th century and the Enlightenment
• Separation of Church and State, advent of the
  Scientific Method. God was seen as a fact of
  life that could be examined in much the same way
  as the natural world.
• Concept of God was not rejected outright, but
  rather the anthropomorphism attached to God was
  rejected.
• Atheist was becoming less of an insult and more a
  badge of intellect and learning.
• Agnosticism (literally, knowledge not
  attainable) The question of the existence of a
  god is unsolvable, unprovable.
• Compare to Gnosis direct experiential knowledge
  of the supernatural or divine.

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Additional terms to know

• Avatar What it really means
• From the root word descent in Arabic
• The incarnation or embodiment of a god in human
  form
• Ex Zeus, Ishtar
• Misogynistic
• Characterized by a hatred of women
• An accusation leveled at modern (circa 3,000ish
  B.C.E. onward) Western religion as a whole.