A Wisdom Archive on Image of God

HORNED GOD: One of the most prevalent God-images in Paganism. NOT Satan or the Devil!!!

 
(See also: HORNED GOD, Paganism, Pagan, Pagan Dictionary )

For more dictionary entries, see » Image Of God Dictionary

In the first book of the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1:26, God states "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Exactly what Genesis means by the word "image" is not clear, but there is an analogy being made between God and humans. In some ways this passage is anthropomorphic; it is attributing human characteristics to God. However, less recognized is that the viewpoint of the Israelite biblical writers was the ...

Read more here: » God and gender: Encyclopedia II - God and gender - God in the Hebrew Bible

If we meet no Gods, its because we harbour none, said Emerson. For us, God is not a remote, abstract figure; He is a living, loving Presence. The nirguna or formless God of Shankara’s Advaita is difficult to relate to - but give Him a sweet form and through saguna upasana or worship He can become your very own because of the wonderful ease it creates in human divine encounter.
 
The predominant religious motif of practising Hinduism is this archanam andpadasevanam - the worship and adoration of a God made visible to our eyes in beautiful images, in homes and in temples. It is the ornamental centrepiece of the Vaishnav bhakti tradition set in motion by acharyas like Ramanuja, Madhava and Vallabha.

 
(See also: Hindu Worship, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Hindu Worship: Devotional Worship And Service to All  

A group of senior managers was asked to associate words for 'organisation'. Their responses included these words: Hard, rules, procedural, hierarchy, top-down, pressure, challenges.
 
When asked to give associative words for 'organism', they offered these: Living, evolving, responsive, death, change, linked, inter-dependent. But we don't have sufficient operating images of 'organism' to guide our planning and decisions. To be effective organisations should apply the principles of biology, seeing the organisation as organism.

 
(See also: Spiritual Management, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Spiritual Management: Organise Naturally For Best Results  

In Hindu devotional practice, three kinds of external symbols are used for worship of the Supreme Being, who is actually formless and nameless. The most external is that of divine images cast in human form, with paraphernalia symbolising supra-human divinity.
 
The most subtle is that of the mantras or divine names with certain sounds. A mantra is divine power clothed in sound. Between these two come the yantras or chakras , representing the deity in geometrical diagrams. Worshippers of Shakti consider the Srichakra the holiest and most significant of divine symbols.

 
(See also: Srichakra, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Srichakra: Role Of Srichakra In Devi Worship  

Studying the myths of various cultures leads to a better understanding of their social and religious underpinnings. By turning the myths inwards, inviting them into our lives and learning their language of imagery and symbolism, we learn more about ourselves.
 
In almost every culture, the metaphor of descent serves as a powerful, sacred and mythic image for women. One of the earliest such accounts is the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess and Queen of the Upper World. She was worshipped in Sumer from the third millennium BCE (before the common era) to the first millennium BCE.

 
(See also: Spiritual Mythology, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Spiritual Mythology: Mythology Reveals Power of Descent  

Until 3,000 years ago, all religions were pantheistic and polytheistic as Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto still are. They tolerated the religions of other tribes and cultures, recognising in their worship the same divine energies as their own, albeit with different names.
 
Why then did patriarchal, monotheistic religions arise in the Middle East 3,000 years ago, and spread in their Christian forms throughout Europe and then on to the European colonised overseas territories during the last 1,500 years? Why did these monotheistic religions fight so fiercely to eradicate nature worship in the lands they controlled? Why did Christianity promote a dualistic antagonism between the spirit and the flesh, with only the former conceived as being in the "image of God"?

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Cosmic Balance and World Peace

Where is your brother, God asked, at the beginning of Biblical history. The original context was that of bloodshed: Brother killing brother, which is what every murder really is. Within the vision of vasudaiva kutumbakam , can anyone, even the most abhorred enemy, be less than a brother?
 
The Cain-Abel story provides deep insight into religion-related tensions: First, it is in the context of religion that brother kills brother. The very purpose of religion is being largely misunderstood. The purpose of religion is to enable us to be keepers rather than killers of each other, protectors rather than predators of life and nature. The ascendancy of vested interests in religion, however, degrades it into a licence for murder and mayhem, as has happened in the history of all religions.

 
(See also: Religion, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Religion: The Spiritual Sword Of Self-denial

In the first book of the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1:26, God states "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Exactly what Genesis means by the word "image" is not clear, but there is an analogy being made between God and humans. In some ways this passage is anthropomorphic; it is attributing human characteristics to God. However, less recognized is that the viewpoint of the Israelite b ...

Read more here: » Abrahamic religions on God and gender: Encyclopedia II - Abrahamic religions on God and gender - God in the Hebrew Bible

Do human brains play any role in spiritual contemplation? Is the spiritual experience real? And, if so, is the spiritual urge programmed into the brain's neural structure? Is the complex relationship between spirituality and the brain understandable?
 
Neurotheology
Scientific studies have explored the genetic basis of our systems of belief, giving rise to a new discipline - Neurotheology

 
(See also: Spirituality and Science, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Spirituality and Science: Divine Experience And Neurobiology - Neurotheology  

We need to find truth, love and forgiveness even in the midst of hatred, destruction and pride. Napoleon said: "What astonishes me most in this world is the inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit". In so saying Napoleon touched upon an important principle of forgiveness. That forgiveness is creative and it springs from love. It is the ability to embrace the pain of injury to oneself, while extending one's hands in love.

 
(See also: Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Love and Happiness: Creative Forgiveness Springs from Love

The locus classicus for the Celtic gods of Gaul is the passage in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico (52–51 BC; The Gallic War) in which he names five of them together with their functions. Mercury was the most honoured of all the gods and many images of him were to be found. Mercury was regarded as the inventor of all the arts, the patron of travellers and of merchants, and the most powerful god in matters of commerce and gain. After him the Gauls honoured Apollo, Mars, Jupiter, and Minerva. Of these gods they held almost the same opinions as other peoples did: Apollo drives away diseases, M ...

Read more here: » Celtic polytheism: Encyclopedia II - Celtic polytheism - Syncretism with other forms of polytheism