Symbols In Religion

There are many symbols used in religion, some stir deep passions some are scarcely recognized, and several cross all religions. What do I mean by symbols after all text, words, are symbols? I mean those drawings, picture, embroidery, sculpture that depict some key element to the doctrine of that particular religion. For example, The Cross, The Star of David, and the Ying and Yang symbol. There are also conceptual symbols that have no diagrammatic fixture such as resurrection, virgin birth, ascension to heaven or fall to hell that cross religions and cultures.

I want to briefly describe (and pose the origin to you) a few of these symbols and show you how interconnected these symbols are. In Buddhism there are 7- charkas, points along the body, that illustrate the place of ones soul in the journey to enlightenment (Heaven). The upward and downward pointing arrow heads symbolize ones' movement along the charkas. Cycles through the journey, incarnations, allow the soul to move between the charkas, with the goal of upward mobility. If you superimpose the open arrow heads, as so - you get a familiar symbol. In fact many mandalas show this symbol. The shield of David or Star of David is symbolic of the journey between heaven and hell; the chosen and the not chosen.

The first reading, from Joseph Campbell, is the Genesis story as might be told by someone who read the story for the first time and was asked to explain it. The paradise symbol 'Eden' occurs in all religions and in most cultures. The garden is the paradise point from which man is excluded. The overall goal expressed by most religions is to get back to paradise.

The base symbols of the paths of the sun and moon and the phases of the moon have found commonality in almost every religion and cults. The resurrection theme really mimics the birth and death of the day with the rising of the sun the following morning life begin anew. The choice of three days in the tomb preceding the resurrection of Christ is no accident. The moon is dark three days of the month and then is reborn!

By looking at religious symbols you can get a sense of ancient peoples trying to tie up loose ends and keep some consistency. For example, after the Exodus from Egypt there were 12 Tribes of Israel. Then there were 12 Apostles in the new testament, any relationship to 12-months or 12 major zodiac signs?

In the second reading (Celsus CE 180) deals with the usurping of symbols by one group from another. As Celsus noted, the virgin birth was not a new symbol. In the Roman view, other virgin' birthies' did more miraculous deeds than Jesus. The underlying theme is the commonality between cultures in the use of this symbol to designate purity.

Joseph Campbell once talked about architectural symbolism and how cities used to reflect their values by the tallest buildings. In Medieval times the tallest buildings were the cathedrals. Here in the US Salt Lake City was originally laid out so that the church was at the center of the city and it was the tallest building. Still in New England some of the tallest buildings in towns west and south of Boston are churches, similarly in the Midwest churches and grain elevators vie for superiority. In general, our cities now place banking and business in the tallest buildings. This symbolizes the shift from religion to business. However, our cultural and political emphasis on religion is in direct conflict with our symbols - this has and still leads to what Campbell calls the schizophrenic crack-up!

Similarly, a literal interpretation of religious stories can lead to this schizophrenic crack-up as people try and calibrate ancient poetry to modern understanding of the universe. The failure to calibrate the two aspects leads to actions like those of the Taiban in Afghanistan where destruction of Buddhist sculpture and imprisonment of people who are express differing beliefs. Most clearly the strife exhibited in Palestine is symptomatic of three religions fighting over their exclusive interpretation of ancient symbols.

Last month PBS aired an episode of "Secrets of the Dead" focusing on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the site in Israel where Catholicism has proclaimed that Christ was crucified and buried and rose again. The church and various chapels cover the ground of Golgotha, allegedly. The actual Tomb of Christ is covered by a chapel within the church where successive edicules were built. Millions flock to this site each year. The main piece of evidence is that the Roman Emperor Constantine in 325AD saw some graffiti at the tomb that said Christ's Tomb. He proclaimed it as such and fit the rest of the topography and history around the story. The entire site is predicated on the fact that Jesus's body was taken from the cross at sundown on a Friday and laid in this simple tomb. Historical records, well described by Fr. Crossan, show that the Romans did not let people remove the bodies because that would circumvent the principle of a public execution. Of all the archeological digs in Israel, there has only been one excavation of a crucified person, the bones were recovered and have nails still in place. The bones were probably collected after the crucifixion and decay took place. Generally, the corpses were left on the crosses and carrion crows and wild dogs did the rest, hence the reason why no victims remains are commonly found.

However, the symbol of the church, the tomb, the Skull rock are so powerful that they transcend the facts. Even though the entire crucifixion resurrection story is almost certainly poetic in nature, it has been interpreted literally and these places have become the penultimate symbol in Catholicism. The power of symbols is immense.

What is our symbol? According to UUA website, the flaming chalice was conceived as the Unitarian symbol at the outbreak of WWII by the Austrian artist Hans Deutch and The Reverend Charles Joy. Truly a symbol of light in the darkest days of humanity. The flaming chalice, essentially a lamp, crosses all religions as that symbol of light (hope) to pierce the darkness. Faith in the fact that light banishes darkness. One of the most common archeological artifacts unearthed across the globe are lamps, small flaming chalices, which ancient peoples used to reveal a world often shrouded in darkness.

The flaming chalice also calls us as Unitarian Universalists to piece the darkness of intolerance and ignorance, not through evangelizing, but through our actions and understanding. Consider the diverse congregation seated here, from all races and religions, preferences and beliefs. The works of this church through SOME and Beacon House and the Aids Ride - these are rays of light that call all spirits to goodness.

I could not quite finish the hundred or so little flaming chalices I was going to forge for today, instead please accept a flower as a symbol of light frozen in beauty.

I invite you to step up and tell us what the Flaming Chalice means to you. [Multilog]