Topic
Supreme Being
About: Supreme Being is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 192 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1615 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
More filters
••
TL;DR: This article examined several aspects of prayer in primitive, i.e., man's words to God, or gods, or other supernatural beings, as expressed in terms of his entering into a relationship with such Being or beings.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the several aspects of prayer in primitive, i.e. nonliterate religions. The contention is that prayer does in fact exist among primitive people in their religious practices and that prayer does have a functional aspect in primitive religion. The extent to which a Supreme Being, gods, spirits, religion and prayer exist in preliterate society is, by and large, a matter of definition. With the full appreciation of the pitfalls inherent in any attempt to define religion and prayer, but with the firm conviction that to be understood scientifically religion and prayer must be defined in a broad way, and that each writer has the right to define the terms used in his writing, as long as he remains consistent, the definition of prayer in primitive religion is as follows: Prayer is man's words to God, or gods, or other supernatural beings, as expressed in terms of his entering into a relationship with such Being or beings. Thus it follows that the title of this paper could very well have been: 'Words to the Supernatural in Primitive Society'. Some writers claim that many primitive peoples have no notion what soever of praying to God or the gods or making any type of an appeal to the supernatural. Closer examination, however, nearly always proves that the people do at times call upon the unseen for assistance, or to be present at a feast or to join in a hunting party. Driver (I963) in a report concerning the Chichimecs, a very primitive nomadic band in Mexico, writes: They have little or no interest in religion, no idols, no altars, no sacrifices, no prayers, no fasting, no letting of blood from tongue or ears... In considering this report, one wonders, in view of the 'religious criteria' cited by Driver, whether (i) he has a realistic conception of 'religion', or (2) as is often reported by other ethnographers, the group may have carried out its religious activities in secret, or (3) he only observed his subjects in 'good times' cf. the Baganda. Even such societies as the Tierra Del Fuegians of Chile and Argentina and some Western Pacific Islanders, who compete with each other for the lowest position on the totem pole of cultural achievement, have a form of religion and have prayers as a part of their religion. In fact, religion does appear to be inherent in all cultures.
2 citations
•
30 Sep 2016
2 citations
••
TL;DR: In the Igala religion, a number of different spirits whose mutual interrelationship is not very clear are identified and ranked in terms of their order of magnitude or degrees of power as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: At the level of belief Igala religion is rather unsystematic and comprises belief in a number of different spirits whose mutual interrelationship is not very clear. A Western observer would tend to rank the various spirits in terms of their order of magnitude or degrees of power. At the top of the hierarchy would come Ojọ, the supreme being and creator. Another spirit with wide powers in Igala belief is Anẹ, the spirit of the earth. Then there are various oracle spirits known generically as ẹbọ, with the function of giving protection against witchcraft. Their congregation may be large or small according to the success of the spirit in unmasking witches by striking them with illness and making them confess to their wrongdoing. Operating within a more restricted range are the ancestor spirits who are the guardians of well-being in particular clans, lineages, or lineage segments. Within the complex of ancestor worship falls the dyadic relationship between an individual and his personal ọjọ or guardian spirit. The guardian has responsibility for the destiny of its ward. Finally there are fetishes, ode, which are made and worshipped by individuals, and which are believed to ensure success in daily life by affording protection against the misfortunes that witchcraft and sorcery can bring.
2 citations
01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the nature of existential angst and attempt an explanation to Man's limitations in the face of his existential anxieties, and propose that a move from the illusions of self-made man to looking beyond the limits of his abilities can lead to a resolution of man's existential angst.
Abstract: Atheists appear to agree with arrogant certainty that the absence of an existent God has direct consequences for human life. They subscribe humanity’s liberation from oppressive religious superstitions and place hope for mankind on the natural sciences. Man’s frustration of not being able to provide meaning to life or resolve his existential angst through the making of responsible choices is practically evident in the world today. This essay, therefore, closely examines the nature of existential angst and attempts an explanation to Man’s limitations in the face of his existential anxieties. It further proposes that a move from the illusions of ‘the self-made man’ to looking beyond the limits of his abilities can lead to a resolution of man’s existential angst. That is, relying on a Greater Force beyond himself through prophetic utterances constitutes a solution to his predicaments. Also, the essay argues that the basis of the slogan, ‘existence precedes essence’ fails to consider that Man is also spirit and not only matter, therefore, should not depend solely on the perfect working of the physical senses. Furthermore, the understanding that man didn’t create himself betrays his frailty and increases the need for his dependency on a Supreme Being as a way-out.
2 citations
••
TL;DR: According to basic religious-phenomenological principles a supreme being resides in heaven or is the heaven, an omnipotent creator, who is often assigned the function of thunder, is called either Father or Grandfather, is sacrificed the primal offering, and has turned into deus otiosus.
Abstract: According to basic religious-phenomenological principles a supreme being resides in heaven or is the heaven, an omnipotent creator, who is often assigned the function of thunder, is called either Father or Grandfather, is sacrificed the primal offering, and has turned into deus otiosus. Comparative linguistics has revealed that the earliest conception of a BaltoFinnic and Estonian supreme god dates back to the Finno-Volgaic etymological stratum, to the Neolithic period (3rd millennium BC), in archaeological terms. This is evidenced by the Estonian word juma(l) ‘god’, which had formerly signified heaven, but also the Indo-European loan taevas ‘heaven’ in the Estonian language. The divergence of the con-ception of thunder god Uku or Ukko apparently took place in the 1st mil-lennium BC; this is also indicated by archaeological data. According to the 13th-century Henrici Chronicon Livoniae and other chronicles the thun-der god of the coastal Estonians has also been called Taara or Tooru, which may be a derivation of the Old
2 citations