Supreme Being

About: Supreme Being is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 192 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1615 citations.

African Traditional Religion

Abstract: The African continent is home to more than 6,000 different ethnic and cultural groups, each with its own religious customs. Yet, these many traditions have common foundations, including an almost universal belief in a Supreme Being, a close interconnection between the sacred and the nonsacred, and a rich oral tradition that passes religious and ethical teachings down through the generations. For centuries, the indigenous religions of Africa were in danger of extinction as other beliefs, primarily Christianity and Islam, threatened to oppress the various sects. Today, a vibrant resurgence of African traditional religion can be encountered everywhere in Africa, and leaders of African religion can openly organize and render spiritual and healing services without hindrances. In a clear and comprehensive manner, ""African Traditional Religion, Third Edition"" explores the many manifestations of African belief and their expressions, in the past and in the present, as well as the hopes for the future. Coverage includes: the various sects of African religion; effects of the African continent; rituals and beliefs; the arrival of colonists and missionaries; and the spread of African religion to other countries.

The Supreme Being, divinities and ancestors in Igbo traditional religion: evidence from Otanchara and Otanzu

Abstract: The subject of Igbo traditional religion has aroused a considerable amount of interest among scholars in the past few decades. The works of early ethnographers like Talbot (1926), Meek (1937) and Basden (1938) eloquently spelt out some of its principal themes. Among these are what we may refer to as the three major pillars of Igbo traditional religion, namely the Supreme Being, divinities and ancestors.One of the problems with most of the existing studies is the tendency to generalize for the whole of Igboland on the basis of evidence which is valid for some Igbo areas only. Given the Igbo type of political system which is characterized by the existence of a very large number of autonomous communities, it is not surprising that there is a greater amount of heterogeneity in the religious system than is the case in the centralized kingdoms of pre-colonial Africa. To understand the diversity of Igbo religious beliefs and practices there is an imperative need for the study of the religious systems of specific Igbo communities.

The Spirit of God and the spirit of Africa : a dogmatological study from the vantage point of pneumatology

Abstract: The study of pneumatology is important and necessary in theology, and also in the church. What Christians have to know and understand about it must be taught clearly. The nature and work of the Spirit of God should be mastered by every believer in Jesus Christ. In this way, wrong concepts and teachings can be rejected by the Christian way of life, in the church especially in Africa. It is very noticeable that Africans, in their traditional worldview are conscious of the existence of the Supreme Being, spirits, divinities, ancestral spirits and the spiritual world with its diversity. Africans, Christians and non-Christians believe that around them there are invisible spiritual beings and because of this consciousness they are haunted by the wish to discover what is really going on in the invisible world of the spiritual realm. Most Africans consider the existence of the ancestral spirits as a very important matter and they are in daily need to consult them about every event happening among them in their traditional context. In every event they believe there is always somebody, meaning a spirit, behind what is happening. A death or an accident cannot happen without having been caused by a spirit especially an ancestral spirit. The ancestral spirits are thought to be active in the lives of their living descendants on earth. Ancestral spirits are ambivalent in their relation with the living. They can bring good things to their descendants if they are well treated. They harm and molest them when they are angered by their descendants. The fact that Africans have been confronted with the Gospel has had an

Cutud's Ritual of Nailing on the Cross: Performance of Pain and Suffering

Abstract: This research investigates the ritual nailing on the cross every Good Friday in Cutud, Pampanga, in the Philippines as a local religiocultural performance. It highlights the ritual's evolution and historicity of suffering in the context of panata (religious pledge/ vow), as a characteristic central to the Filipino people since precolonial times. The roots of the ritual can be traced from pamagdarame (flagellation) and the sinakulo (passion play) written by Ricardo Navarro in 1955. Devotees (participants) of pamagdarame and the sinakulo are participating with intentions of panata. The ritual, manifested through a performance of pain and suffering, allows the devotee's inner core (kalooban) via his sacrifice to be one with the Supreme Being. The ritual, which has developed into a multifaceted tradition, is not only a religious occasion (an experience of a personal sacrifice or panata for the individual) but also a social drama (an expression of pain and suffering through the performance of Via Crucis o Pasion Y Muerte [Way of the Cross or Passion and Death] and the nailing on the cross performed for the good of others). ********** In precolonial Philippines, people were engrossed in a deep relationship with supernatural powers. Like other premodern communities, Filipinos ritually reenacted supernatural figures with a primary ob ective of strengthening relationships with their anitos and diwatas (local gods and goddesses). More often than not, these ritualistic activities were forms of thanksgiving and offerings of intentions and petitions (e.g., to gain victory in a tribal war). Nowadays, this engagement with supernatural powers remains as a manifestation of Filipino life. According to F. Landajocano, "Central to the lifeways of the Filipinos is the belief that any man, to be successful must square accounts with the spirits or saints performing the necessary rites and ceremonies" (Matienzo 1988: 12). With the introduction of a foreign god, Filipinos accommodated this image of a universal, Christian god and blended its elements with Filipino animism as stated by Covar (in Matienzo 1988). The result was folk Catholicism wherein, according to Elwood and Magdamo, "Beliefs and practices derived from popular or folk culture which, though not officially approved are nevertheless supported and encouraged by tradition in the community" (Matienzo 1988: 13). Faith and religion are important aspects of Filipino sensibility and are a way for Filipinos to have a stronger sense of self and live productively. Faith has a huge impact on Filipino cultural life. Lived principles such as ipagpasa-Diyos na lamang natin yan (leave everything to the Lord) and bahala na (the Lord will provide) are common and suggestive of how Filipinos offer their everyday lives to supernatural powers. For Catholics, this powerful being is God. Also, these expressions suggest that answers to particular dilemmas can be addressed to a supernatural entity (God), advocating paghihintay ng biyaya mula sa langit (waiting for grace from the heavens) (Jocano 1997: 110). Social and cultural analysts even suggest that Filipinos value spiritual aid more than mere actions for addressing specific crises (Zulueta 2005). In Cutud, Pampanga, seventy miles north of Manila, a popular expression of faith and religiosity is panata (a religious vow whereby the devotee promises to do a sacrifice for his faith) in carrying out of a vow through the ritual of nailing on the cross every Good Friday. (1) Panata is a religious vow whereby the devotee promises to do a sacrifice for his faith in hopes of being rewarded by divine response to his prayers. Though based on the doctrines of the Catholic Church, the ritual has been modified to suit specific communal needs of the ordinary Filipinos, therefore indigenizing Catholicism. Though the Catholic Church has criticized the ritual, ordinary people have been persistent in their devotion. For the people, these rituals (thus their panata) are their way and perhaps, the best way to get closer to God. …