Thoughts for Shabbat: A Working Definition of YHWH
After rattling off the usually long list of reasons why the God of the Hebrew Bible is everything from in … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: A Working Definition of YHWH
Death in Ancient Egypt
Here, Erik Hornung refutes the old cliché that ancient Egyptian religion was “death obsessed,” or that constructions like the pyramids … Continue Reading Death in Ancient Egypt
The Religion of Ancient Egypt
A handful of passages from one of the best books on religion I’ve ever read, Erik Hornung’s Conceptions of God … Continue Reading The Religion of Ancient Egypt
A Working Definition of Yawheh
After rattling off the usually long list of reasons why the God of the Hebrew Bible is everything from in … Continue Reading A Working Definition of Yawheh
Kiyozawa Manshi Chooses the Buddha
From the Japanese Shin Buddhist Kiyozawa Manshi’s “My Faith,” written five days before his death, in 1903: [My] study … Continue Reading Kiyozawa Manshi Chooses the Buddha
The Great Myths #42: Sacred Language & the Story of Caedmon (Christian)
A brother of the monastery is found to possess God’s gift of poetry [A. D. 680] In this monastery of … Continue Reading The Great Myths #42: Sacred Language & the Story of Caedmon (Christian)
The Great Myths #40: Enkidu Comes of Age (Mesopotamian)
One of the greatest stories of a person “living in nature” becoming “civilized” is perhaps the earliest one. Also here … Continue Reading The Great Myths #40: Enkidu Comes of Age (Mesopotamian)
The Great Myths #39: Arrow Boy (Cheyenne)
After the Cheyenne had received their corn, and while they were still in the north, a young man and woman … Continue Reading The Great Myths #39: Arrow Boy (Cheyenne)
The Great Myths #35: A Child During the Trojan War (Greek)
One of the great characters in Greek myth who never actually speaks is Astyanax, the son of Hector and the … Continue Reading The Great Myths #35: A Child During the Trojan War (Greek)
The Great Myths #34: A Hausa and Swahili Story of Childhood (African)
As usual with such stories, childhood is synonymous with the dangers of being children: The Swahili version of a very … Continue Reading The Great Myths #34: A Hausa and Swahili Story of Childhood (African)
The Great Myths #33: The Child Cúchulainn Gets His Name (Celtic)
When Culand the smith offered Conchubur his hospitality, he said that a large host should not come, for the feast … Continue Reading The Great Myths #33: The Child Cúchulainn Gets His Name (Celtic)
The Great Myths #32: The Childhood of Jesus (Christian)
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas 2:1-6: When this boy, Jesus, was five years old, he was playing at the ford … Continue Reading The Great Myths #32: The Childhood of Jesus (Christian)
The Great Myths #31: The Child Krishna & the Universe in His Mouth (Hindu)
One day when Rāma and the other little sons of the cowherds were playing, they reported to his mother, “Kṛṣṇa … Continue Reading The Great Myths #31: The Child Krishna & the Universe in His Mouth (Hindu)
The Great Myths #30: The Holy Grail Appears (Middle High German)
The story of the Holy Grail’s appearance to a young man named Perceval/Parzival/Parsifal, is told in many places, and goes … Continue Reading The Great Myths #30: The Holy Grail Appears (Middle High German)
The Great Myths #29: Learning Poetry in the Giant’s Stomach (Finnish)
The poet/shaman Väinämöinen, in need of new poems and spells in order to build a boat, goes through an ordeal … Continue Reading The Great Myths #29: Learning Poetry in the Giant’s Stomach (Finnish)
The Great Myths #28: Odysseus Outsmarts the Cyclops
Odysseus and friends land on the island “of the lawless outrageous Cyclopes,” one-eyed giants who know nothing of planting and … Continue Reading The Great Myths #28: Odysseus Outsmarts the Cyclops
