1. Lawrence S. Cunningham John Kelsay
The Sacred Quest
Lawrence S. Cunningham
John Kelsay
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2. The Nature of the Sacred
Chapter Two
The Nature of the Sacred
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What is Sacred?
“Sacred” is a complex word because it is used for a wide range of phenomena: places, time, persons, events, and deities.
But, generally, when people speak of something as sacred, they mean to designate the thing in question as “other than ordinary.”
In the broadest sense of the term, the sacred is the “extraordinary.”
The value of using the term “sacred” is that it is not tradition specific.
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The Sacred and The Holy
Often the words “sacred” and “holy” are used as equivalents.
Thus, the best way to identify the sacred is to identify that which is designated holy.
The early Israelites were instructed: “Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy.”
A popular Christian hymn begins “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!”
Islamic tradition refers to Jerusalem as al-quds—the holy city, or the city set apart.
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Examples of the Sacred
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life,my lips will praise You. (Psalm 63:1–3)
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Examples of the Sacred
Thou [God] art the Imperishable, the supreme Object of Knowledge, Thou art the ultimate resting-place of this universe; Thou art the immortal guardian of the eternal right; Thou art the everlasting Spirit Without beginning, middle, or end, of infinite power, Of infinite arms, whose eyes are the moon and sun, I see Thee, whose face is flaming fire, Burning this whole universe with Thy radiance. (11:18–20)
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Examples of the Sacred
“Its form, O king, cannot be elucidated by similes, but its qualities can As the lotus is unstained by water, so is Nirvana unstained by all the defilements As cool water allays feverish heat, so also Nirvana is cool and allays the fever of all the passions As medicine protects from the torments of poison, so Nirvana protects from the torments of the poisonous passions Nirvana and medicine both give security As a mountain peak is unshakeable, so is Nirvana ”
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8. The Concept of Sacred Reality
Derived from the Latin “sanctus”.
“Sanctus” means “holy” and refers to something separated or set apart from other things.
The related terms from the Hebrew (kadosh) and the Greek (hagios) mean the same.
At minimum, the sacred is distinct from the profane.
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9. Sacred Reality in Various Cultures
In the Bible, God is preeminently sacred or holy, and everyone else and everything else is holy or sacred only in relation to God.
In ancient Rome, sanctus applied as much to the place of certain activities as to the activities themselves.
Those acts that were sanctified were performed in the fanum or temple; other acts were pro fanum, that is, performed in front of or outside the temple.
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10. Sacred Reality in the Hebrew Bible
By contrast, the Hebrew Bible uses kadosh to describe God and things set apart by God’s choice: the people of Israel, the land they live in, types of food, modes of human relations.
There is nothing special about such things except that they are chosen by God or are in some kind of relation to God.
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11. The Sacred and The Ordinary
The sacred can further be characterized in terms of “the real.”
The sacred stands for that which provides absolute and objective authority to an otherwise relative and subjective existence.
The sacred consists of an entirely different order than the ordinary life of human beings, but is manifest through ordinary existence.
Stones, trees, the sky, bodies of water, various people—all these may be the vehicles of the sacred and thus share in its distinctive reality.
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12. General Concept of the Sacred
We recognize a notion of sacred reality wherever a group of people describes a particular phenomenon as a manifestation of the real in terms that indicate something:
specially distinctive or “set apart” from everything else in the world
to some extent, beyond the volitional control of human beings
specially prominent with respect to human welfare
properly determinative of various aspects of human existence
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13. Specially Distinctive
To be especially distinctive or set apart from everything else in the world is, we have noted, the most basic quality attributed to something described as sacred.
Deals with a notion of reality distinct from all else.
Christianity’s “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Shinto’s various kami
The “bullroarer” of various aboriginal tribes
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14. Religions of Transcendence
Present notions of sacred reality as “going beyond” or “standing over” ordinary existence.
Examples include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
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15. Religions of Immanence
Present notions of sacred reality where there is less of a divide between the sacred and the natural world.
Examples include Hinduism, Buddhism, and the various religions of China and Japan.
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16. Elements of Immanence in Religions of Transcendence
The incarnation of Jesus in Christianity.
The Torah as God’s word in Judaism.
The notion that God is close to humanity in Islam.
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17. Beyond the Volitional Control of Human Beings
To be sacred, it must be beyond the control of human beings to some extent.
The biblical story of Uzzah and the ark of the covenant is a perfect example of this aspect of the sacred.
Do not ignore the qualifying phrase “to some extent”.
Many religious rituals are attempts by human beings to influence the sacred
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18. Human Attempts to Influence the Sacred
In certain contexts, the sacred always responds to a ritual performed rightly, and the ability to so perform is the chief sign of being gifted spiritually.
The role of the shaman is often to perform rituals involving chanting, dancing, and perhaps prayers and sacrifices in such a way that various spirits or powers will respond in a certain way.
Example: the kut rituals of Korean folk religion.
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Specially Prominent
The belief that God’s action, or inaction, has a tangible impact of the welfare of human beings.
In Islam, and some other religions that speak of a day of judgment, the prominence of the sacred with respect to human welfare is absolute.
In other traditions, including the Navaho, the relation of the sacred to humanity is less absolute.
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20. Properly Determinative
In various ways, religious traditions express the idea that the prominence of the sacred is legitimate.
Religions also suggest that persons and groups ought to order their lives in certain ways that are consonant with particular notions of sacred reality.
This is not just because the sacred is specially powerful, or able to confer benefits and inflict burdens, but because such ordering is proper, the right or good thing to do.
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Summary
The concept of the sacred is abstract.
However, it provides us with a way to think about reality that is central to all religious experience.
The sacred implies something “set apart” or “different.”
It is also beyond the volitional control of human beings; specially prominent with respect to our welfare; and properly determinative of various aspects of our existence.
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