Q : Study of what is the holy language
A sacred language, “holy language” (in religious context) or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in religious service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily life.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit is also a
dead language for all practical purposes because nobody uses it as a means of
communication any more. However all Hindu rites, pujas and rituals are
completed only with the chanting of Sanskrit shlokas and hymns.
Latin
Just like Greek is the language of the Bible, Latin is the language in Church. The Roman Catholic Church was based in Italy and Latin, the language of the Italians, thus had monopoly over Church proceedings. Some of the major religious texts in the later part of Christianity have been written in this language.
Classical Arabic
Islam uses classical or old Arabic as its language of instruction. The Koran is written in this old form of Arabic and so are a number of other religious scriptures in Islam. Different dialects of Arabic are still spoken in the Gulf countries, but they are slightly different from the Koranic Arabic.
Aramaic
Aramaic was the language of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and is Judaism’s second Holy Language, alongside Hebrew. The Aramaic language became dominant amongst Jews after the Babylonian exile, and was spoken by Jesus and the disciples. By learning the Aramaic language and studying the Aramaic Bible, you will get back to more authentic and original roots of both the Old and New Testaments.
Greek Greek
is a
language in which the new testament of the Bible was written. It is also the
language in which all the first Christian religious texts, including the
gospels were written. Greek is still used as the main language of the Church in
the Greek Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest holy languages in the world
although it not used in the exact form any more.
The problem of religious language
considers whether it is possible to talk about God meaningfully if the
traditional conceptions of God as being incorporeal, infinite, and timeless,
are accepted. Because these traditional conceptions of God make it difficult to
describe God, religious language has the potential to be
meaningless.
Holy language is distinctly different from ordinary language, though many of the words are the same. It stands apart from ordinary language because of our intention and because the words written by the authors of sacred texts were guided by grace. They were written with the intention of bringing grace and illumination to the reader, not information.
Understanding the power of holy language can change your life. Holy language has the capacity to inspire you, to open your inner world to guidance, to bring you to a place of resolution, and to help you see your way through a dark night. We turn to holy language when we need healing, when we are in despair, and when we recognize we have been given a miracle. Ordinary language is simply inadequate to communicate the gratitude of the soul.
In this workshop, I will examine the meaning of “holy” within the contemporary setting of our lives. What is holy? What meaning should that have for us today? And I will introduce “holy language” and the power of those words applied to everyday situations. Would problems in your life shift in any way if you used holy language to describe them?
We will explore the power of prayer and what it means to receive inner guidance. What exactly is the power of prayer and how do you know prayers are answered?
Finally, we will apply holy language to healing and inner transformation. How do we pursue deep healing of inner wounds? How do we seek our inner nature while being terrified of finding it?
I am sure you know a good deal about Jubra’eel. He is the great angel who brought the Message from Allah to the Prophets. Jubra’eel delivered the Message to every Prophet —from Adam to Muhammad (pbuh).
Angel Jubra’eel would appear like a handsome man, with shining light, usually with wings. The Prophets would be delighted upon seeing the friendly Jubra’eel. They would learn from him what Allah wanted them to know. This is what we call a
Revelation. A Revelation is when a Prophet sees Angel Jubra’eel who has a Message from Allah. Each Prophet had many Revelations. The Prophets, after learning the Revelation, would deliver it to their people. They would explain and teach the new Revelation to the people. At times, those Revelations were written down after they were received. Five Prophets had their Revelations written. In the case of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), every single Revelation was written down by several people. Gradually, all the Revelations were compiled in the
form of a book. The book is called the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran is our Book of Guidance.
HOW MANY HOLY BOOKS ARE THERE?
As we have just said, the Holy Quran is our Holy Book. It was revealed to Muhammad (pbuh) while he was a Prophet. It took a period of twenty‑three years for the Prophet to receive the complete Message. The Holy Quran names the five Prophets and their Books as follows:
Prophet Ibrahim had scrolls (which have been lost).
Prophet Musa (Moses) had the Towraat (Torah).
Prophet Dawood (David) had the Zaboor (Psalms).
Prophet Isa (Jesus) had the Injeel (Gospel).
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had the Holy Quran.
Different types of languages:
In topological classification of languages linguists use to divide them in about 5 main types. It must be added however that hardly any language or family is purely of one variant. The five types are designated:
– Isolating languages (analytical or root languages)
– Agglutinating languages
– Inflecting languages
– Polysynthetic or incorporating languages
– Analytic languages
Could these different types be interpreted with help of aspects in a dimension chain?
Buddhism is a religion that includes several practices, traditions, and beliefs. This religion has been divided into the various sects, and of which the Tibetan sect is part of it. The Buddhism religion found its basis from the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, who is famously known as Gautama Buddha. Gautama is said to have lived in Nepal and India between 563 and 483 BC. Buddhism is majorly based on the four noble truths of suffering or the teachings that were firstly taught by Buddha after reaching Nirvana.
On the other hand, Tibetan Buddhism is also referred to as Lamaism. This is also one of the sects of Buddhism found in some regions of India, northern Nepal, Bhutan, and the Himalayas, which are referred to as Tibet. The religion of Bhutan’s state is Tibetan Buddhism. This religion consists of both animistic and shamanistic elements. Their belief is in the reincarnation of Panchen Lama and Dalai Lama.
Philosophy is known to be the investigation of different things based on facts and the way that life actually is. There are times when people may be able to create assumptions based on the facts that they have learned but they will not label things as real “facts” when they are unable to find proof of those facts.
Religion is usually the belief of a higher being that is in charge of monitoring the things that are happening to everyone. The higher being provides opportunities to people but people would still need to decide what they are going to do with those opportunities. There are times when these two do not mix because the “proof” related to religion can sometimes not be backed up by facts.
One of the most obvious differences between the two is their main view of leadership. Sunni Muslims believe that the next leader should be someone who is capable of doing the job. Shia Muslims believe that the new leader should be someone who comes from the family of Muhammad. Another main difference is the places where they live.
There are more Sunni Muslims who are residing in different parts of the world as compared to Shia Muslims. Both Shia and Sunni Muslims follow the lessons of the Quran, but the Shia Muslims somewhat feel animosity towards some of the people who surrounded their prophet. Shia Muslims also follow a religious hierarchy, while the Sunni Muslims believe that there is no need for this.
Sunni and Shia Namaz are diverged from each other based on actions and words involved. They share the most fundamental beliefs and faith; however, they have different political distinctions. Sunni Muslims follow various interpretations through different schools of laws, while Shia Muslims follow different legal traditions. Sunni Muslims follow Harbli, Hanfi, Malikii, and Shafi schools of thought. Shia Muslims follow Jaafi Madhhab. Shia Muslims pray three times a day, while Sunni Muslims pray five times a day.
Shia Muslims utilize a plank made of wood or a hard tablet made of clay from Karbala to rent their heads during prostration, while Sunni Muslims touch their heads directly to the floor. Some other differences between Shia and Sunni include the placement of their hands. Sunni Muslims fold their arms during the salat; however, Shia Muslims do not.
The Christian and Judaism religions both came from Abraham, but the two religions have slight differences in their teachings, doctrines, beliefs, and practices. Their religion books are both referred to as bible but are of different types. Bible is gotten from the Greek word “Biblia,” which means “scrolls” or “books.” The Judaism, which has started since the 2nd century BCE have their religious book referred to as “Tanakh.” The scriptures consist of 24 books which are written in Hebrew and Aramaic language.
The book is also divided into three parts; the Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim. The Torah is the first five books of their scriptures, which was revealed to Abraham directly by God. The Neviim refers to the books of the prophet, while the Ketuvim refers to writings (like poem or poetry) by some personalities. The Christian Bible is divided into two major parts, which are the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament consists of 39 books, while the New Testament consists of 27 books.
The following are the differences between the Christian and Jewish Bible: a. The Christians regard the following books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Songs of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and Chronicles as the “Old Testament” while the Jews regard them as the ‘Tanakh”.
The Jewish bible regards the five books of Moses, also known as Pentateuch, as the most important section of their scripture. In addition, the Jewish’ Old Testament book is grouped into three, namely: Pentateuch, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim. b. Lastly, Christians incorporate the following additional books as part of the Bible: The gospel of Matthew, The gospel of Mark, The gospel of John, The gospel of Luke, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, and the book of Revelation. On the other hand, the Jews don’t accept these books as part of the bible.
1. Foul and abusive language
Verse 29 says, “Don’t use foul or abusive language.” The word used here speaks of something that has gone “rotten.” This includes obscene language, profanity, dirty stories, vulgarity, double entendres, etc.
When did it become “cool” for preachers to speak this way from a pulpit? Some people would say this is being “real” or “authentic.”
Guess what? You are not to speak this way — privately or publicly. How about being authentically godly instead?
2. Bitterness
The definition of bitterness is “an embittered and resentful spirit that refuses to be reconciled.”
Some people just like to be mad. They live for conflict, arguing, and fighting. This, as with all sin, only gets worse if left unchecked and unrepented of.
The sad thing is that bitter people rarely want to keep it to themselves. Instead, they spread it around. The Bible speaks of “a root of bitterness defiling many” (see Hebrews 12:15).
I have a better idea: forgive!
3. Fits of rage and uncontrolled anger
“Rage” speaks of the person who is easily angered and who raises his voice — shouting and screaming. “Slander” is speaking evil of others behind their backs. “Malicious behavior” speaks of ill will and plotting evil against someone.
Look, all of us have been hurt in life, but we have a choice as to how we react. We can be like the moneylender Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, demanding our “pound of flesh.” We can say, “They did this to me; therefore I will have my vengeance!”
Or we can believe God when He says “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”
It is said that Augustine had a sign on his wall that read, “He who speaks evil of an absent man or woman is not welcome at this table.”
Try the acronym T.H.I.N.K. the next time you are not sure whether or not you should say something.
T – Is it Truthful?
H – Is it Helpful?
I – Is it Inspiring?
N – Is it Necessary?
K – Is it Kind?
Instead of speaking evil of someone, we are to “be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.”
The Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nations) was a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual coalition from its (unofficial) founding by Charlemagne in the 9th century AD. The German Empire would be a better term in fact, as it was founded and typically ruled by Germanic peoples. (Charlemagne himself was a Frank.) As Voltaire once perceptively quipped, the Holy Roman Empire was “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire”. (Essai sur l’histoire générale et sur les mœurs et l’esprit des nations, Chapter 70)
Given that the boundaries of the empire were constantly changing over its almost thousand-year history (and were rarely if ever officially defined), the cultures and languages subsumed were constantly in flux too. Undoubtedly, German (or the predominant dialect thereof) was the de-facto official language. Latin was also for official matters of state/ceremonies, especially during the Medieval period, given this modern empire’s desire to ape the glory of Ancient Rome, not to mention the ubiquity of the Church in Medieval life.
Largest World Religions
Christianity
Islam
Hindu
Buddhist
Universalism
Sikhism
Juche
Spiritism
Judaism
Bahai
Jain
Shinto
Cao Dai