Pilgrimage And Place : An Old Testament View

The pilgrimage is indeed an amazing phenomenon, which brings people together at a common goal, which is believed to be the essence or starting point of life and the ‘door’ to the afterlife. As we will discover, pilgrimages require great sacrifice, both financially and physically. Pilgrimages may give the impression of an act that is traditional and not ‘fit’ for our modern world. However, one who has not walked the pilgrimage may never see the insight that the pilgrims themselves see. One fact is certain and striking. The numbers of pilgrims at the world’s major shrines are still increasing.

A pilgrimage is a good time in which someday could spend a lot of time

The traditional pilgrim is someone who surrenders the life they once knew to make a journey of devotion to a sacred site. It’s not necessarily the destination, but their growing faith along their journey that they seek. They set off with hands empty, free of expectation, carrying only a willingness to be guided, to bear

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem a religious and political center from the ancient Near East time to present day, guiding the footsteps of believers around the world.

Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which is the most holy city to Muslims. Hajj is also one of the five pillars of Islam, meaning that it is very important. It is mandatory for all Muslims who are physically and financially able to make this pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Hajj usually takes place from the 8th to the 12th of the last month in the Islamic calendar (Dhu al-Hijjah), meaning that the dates for Hajj changes every year. In contrast to Hajj, Umrah is the pilgrimage to Mecca, which can be done at any point in the year. Millions of Muslims make this journey to Mecca every year, because Mecca is the holiest site in all of Islam. It is the holiest due to the fact that it contains the sacred mosque that was proclaimed the site for pilgrimage by the Prophet Muhammad in 630 AD. Medina is the second holiest site for Muslims, it is where Muhammad is buried. The topic that I have chosen is the Umra certificate, which is a 15th century scroll depicting the pilgrimage to Mecca. In this paper, I will be discussing who made the scroll, where it was made, when/why it was made, and finally what was this particular

Tweed uses the term differentiated to define a religious space. Differentiated means, “imaginatively figured and/or sensually encountered locales that are deemed more or less ‘special,’ ‘singular,’ or ‘set apart” (119). In other words, when communities single out a specific area and give it significance, they are creating a sacred space. Tweed explains it is crucial to understand that labeling a religious space as ‘special’, “acknowledges religion’s interaction with biological and cultural factors affecting human life” (119). Tweed than goes on to clarify what he means by “special” and “religious”. He uses Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel to exemplify the “special” aspect of the religious space. Tweed explains the Virgin’s presence gives the environment a sense of perfection and exceptionalism. To be considered a ‘religious’ space, the area must make humans appeal, “to suprahuman forces (like the Virgin of Guadalupe) and imagine an ultimate horizon

Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica 2. Jerusalem was a place that Jesus spent a lot of his

“Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,” said Gregory Chaucer in his book, The Canterbury Tales, meaning people long to go on religious pilgrimages. The act of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages had been a very popular and traditional practice in the Christian society. This visit to shrines or holy places was an act of religious devotion and played a role in the lives of many Europeans, especially those in the western regions of Medieval Europe. In order to understand the importance of pilgrimages, we will emphasize the purpose of pilgrimages, the diversity of pilgrims that took part in them, and the various shrines pilgrims visited.

Certain physical locations take on important meanings in the world’s religions. Religions consider various geographic elements such as different cities, regions, mountains, and rivers to be sacred. For example, Hindus travel to the Ganges River to cleanse themselves from their sins (Momen 157). One of the requirements of all Muslims is that they make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca (Eastman 398). Judeo-Christian religions also have certain places that are held sacred to their followers. The concept of sacred space is important to Judeo-Christian religions, because it helps to explain the questions of existence. Sacred space provides something tangible to represent

My long walk to Forgiveness: One writers voyage of discovery on the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage by Sonia Choquette.

Moses: The Holy Land is important for my faith because it is where I was given the Ten Commandments from God. It is also significant to me because I lead many people from Egypt to the Holy Land.

The Old Testament consisted of a set of documentations of religious scriptures, which were written by different people at various times for a different audience. Most of the Old Testament contains short stories of traditional stories and those stories of distinguished ways God established mankind. These stories are often told to the people in narrative form, which are guidelines often referred to as laws, songs, genealogies, and a list from these authors that composed the Old Testaments. The pressing of set documentation is essential because it is the framework for the lives of God 's followers. The term “Old Testament” originated as a means to express spoken traditions and God 's creation of that particular era. It is an method of philosophical investigation was designed to answer the why questions within these spiritual text documentations. These religious documentations consisted of four parts. These four sections retrieved from the Old Testaments are the laws, history, wisdom and prophecy. The laws are a rule of behavior enforced within the community. The rules are sometimes called “Torah.” When analyzing this Torah, these rules viewed within the first five spiritual books of the Bible. For example, in the first Torah in Genesis, it explains the creation, Noah’s Flood, Abraham and Isaac, and Joseph’s coats of many colors. However, the laws in Exodus were in regards to the going out. The going out took about 40 plus years, until the people led to

“The grandeur of the ancient city is evident in the remains uncovered by archaeologists, including the ruins of the Artemision, the civic agora, the temple of Domitian, gymnasiums, public baths, a theater with seating for 24,000, a library, and the commercial agora, as well as several streets and private residences” (Holman, np). This was a big city, full of culture, and full of ungodly people and activities. Among the many religious groups in the city, there were many Jews there who were brought the gospel right after Pentecost (Orr, np). Because of the pluralism of religions in the city, new Christians didn’t know exactly what to believe or how to worship. On top of this, the city was constantly bombarded with false teachers trying to tell people that salvation came from works, not faith (MacArthur, np).

After reading the Sermon at Benares, I do find the concept of the “middle path” as expressed in the provided text, to explicate that we must strike a common ground in our every day life. In particular, I liked how the passage talked about the “two extremes”, and how there must be a balance between the notions of “ self-indulgence” and “self-mortification”. Resultantly, if we are to pursue or to achieve Nirvana, we must live a proper life. We should not shy away from our passions or desires, but at the same time, we should not indulge. We must be moderate and fulfill what is only needed for our mind and body. Only then, can we follow the “middle path”, and live a fulfilling life that is meaningful and abundant.

that Mary told Bernadette to find a spring. She did and in 1862 it was