EE Talking point — religion

Tree of Jesse detail from Reims cathedralMarriage at Cana detail from Chartres cathedral

LEFT: Detail of a "Tree of Jesse" window (1861), designed in the 13th century style by L. Steiheil, painted by glass painter and restorer Nicolas Coffetier (1821–1884), for Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879) — French architect and theorist, famous for his "restorations" of medieval buildings. Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral, France.

RIGHT: Detail of a stained glass window called Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière, a section from the 13th century, depicting the Marriage at Cana. Notre-Dame de Chartres cathedral, France.

Religionof uncertain Latin origin, "by Cicero connected with 'relegere' (to read over again) . . . so that the supposed original sense . . . would have been ‘painstaking observance of rites’, but by later authors . . . with 'religāre' . . . ‘that which ties believers to God’. . . ": "Belief in or acknowledgement of some superhuman power or powers (esp. a god or gods) which is typically manifested in obedience, reverence, and worship; such a belief as part of a system defining a code of living, esp. as a means of achieving spiritual or material improvement." (OED, 2nd edition. Oxford: 1989).

Topics: belief & doubt | orthodoxy & heresy | ecclesiology | sacred texts | comparative religion


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