Scared and profane in the media

In today’s media the terms sacred and profane aren’t commonly used but if we look closely at nearly every article in the newspaper or that is on the news you can always seem to find these aspects expressed. In the article 'Father Peter Kennedy in defiant mass at St Mary's' (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25090091-3102,00.html) the usually idea of sacred and profane is challenged. Most would believe that whatever the church decides is sacred but in this article it is debated. The church dismissed Kennedy of performing priestly duties but he still has many followers who are willing to fight alongside him. With Kennedy drawing 1500 faithful followers to his support this must mean that what he preaches must be accepted amongst his congregation and the overall wider community. If the Catholic Church is really meant to be all about community it could be argued that the Archbishop Bathersby is the one who is harming ecclesiastical communion by making unnecessary tension among those of the church. If one man has brought together hundreds of followers then how is it possible that he is breaking the sense of communion it would seem that he is bring the opposite a sense of communion rather than harming it. I do not know the full sense of what Father Kennedy did, therefore I am not saying that this decision to dismiss him was wrong but the wording on his dismal papers (http://media01.couriermail.com.au/multimedia/2009/02/090219_stmarys/decree.pdf) stating that he has harmed ecclesiastical communion cannot be fully justify. The people of St Mary's deserve a legitimate answer from the leaders of the church. If this answer is not received the people of the church would have reason to believe that there is profanity and not justice throughout the Catholic Church leadership.

Another article in the media that talks about the Sacred and Profane is 'Italy crucifix row teacher barred' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7897802.stm)In this article a teacher has been suspended for removing a crucifix from his classroom. In Italy is the custom to display a crucifix in every building but with judges refusing to enter courts with a crucifix displayed. This gives fear that this tradition may not be a tradition for much longer. I believe that there is a sense of sacredness where religions can co-exist and show the love of their god to all and that profanity is where religions fight amongst themselves not showing any qualities that they want to be associated with. It is an outcry to think that a judge would refuse to enter a court room that has a crucifix in it and that a teacher would even go to the extent of removing one. Without a faith in these religions these symbols mean nothing which is just the same as having a statue or any other decoration. A crucifix represents a valuable story but all symbols are profane they only can become sacred if in your state of mind that you associate with the heavens (Chaos). Therefore it is right to conclude that a symbol only has the value (or sacredness) that you put on it, therefore if you don’t put value in it then what’s the need to refuse to enter a room with a decoration in it.

Coventry Cathedral

Before taking a virtual tour of the Coventry Cathedral I thought it was unworthy to be called a holy site. I thought this because it was built to boost the moral of the English during World War 2 that I couldn’t be holy. To my suborned mind I could not call it worthy to be a holy place because I thought that for something to be holy that it needs to be built for God and for no other reason. Therefore I regraded Coventry Cathedral as a famous religious building but not a sacred place.

My opinion of this building has changed since watching the below YouTube clip by being in awe of all the little detail in the decorations of the building. I was also amazed by all the things that could be debated over being in a sacred place all had definitions of how it represents Gods love and compassion.

At Coventry Cathedral there are many 'Holy icons' such as a stone from Bethlehem and statues of the saints. They are many crosses throughout the cathedral that do not allow the mind to wonder of the point of Christianity. This keeps the attention focused on God which is a sign of what the cathedral is used for today.

The Cathedral is tall so you look up to see the roofs of the cathedral which can be seen as a sign of focusing our attention on heaven above.

My opinion on this building has differently changed and I have come to the conclusion that the Coventry Cathedral is indeed a sacred place.

The Sacred and Profane in Christian Worship

To many Worship DVD’s are seen as a performance with the musicians seeking praise and the congregation giving praises to skills of earthly figures rather than god.



I was trying to deconstruct the clip by separating the key icons/elements into sacred and profane. When I viewed the clip I could find many profane things; like the expensive instruments and gear. But these are used to bring glory to God and because this connects between the scared and the profane I came to the conclusion that anything profane can become sacred if used in a way to glorify the chaos.

In this clip there is an Axis’s Mundi with the choir and the seating, with everything starting from the floor to the roof of the building. This is seen as an Axis Mundi by connecting the heaven and the earth. To me this gives the impression that this choir is reaching up past the building and even after it leaves the building that there is an angelic choir building all the way up into the centre of the chaos.

This clip could be debated to be all made up but the feeling I get when I listen to a clip like this is so amazing. I can agree with every word said. In this clip there is a close up of a dark skinned lady who is so deeply into worship which could be seen as racist by doing a close up on someone just because they are different. Too me personally I believe this is trying to show unity through the church and that ALL people of ALL nationality’s can come together as one to worship the creator.

For the stated reasons I believe that worship DVD’s and clips are great in exhibiting the ideas of the scared and the holy.

Sacred Space in my Life and in the Wider World

I can indentify sacred space in my life in any area/place that I can pray, read, praise, fellowship, share, worship and respond to God. For me this can be at any place at anytime. The two most successful ways that II have found in my life to connect with the choas are as follows;

1. On camping trips (especially ones with church) where I can stay up and talk to other Christians. During this time we debate our faith, pray and overall glorify God for what he has done in our lives and where we need help. I believe that where I find the best connection is in this type of setting. This is because I can get into a deep and meaningfully conversation with someone, at a time that we won’t be stupid and play around but are sober and have open hearts. When I have these encounters I can really feel the presence of God over me and I feel enlightened by His Grace. In these situations I am normally with a small group of people which is my preference over being by myself or with a big group. So both my spiritual and personal preferences are met.

2. On my bus trip every afternoon I usually listen to worship and praise songs and sing them in my head. At one point in the trip we climb up a small hill, from this point I can see a suburb with heaps of houses, mountains, bushland, national parks, sand dunes and the beach. This is a point where all the natural and human wonders all come together and are represented as living together is harmony. It always seems to happen that as I have this 5 second sight that my I-Pod is deep into a worship/praise song and for a moment I have a really deep sense of awe towards God and His creation and feel like nothing else in the world matters.

In the wider world different religions find sacred space in meeting places (like churches and temples), relics (ancient artefacts of the forefathers), and places where special events took place (like Mecca for Muslims where Mohammed was born).

NOTE

As seen above I do not believe that there is a difference between the sacred and the profane but for the purpose of this blog it is necessary that I draw a obvious conclusion between the two. So in the following post I may blog using words that I don’t necessarily agree with or that don’t agree with my first post. Therefore I am using the word sacred to describe more holy places/sites (were a religious group gathers and/or where groups/individuals can make a divine connection with the chaos) and profane to describe everything that does not fit into the sacred category.