Christianity: History, Beliefs, and Impact on the Roman World
Christianity: A Historical Overview
The Triune God created man out of love and made him free, in His own image and likeness. Man, in his freedom, failed to love God, and God reiterated the promise of salvation. God sent His own Son for the salvation of all mankind. In the person of Jesus Christ, God became part of humanity. The Word was made flesh. God, through Jesus, takes up the story to rescue from the human condition all who fell in Adam (the mystery of the Incarnation in terms of the mystery
Read MoreBernarda Alba: A Deep Dive into Characters and Themes
The House of Bernarda Alba: A Summary
Federico García Lorca wrote The House of Bernarda Alba in the last months of his life. It impressively portrays the situation of a group of women condemned to frustration by Catholic morality, sexism, and patriarchal norms. Bernarda assumes this morality as her own and imposes it on others. While some resign themselves to it, Adela rebels against it, ultimately leading to a tragic end.
The Imposition of Mourning
After the death of her second husband, Bernarda
Read MoreMedieval Christianity: Iconoclasm, Schisms, Crusades, and Art
The Iconoclastic Struggle
The women’s struggle was iconoclastic. Important icons and images were elements of worship. Leo III, emperor of Byzantium, prohibited the use of images in 730 and led the fight against iconoclasm. In 843, Theodora decreed the restoration of icons in worship, favored by those who opposed the misuse of images, Muslims, Jews, and the influence of Rome.
Rise of Papal States
The Papal States, centered in Rome, were built upon areas of land, establishing themselves in 756. The Pope’
Read MoreLilith: Mythology, Origins, and Cultural Impact
- Lilith Etymology
- Hebrew: Lilit
- Akkadian: Līlītu (nocturnal female being/demon)
- ASSOCIATED WITH WIND AND MOON
- Sumerian: lil (air, lady air, goddess of the South wind), itud (moon)
- ASSOCIATED WITH NIGHT
- Lilith in Ancient Mythology
- Assyrian Lilitu: preyed upon children and women
- Associated with lions, storms, desert, disease
- Early portrayals: bird talons for feet and wings
- Sexual predators of men, unable to copulate normally
- Dwelled in desolate places
- Babylonian texts: Lilith as prostitute of Ishtar
- Sumerian
- Assyrian Lilitu: preyed upon children and women
Human Language Evolution, Culture, and Symbolism
1. Evidence of Language Use in Early Humans
One hypothesis suggests that evidence from the Atapuerca site, specifically the ‘Sima de los Huesos’, indicates early language use. Discoveries of dozens of Homo heidelbergensis remains in a pit and a two-faced stone tool could be interpreted as burial rituals. If so, rituals, as symbols with scheduled actions, might be the first evidence of human language use, demonstrating the use of symbols.
Furthermore, Homo neanderthalensis exhibited three types of
Read MoreThe Protestant Reformation: A Religious and Political Transformation
The Pre-Reformation World
The rise of political theories and the establishment of national monarchies gradually diminished the Pope’s control and influence over Christendom. This decline was so significant that the Pope struggled to unite Christian princes against the threat of the Muslim Ottoman Turks. The Pope’s temporal power was limited to the Papal States in the Italian peninsula. Maintaining these territories required political maneuvering, as various European states vied for hegemony in Italy,
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