Meaning Making
Existence of Miracles
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Samuel E. Moskowitz
A miracle is an event that is not explicable by all natural laws known at the time of occurrence. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints serves the Catholic Church in establishing the authenticity of a miracle. Prior to becoming a saint, the individual must have performed at least two miracles. A miracle is scrutinized by medical and theological panels. One salient example is the recovery of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre from Parkinson’s disease, a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder marked by tremors of hands, arms, legs, and face. PD is caused by a reduced supply of neurotransmitter dopamine secreted from nerve cells within the brain. Dopamine is needed to regulate muscular movements, and provide other neurological functions. Neurons reside within the substantia nigari, and die as the disease progresses. Eventually cognitive abilities are adversely affected. There is no known cure. Recent research has shown that certain emotions can increase the production of dopamine. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre fervent and solemn prayers may have increased dopamine secretion to levels that arrested her tremors. We shall discuss the possibility of inferring a rationale of a miracle from future scientific discoveries. A miracle has no apparent explanation. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre was cured of Parkinson’s disease after fervent and prolonged prayers. The event was declared a miracle. Parkinson is caused by an insufficient amount of dopamine. Certain emotions can increase production. Prayers may have arrested her tremors. Rationale must await scientific discovery.
The Nexus of Religion and Culture: An Anthropological Analysis of Interpretation of Dreams in Pakistan
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Latafat Aziz, Asim Muneeb Khan
The present study is about the religious narrative & interpretation of dreams in a culture. The study was carried out in the rural areas near Islamabad Pakistan. One of the aims of this study was to examine the folk knowledge about the dreams and symbolic significance of dreams in a culture under the religious interpretations of dreams. The study was conducted under qualitative research design. Anthropological research methodology is employed in which cluster of tools were used for data collection including rapport building, participant observation, interview guide, in-depth interviews, key informants, case studies, field notes, diaries and visual aid. A total of 47 respondents on the basis of snow ball sampling were interviewed for the purpose of this study. The unit of data collection was natives and dream interpreters. The study was designed under the course of certain research objectives including natives’ perceptions about dream and reality. The study portrayed that dreams are generally considered in Islamic societies because of religious factors. Majority (70 percent) of the respondents believed that dreams reveal meaningful information about themselves and their surroundings. It has been ascertained that two accustomed systems of dream interpretation i.e. cultural (individual & traditional) and religious interpretation of dreams were followed by the natives. The study proclaimed that dreams are source of making sense of the world in a relational and inter-subjective manner as well as instances of the human dexterity to formulate new forms.
In a Galaxy Not So Far Away: Religion In the Face of Popular Culture
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anna Mazurek
One of the most important elements through which an individual identifies himself is his belonging to various social and religious groups. Everyone discovers which form of religious practice is the best suited for them. In my presentation, I focus on alternative religions, especially fiction based religions which promote a new understanding of religion and are a reflection of contemporary cultural trends; with emphasis being given to individualization and the promotion of pluralism. My thesis is that religion is given a new social role, it serves as a tool of self-identification of the individual and express the “I” of the individual. In order to be capable of doing that, religion has to anchor itself in something specific and individual for the person, even if this is this person’s favorite movie or book. As such, fiction becomes a tool of self identification and is taken to the level of religious practice. Examples of this trend can be found in religious movements which follow works of popular culture, with this presentation focusing on the example of Jediism, Tolkienesque cults, and Lovecraftian cults. Issues discussed include the characteristics of these aforementioned fiction based religions, its influence on the definition of religion as such, and the consequences of this kind of approach to religion. Included with this is an analysis of the cultural and social backgrounds from which these movements emerge.
Discursive Constructions of "God" in the Bible, the Qur'an, and the Baha'i Scriptures
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Robert Bianchi
The word “God” (aka Yahweh/Elohim, Theos, Allah) is considered to refer to the same entity in the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and more recently, the Baha'i Faith. This paper puts this assumption to the test. Using corpus linguistics (CL) and discourse analysis (DA) methodologies, (McEnery & Baker, 2015), this paper contrasts specific textual references to lexical items that refer to “God” in the King James Version of the Old Testament and New Testament (cf. Oosting, 2016), in Yousef Ali's translation of the Qur’an (cf. Al Ghamdi, 2015), and in the authorized English translation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'ullah's book of laws (see Danesh, 2015). The paper highlights areas of convergence and divergence in these scripture-specific discursive constructions of “God.” The paper concludes with a discussion of potential reasons for differences in terms of strategic intertextuality (Pregill, 2007). Al Ghamdi, S. A. (2015). Critical and Comparative Evaluation of the English Translations of the Near-Synonymous Divine Names in the Quran. University of Leeds, Danesh, R. (2015). Some Reflections on the Structure of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. The Journal of Baha'i Studies, 25(3), 81. McEnery, A., & Baker, P. (2015). Corpora and discourse studies: Integrating discourse and corpora: Springer. Oosting, R. (2016). 11 Computer-Assisted Analysis of Old Testament Texts: The Contribution of the wivu to Old Testament Scholarship. In The Present State of Old Testament Studies in the Low Countries (pp. 192-209): Brill. Pregill, M. E. (2007). The Hebrew Bible and the Quran: the problem of the Jewish ‘influence’on Islam. Religion Compass, 1(6), 643-659.
