Dialogo 3 1 (2016) by dIALOGO jOURNAL

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue betweenÂ Science andÂ Theology

DIA LOGO

Volume 3 - Issue 1 - November 2016

Religion and Society: Agreements & Controversies www.dialogo-conf.com

DIALOGO Proceedings of the annual Conferences on the Dialogue between Science and Theology

Journal of RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology), Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania

Journal indexed in the following international Databases:

and subject for evaluation and rating for other Databases

DIALOGO CONF 2016 volume 3 - issue 1:

RELIGION and SOCIETY: Agreements & Controversies

Organized by the RCDST - Romania in collaboration with other Institutions from Slovakia - Pakistan - Switzerland - Poland India - Egypt - Uganda - Jordan - Turkey Argentina - USA - Canada - Germany held on November 3 - 10, 2016 venue:

www.dialogo-conf.com

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this volume do not necessarily represent those of the Dialogo Organizers and are attributable only to the authors of the papers. Publication Series: Description: ISSN (CD-ROM): ISSN (ONLINE): ISSN (PRINT): ISSN-L: Editors:

DIALOGO (Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Science and Theology) 2392 – 9928 2393 – 1744 2457 – 9297 2392 – 9928 Fr. lecturer Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, Ph.D. (Romania) - In-Chief - and Ing. Stefan BADURA, Ph.D. (Slovak Republic)

Series Publisher: RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology), from Ovidius Univesity of Constanta. Romania Volume3, Issue 1 Title: Religion and Society: Agreements & Controversies. subtitle: ISBN: DOI: Published by: (DOI issuer) Pages: Printed on: Publishing date:

DIALOGO-CONF 2016 RSAC 978-80-554-1285-6 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1 EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina Univerzitna 1, 01026 Zilina - Slovak Republic 375 100 copies 2016, November 30

Note on the issue: This is a the volume of the Proceedings of the conference Dialogo held in November 2016.

*All published papers underwent blind peer review. *All published papers are in English language only. Each paper was assigned to 3 reviewers and went through two-level approval process. * The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of RCDST. Authors only hold responsability over their papers and content.

Open Access Online archive is available at: http://www.dialogo-conf.com/archive (proceedings will be available online one month after the publication release). In case of any questions, notes or complaints, please contact us at: info(at)dialogo-conf.com.

Warning: Copyright © 2014, RCDST (Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology), Romania. All rights reserved. Reproduction or publication of this material, even partial, is allowed only with the editor’s permission. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Dialogo by RCDST is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License This is in an Open Access journal by which all articles are available on the internet to all users upon publication.

doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1

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DIALOGO

3 : 1 (2016)

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Science and Theology November 3 - 10, 2016

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

Conference Sponsors and Parteners

Ovidius University of Constanta (UOC/Romania) www.univ-ovidius.ro

University of the Punjab (Lahore) www.pu.edu.pk

The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi (UAIC/Romania) www.uaic.ro

“Vasile Goldis” Western University of Arad (UVVG/Romania) www.uvvg.ro/

The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Tech- Horizon Research Publishing, HRPUB - USA nology (ISCAST/Australia) http://www.hrpub.org/ www.iscast.org

Research and Science Today www.lsucb.ro/rst

Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology www.rcdst.ro

www.The-Science.com (Slovakia)

Maritime University of Constanta “Mircea cel Batran” Naval (UMC/Romania) Academy (ANMB/Romania) www.cmu-edu.eu www.anmb.ro

Global Ethics (Geneva/Switzerland) www.globethics.net

Faculty of Educational Sciences (WNP) Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland www.pedagogika.umk.pl

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Action-research in Contemporary Culture and Education – Practice & Theory (ACCEPT/Poland) www.accept.umk.pl

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Centre for Research and social, psychological and pedagogical evaluation (CCEPPS/Romania) ccepps.univ-ovidius.ro

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DIALOGO

3: 1 (2016)

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Science and Theology November 3 - 10, 2016

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

Conference Sponsors and Parteners

Faculty of Theology in UOC, Romania teologie.univ-ovidius.ro/

Faculty of Orthodox Theology in UAIC, Romania www.teologie.uaic.ro

Faculty of Medicine in UOC, Romania www.medcon.ro

Faculty of Theology in UAB, Romania www.fto.ro

Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education in UAIC, Romania www.psih.uaic.ro

Faculty of Psychology and Sciences of Education in UOC, Romania pse.univ-ovidius.ro

Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering in UOC, Romania fcetp.univ-ovidius.ro

Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in UAIC, Romania snsa.univ-ovidius.ro

Centre of Inter - Religious Research and Christian Psychopedagogy Alba Iulia - Saint Serge (CCIRPC)

Volume published by

EDIS Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina Univerzitna 1 01026 Zilina Slovak Republic

RCDST Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

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DIALOGO

3:1 (2016)

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Philosophy and Theology November 3-10, 2016

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributers of Dialogo Journal Christoph STUECKELBERGER Globethics.net Executive Director and Founder; Prof. PhD. (Switzerland)

Ahmed KYEYUNE Islamic University in Uganda

Maria Isabel Maldonado GARCIA Directorate External Linkages/Institute of Language University of the Punjab; Head of Spanish Dpt. / Assistant Professor (Pakistan)

Ahmed USMAN University of the Punjab (Pakistan)

Filip NALASKOWSKI

Mihai Valentin VLADIMIRESCU Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Craiova; Professor PhD. (Romania)

Faculty of Educational Sciences - Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun; Dr. (Poland)

Mohammad Ayaz AHMAD University of Tabuk; Assistant Professor PhD (Saudi Arabia)

Lucian TURCESCU Department of Theological Studies - Concordia University; Professor and Chair (Canada)

IPS Teodosie PETRESCU Archbichop of Tomis disctrict; Faculty of Orthodox Theology; “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania)

Francesco FIORENTINO Dipartimento di Filosofia, Letteratura e Scienze Sociali; Universita degli Studi di Bari «Aldo Moro»; Researcher in Storia della Filosofia (Italy)

Edward Ioan MUNTEAN Faculty of Food Sciences and Technology - University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj–Napoca; Assoc. Professor PhD. (Romania)

Dagna DEJNA NCU Faculty of Educational Sciences (Poland)

Altaf QADIR University of Peshawar (Pakistan)

Panagiotis STEFANIDES Emeritus Honoured Member of the Technical Chamber of Greece HELLENIC AEROSPACE IND. S.A. - Lead engineer; MSc Eur Ing (Greece)

Eugenia Simona ANTOFI “Dunarea de Jos” University (Romania)

Wade Clark ROOF J.F. Rowny Professor of Religion and Society; Emeritus and Research Professor Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life; Director Department of Religious Studies - University of California at Santa Barbara (United States of America) Cristiana OPREA European Physical Society; member Joint Institute for Nuclear Research - Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics; Scientific Project Leader (Russia) Gheorghe ISTODOR Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Nasili VAKA’UTA Trinity Methodist Theological College University of Auckland; Ranston Lecturer PhD. (New Zealand)

D. Liqaa RAFFEE Jordan University of Science and Technology (Jordan) George ENACHE Faculty of History, Philosophy and Theology „Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati; Associate professor PhD. (Romania) Ahed Jumah Mahmoud AL-KHATIB Faculty of Medicine - Department of Neuroscience University of Science and Technology; Researcher PhD (Jordan) Ioan-Gheorghe ROTARU ‘Timotheus’ Brethren Theological Institute of Bucharest (Romania) Akhtar Hussain SANDHU Department of History, University of the Punjab; Associate professor PhD. (Pakistan) Richard WOESLER European University press, PhD. (Germany)

Dilshad MAHABBAT University of Gujrat (Pakistan) Adrian NICULCEA Faculty of Orthodox Theology, “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Tarnue Marwolo BONGOLEE Hope for the Future; Executive Director (Liberia)

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Coli NDZABANDZABA Rhodes University (South Africa)

Riffat MUNAWAR University of the Punjab; Dr. PhD. (Pakistan) Hassan IMAM Aligarh University, PhD. (India) Ioan G. POP Emanuel University of Oradea; PhD. (Romania) Farzana BALOCH University of Sindh Associate professor PhD. (Pakistan)

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DIALOGO

3:1 (2016)

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Philosophy and Theology November 3-10, 2016

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributers Petru BORDEI Faculty of Medicine - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Khalil AHMAD University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Fouzia SALEEM University of the Punjab, Dr. PhD. (Pakistan)

Maciej LASKOWSKI Politechnika Lubelska; Prof. PhD. (Poland)

Mihai CIUREA University of Craiova, PhD. (Romania)

Muhammad HAFEEZ University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad University of Tabuk, Assistant Professor PhD. (Saudi Arabia)

Muhammad Shahid HABIB International Islamic University; Lecturer Ph.D. (Pakistan)

Mirosaw Zientarski Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru, PhD. (Poland)

Muhammad Zakria ZAKAR University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Manisha MATHUR G.N.Khalsa College; University of Mumbai; Assistant Professor (India)

R S Ajin GeoVin Solutions Pvt. Ltd.; PhD. (India)

Pratibha GRAMANN Saybrook University of San Francisco, California (United States of America)

Mustfeez Ahmad ALVI Lahore Leads University; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan)

Adrian GOREA Concordia University, Montreal (Canada)

Radu NICULESCU Ovidius University of Constanta; Assist.prof. PhD. (Romania)

Richard Alan MILLER

Navy Intel (Seal Corp. and then MRU); Dr. in Alternative Agriculture, Physics, and Metaphysics (United States of America)

Fermin De La FUENTE-CALVO De La Fuente Consulting (Corporative Intelligence) B.Sc. Physics and Professor PhD. (United States of America)

Maria CIOCAN “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy; teacher PhD. (Romania)

Kelli COLEMAN MOORE University of California at Santa Barbara (United States of America) Osman Murat DENIZ Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi; Associate Professor PhD. (Turkey) Daniel MUNTEANU The International Journal of Orthodox Theology (Canada) Dragos HUTULEAC Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava; Assistant Lecturer, PhD candidate (Romania) Shiva KHALILI Faculty of psychology and education - Tehran University; Associate Professor PhD. (Iran) Mihai HIMCINSKI Faculty of Orthodox Theology - „1 December 1918” University of Alba Iulia; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Richard Willem GIJSBERS The Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology - ISCAST (Australia) Flavius Cristian MARCAU Constantin Brancusi” University of Targu Jiu; Phd. Candidate (Romania)

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Stanley KRIPPNER Association for Humanistic Psychology, the Parapsychological Association; President; Prof. PhD. (United States of America)

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Sorin Gabriel ANTON Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi; PhD. (Romania) Sultan MUBARIZ University of Gujrat; PhD. (Pakistan) Gheorghe PETRARU Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Iasi; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Rania Ahmed Abd El-Wahab Mohamed Plant Protection Research Institute; PhD. (Egypt) Rubeena ZAKAR University of the Punjab; Prof. PhD. (Pakistan) Mihai GIRTU The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST); President Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Prof. PhD. (Romania) Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST); Executive Director Faculty of Orthodox Theology - “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Lecturer PhD. (Romania)

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DIALOGO

3:1 (2016)

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Philosophy and Theology November 3-10, 2016

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

International Scientific Committee, Reviewers and Contributers of Dialogo Journal Mihaela RUS “Ovidius” University of Constanta; Professor PhD. (Romania) Sónia MORGADO Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna, (ISCPSI); Aux. Prof., PhD (Portugal) Jean FIRICA

University of Craiova; Assoc. Professor PhD. (Romania) Ahmed ASHFAQ Assistant Professor PhD (Saudi Arabia) Shoaib Ahmad SIDDIQI Faculty of Biological Sciences, Lahore Garrison University; Assistant Professor PhD (Pakistan) Rehman ATAUR

Lahore Garrison University; Senior Lecturer PhD. (Pakistan)

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http://dialogo-conf.com

DIALOGO

3:1 (2016)

Proceedings of the Conferences on the Dialogue between Philosophy and Theology November 3-10, 2016

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

Organizing Committee Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN - SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME OFFICER RCDST Executive Director and Founder; Lect. ThD. Faculty of orthodox theology, Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania) Mihai GIRTU RCDST President and Founder; Professor PhD. Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania)

RESPONSIBLES FOR SESSION 1. ART and LITERATURE Mihai Valentin VLADIMIRESCU University of Craiova; Prof., PhD (Romania) Radu NICULESCU Ovidius University of Constanta; Assist. Prof., PhD (Romania)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 2. EARTH SCIENCES, ECOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT Cristiana OPREA Dzelepov Laboratory for Nuclear Problems (DLPN) - JINR Dubna, Professor PhD (Russia)

RESPONSIBLES FOR SESSION 3. SOCIAL SCIENCES, CULTURE, LIFESTYLE CHOICES Maria Isabel MALDONADO GARCIA University of the Punjab; Assist. Prof., PhD (Pakistan) Miguel ALGRANTI, PHD (ARGENTINA) Instituto Universitario Nacional del Arte, Universidad Favaloro; Lecturer PhD (Argentina)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 4. LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Mihaela RUS - Faculty of Law, Ovidius University of Constanta; Assoc. Prof . PhD. (Romania) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 5. PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE Osman Murat DENIZ - Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi - lahiyat Fakültesi; Assoc. Prof . PhD. (Turkey) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 6. LIFE SCIENCES Ahed Jumah Mahmoud AL-KHATIB - University of Science and Technology - Department of Neuroscience; Dr. (Jordan)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 10. BIOETHICS Christoph STUECKELBERGER - University of Basel ; Founder and Executive Director of Globethics.net, Geneva ; Professor PhD. (Switzerland) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 11. ASTRONOMY, ASTRO-PHYSICS Valeriu Gheorge CIMPOCA - “Valahia” University of Targoviste; Professor PhD. (Switzerland) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 12. HISTORY, DEMOGRAPHY, ARCHAEOLOGY Akhtar Hussain SANDHU - University of Gujrat; Professor PhD. (Pakistan) RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 13. MATHEMATICS, TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY, NETWORKING Anton LIESKOVSKY - Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, University of Zilina; Ing. PhD. (Slovakia)

RESPONSIBLE FOR SESSION 14. GENERAL TOPIC (THEOLOGY) Teodosie PETRESCU - Faculty of orthodox theology , Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania) Stefan BADURA - RESPONSIBLE FOR I.T. Publishing Society of Zilina; Ing. PhD. (Slovakia)

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Welcome Address

INTRODUCTION On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we welcome you to the events of DIALOGO Conferences & Journal, an international endeavor targeting Conferences on the Dialogue between Science, Philosophy and Theology, jointly organized by “the Research Centre for Dialogue between Science and Theology” (RCDST) from “Ovidius” University of Constanta (Romania) along with all our partners from 31 academic institutions, faculties and research centers within 21 countries, made the conference truly international in scope. This time the topic of Dialogo multidisciplinary conference was directed towards the Clashes between religion and the civil world, Religion and Society: Agreements & Controversies (Dialogo 2016 RSAC), and it held virtually on our website/platform, from 3 to 10 November 2016, and presented to the public at our official website, www.dialogo-conf. com/archive. In contrast with the past Dialogo events - when we approached this interdisciplinary debates in a general topic under each and separate section - this time a very useful interaction was made due to the topic that brought together theologians and scientists to identify and resolve some of the problems that arise in this clash which comes about in this conference. In the questionary launched at the end of this conference, many requests we have received from our actual and former attendees and Dialogo visitors to join, at least once per year, a conference held in-person with this virtual formula in a mutual topic. Therefore, next year we will enlarge our approach with this dialogue in a new manner, and we have decided to have our second event/issue/Supplement in June 2017, held in-person as well as virtual, under the topic “Self-Soul-Consciousness,“ public’s choice. We hope that, with our partners’ help, that we will keep this kind of dialogue approach events annually, and you are welcome each and all of you to propose new, interesting and helpful topics for that matter. A well-received improvement was regarded the endorsement of Dialogo Journal & Conferences accredited by several international Databases that indexed our Journal during 2015 and 2016 as mentioned on the page of indexing, the last one, received just days after the end of 2016 Dialogo’s conference, is the one from The American Theological Library Association (ATLA) Database, and we are grateful and honored once again for this endorsements. The success of the conference is due to the joint efforts of so many people. Therefore we would like to thank the two Romanian Academicians that took part in this event and presented their motivation for carry on this dialogue with other domains of human knowledge. We would like to thank all the participants, philosophers, theologians, and not only them, that have presented interesting and useful papers; unfortunately, for several reasons, we could not gather all the presentation in this volume, for there are many not yet written or translated on time to be included in this main volume of Dialogo Journal. We also recognize the merits of the Scientific Committee and the Reviewers for their valuable contribution. All accepted papers have been precisely reviewed with a triple peer-review

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Welcome Address

process. Furthermore, we are proud to announce that all these concerted efforts are international endorsed and till the moment of this volume Dialogo Journal of Proceedings received recognition in the following well-known Databases. Dialogo Journal is now indexed in Social Science Research Network (SSRN), The CiteFactor, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Advanced Science Index (ASI), Index Copernicus, The Philosopher’s Index, Religious and Theological Abstracts (R&TA), Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL), The American Theological Library Association (ATLA), SCIPIO (Romania), and the subject for indexing under evaluation in EBSCO, JSTOR, SCImago, Erih Plus, Summon by ProQuest, Cabell’s, and Thomson Reuters. All these facts and many others move this event further, to be acknowledged and valuable for the Scientific Community. In conclusion, we all hope that these Proceedings will be fruitful for the current and future academia. See you again for the DIALOGO 2017 new, exciting events!

your host, lect. Ciocan Tudor Cosmin, PhD Executive Director of The Research Center on the Dialogue between Science & Theology (RCDST) „Ovidius” University Constanța / Romania Scientific Programme Officer of DIALOGO international conferences E-mail: office(at)dialogo-conf.com

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Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Rosevelt

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DIALOGO

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CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

t h e Di a l ogue b et ween Sci en c e a n d Th eol ogy

Table of Contents Table of Contents INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 SECTION 1. Art and Literature & Religion Soprano Lucia Stãnescu, the First Romanian Canto Professor in Italy, a Model of Professionalism and Spiritual Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

Marks of Music Reception through Moral Dimension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

The Resonant Icon of the Romanians, Tatal Nostru (Our Father) by Ciprian Porumbescu . . . . . . . . . . 37 1. Lect. Ruxandra Mirea, PhD 2. Teacher Savin Ciprian, PhD student

SECTION 2. Earth Sciences, Ecology, Environment & Theology Social and ecological aspects of sustainable developments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Tomasz Trojanowski, PhD

Ecotheological applicative researches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 1. Cristiana OPREA, PhD 2. Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD

SECTION 3. Social Sciences, Culture, Lifestyle Choices & Religion A Pilgrimage trough Traditional Romania. Memory, History, Religion: Exploring Irish-Romanian Boundaries in Peter Hurley’s THE WAY OF THE CROSSES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Nicoleta Stanca, PhD

The Television Programs in the Greek Language of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania (2004-2012).. .77 1. Dr. Olieta Polo 2. Dr. Manjola Sulaj

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Tabel of Content

DIALOGO 3.1 (2016)

November, 3 - 10 www.dialogo-conf.com The 3rd Virtual International Conference on

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

t h e D i al o gue be t we e n Sc i enc e and Theology

Rediscovering Musical Bessarabia, in the Lexicon of Musicologist Mariana Popescu. . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

Church, Society, and Conflict. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Popescu Nicolae, PhD

Indian Communities Embracing Judaism in the state of Andhra Pradesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 1. M. Jaya Kumar Jacob 2. Yehoshua Yacobi

The National Ideology, a Constant Philosophical Poetry in the Creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio...115 1. Dr. Manjola Sulaj 2. Dr. Olieta Polo

The Relation between the Hebrew People in the Old Testament and the Science of Those Times. . . . 124 Adrian Vasile, PhD

Science and Religious Impacts on the Indian Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 1. Mukthipudi Jaya Kumar Jacob 2. P. Brahmaji Rao

SECTION 5. Philosophy of Science & Theology The Theory of a multilayered Reality. Being real or being thought as real. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD

SECTION 6. Biology, Medicine, Natural Sciences & Theology Morphological and Termal Studies of Synthesized Ethanehydroximohydrazide (1Z, 2E)-N’-[(1Z)-1-biphenyl4-yl-2-bromoethylidene]-2-(hydroxyimino) and Its Metal Complexes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Nursabah Sarikavakli

Germination Behaviour of Lawsonia inermis L. as Influenced by Polyethylene Glycol (PEG). . . . . . . . 173 1. Enneb Hanen, PhD 2. Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad, PhD

Tabel of Content

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DIALOGO

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CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

t h e Di a l ogue b et ween Sci en c e a n d Th eol ogy

The Psychophysics behind the “Banariu visual phenomenon”- A particular case of Entoptic Phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 1. Mihaela Rus, PhD 2. Gheorghe Mihail Banariu, M.A.

SECTION 8. Epistemology, Metaphysics and Communication Sciences & Theology A Transdisciplinary Approach of the Conflictual Paradigm, a Semiophysical Context. The Art of Negotiation: Commandment or Request? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 1. Ilie Soritau 2. Ioan G. Pop

SECTION 9. Management, Marketing, Economics and Tourism & Religion A Page of Romanian Pilgrimage History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Claudiu Cotan, PhD.

SECTION 11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology The Dependence of Average Multiplicity of Produced Charged Particles on Interacting Projectile Nucleons in Nuclear Collisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 1. Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad 2. Jalal Hasan Baker

The Universe, the ‘body’ of God. About the vibration of matter to God’s command or The theory of divine leverages into matter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD

Some Aspects of Multi-Particle Productions in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad

SECTION 12. History, Demography, Archaeology & Religion Romanian Orthodox Priests on the World War I Fronts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Claudiu Cotan, PhD.

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Tabel of Content

DIALOGO 3.1 (2016)

November, 3 - 10 www.dialogo-conf.com The 3rd Virtual International Conference on

CONFERENCES & JOURNAL

t h e D i al o gue be t we e n Sc i enc e and Theology

Funerary marking, expression of the religious and social dogmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 Oana-Diana-Eliana Popescu-Coliban, PhD

Human Immanent Cognition in the Pre - Christian Slavic Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 1. Emanuel George OPREA, PhD 3. Alexandru OPREA, PhD 2. Cristiana OPREA, PhD

Prophetic symbols in the book of prophet Daniel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Ioan-Gheorghe ROTARU, PhD.

SOME ASPECTS OF HESYCHASM AND SOCIETY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 Emanuel George OPREA, PhD

SECTION 14. General Topic: Science and Theology in dialogue How Science and Scripture Fuse: A Concrete, Chronological, Connection between the Biblical Six “Days” of Creation and the “Evolution” Timelines from Scriptural and Secular Parallels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 Eloise T. Choice, M.S.

A Short Note on the Scientific Attitude, the Religious Attitude and the Surrational . . . . . . . . . . . 345 Bruno Marchal

The administration of the Holly Eucharist. The Eucharist: rarely or often?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Archimandrite Associate Professor Vasile MIRON, PhD.

Eve or “Evolution”? : The Question of the Creation of Adam and Eve as the First Humans versus the Theory That Humankind Self-Changed Over Millions of Years from Scriptural and Secular Parallels . . . . . . 356 Eloise T. Choice, M.S.

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Soprano Lucia Stãnescu, the First Romanian Canto Professor in Italy, a Model of Professionalism and Spiritual Growth Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Arts Constanta, Romania ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 21 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 27 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.1

Lucia Stănescu shined on the stage of the Lyric theater for 32 years, both in the country and abroad. The lirico spinto soprano, revealing a strong artistic personality, became a model in what concerns the performance of the roles of Puccini, and not only. Her vivacious and flexible voice combined with her magnetic and convincing theatricality in every role she had performed. Lyrical artist Lucia Stănescu is a person of intellectual refinement, passionate about and devoted to music and its servants, mature or still students. She is, also, a model in what concerns the support of the free movement of values. Professor Lucia Stănescu’s laborious work has been accomplished through the art of molding voices shaped in the manner of a Romanian singing school, carrying the joy of living, of giving, of being.

Keywords: Lucia Stănescu; Lyrical artist; Transylvania; God; Christian-orthodox; Italy; Romania; sound maintenance; human voice; lyric opera;

I. INTRODUCTION

Music is an art that opens the doors of universal communication. It is a distinct communication, composed of invisible, yet harmonious vibrations that, with time, have been refined through laborious research. Ethnicity, culture, wealth, gender, social position play no role in its promotion. Geographic boundaries are transient and feeble to impede the dispersion of musical sound structures. Value is the only advocate which persuades. The human voice is the noblest instrument

through which God showed His love for people. One thinks, feels, smells, breaths, using all this qualities in communication. But the voice is the priceless gift one has received and through which one expresses artistic emotions. When it is modeled according to rigorous instructions and academic standards, the voice stimulates the most inexpressible emotions. Lyrical artist Lucia Stănescu is a person of intellectual refinement, passionate about and devoted to music and its servants, mature or still students. She is, also, a model in what concerns the support of free

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movement of values. The artist was born in the Christian Transylvania, Romania, in a family of Orthodox priests, leaving the country in 1979, and moving to Italy. She rewarded the generosity of the adoptive nation through countless shows, concerts, and heartfelt rewards. Her entire life, career, and demeanor are a genuine gesture of Christian love. It has been 90 years since the music world of Romania, Italy and elsewhere enjoys her presence. Lucia Stănescu, a life that changed lives, has always been in the limelight of music world all around the globe. Lucia Stănescu modeled the voice, taste and attitude both of her and of other dozens of lyrical artists in Romania and in Italy, in particular. Considering this matter, one must take into account the strong Christianorthodox root and the solid education related to it, that the artist had received. There were no less than three generations of priests on her father’s side that blessed the young girl with a high level of faith, generosity, and professionalism. Given two destined names, Felicia in official documents, and Lucia, as everyone knows her, the artist of Romanian origin was born in 1926 in the heart of Apuseni Mountains, in a village with a fairy tale landscape called Somesul Rece. She and her three brothers received a Christian education both from their father, priest Ioan Stanescu, and from their caring mother, Aurora Stanescu. Over the years, Lucia’s studies were supported by Professor Paul Ţurcanu, her aunt Leontina Navrea and her uncle Ştefan Navrea. In Bucharest’s epoch atmosphere, “in the Interwar period, full of peace, culture and welfare (19181939)[1]”, Lucia attended the courses of The Orthodox Institute of Young Women and after that, of Zoe Râmniceanu High School, educational institutions that used to put emphasis on the teachers’ strictness in what concerns studying for classes, discipline and decency.

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In 1939 “was opened the road to music, destined by God, and even more than that.”[2] Lucia’s voice, as the artist relates, “is a gift from my father, that thrived to continue the road destined by God…”[3]. Professor Music in Voice, mezzo-soprano Aura Davideanu, was the one to perceive the sparkle in the child’s voice. Lucia continued, after that, to receive priceless guidance from baritone Jean Athanasiu and his wife, soprano Enrichetta Rodrigo. Advised by Professor Aura Davideanu, the young girl enrolled to Oancea Private Conservatory, which was an institution acknowledged for its theory and solfege classes. Preparation for the Belcanto live audition admission exam under the direction of Professor Music of Voice and tenor Mihăilescu-Toscani opened the doors to a new artistic and spiritual world. The Conservatory was then bearing the name of Royal Academy of Music, was subsidized by the Royal House, and was led by the composer Mihail Jora. After that, the artist’s career began to ascend, denoting perseverance, determination, diligence and joy of singing. The return to Cluj revealed a well-deserved soloist career emphasized by a young spirit, integrity, collegiality and respect “towards my precious predecessors and the possibility to be so often in the middle of them”[4]. At the beginning of her career, she received small roles, (the Polovtsian Girl in “Prince Igor” by A. Borodin; Lola, in “Cavalleria rusticana”, by P. Mascagni; Anina, in “La Traviata”, by G. Verdi; Mascha, in “ The Queen of Spades”, by P. I. Tchaikovsky; Franschita, in “Carmen” by G. Bizet. etc.), only to receive, afterward, the roles of soloist, following the concept “ each role has its own age from all points of view”[5]. The concert tours that the artist went on abroad (China-1954, Cuba-1967, Egypt-1969, Sicily-1969, Ireland-1969) unveiled to the public a rhythmic pace of singing in a suave and professional manner able to envelop one in intense feelings.

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The period during which she held the position of director of the Romanian Opera in Cluj (1970-1975) created the opportunity for an inner transfiguration both for the artist and for the entire team made of numerous professional opera singers. The managerial plan, of performing the operas in their original language, was encouraging and liberating enough due to its wish of bringing a change, a bold enough idea for those hard years: “ studying opera texts in their original language, a crucial condition for crossing new borders as the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest was doing it.”[6] The objective, reached through great effort but in a diligent manner, made possible the connection to the cultural world beyond our borders through wonderful and valuable productions that placed Lucia Stănescu’s name on top of the institution. The artist began teaching when her voice was already pure essence, and after she had already acquired the skill to explain the information required in her classes easily. “The chance to begin my didactic career at 36, in 1962, in full career, has been a rare and extremely emotional moment for me.”[7] The retirement from the soloist career (2 of May, 1981, Livorno Opera) came naturally, in the noble manner of a grand artist who endowed the public with an important present, meaning, the role of Santuzza, from Cavalleria Rusticana, of P. Mascani, “At Livorno, where the composer, Pietro Mascagni was born and buried.”[8] The joy of performing a long-wished role from her youth made the artist remark that”God has given me this gift, but at his age, professionally.”[9] Lucia Stănescu shined on the stage of the Lyric theater for 32 years, both in the country and abroad. The lirico spinto soprano, revealing a strong artistic personality, became a model in what concerns the performance of the roles of Puccini, and not only. Her vivacious and

flexible voice combined with her magnetic and convincing theatricality in every role she had performed. The artist’s vocal artistry confirms her remarkable vocality through great accuracy of expression, through dynamic subtleties own to her timbre quality and, especially, through an exquisite voice sound maintenance. These technical qualities are accompanied by the profile of the music aesthetician, who passionately lives every role of Puccini, and of the actor who effortlessly transposes in every role undertaken. Lucia Stănescu was and still remains the professor who awards every student practical and spiritual gifts. The Romanian singing school, represented by the artist, is a prestigious school that has availability all over the world, all the more that Stephan Poen, the well-renowned speech therapist and musicologist, who owns a PhD in Medicine and Musicology, stated that “she remains in history as the first Romanian woman to be a professor of voice in an Italian conservatory.”[10] Her poise, determination and the beauty of her nature and visage are the essence of her personality. Her accomplished performance on stage, praised countless times, aided the artist in her dedication to the cause of teaching. “As in what concerns my profession as a professor of voice, I was concise enough regarding the technical principles I had experienced and which I have imparted to those who understood me.”[11] II. Vocal technique

Professor Lucia Stănescu’s vocal technique aims to reveal and transform the student, by aiding him in assimilating “some vocal and behavioral hygiene rules.”[12] She reminds them, having in mind their age, about the importance of resting the mind, body and voice, as “money will not replace the harm done to the gift that God has given to you.”[13]

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Lucia Stănescu molds the future complex artist starting with the vocal emission. Vocal hygiene that comprises proper vocal warm up, vivacity in vocalization and the avoidance of emission flaws ensures student’s proper amount of knowledge upon which the professor can then start to shape the voice of the future lyrical artist. The abdominal-diaphragmatic breathing exercises are also professor Stănescu’s responsibility, as “One says that our profession is a sport, and so it is. Think only about the effort the abdominal, intercostals and diaphragmatic muscles are submitted to.”[14] The professor, by identifying the voice type, its resonance and the vocal registers, can analyze the transitional passage and give it a high mark.” I admit my true obsession: the passage for each type of voice.”[15] In order to avoid the lack of continuity between the three vocal ambitus registers and to keep the natural harmony of voice, the professor develops vocal sound continuity through technical exercises. Word articulation and its Rhapsody, followed by the musical notation, are the necessary steps in creating each partiture. Professor Lucia Stănescu’s knowledge of music revealed her sensibility in what concerns the choice of a musical repertoire. She would always give advice in her firm but soft manner: “After you will enter your career path for real, I beg you to consider this personal saying of mine: each role must have its own age.”[16] The established lyrical artist generates again, through the usage of explanations and examples, the morphological and syntactic aspects of the chosen works. Phrasing, articulations, syntax and lyrical architecture of opera texts now begin to intensify. It is the emotional moment when the student enters in a constructive and motivating competition with soprano Lucia Stănescu.. It is on this superior level that genuine music

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reveals itself through its elevating message. The challenge arrives when the student has become aware of the vocal and aesthetic condition of a role. The impact with the orchestral harmony is crucial in establishing the sound and voice level of modulations or inflections. What the professor, then, powerfully imprints, is the theatrical construction of the role, by choosing the emotional charge of character’s gestures, mimic, and attitude. The artist revealed her didactic vocation by bringing on the international lyrical stage countless famous artists, such as: Maria Luigi Borsi, Aurora Brancaccio, Rossana Bertini, Fulvia Beroli, Niki Mazziotta, Antonio Montezzii etc. Professor Lucia Stănescu’s laborious work has been accomplished through the art of molding voices shaped in the manner of a Romanian singing school, carrying the joy of living, of giving, of being. Madame Lucia Stănescu was kind enough to give us an interview from our sunny friend country, Italy, in 2013. III. Interview with Lucia Stănescu

1. Ruxandra Mirea: You have been carrying all your life, in your soul and spirit, the honest, loving and caring Christian atmosphere from your parents’ house. How did this image guide your career that has always been so much in the limelight? What pieces of advice would you give to the young artist in this matter? Lucia Stănescu: I can affirm, with my almost 87 years sensibility, that my parents’ existence was and continues to be even now, after their departure, like a shining luminary in the sea full of strong and high waves I had to battle. I believe and I cherish the wise old saying regarding the “first seven years of family good upbringing.” I advise today’s young generation to refrain from smiling ironically when hearing it uttered by

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someone. 2. Ruxandra Mirea: What can you tell us about the intellectual atmosphere that reigned in your aunt and uncle’s house in Bucharest? Have they completed the personality of the Transylvanian child, who was spiritual, genuine, and humble, a people and beauty lover person? Did education help you with your stage performance? Lucia Stănescu: I have always considered them as being my second parents. I am sure that, already having my first seven years of family good upbringing, it was easier for them to complete their mission, of giving me a capital city scholastic education. On theatre, when you are on stage, the serenity and wiseness derived from a specific type of education makes everyone’s work easier. 3. Ruxandra Mirea: Today I have, once more, noticed, with delight and surprise, the qualities of your voice that freely responds to a rational command, in a light and clear manner. How long and in what manner have you completed your studies? How can the healthiness of vocal chords can be maintained over as long a period as possible? Lucia Stănescu: Vocal technique expression itself makes one reason in a clear, organized and complete manner, like a reflex. It would be useless to start and drive a car if under its cowl wouldn’t exist all the necessary accessories. Vocal chords are a singer’s priceless gift. Their efficiency is to be debatable if the opera singer lacks or neglects his/her “vocal hygiene” and relies only on technique. 4. Ruxandra Mirea: Are there any essential aspects related to a long-lasting vocal technique? What can you tell students about phrasing? Lucia Stănescu: Understanding and respect towards the above-mentioned can, undoubtedly, create vocal longevity, and what is more, it develops into the logical and emotional chant of phrasing. A proper vocal

sound maintenance sustains and endows the phrase with an interpretive silence that conveys the sense and protrudes the public mind. 5. Ruxandra Mirea: When striving to fulfill your dream, how did you know how to select your roles? What type of attitude one must have in order for one to receive the role of one’s dreams? Lucia Stănescu: In what concerns my career repertoire, I was always compelled to repeat, when necessary, one of my sayings: “each role has its own age.” How many unforgiven mistakes has the anachronistic role choice done in the music world? 6. Ruxandra Mirea: The will and determination of performing a role on stage is, also, conditioned by the co-workers, stage partners, soloists, conductors and directors. Opera is, actually, a syncretistic genre that amazes by involving all types of art: vocal and instrumental music, theatre, choreography, painting, design, architecture, history of costumes, lights. What can you tell us about some of the extraordinary moments that you have shared with your colleagues from other fields? Lucia Stănescu: The thorough training of an opera singer from all types of view, his musical, and, why not, cultural technique is an excellent protection against some of the not so pleasant surprises. Work is not done in the same manner, everywhere. It is determined by “the name of the theatres” in what concerns their value, and even differs from one country to another. Not to mention that in tours abroad, one always has different stage partners, and not only. It would be wonderful if, from the first rehearsal, an affinity and a natural collaboration between characters would be created. Fortunately for me, I had these kinds of moments, the show almost becoming a reality. 7. Ruxandra Mirea: What about the lyric operas factotum, the orchestra conductor?

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How much has the creating energy stimulated your career? Lucia Stănescu: When a wand not only imposes itself, but also follows the soloist, it means breathing together in the colorful phrase of vocal miracle. 8. Ruxandra Mirea: Although people think in a broad manner about the life of an artist, only few are aware of the fact that this path is similar to the one of an athlete. Are refrains from natural human joys necessary for an artistic career? Lucia Stănescu: I am not aware about the way other colleagues of mine behaved towards their career, but I was forced to discern all that life has given me, deciding to keep only what resonated with my person. The respiratory, diaphragmatic and muscular effort, in general, the technical movement and the slightly difficult lights toleration give us the right to be considered athletes. I was fortunate enough to be involved in this type of activity in my adolescence, taking part in all kinds of sports competitions, volley, equestrian, technical training swimming. I put everything aside once I have realized that this kind of effort only served me, without helping me. 9. Ruxandra Mirea: Your evolution on stage, in time and space, is the result of your sensitivity blended with your will, discipline and the focus on your dream. Still, these qualities had to be modeled and constructively oriented towards what you have realized in the lyric theatre. Who were the maestros who shared their knowledge and gift with you and who revealed your talent through their outstanding didactic qualities? Lucia Stănescu: My innate will and discipline have given me an atavic certainty, without them being modeled or adapted by someone. I don’t believe that this act would have been of too much help for me. I can honestly confess that my only professor of voice, Maestro Constantin Session 1. Art and Literature & Religion

Stroescu, through his experience, sensibility and refinement, increased my genuine and positive confidence that I would, one day, have a say in the lyric world 10. Ruxandra Mirea: You resonated with Puccini’s works, and you are renowned as a cherished performer of this verist composer with post romantic features. How did you manage to lead your voice, the lower of instruments, on Puccini’s partitures? What character has always impressed and provoked you in your performance/ Lucia Stănescu: I have honoured all the composers that have enhanced my career. But I must honestly confess that I loved Maestro Giacomo Puccini, because he is closer to us, all. For instance, the four students from La Boheme are to be found not only in Paris, but all around the world, struggling almost always with financial and locative problems, and especially with feelings of love that overwhelm and mellow their young souls. Maestro’s music reveals in a melodic, genial and warm manner, the feelings of its characters. He captivated me as far back as my Conservatory years, like an eternal love. The character I felt closer to me was, definitely, delicate Cio Cio San of Madame Butterfly, who, along the opera, develops into a noble woman, able to give up on her only son out of pure love, and, then, in a brave manner, specific of her race, leave this world, so full of cruelty and uncaring towards her sensitivity. 11. Ruxandra Mirea: What secret can you reveal to the students in what concerns adding originality when performing a role which was given standing ovations dozens of times? Lucia Stănescu: To honestly feel and identify with the character so that, you suddenly forget who you are and what your real name is. 12. Ruxandra Mirea: Over the time, the same role receives performance adjustments. Does an individual’s mental

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change that leads to his maturation, involves other type of role performance? Lucia Stănescu: It does not involve other type of performance, but understanding it in its core, as if putting on a cloth more expensive than the first one. 13. Ruxandra Mirea: There is a fusion between the artist’s and the character’s souls. Theatricality is the gift that gives value to every lyric artist. Which one is more important: the music or the text? Lucia Stănescu: In my opinion, what matters in this profession is knowing exactly the historic period characteristics in which the composer creates the character. I will give you a simple, but real example: the handheld fan. Its usage differed from Floria Tosca, to Carmen and Cio Cio San. It is a very small but concrete example. Regarding the position of music and text, I will tell you how I proceeded: I have first understood and memorized the text, and after that I have studied the musical part of the role. The understanding of the text allowed me to emphasize the musical phrases. 14. Ruxandra Mirea: You are and have always been a remarkable voice that has professionally captivated the young voices that let themselves molded by your knowledge. How do you recall the meetings and the work atmosphere with your students? Lucia Stănescu: In what concerns voice technique, it was my idea to separate vocal chord vocalization exercises. I have never worked on them in groups of students and at the same time. It seems illogic and even dangerous. Concerning the professorstudent relationship, I have chosen a modality that involves empathy, patience, help in key situations, but also the respect between the student and the teacher. I do not agree, although, with the American custom that, unfortunately, has rooted in our old Europe, too.

15. Ruxandra Mirea: You are a Romanian from Transylvania, an area blessed by divinity, with peaceful, decent and hardworking people, content about the gifts they have received. Did you manage to share to the borderless world of art and culture the essence of your personality, ingrained by the Romanian traditions? Lucia Stănescu: In my family’s patriarchal atmosphere, I have received from my parents what one calls education, that I have thoroughly completed in my adulthood, being careful not to betray them. It was this trait what guided and protected me even on my tours abroad. And during my years of teaching in Italy, I have managed to develop a mutual student-professor warm relationship. I believe it is important to want, and what is more, to know how to leave something that will live on after you. References Stănescu, Lucia. A fost o viaţă sau un vis?, Eikon Publishing House, 2012, pg. 88 [2] Ibid., p. 93. [3] Ibid., p. 11. [4] Stănescu, Lucia. A fost o viaţă sau un vis?, Eikon Publishing House, 2012, pg. 183. [5] Ibid., p. 187. [6] Ibid., p. 294. [7] Ibid., p. 278. [8] Ibid., p. 290. [9] Ibid., pp. 290-291. [10] Ibid., p. 394. [11] Ibid., p. 276. [12] Ibid., p. 289. [13] Ibis., p. 289. [14] Ibid., p.290. [15] Stănescu, Lucia. A fost o viaţă sau un vis?, Eikon Publishing House, 2012, pg. 276. [16] Ibid., p. 290. [1]

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Bibliography [1] Piso, Ion. Crisis of the Opera? Musical hermeneutic study. (Criza operei? Studiu de hermeneutică muzicală.) Eikon House Publishing, Bucarest. 2015 [2] Stănescu, Lucia. Was it a life or a dream? (A fost o viaţă sau un vis?), Eikon Publishing House, Bucarest. 2012

Arts- she taught Theory of Music-solfeggio, dictate and Piano. Now, she is a lecturer at Faculty of Arts, where she teaches History of Music, Musical Esthetics, Theory of Musicsolfeggio, dictate.

Magazine [3] Mirea. Ruxandra. (2016). ”The voice of the Heart”, volume Education, Research, Creation, 2016, Musical Publishing House.

Biography Ruxandra Mirea has graduated from George Enescu Highschool of Music, from Bucharest, piano specialisation, and afterwards Faculty of Music, and Music Composition, Musicology, specialisation Vocal and Instrumental Music, from Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory of Music, Bucharest. She has a PHD in Music, from George Enescu Academy of Arts, Iasi, Musicology specialisation (2008). She has taught piano, in Quen Marry National College of Arts, Constanta (1988-1999). From 1999 she has become lecturer at Faculty of Arts, part of Ovidius University, where she has taught Theory of Music-solfeggio, dictate and History of Universal Music. Between 2004-2010 being a lecturer at Faculty of Orthodox Theology-specialisation Sacred

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DIALOGO

This paper was presented in the

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held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

journal homepage: http://dialogo-conf.com

Marks of Music Reception through Moral Dimension “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14, 6) Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Arts Constanta, Romania ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 19 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 27 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.2

Ethics is the science that comprises the complete rules of moral conduct. Ethics is the science, while moral is the instrument. Moral, whose etymology comes from the Latin word mores-moralis, meaning “custom,” represents a number of beliefs and attitudes reflected in principles and laws, historically and socially determined, that establishes human relationships and their social inclusion, being based on conscience. It is not law, but mass conscience what prevails in approaching the conflict between good and bad The present study begins by presenting the psalmodic genre that belongs to the religious music and which is an initium of forms and genres, as its component, the Christian worship chant, did not receive social censure. It is a model of musical perfection through its peacefulness brought by the sacred verses.

Keywords: Music; Musical aesthetics; Ethics; Moral; Psalmody; Niccolo Paganini; Hector Berlioz; Giuseppe Verdi; Igor Stravinski;

I. INTRODUCTION

Every society, regardless of the historical period, has its own set of values, according to its level of civilization and culture, to its ethnic and confessional traits, to its social and political commitments. Religious ethnic groups are also the keepers of social and political agreements. Their social involvement aims to create a loyal and solid relation and a cordial coexistence with their peers, so as not to harm anyone’s personality. Related to these values, people and their creations can be appreciated, praised, criticized, or, on the contrary,

degraded and marginalized. Music is both art and science that harmoniously builds a society. It includes methodology, rules, laws that govern it. Music is the field of theoretical, practical and, especially, spiritual component superimposition. It is involved in the attainment of intellectual, cognitive, aesthetic, affective and moral objectives. Music is. But is it of high-quality or not? What is beautiful in music is also of a high standard, meaning, aesthetic and ethics are bound together. Beauty means harmony, and, therefore,

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moral. By defining moral as being a set of rules every person must obey to in order to live in a society, one can deduce that music can bear the virtue of being moral as long as it reveals soul and spiritual faculties. Musical aesthetics of every type has always had its own language through which genres and forms have been developed. Musical thinking has always been the cause of changes in every musical trend. They have, naturally, denoted an improvement over the previous period, but the musical, theoretical and practical expressions have not always been approved. Aesthetic feelings are one of the triggering elements in what concerns restructure of each epoch. As each human personality has different aesthetic taste, they socially build the tendencies and manners of a stylistic trend. Aesthetic ideals are, sometimes, a little more daring, transcending epoch’s austerities. Each time, the aesthetic analysis of artists and art critics who have been appreciative of, or who have given a bad review to an event, expresses, even if, sometimes, only subjectively, the aesthetic and moral traits of the epoch. Music is launched through the instrument of musical language, which is also subjected to human molding. Musical sounds target the soul with their emotional charge. Emotions can feed the soul and the body, with reference to those chemical reactions, neurotransmitters that arouse noble feelings or dramatic experiences. These emotions can be releasing, if positive, or negative, if the piece of work receives negative feedback. Being subjective, they can, at their most, arise a disharmonic state through anxious and depressing situations, both in society and human mind. II. Presentation

Ethics is the science that comprises the complete rules of moral conduct. Ethics is the science, while moral is the instrument.

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Moral, whose etymology comes from the Latin word mores-moralis, meaning “custom”, represents the amount of beliefs and attitudes reflected in principles and laws, historically and socially determined, that establishes human relationships and their social inclusion, being based on conscience. It is not law, but mass conscience what prevails in approaching the conflict between good and bad. There are two types of approaches: through Christian moral and through secular, conventional moral. Moral values that both categories promote are: goodness, moral truth, love for one’s fellow man, justice, kindness, duty. Religious moral is applied in highly spiritual environments that purvey divine teaching. Conventional moral is usually purveyed in secular environments such as institutions. Free-will is admitted in each case. “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5, 13). Jesus Himself states that the most important command of the new law is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12, 30-31). A Christian approach of the moral attitude endows one with a sensitive approach towards the relationship between him and the Divinity and the constant spiritual advancement by being created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. A man’s moral attitude is conditioned by this ascension. The rise after the fall is always animated by the relation with God, “who wants all people to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2, 4). This bond weakens and, thus, enfeebles the moral force when one is no longer living in the vibration of love and gratitude. Criticism

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towards our own person and towards others can become destructive. Holy Trinity in Itself is love, as Saint John, the Apostle stated that “God is love” (I John 4, 8-16). Authentic vibration is continually and generously imparted to people. God’s love towards humanity is perceived as being the supreme Good. For instance, the supreme Good is a Christian moral value. “Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same” (Romans 13, 3). This moral value imbues every atom of one’s body, if allowed through free-will. In this manner, man has a vertical relation with God. In the secular moral, the accent is placed on the relationship between man and the community to which he belongs. The values governing this moral are the same: goodness, moral truth, love for one’s fellow man, kindness and duty. However, the meaning is altered, the man relates to his community and not to God. In this position, man has a parallel relation with the other members of the community. The supreme Good continues to remain a Christian and secular moral high ideal, as long as it is apprehended and creates social harmony. The author of “Professional Code of Ethics” divides the norms of ethics in four categories: authoritarian doctrine, libertarian doctrine, liberal doctrine and social responsibility doctrine.”[2] As this study mentions the periods previous to the contemporary one, one has to say that the cited works are subjected to the libertarian doctrine, which “encourages a speech free of any social constraints.”[3] This type of speech immersed itself in anachronistic patterns and rigid customs of a society in which emotions were fully suppressed, and when they were revealed, they generated unexpected conflicts. This antagonism actually reveals the discordance of socio-cultural thinking and education inflexibility in the past centuries,

reality being too hard to be accepted. As a consequence, it all results in suffering, disappointment, decline and even collapse of revolutionary ideas, as the joy of creation (referring to undervalued musical works) could not be honored. The following pages mention some of the works that are present in several music genres, genuine masterpieces from each aesthetic orientation, but which have received a different feedback. Dating back to ancient times, the aesthetic needs promoted, through their music genres, humor, human behavior and moral attitude. Thus, some different-oriented musical compositions are considered to have a real ethical value, while others, contrary to the code of ethics, are considered in dissonance with a certain type of morality that governs a culture, an epoch. The present study begins by presenting the psalmodic genre that belongs to the religious music and which is an initium of forms and genres, as its component, the Christian worship chant, did not receive social censure. It is a model of musical perfection through its peacefulness brought by the sacred verses. Psalmody is placed on top of music ethics, as it is one of the primary chanting text modalities. The sacrality of the artistic gesture issued by the Davidic psalms’ piety can be considered a musical model. “Beauty in itself needs the Divine… Art requires the divine condition in which the organic form and sensitivity reach maximum value”[4]. Seeking to communicate with God and to redirect his prayers towards the sacred art, man used word symbols blended with the vibration of sound. In the Hebraic Culture, the 150 Old Testament Psalms are ascribed to King David (9th century. B.C.), his name being related to the establishment of the Judaic divine cult, within which music and poetry underwent a spectacular development. The psalms used in the

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divine cult are worship chants brought to the Divinity, osmosis between prayers (word) and chant (chanted sound). In the Hebrew language, the title of the book is Sepher Tehilim, the term of psalms coming from Codex Vaticanus, Psalmoi, or Biblos Psalmon.”[5] The Greek word psalto (to pinch, to pull) generated the word psalma, having the meaning of “a song played at a string instrument”[6], so that the derived word “psalmos” means “a song played at harp or lyre.”[7] Psalms were performed with musical instruments, as one can see from their own content: “Praise the LORD with the harp / make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre” (ps.32, 2)[8],or “Begin the music, strike the timbrel, /play the melodious harp and lyre.”(ps.80, 3)[9]. It appears that King David in person recited the psalm with the help of a string instrument, bineghinot (heb.) or of a panflute-similar one, el-hanechilot (heb.) In the Middle Ages, when Gregorian chants were sung in gothic cathedrals, special types of intervals were allowed, the perfect fifth and the perfect fourth. They were intervals that could create a moral type of music. The other ones, such as the tritone, or diabolus in musica were forbidden, as they were not consonant and aroused the senses, thus, pulling the human thoughts away from the liturgical act. Major and minor third now gain the status of consonant, exhilarating intervals. During Baroque and Classical period in music, due to the oppressive and restrictive social conditions that the artists found themselves in, there was no place for the development of music morality, all the more that sacral music was placed on a pedestal from which it was usually performed. The Romantic period made redundant the platitudes of the sensitive symmetry, of the harmonious tone as a symbol of perfection, of stability in music genre and of coherence in musical form. Victor Hugo claimed the

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state of liberty that animated the romantic artist. Romantic enthusiasm is translated as ardor, change, passion, revolution. These traits have brought important changes in what concerns a cultural person’s mind and the musical language. The musician’s social position changes, he becomes a freelancer, aspires and sweats for his creation, and this is the reason why many opera compositions have received negative feedback, have been condemned and banned. The introduction of intense emotional feelings generated unusual intonations for the music lover accustomed with classical sounds, who dismissed the music as lacking morality. Niccolo Paganini was an Italian composer and violin player (1782-1840) who amazed, but also aroused the public’s indignation through his unusual appearance, being tall, skinny and asymmetric, but mostly through his original work, 24 Caprices for Solo Violin and his concerts for violin and orchestra. His innovative techniques (quick string crossing, scordatura and left-hand pizzicato) that generated his outstanding virtuosity created his diabolic, or, in other words, immoral image. Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) shocks the Parisian public with his Fantastical Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts (1830) (an unconventional aspect at the beginning of the Romantic period). The symphony has an autobiographical program, as it mentions his psychedelic state after taking a lethal dose of opium. The flexibility of the musical language, the sensitivity of its first two parts and in the Scene in the Fields and the somber sound of March to the Scaffold, would create and direct in the last part, Dream of the Night of the Sabbath, the trivial vision of some demonic forces in battle, through the usage of a large and diverse orchestra. The immoral and unorthodox actions revealed through a more than chromatic musical language, long rests, unusual timbre combinations,

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trepidant rhythm and dilated agogic accent lead to a critical attitude of the public, despite the long-lasting programmatic genre. Romanticism’s morality was much more altered than the one of Classicism’s. Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was a composer that listened both to his and his people’s hearts by ingraining elements of folklore in his operas. These elements generate emotional feelings, as they come from sunny Italy, being influenced by its history, the fruitful orange trees and clear Mediterranean Sea. Even if its original personality shifted the lyric music on a new dimension, full of drama, misery, revolutionary fight, of love themes set on alert historic events, La Traviata did not received the positive review the composer wished for. The display of the powerful love and sufferings of a woman of easy virtue disillusioned the audience present in the ostentatious room of the Venetian Teatro La Fenice (1853). “I have suffered a fiascothe composer would write to the conductor Emanuele Muzio in a letter dated 7 March 1853, the second day after the premiere. Only time will show if the fault was mine or the performers’.”[10] Today, it is the most performed opera in a lyric theater. In those times, although the composition would acquire positive review from specialized critics, Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto based on La Dame aux camellias by Al. Dumas fils was considered scandalous. Although the Brindisi Aria enables the soloist to exult, due to the degraded relationships of a conventional society, the music fell into disgrace, attention being placed on heroine’s psychological portrait that shattered the fragile morality of a society on the verge of change. George Bizet (1838-1875) was a French composer whose name became famous through his composition dedicated to lyric music theater and music drama. Carmen opera (1875) scandalized the audience

of Opéra-Comique, in Paris, who harshly criticized the presence of the cigarette fabric workers, the gypsy female character Carmen, with her immoral and sensual attitude and the showy brutality and virility of the soldier Don José. Music also played a role in shaping the degraded image that realistically expressed the nature of characters and circumstances and through the trepidant rhythms of seguidilla and habanera, which often alters ration. Staged on the third of March, 1875, the composition generated critical opprobrium, leading the composer to despair and, thus, to his death after a few months. Igor Stravinski (1882-1971), one of the most prolific names of the Russian culture and universal music, shocked the Parisian audience of Thèâtre de Champs Elysées with his composition Le sacre du printemps (1913). The originality of his works is given by his libretto, which reveals atavic pagan customs by the usage of virgin sacrifice in order to celebrate the advent of spring. This theme is mainly evinced through the famous ballet dancer Nijinsky’s choreography. The pagan rituals, musically assisted by much too strong dissonances, barbaric and explosive rhythms, lead to negative reviews, drawing the attention on the relativity and mobility of aesthetic convictions, through the immorality displayed in the composition. Conclusions Ancient pagan populations, having either a polytheistic or a monotheistic religion (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Hebrews etc.) believed that the moral virtues could be acquired through the fulfillment of law. Moses would write that “That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.” (Romans 10:5). St. Paul the Apostle wrote in The Epistle to the Galatians that “a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ…for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

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”(Galatians 2, 16-21). The history of the 20th and 21st century music witnesses the rise of popular music, of immoral genres that eliminates the crave for beauty, goodness and morality. Rock, hard-rock, and heavy metal are prone to reverse the purpose of music, which is to develop evolutionary aesthetic and ethical characteristics. It is worth and, at the same time, beneficial to embrace George Enescu’s affirmations, in order to develop a moral attitude: “Music is endowed with the divine purpose to cease hate, to soothe passions and to unite the hearts into a warm fusion, as Ancient’s Orphic myth did. Music should flow from heart to heart… one must not forget that the purpose of art is evolution.” References [1] [2] [3]

[4]

[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

http://www.bp-soroca.md/pdf/Etica%20 Profesionala_copy.pdf, p. 77-78 Ibid., p. 77. In Katherine Everett Gilbert and Helmuth Kuhn – Istoria esteticii, Bucharest: Meridiane Publishing House, 1972, p. 382, Hegel, Prelegeri de estetică, tr. by D. D. Roşca, 2 vol., Academia R.S.R., 1966, vol. I, p.181, chap. III, B.I, 1, 2. Cristian Bădiliţă, Francisca Băltăceanu, Monica Broşteanu – Septuaginta,. Polirom Publishing House, New Europe College, Bucharest, 2006, p. 14. Cristian Bădiliţă, Francisca Băltăceanu, Monica Broşteanu – op. cit., p. 14. Ibid., p. 14. Ibid – op. cit., p. 109. Ibid – op. cit., p. 215. Apud, Ioana Ștefănescu. O istorie a muzicii universale, vol. IV, Bucharest: Fundaţia Culturalã Românã Publishing House, 2002, p. 138.

Broşteanu, Monica. Septuaginta, Bucharest: Polirom Publishing House, New Europe College, 2006. [2] Constantinescu, Grigore. Giuseppe Verdi, Bucharest: E.D.P.,R.A., 2009. [3] Gilbert, Katharine, Everett. Kuhn, Helmuth. Istoria esteticii, Bucharest: Meridiane Publishing House, 1972. [4] Mantzaridis, Georgios. Morala creştină, Bucharest: Bizantine Publishing House, 2006. [5] Miroiu, Adrian. Etica aplicată, Bucharest: Alternative Publishing House, 1995. [6] Miroiu, Mihaela. Blebea, Gabriela. Introducere în etica profesională. Bucharest: Trei Publishing House, 2001. [7] Pleşu, Andrei. Minima moralia. Bucharest: Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1988. [8] Ştefănescu, Ioana. O istorie a muzicii universale, vol. III (1999), IV (2002), Bucharest: Fundaţia Culturalã Românã Publishing House. [9] Zăgrean, Ioan. Manual pentru seminariile teologice, 5th edition. Cluj-Napoca: Renașterea Publishing House, 2006.

WEB sources: Etica profesională: http://www.bp-oroca.md/pdf/ Etica%20Profesionala_copy.pd

Bibliography [1] Bădiliţă Cristian. Băltăceanu, Francisca.

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The Resonant Icon of the Romanians, Tatal Nostru (Our Father) by Ciprian Porumbescu 1. Lect. Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

2. Teacher Savin Ciprian, PhD student

Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Arts Constanta, Romania

Gimnazial School nr. 39, Nicolae Tonitza, Constanta, Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 22 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 27 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.3

Ciprian Porumbescu was the Romanian composer who brought his contribution to the national cultural gallery, serving the art of sounds through his faith. In the course of his short life (1853- 1883), he brought into the hearts of Romanian people a warm creation, with a gentle touch, but full of powerful emotional force. His style is part of the Romanticism, revealing ways of expression and musical languages endowed with strong emotional feelings, the love of God, of people, of family. His work, often pictorial, creates musical images through natural and harmonious bindings, that are, also, simple, suggestive and easy to be perceived. Ciprian Porumbescu decided to dedicate his life to serving God through his music. The valuable sacral works of the composer are the expression of his everlasting love for God Almighty. The lyrics of the Prayer to God, selected by the composer, are those from the Gospel of Matthew 6- 9-13. The content of the prayer, with a two-dimensional structure, carries a genuine symbolism through its messages. The work has 40 measures, this meaning the 40 days in which our Savior Jesus Christ, spent on earth, after His Resurrection, revealing himself to all, until His ascension to Heaven on the mount Tabor. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Tatăl Nostru (Our father); Ciprian Porumbescu; Romanian; God; music; golden section, Sacral music; creation – mathematical sense;

I. INTRODUCTION

Ciprian Porumbescu was the Romanian composer who brought his contribution to the national cultural gallery, serving the art of sounds through his faith. He was born on the 2nd of October, 1853, in Sipotele, a small village near Suceava. The composer was the son of the Romanian orthodox priest Iraclie Golembiovschi [1] and Emilia, born Klodnitzki. According to the Austro-

Hungarian legislation of that period, the name of Porumbescu was changed into Golembiovski. “He, Iraclie Porumbescu, was one of Bucovina’s most important political and cultural figure, who fought against denationalization; the drama from Boian, caused by it, is one of those moments this old oak of the Bucovinian culture went through.” [2]. Young Ciprian’s musical talent, cultivated due to his father, the priest Iraclie Golembovski, developed

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due to the experienced teachers, such as S. Mayer, Stefan Nosievici, Karol Miculi (Cernauti), Franz Krenn and Anton Brukner (Konservatorium für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna). After the graduation of the secondary school, Ciprian Porumbescu attends the classes of the Theological Seminary in Cernauti (1873-1877), where he will be under the guidance of the professor and composer Isidor Vorobchievici. Here, he conducted the choir of the cultural society Arboroasa (one of the old names of Bucovina), society which he founded in 1877 together with Zaharia Voronca, Constantin Morariu, young men animated by noble thoughts and attitude. The young musician composed the anthem of the Society, and in the last year at the seminar he was elected its president. “Porumbescu will contribute at the spreading of these musical urges for the accomplishment of the national unity by being, himself, the conductor of the choirs Arboroasa from Cernauti and Romania Juna (Young Romania) from Vienna, then of the Romanian Gymnastics and songs union from Brasov and of Saint Nicholas Church Choir from Scheii Brasovului.” [3] In October 1877, after signing and sending a telegram to Iasi, on the occasion of the manifestations organized in the memory of the ruler Gheorghe Ghica, the Austro-Hungarian authorities decide to take stand against these protests (Romanian manifestations), the members of the Arboroasa society are arrested on the charge of high treason and a trial is set up.” Ciprian was taken to prison from his house in Stupca. A small cold rain, fell all the way to Cernauti, and the cold water went through his clothes to the skin and he got sick. The freezing cold prison and the poor food made his tuberculosis incurable. Only the violin, that he was allowed to take with him when he was arrested, brought him some comfort. Ciprian was set free bearing

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the death in his chest.” [4] After 11 weeks in prison, the composer was declared innocent as a result of a three-day trial. One of the most enthusiastic fighters in the media of that time, who fought to obtain the release of those emprisoned, was Mihai Eminescu. Being back from Cernauti, Ciprian Porumbescu found a job in Brasov as a music teacher at the Romanian Central Schools and continued to be the conductor of Saint Nicholas Church Choir, in Scheii Brasovului. In the fall of 1879, he heads to Vienna for studies, with a scholarship obtained with the help of the archbishop Silvestru Morariu Andrievici. Here, the composer led the choir of the Students’ Society Romania Juna (Young Romania). “He played on an Amatti violin from 1626 which he called “my bride”.... Thanks to the information received from Nina Cionca, the daughter of Romulus Cionca, we have, unfortunately found out, that the violin disappeared on the first day of war on 6 August 1916.” [5] At the age of 29, suffering from tuberculosis, Ciprian Porumbescu dies on the 6th of June 1883, under the sad look of his father and sister, in the house from Stupca. In 1953, the Romanian authorities decide to change the name of the village Stupca into Ciprian Porumbescu, in honor of the great composer. The tomb of the composer, which in 2004 was included on The Historical Monuments List from the Suceava County, is to be found in the cemetery of the village Stupca, near the shrine of the Church “Saint Demetrious”. II. MEANS OF EXPRESSION IN THE

WORK OF CIPRIAN PORUMBESCU

In the course of his short life (1853- 1883), he brought into the hearts of Romanian people a warm creation, with a gentle touch, but full of powerful emotional force. His style is part of the Romanticism, revealing

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ways of expression and musical languages endowed with strong emotional feelings, the love of God, of people, of family. His work, often pictorial, creates musical images through natural and harmonious bindings, that are, also, simple, suggestive and easy to be perceived. Ciprian Porumbescu’s musical creations consist of 250 works, according to the musicologist Vasile Vasile, including instrumental and vocal music of chamber, theatre choral music, operetta, symphonic music, religious music: “The 250 works, finished or not, were written in less than ten years, the first one being composed in 1874, when the composer was only 20 years old, and in the summer – autumn of the year 1882 his composition activity was almost finished.” [6] Some of the most well-known and appreciated works are: The Nocturne (solo violin), Ballad for piano and violin, Reverie for piano and violin, the operetta New Prince, the Romanian Rhapsody for orchestra, On the Shores of the Prut River, Putna Monastery’s Altar, Hymn to the Romanian soldiers, Collection of social songs for the Romanian students. Ciprian Porumbescu composed in Romanian, “he lived intensely, uniting himself with our national goals and taking part in all the troubles of the Romanian people” [7]. His works contain the word Romanian or its derivates: Heart of a Romanian, Hymn to the Romanian soldiers, Romanian Language and so on. About the Romanian origin of Ciprian Porumbescu’s compositions, the musicologist Nina Cionca said: “his songs, like an old wine, inspired generations after generations to dream and accomplish what they wanted. They have a vitality springing out from their simple melodic structure, without anything artificial. They are ours as they have always been, since our existence, and so is the language that we speak”. [8]

In 1880, he published a collection of twenty choral songs and unison songs, brought together into the Collection of social songs for the Romanian students, the first work of this kind in the entire musical literature in the Romanian space, from which we mention: Spring Song, The Tricolor, On our flag, Latin Nation’s Song and so on. III. SACRAL MUSIC

Ciprian Porumbescu decided to dedicate his life to serving God through his music. The valuable sacral works of the composer are the expression of his everlasting love for God Almighty. The composer was under the guidance and received advice from the priest Isidor Vorobchievici, an experienced teacher from Bucovina, who was, also, a composer, folklorist, conductor and writer in Cernauti. His secular musical studies and then his theological ones were the sources of inspiration for his sacral musical creations. They are religious works of great value for the Romanian cultural patrimony, being included in the thesaurus of some important libraries: The Library of the National University of Music Bucharest, The Romanian Academy Library, The Ciprian Porumbescu Museum in Suceava, The Bucovina Museum in Suceava, Ieremia Oprisanu Typography, Ioan Vicoveanu Collection. The artist served the art of sounds through faith. The choral genre is the one to which the composer dedicates a good part of his religious creation. The sacral works, expressions of an enormous faith, bear the signs of his personal style. The melody is clear, with minimalist harmonies, proper to the Liturgical act. The musicological researches have revealed simple, but, also, complex works, such as Liturgies, “considering in this way that the musician composed the music for more than six Liturgies, most of them being composed for

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the male choir, probably, as a result of his conducting and componistical experience at the Arboroasa Society from Cernauti” [9] The musician composed his works both for male voices, in the spirit of the Byzantine manner, as well as for the mixed choir, allowing in this way the female voice to make the evangelical message clearer. According to the researches of the musicologist Titus Moisescu (The religious musical creation of Ciprian Porumbescu) [10] they are distinct choral pieces, which can be sung in a concert or can be adapted for the daily Liturgy. And which art is closer to God than music? A second category of Ciprian Porumbescu’s works, separated by the complexity of the Liturgies, is being grouped into: theotokions, psalms, koinonikons, troparions, pricesne (folk religious songs). One of the most important books from the Academy Library reunites “the four male choirs, seen by Andreescu Scheletty and printed in Cluj, in 1933 (BAR –M/3737): -It Is Truly Meet – The Theotokion of St. John Chrysostom - Praise the Lord fro the Heavens– the kinonikon from Sunday - Our father – sung during the Liturgy - I called to mind the prophet who shouted – fifth voice sticheron at the funeral service of the laymen” [11]. From this collection, the work Our Father is the one that has caught our attention, and which will be subjected to a two-dimensional analysis: semantical sense – musical creation and musical creation – mathematical sense, under the golden section. IV. THE ANALYSIS OF THE WORK OUR

FATHER

This research tackles the natural, organic law, which governs, ab initio, the esthetical forms.

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It is a contention that was stated in the realm of antiquity, of the architecture, of sculpture, of fine arts. The first mathematician, to whom we owe the definition of the harmonious proportion in the artistic thinking, was Euclid (325 B.C – 265 B.C). But the theory was well-known before his existence, without having been stated according to the mathematical rules as this one was. Pythagoras (580 – 495b.C) and his school sustained that proportion (the rapport expressed by a number, is indeed rational) represents the essence of all things. According to his philosophy, “any thing is indeed a rapport, a limit, a number” [12]. This mathematical formula AB/AC =AC/ CBA was stated by Luca Paciolo from Borgo (1445– 1514) as being the divine proportion. It ends being named, as it is also today, the golden section, by Leonardo da Vinci. Again, we owe the Antiquity the name of the result of this proportion, Phi, the irrational number, which is an infinite number, 1, 61803. The beauty of the sculptures of the Greek artist Phidias (490 - 430 b.C) made an impression on another mathematician, this time belonging to the XXth century, Mark Barr, who noticed, as other art historians did, the proof of this proportion in the sculptor’s works of art. The formula itself is a symbol, through the three segments AB, AC, and BC. Number three by itself, symbolizes the unity of the components. It is, thus, revealed, that small numbers, small dimensions are contained by the main unity, that is part of a whole, and the unitary whole is the assembly of the well measured proportion. And as proportion is alike harmony, it results that it is an indicator, a sign of beauty. At the same time, Aristotelis stated the same idea” The multiplicity is unity, the unity is multiplicity.” [13]» [14] In this study, our intention is to analyze the Bucovinean composer’s work, Tatal Nostru (Our Father) from a stylistic, formal

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and morphological point of view. The goal of this research is to bring out the osmoses between the Divine message and the musical creation. At the same time, this rapport of proportion, of the golden section, will be applied to the choral work Tatăl Nostru (Our father), proving what was stated in Antiquity, that “the beauty represents the number” [15] The prayer is the request addressed to the Omnipresent Creator, through which we show our faith, our humbleness, our hope and love. It is a special human modality of revealing the certainty of the unlimited faith of Divinity. The lyrics of the Prayer to God, selected by the composer, are those from the Gospel of Matthew 6- 9-13. The content of the prayer, with a two-dimensional structure, carries a genuine symbolism through its messages. This work is a vocal miniature that belongs to the choral genre. This genre, harmonic by excellence, which is often present in his works, is the way in which the composer translates the Divine serenity. The artist creates the choral miniature, being inspired and protruded by the meaning of the prayer, taking into consideration the message of every line, of the emotional and physical vibration. The first part reveals the greatness and the authority of the Heavenly Father, emotions that occur on the vertical line of the unlimited faith. Tatăl nostru/Care ești în ceruri/Sfințească-se numele Tău/Vie Împărăția Ta/Facă-se voia Ta/ Precum în cer aşa și pe pământ. (Our Father/ Who art in Heaven/ Hallowed be Thy Name/Thy kingdom come/ Thy will be done/On earth as it is in heaven). In the second part, the pragmatic side of the prayer, or the horizontal plan, is revealed, importance being given to the material needs: Pâinea noastră cea de toate zilele/ Dă-ne-o nouă astăzi/ şi ne iartă nouă greşelile noastre/Precum şi noi iertăm greşiţilor noştri (Give us this day our daily bread/And forgive

us our trespasses/As we forgive those who trespass against us). The ending part brings into light the complex dimension of the Trinity: Căci a Ta este împărăţia şi slava/A Tatălui, a Fiului şi a Sfântului Duh/Amin (For Thine is the kingdom/And the power and the glory/ For ever and ever. Amen) The work has 40 measures, this meaning the 40 days in which our Savior Jesus Christ, spent on earth, after His Resurrection, revealing himself to all, until His ascension to Heaven on the mount Tabor: “After he had said this, they watched as he was taken up, and a cloud hid Him from their sight ” (Facts1,9) The musical sounds have a specific lyricism, proper to solemn and hieratic feelings, but also to Romanian revivals, symbolizing the Romanian field and the feeling of longing. “Leca Morariu has discovered a specific element of great importance for the Romanian musical creation, which is, that Porumbescu felt the importance of the Romanian element in Doina songs before Enescu did …” [16] Thus, the symbols are revealed through the graceful and divine music. The architecture of the work mirrors the literary structure, taking the shape of a bipartite song, A (the measures 1-24), B (the measures 25-40), having constitutive phrases. A (a, varied a, a¹) Measures 1-24

B (b, b¹) measures 25-40

The two articulations of the Prayer to God are included in the subsections A. The last part, B, contains the repentance of the soul for its sins and the hope in the forgiveness by loving our fellow: Si ne iartă nouă greşelile noastre/ Precum şi noi iertăm greşiţilor noştri/ şi nu ne duce pe noi în ispită/ şi ne mântuie te de cel rău (And forgive us our trespasses/As we forgive those who

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trespass against us/ And never lead us into temptation/ And save us from the evil one). In analyzing this work, we have chosen a version written in a program recognized by the computer, in F minor – F major, without having the original musical score, while in the original one of the two tonalities are A minor – A major. The tonal plan reveals the profound thinking of the theologian who constantly raises his eyes up to the sky. The three subsections a (measures 1-8) varied a (8-16), a¹ (16-24) are elaborated in F minor, a solemn, dry tonality full of spiritual meaning. The contrasting part B (measures 25- 40) is presented in a major tonality. The modulation of the homonyms through the alternation minor- major, unveil the true and intense feeling of being alive, the consciousness of living with and through God, because here is the key of human ascension, in his determination of not committing sin again. The harmonic plan is a seraphic one, through the clarity of transparent harmonies. The four voices have an isochronal movement, inspiring the common will to form a communion with God. The voices, spaced at consonant intervals, allow the soprano to lead the vocal discourse. The metric is homogenous composed, 4/4 remaining constant along the whole piece. The dynamics is intense in the first two sections, having the nuances p and pp. Section B bears the signs of ascension, of fulfillment and resignation through the vocal climax, harmonically and dynamically underlined through nuances such as mf, f and ff, The first line Tatăl nostru care eşti în ceruri, chain a sinuous melodic line, alike the troubles one can feel during the prayer. The harmony is clear and serious, chaining itself along the four measures, first level, fourth level, semicadance being on the fifth level. Example 1

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The second line reveals a melodious expansion, followed by the prosodic background: Sfinţească-se numele Tău, Sfinţească-se numele Tău! The rhythm is slightly dynamical, crotchet with augmentation dot that have an outcome in being noticed in quaver, paced quavers and exceptional formulas of triolet that can be found along the melody Example 2

In the second period, varied a (measures 8 –16), one can notice the intention of the composer to vary not only melodically but also rhythmically. Half of the quaver, that come along the anacrusis (measure 8) and then the triolet (measure 10) reveal the increasing of the hope accomplished in the Divine will: Vie imparatia Ta, Faca-se voia Ta. The Harmony sustains this moment ending in an open cadency (measure 13 -14) on the fifth scale. At the end of the two periods, the bass has a short intervention, coda, on the lyrics Precum in cer asa si pe pamant, revealing the philosophical idea about the meaning of life. The severe voice, as well as the descendent

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meaning, symbolizes the material plan.

present in equal triolets of quavers. The second part (measures 29-32) reveals a discrete return to the initial melodic line and to the rhythmic format.

Example 3

Example 5

The character of the third period is closed, the phrase beginning and ending in the initial tonality. Starting from the measure 20, the ascendant sense is sustained by the harmonic plan, here, the composer introducing the modulation to the major homonym. The lyrics are the ones who have built the modulating thinking: Pâinea noastră cea de toate zilele dă-ne-o nouă astăzi. Example 4

In the last period, the composer, slowing the rhythm, builds an ascendant melodic path. The text, Ci ne mantuieste, ci ne mantuieste de cel rau, Amin develops a short inflexion (measures 33–34) in C major (the dominant of the section B tonality) and then in D minor tonality (measures 35–36). The last phrase (measures 37-40) chains the fifth scale and the first scale of the restored tonality, F major. The harmony of this phrase has been built through the return to the major mode, at an equal rhythm, having an ascendant melodic meaning. The nuance ff represents the culmination and the acknowledgement of the whole text of the prayer. Example 6

The second section, B, bears the signs of repentance, of asking for forgiveness, and the feminine voices are the one suitable for the prayer. The duet, at the interval third, sustained by the composer through the term of dolce expression, has a descendent path, as well as the sense of solicitation: Și ne iartă greşelile noastre precum şi noi iertăm greşiţilor noştri. The words Gresitilor nostri, through their semantical importance, are

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CONCLUSIONS

The choral part is realized in gentle harmonies, immersed in the first section A, having the culmination in the second, B. The Christian orthodox background of love can be felt by singing the word iartă (forgive), and this aspect can be felt in the beginning of the second part, the golden section. V. THE GOLDEN SECTION OF THE WORK

TATĂL NOSTRU (OUR FATHER)

The whole piece has 40 measures; the first section is paced between the measures 1-24, and the second B, between the measures 25- 40. As a result, the whole work has been given the dimension AC, and the first section A, being defined by AB, the formula of the golden rapport could be applied: AC/AB=AB/BC: 40/24=25/19. The difference between the two rapports is a very small one, and comes up due to some paces along the way, that make this approximation possible: 40:24=1.66 and 25:19=1, 315. The mathematical result is quite esthetic one, being decoded by the golden number, 1.16. m. 1

m. 25

m. 40

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Ciprian Porumbescu served the Romanian music and literature. The musicologist Titus Moisescu has stated that “he dedicated his entire creation and activity to his country and to the Romanian people.” [17] That is why, the composer’s last wish was “watch over so that my sons are never lost. They must go on living...I give them as a gift to people...our Romanians.” [18] The European value of Ciprian Porumbescu not randomly has its correspondence in the militant national attitude of the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. It is not a forced comparison and not by chance, not only Giuseppe Verdi, but also Ciprian Porumbescu, being contemporaneous and representatives of the Latinity, stood up against the same enemy, the Habsburg Monarchy, and fought for the national unity of their countries. Giuseppe Verdi composed the Nabucco opera, the well-known work with its so mobilizing choral moment Va pensiero.... that would encourage the Italians to unify their counties into a single kingdom, the same way as Ciprian Porumbescu did with his song Crai Nou ( New Prince) from the operetta with same name, as well as with his other already mentioned patriotic songs. If in 1866 in Milan and in the whole Italy Viva Verdi! could be heard, this having meant not only the recognition of the composer, but also Viva Vittorio Emanuele re D’Italia, in the same manner Ciprian Porumbescu, while composing Crai Nou (New Prince), dreamt about the state unity of his people in their historical borders. Two musicians united in the same faith to see their countries united, free and prosperous. The great creative minds met each other on the ideal field of beauty. Ciprian Porumbescu remains one of the noblest figures in the history of Romanian music, being an example through its nobility of his character, through his courage

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and dignity with which he protected and promoted the spiritual values of the Romanian people. He had an authentic Romanian soul that was dressed in the clothes of the European musical language, thus, becoming part of the eternity.

[17] necunoscut, Suceava: Lidana Publishing House, 2013, p. 39. [18] Moisescu, Titus, Păun, Miltiade. op. cit., p. 277. [19] Ghiban, C., Cîntă la Stupca o vioară, 4th edition, Militară Publishing House, 1967, p. 355

References [1] In Polish, “Goleb” means “pigeon”. The name “Porumbescu” was firstly used as a pseudonim, and then as an official name. [2] Vasile Vasile in his volume Ciprian Porumbescu necunoscut. Under the good care of the musicologist Constanta Cristescu and the Lidiana Publishing House, 2012, p.33 [3] Ibid., p. 33. [4] http://antonymary.blogspot.ro/p/ciprian-porumbescu. html [5] *** Ciprian Porumbescu necunoscut. . Volume under the good care of Constanta Cristescu, Suceava: Lidiana Publishing House, 2012 p.7. [6] Vasile Vasile Leca Morariu i monumentala crea ie a lui Ciprian Porumbescu, in the volume Ciprian Porumbescu necunoscut, Suceava: Lidiana Publishing House, 2013, p. 39 [7] Moisescu, Titus, Paun, Miltiade. Opereta. Ghide,p. 277 [8] Cionca, Nina. Ciprian Porumbescu, Bucharest: The Musical Union of the Composers Publishing House, 1974, p.294. [9] Titus Moisescu. Creaţia muzicală religioasă a lui Ciprian Porumbescu , in Ciprian Porumbescu necunoscut, Suceava: Lidana Publishing House, p. 45. [10] Ibidem., pp.44 -49. [11] Ibid., p. 46. [12] Antelme E. Chaignet - Filosofia lui Pitagora, Bucharest: Herald Publishing House, 2012,.p. 26 [13]

Herald Publishing House, 2012, p. 78 [16] Vasile, Vasile. Leca Morariu i monumentala crea ie a lui Ciprian Porumbescu , in the volume Ciprian Porumbescu

Apud,

Aristotel - Metafizica, in Antelme E. Chaignet - Filosofia lui Pitagora, Bucharest: Herald Publishing House, 2012, p. 333

[14] Conjuncţia inefabilului cu matematica în trei lieduri de Nicolae Bretan in Componistica românească de valorificare a folclorului de la Ciprian Porumbescu până astăzi, coordinator and musicologist Constanţa Cristescu. Suceava: LIDANA House Publishing, 2015, ISBN 978606-744-023-2, pp. 81-90. [15] Antelme E. Chaignet - Filosofia lui Pitagora, Bucharest:

Bibliography [1] Catrina, Constantin. Muzica si muzicienii cetatii Ramnicu Valcea: Fantana lui Manole Publishing House, 2010. [2] Cionca, Nina. Ciprian Porumbescu, Bucharest: Musical Composers Union Publishing House, 1974. [3] Cosma, Viorel, Muzicieni din România. Lexicon bibliografic vol. VIII (P- S), Bucharest: Musical Publishing House, 2005. [4] Ghiban, C Cîntă la Stupca o vioară,, fourth edition, Bucharest: Military Publishing House, 1967. [5] Moisescu, Titus, Paun, Miltiade. Opereta ghid, Bucharest: The Musical Composers Union from The Socialis Republic of Romania, 1969. [6] Pavelescu, Stefan Viaţa lui Ciprian Porumbescu, Ioan Cocuz coodinator- second edition, revisited Gura Humorului: Terra Design Publishing House, 2003. [7] *** Ciprian Porumbescu necunoscut. scientifical communication session Volume, June 20 2012, The memorial museum Ciprian Porumbescu, Constanta Cristescu and Sever Paraschiv coordinators, Lidana Publishing House, 2012. [8] *** Ciprian Porumbescu necunoscut. Scientifical communication session Volume, June 1st 2013, The memorial museum Ciprian Porumbescu, Constanta Cristescu and Sever Paraschiv coordinators, Lidana Publishing House, 2013.

Choral Scores [1]http://orthodexe-kapelle.de/wp-content/ uploads/Tatal-nostru-Por.pdf

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Studies/Articles [1] Conjuncţia inefabilului cu matematica în trei lieduri by Nicolae Bretan in the volume Componisticaromânească de valorificare a folclorului de la Ciprian Porumbescu până astăzi, musicologist Constanta Cristescu coordinator, Suceava: Lidana Pulishing House, ISBN 978-606744-023-2,pp. 81- 90

Web Bibliography [1] http://www.artline.ro/Ciprian-PorumbescuViata-si-opera-31999-1-n.html [2] http://antonymary.blogspot.ro/p/ciprianporumbescu.htm [3] https://no14plusminus.ro/2011/10/25/cantecultricolorului-printre-secolele/ [4] http://www.ziuaconstanta.ro/diverse/stiricalde/va-mai-amintiti-1-mai-muncitoresc [5] Povestea-melodiei-lui-ciprian-porumbescuvideo-492216.html [6] http://www.timpul.md/articol/ciprianporumbescu---patriotismul-prinmuzica-41389.html

Biography

Ruxandra Mirea has graduated from George Enescu Highschool of Music, from Bucharest, piano specialization, and afterwards Faculty of Music, and Music Composition, Musicology, specialization Vocal and Instrumental Music, from Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory of Music, Bucharest. She has a PhD in Music, from George Enescu Academy of Arts, Iași, Musicology specialization (2008). She has taught piano, at Queen Marry National College

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of Arts, Constanța (1988-1999). From 1999 she has become lecturer at Faculty of Arts, part of Ovidius University, where she has taught Theory of Music-solfeggio, dictate and History of Universal Music. Between 2004-2010 being a lecturer at Faculty of Orthodox Theologyspecialisation Sacred Arts- she taught Theory of Music-solfeggio, dictate and Piano. Since 2010, she is a lecturer at the University Ovidius, at the Faculty of Arts, in Constanta, where she teaches History, Musical Esthetics, Theory of Musicsolfeggio, Dictate.

Ciprian Savin graduated from The Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the Ovidius University in Constanta – specialized in Pastoral Theology (2011) and Sacred Art (2012). In 2015 he graduated from his Master courses at the same faculty – specialization Practical Theology. At present, he attends the courses of the Master Program at The Art Faculty at the Ovidius University in Constanta, and will obtain the specialization in Musical Educational Art and also he is a Ph. D. Candidate at The George Enescu Art Faculty at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza in Iași, specialization Musicology. In 2012 he began his activity as a teacher of music at the Pre-university learning level in Constanta. Now, he is a permanent teacher of music at the gymnasium school number 39 Nicolae Tonitza in Constanta. [20]

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Social and ecological aspects of sustainable developments Tomasz Trojanowski, PhD

Institute of Management and Marketing Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa Czestochowa, Poland ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 14 August 2016 Received in revised form 27 August Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.4

The rapid pace of economic development of modern societies contributes to the environmental and social risks. Excessive exploitation of natural resources of the Earth needed to ensure the production processes intensifies the negative impact of manufacturing enterprises on the environment and is the cause of social problems. The global socio-environmental threats mentioned are forcing the international community to take action to deal with the existing issue of the modern world. The answer to the threats is the sustainable development, whose ideas reflect respect for the environment and social aspects in order to provide opportunities for the development of future generations while ensuring the achievement of the objectives of economic enterprises. The essence of this paper are the social and environmental aspects of sustainable development. The paper presents the main social problems of modern humanity. It indicates, inter alia, rapid population growth of the Earth inhabitants and the consumerist attitude of societies. The remaining part of the paper presents environmental problems. The major environmental threats our planet are listed. The final part of the paper includes a summary.

Keywords: natural environment; social aspects; ecological aspects; sustainable development;

I. INTRODUCTION

The deteriorating state of the natural environment, world population growth and the desire to maximize profits for the company, redounds to the environmental and social problems of the modern world. Economic development of countries, on the one hand, contributes to improving the quality of life of societies, on the other,

creates serious problems threatening the existence of future generations. The economic development of modern societies requires providing a variety of resources, raw materials, energy, fuel and financial capital to implement business ventures. Along with the economic development of countries, the attitude of the inhabitants of developed countries and developing countries is changing. The main feature of

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-12 85-6

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these societies is excessive consumption. One of the goals of sustainable development is the transformation of consumer society into a sustainable one. Ecological problems are not the only concern of the modern world. Serious, negative social phenomena occurring in almost all societies are becoming, next to natural environmental protection, the biggest problem that the humanity has to solve. Unemployment, hunger, poverty, exploitation, armed conflict, addictions are just some examples of problems that have to deal with governments, politicians, managers, scientists, civil society organizations and ordinary inhabitants of our planet. Counteracting for the growing problems is sustainable development, whose task is to achieve the objectives of economic enterprises while respecting the environment and social aspects to provide opportunities for the development of future generations. II. THE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

NOTION AND MEANING

Sustainable development is an interdisciplinary area which also reflects in the management sciences. Because of the importance of the issue, sustainable development evokes more and more interest among scientists and the enterprise and social organizations itself. International discussions on the protection of the environment contributed to the formulation of the definition of sustainable development. According to the Brundtland Commission, “sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without the risk that future generations will not be able to satisfy their needs”. [1] Similar view on the essence of sustainable development express Y. Dam and P. Apeldoorn. The authors define it as a development that

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takes into account the needs of the present without limiting the possibility of meeting them for future generations. [2] A different definition of sustainable development was also formulated, recommended primarily for the economics of sustainable development: “Sustainable development aims to ensure all people living today and the future generations sufficiently high environmental, economic and socio-cultural standards to the Earth’s natural limits, applying the principle of intragenerational and intergenerational justice.” [3] D. Pearce, E. Barbier, and A. Markandya cite the concept of sustainable development defined by R. Repetto as a strategy enabling the management of human, natural, financial and property resources contributing to the long-term growth of prosperity and wealth. [4] F. Belz and K. Peattie say that there are many different approaches to the essence of sustainable development. The authors present a concept of hard sustainability, which (is focused on maintaining the quality of the environment through protection of the environment as a result of rational economic activity) and soft sustainability, which (is focused on ensuring that economic growth can be maintained by reducing the impact on the environment and society). [5] L. Pawłowski reminds that the concept of sustainable development was originally derived from the forestry. In the nineteenth century, Hans Carl von Carlowitz introduced this concept to define a way of forest management where as many trees are cut as you can grow in the same place. [6]

Implementing the principles of sustainable development among societies and manufacturing and trading companies is a serious challenge that modern humanity is facing. The progressive degradation of the Earth’s ecosystem, along with emerging social problems can lead to catastrophic consequences of such behavior. Modern man should remember that nature can do without the presence of a man, but a man without nature is doomed to annihilation. B. Emery believes that if people live according

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to the idea of sustainable development, they will experience some kind of change, especially as consumers. On the other hand, adopting the concept of sustainable development by the companies will be crucial for them in the next decade. [7] III. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

Considering sustainable development one should pay attention to one of the areas - the social aspect. The essence of the social dimension of sustainable development is to draw attention to the problems of the people associated with poverty, unemployment, social inequalities, famine or a threat to life or health caused by armed conflicts. One of the important social aspects of sustainable development is the rapidly increasing population of the Earth. According to forecasts, in 2050 the world population will reach 9.1 billion of inhabitants. In 2010, the population of our planet was about 6.9 billion people. [8] The observed rapid population growth is characteristic especially for Africa and Asia, economically underdeveloped and low educational level of society. F. Belz and K. Peattie indicate that each year the world has 75 million new citizens. [5] Such rapid growth in the number of births in the world contributes to the formation of many social problems related to providing food, medical care, access to education, or entering employment. The author emphasizes that he is not opposed to the demographic development of societies, but calls for the adoption of rational and deliberate actions aimed at ensuring the world’s youngest citizens the appropriate conditions for development, education, medical care, or in later life opportunities of paid employment. Most of the social problems existing in the world today result from the lack of perspectives for healthy and prosperous

life. The growing frustration among the population especially among young people transforms into serious social problems - unemployment, crime, addiction, social exclusion and social stratification (division into rich and poor). These risks are serious challenges faced by the governments, policy makers, managers of enterprises and ordinary people. Another problem in the social aspect, apart from the rapid demographic growth of the world population, is the consumer attitude of the society. Excess of goods and services offered on the market makes people behave irrationally when shopping. H. Rogall defines such behavior as “mania for buying.” The author writes: “advertising, social pressure to enter the circle of successful people, and other factors mean that more and more people lose some control over their shopping. Continuous shopping coercion induces a kind of addiction, which can lead to falling into debt “[3]. In industrialized countries of Western Europe and the United States, as well as in some developing countries such as Poland, there is a strong tendency to buy more than it is needed. When deciding to purchase various goods, the residents of the highly developed countries and developing countries do not pay too much attention to the environmental and social aspects associated with the preparation, usage and subsequent disposal of unwanted products. Customers do not wonder, from which raw materials a given product is produced, how much energy, water and fuel is needed to produce a given good or if the working conditions in the factory correspond to established standards, where and by whom the product is manufactured, and finally, if the people who contributed to the creation of the product are justly rewarded for their work? The computer is an example of such product. The device consists of 1800-2000 components. They are being produced in many countries of the world. Manufacturers

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seeking labor cost savings locate their factories in Africa, Asia and South America using cheap labor, which becomes a source of social problems. Parts and components forming the computer consume large quantities of raw materials. To produce one computer, the use of more than 240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1,500 kg of water is required. In the production of computers and computer equipment, over 1000 different materials are used. [9]. Transforming consumer societies into a sustainable one is one of the tasks of sustainable development. A. Pabian argues that sustainable consumer characteristic is the “triple orientation, focusing on their needs and social and environmental needs of present and future generations. A sustainable consumer constitutes a synthesis of the three personalities: economic, ecological and social. “ [10]. IV. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The natural environment is the most important area of sustainable development. The fundamental concepts of sustainability concern environmental protection. The degradation of the environment, progressing at a rapid pace, was one of the reasons for organizing a large public debate on the state of nature on the planet. In 1972 in Stockholm, the United Nations held a conference on “Human Environment” (United Nations Conference on the Human Environment). Representatives of 113 countries in the world and representations of numerous international and nongovernmental organizations took part in the conference. The conference aim was to analyze the impact of human activity on the environment. The degradation of natural environment contributes to climate change. The average temperature of the continent increased

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by approx. 1,4 ° C compared to the period before industrialization. Forecasts warn that by 2080, it could rise by up to 4.4 ° C. What is worse, average temperatures in the polar regions are growing at a rate of two times faster than the global average. The amount of CO2 and methane goes far beyond the limits of natural fluctuations observed in the scale of the last 500,000 years. Many experts say that efforts should be made to cause the increase in the average temperature on Earth does not exceed 2 ° C above compared with pre-industrial era [11]. Analyzing the global environmental risks, in addition to the climate changes, other hazards that significantly affect the state of nature and the health and lives of people have to be listed: - excessive exploitation of raw materials, - increased consumption of water, energy, fuel, - emission of harmful gasses and substances into the atmosphere, - contamination of water and soil, - shrinking forest areas and crops, - an increase in the number of hot days, - the rise of sea level, - floods, - droughts, - anomaly weather (hurricanes). The listed environmental hazards are the cause of unrests and social conflicts. They also cause deterioration of human health and the extinction of some animal species. The ideas of sustainable development require action to protect the environment. This message is addressed primarily to governments, politicians, business executives and ordinary people. Contemporary humanity faces the necessity of solving several important and challenging problems [12]. - maintenance of high quality and

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productivity of the natural resources of the environment, - overcoming the poverty of the steadily growing population in developing countries, - implementation of the principles of sustainable development, where environmental protection should be an integral part of the processes of growth and socio-economic development. Execution of the tasks relating to the protection of the environment will be possible by the cooperation of nations. However, due to the national interests of some countries, there is a danger of discrepancies as to achieving set goals. An example would be the non-ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by some industrialized countries, like USA or Australia. Environmental, as well as the social problems, should be considered on a wider scale, international or global. Focusing only on the area of local, regional, or even national level is not appropriate. References A changing world regarding economy and technology causes the transformations in the social environment of contemporary people. The economic development of societies is inevitable. For this reason, it is useful to develop rules and procedures for rational management and use of natural resources of the Earth. Responsible use of natural resources, water, forests and other bounties of the Earth excludes destructive practices performed in this area. Natural environment protection will help to maintain its health, which in turn, have a positive impact on people’s lives. Selfish attitude of societies in the usage of natural resources condemns future generations to reduce the chance of development. Some mineral reservoirs are limited or non-renewable. Shortage of Earth’s natural resources causes social and

political conflicts. Environment protection and solving social problems is the most important task facing the humanity at the beginning of the XXI century. Modern societies and business organizations have to take responsibility for the fate of future generations. Hauff V., Unsere gemeinsame Zukunft- Der Brundtland- Bericht der Weltkommission fur Umwelt Entwicklung, Greven, 1987 [2] Dam Y., and Apeldoorn P., “Zrównoważony marketing,[ Sustainable development]” in: Critical Marketing. Contemporary Issues in Marketing, UK: ed. Tadejewski M., Brownlie D., John Wiley & Sons, 2008 [3] Rogall H., Ekonomia zrównoważonego rozwoju. Teoria i praktyka, [Economics of sustainable development. Theory and practice] Poznan: Zysk i S-ka, 2010 [4] Pearce D., et al., Sustainable Development. Economics and Environment in the Third World, London: Earthscan Publications, 1997 [5] Belz F., and Peattie K. Sustainability Marketing. A Global Perspective, J. Wiley&Sons, 2010 [6] Pawłowski L., “Rola monitoringu środowiska w realizacji zrównoważonego rozwoju. [The role of environmental monitoring in the implementation of sustainable development]”, in: Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska, vol. 13, 2011 [7] Emery B., Sustainable marketing, Edinburgh: Pearson, 2012 [8] Główny Urząd Statystyczny. Roczniki Statystyki Międzynarodowej. [Central Statistical Office. Annals of International Statistics] Warsaw, 2010 [9] Pabian A. Rola Internetu w tworzeniu zrównoważonego społeczeństwa przyszłości [Role of the Internet in the creation of sustainable society of the future], no. 703 of Scientific Papers of the Szczecin University, 2012. [10] Pabian A. Działalność edukacyjna ośrodków akademickich w koncepcji sustainability. [Educational activities of academic centers in the concept of sustainability] vol. 1, no. 39 of Nauka i Szkolnictwo Wyższe [Science and [1]

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Higher Education] vol. 1, No. 39, 2012. Report of the state of the world environment (Global Environment Outlook, GEO- 4), http://www.gios.gov.pl [12] Fierli I. Geografia gospodarcza świata, [Economic Geography of the world], PWE, 2003, Warsaw. [11]

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Ecotheological applicative researches 2. Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD

1. Cristiana OPREA, PhD

Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

Frank Laboratory for Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research 141980 Dubna, Russia

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 23 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 28 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.5

There is a real need for a rational and scientific debate between all parties involved in environmental risk management in Romania and the region of Central and Southeast Europe against the human domination of nature. The issue of industrial risks is of great significance especially in the Romanian technology park highly wear and aging, involving specialized knowledge and industry-specific risk. Thus, the development of activities to increase awareness of hazards in communities located near some areas and industrial plants that pose a high ecological risk is required. The main ecotheological objective is to develop a network platform type and a coordination group through which it aims to implement the theological program in the light of environmental concerns. It is undoubtedly difficult for Theological Organizations to practically realize by themselves such systems involving additional resources for maintenance and operation of ecological values, such as ecosystem management and sustainability. Orientation toward concerns about environmental hazards and risks, health, and safety of the population, will help the achievement of constructive theology as philosophy, in the category of those who want to reach religious-environmental results while respecting community in which it is located. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: environmental issues; risk management; ecotheology; monitoring; nature conservation;

I. INTRODUCTION

The environment has become an important factor in the decisions of companies worldwide; environmental issues are strongly connected to daily realities, presenting more complexity in the way of solving them. The document on “National Strategy for

Romania’s economic development on the medium term” underlines the importance of risk management for the development of the sector of environmental protection. The environmental policy foreseen for enforcement promotes standards1, 2 of the 1 www.epa.gov 2 ISO 14000 family of standards provides practical tools for companies/industries looking to better

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ISO 140013, in order to carry out processes, eco-efficient products and services with minimum risks on people and natural capital [1,2]. The ISO environmental management systems4 set out the criteria for specific approaches including life cycle analysis, as well as environmental challenges (for example, climate change). This vision seeks to move the industry towards ecoefficient production and sustainable consumption achieved in conditions with low environmental impacts. Therefore the prevention policy was adopted by responsible authorities in Romania in order to replace the corrective policy applied to polluters [3,4]. Promoting ISO 140005 standards especially in the small and medium enterprises is an emergency for the Romanian economy. The present paper is meant to help the theological organizations in integrating ecotheology in environmental monitoring and protection systems. The analysis of guidelines briefly described here applies to those product-related environmental aspects that the organization can control and those it can influence. It is intended to assist organizations in establishing, documenting and implementing their own environmental programs. They apply to any theological organization regardless of its size or activity. II. ECOTHEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

This paragraph presents some general themes that make ecotheology or environmental theology. It is a conception understand and manage responsibly their impact on the environment. 3 ISO 14001:2015 and its supporting standards focus on actual environmental systems. 4 www.iso.ch 5 ISO 14000 family of standards are developed by ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 and its various organizations

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that is the result of applying the human experience of recent years. Here is a theoretical theological construction, which is re-evaluating and creating its ecotheological components continuously according to the founding experiences in the environmental ecosystems. Further, the discussion envisages the main topics of discussion of theologic perspective focused on environmental protection issues. The following fields are taken as references. A. ECOLOGICAL THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE

The scientific reference highlights some notions that articulate the human domination over nature as the primary objective of knowledge6 [5,6]. This imperative, required nowadays to be a new view of nature, namely, his depotentiation7, is carefully treated by ecotheologists and started a series of ecotheological projects around the world. On the other hand, it is difficult not to offend the delicate religious feelings of the people by only addressing the issue from a strictly scientific point of view. Further, some of the basic scientific notions and categories will be outlined. The mechanistic representation of nature has focused its operation according to such chapters as the Newtonian atomism and Cartesian dichotomy mind / body. These approaches obey universal laws established mathematically. However, the yield of the four fundamental forces of the universe as strong and weak nuclear forces, gravity and electromagnetism has led to the evidence that the previous categories were reevaluated, leading to the establishment of a systemic thinking. This supposes that the entity as object to the system is the entity to the node-in-relationship in the context of a network of chaos-cosmos relations forming 6 Hence the famous phrase of Bacon “Knowledge is Power”. 7 Weber would call it the disenchantment of nature.

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self-generating organizations. An alternative approach is to elucidate the purposes of religion and science showing to people the functions of religion and that scientists appreciate its role. Then everybody will more readily take the first steps into practical ecotheology as science [7]. The ecotheologic coordinators should have in mind that the application of scientific projects having as a result personal and collective values govern the production of big databases. The scientific method applied to environmental problems includes routinely four steps: 1) Making observations, and use them further; 2) determining environmental problems based on observation made and formulating a hypothesis; 3) Conducting monitoring surveys, then analytical experiments and collect qualitative and quantitative data; 4) Interpreting statistically the results and drawing conclusions by comparing the data with the hypothesis. The ecumenical partners organized in a network platform type integrated into the global, regional and local ecumenical movement, can be successfully implied in all development of the research project, in addition effectively at the first three stages of it. In this respect, the ecotheologists present a great potential in improving the connection between the community’s needs and the environment’s carrying capacity. This applies by sharing existing resources and exchanging knowledge concerning environmental situation, climate change and food security inside the ecumenical environmental management network.

hand, the scientific research application depends first of all on people and secondly, but not negligible, on financial support granted based of priorities set by society, government and theological communities. While future knowledge has to be validated, existing knowledge based on sacred values must be accepted8. The assessment of the environmental conflicts needs the support of social, political and Church organizations as a key component in this process. The current environmental crisis is fundamentally a civilizational crisis taking into account that the nature-society relationships are dynamic, ambiguous and continuously under pressure. Use and the constitution of ecosystems is scheduled culturally; hence much of the causes of environmental conflicts should be identified in social processes. The ecotheological network should be considered a visionary research project, generating needed cooperation in an increasing anthropic environment [8]. It should be implemented in the conditions of growing urbanization as more than 74% of European population live in the cities9. It is urged by the fact that 83% percent of the natural ecosystems are under unknown and / or unfavorable conservation conditions [9]. These alarming evidences generated a growing need of Sustainable Development Goals which have laid an overall policy framework. The sustainable ecotheological assessment will be done based on the preliminary set of relevant targets and environmental indicators.

B. SOCIOPOLITICAL TOPIC

Sociopolitical is addressed in the perspective of the contrast between the notion of limit and growth of society and its sustainable development. Religion and politics govern the society. On the other

8 Dampier (1949) wrote: “… it is possible to accept the fundamentals both of science, and of religion, as enshrined in the form natural to each man, and wait patiently for time to resolve discrepancies…”. 9 data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS

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C. THE CULTURAL AND THEOETHICAL

FRAMEWORK

The development of anthropogenic environment has become a space for recognition of the different humanities that populate the earth. This allows us to observe their coexistence in various social, political, economic and religious forms. All these human characteristics result in cultural constructions, which are products of historical and social conditions than it can be concluded that nature is a cultural construct. Culturally, the ecotheology as a renovator includes theo-ethical, moral reasons possible trying to guide human action in relationship with nature. The theo-ethics will analyze whether the gained knowledge in a morally respectable manner for the well-being of humankind will be used [10]. In this sense, the construction of sustainable society must be made based on the: - recognition of the ecological potential of territories and regions as bioregionalism; - recreation of indigenous cultural identities and respect for cultural differences known as multiculturalism [11]. Pluralistic democracies can only succeed if the differences in culture and values are tolerated and more than that used as sources of inspiration; - the enhancement of endogenous economies and their nondestructive affiliation to the broader market dynamics – decentralization and - participatory and democratic management of natural resources in terms of ethico–social comunitarism, taking into account also the socio-cultural peculiarities [12]. At a specific individual level, comprehensive ecotheological visions value the development of human various

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motives (artistic, pragmatic, religious, intellectual), against the urbanization and technologization of human life [13]. It includes ecotheological educational issues, projected as a field of environmental action focused on revitalizing of new recreational and dynamic vital senses [14]. Raising the standard of science education is essential against some particular questionable religious philosophies [15]. III. THE APPLICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS OF RISK MANAGEMENT

The Meeting World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) highlighted out again, by the Political Declaration drawn up, the duty of the organizations in all sectors, both large and small, to contribute to the evolution of a society fair and durable. From the perspective of Ecotheological Organizations, Sustainable Development means adopting strategies and, consequently, carrying out activities that meet the current requirements of SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT while protecting, preserving and improving human and natural resources that will be needed in the future. The INDUSTRIALIZED WORLD EXPERIENCE has shown the need to develop environmental policies at the level of local organizations. Preventing risks and hazards of industrial activities can not be achieved using only technical solutions, but should be the result of applying a system of risk management that can integrate aspects of quality, environmental protection, health and safety, which will become part of the overall management of local organizations. A functional risk management system not only ensures compliance with environmental regulations but also should to improve the economic activity by raising awareness and responsibility among inhabitants. Using

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risk management systems as tools to increase the environmental performance of organizations was initiated and progressed rapidly in developed countries, where environmental elements were widely publicized in recent decades. Among the reasons that may cause an organization to make the decision to achieve a risk management system are: the control and minimization of resource consumption; compliance with applicable legislation; improving the image and market position; facilitating access to capital; increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of staff through motivation and involvement; facilitating the process of continuous improvement; creating good relations with the community in which it operates. Among the stakeholders are: the authorities, the media, banks, nonprofit organizations, public, etc, which demonstrates once again the importance of increasing environmental performance established by organizations itself. Evaluate the performance management is a process of the local network, providing information for making decisions on environmental work, in particular, done by an ecotheological organization. This process involves the indicators, data collection, and analysis, evaluation of information in relation to environmental objectives and targets of the organization, preparation of reports and the information describing the organization’s environmental performance, as well as regular checking and improving the evaluation process used. In literature it is considered that in order to achieve better environmental performance, ecotheological network must use a variety of methods, tools, programs and activities that demonstrate environmental responsibility, to ensure its protection and remediation. This results in a continuous process. The importance of the various components of the process varies from

one organization to another, depending on the characteristics and conditions. To be effective, such a process must include the entire organization, running through all the systems and anchoring it in all its priorities. The organization will thus be involved at all levels. The model proposed by Hunt and Auster presents a five-stage cycle of evolution, from organizations dealing with environmental problems with solutions type patch, called beginners, to organizations implementing fully integrated systems, classified as proactive [16]. The three main dimensions of this model are: - The extent to which the program applied reduces the environmental risks; - The organization’s commitment to protect the environment, including allocation of resources and the involvement of managers from the top; - Design characteristics of the program, including its degree of integration with other parts of the organization. Currently, in Romania, most of Industrial and Economical agents are not among the first three top categories of Hunt and Auster Model. They do not meet or comply with tough environmental regulations. At the same time, they declare the importance of protecting the environment and making use of the term without much discernment to characterize ecological processes, products or services. In this respect the ecotheological organizations may be of great communitarian help. The overall objective of the European Community, as defined in the Maastricht Treaty10, is to promote the harmonious and balanced development of economic activities, sustainable and non-inflationary, respecting the environment, raising living standards and quality of life. 10 https://global.britannica.com/event/MaastrichtTreaty

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The main purpose of Romania in the period ahead is integration into EuroAtlantic structures. Efforts to achieve the goal must be deployed in a wide range of areas: economic, social, political, legal, etc., which must integrate environmental protection. In analyzing the achievements of Romania in the economic field, the Commission shall be guided by the conclusions of the European Council in June 1993 in Copenhagen11. This shows that membership of the Union requires: 1. The existence of a functioning market economy and 2. The capacity to handle with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. According to the country report for 2015, Romania registered an economic growth for the last consecutive year in a series, and could get to have a functioning market economy given that it will be able to maintain and accelerate the pace of reforms. In order to handle with the competitive pressure and market forces within the European Union, Romanian organizations must know and understand very well these elements. An important component in this case is the ability of Romanian organizations to integrate social and environmental concerns in economic activity. Conclusion

of risk management systems of industrial business, government, NGOs, educational institutions, the public in general. With increased number of bodies to monitor and control the categories of fines imposed for exceeding of maximum allowable limits (MAL) settle down for various environmental factors by existing national standards, the issue of risk management and environmental activity organizations in the productive sector becomes one useful. It is often cheaper to develop a system to ensure legislative compliance and supporting secondary all other activities in the interest of maintaining and even increasing the long-term performances in terms of Sustainable Development. It is undoubtedly more difficult for small organizations to realize by themselves such systems involving additional resources for maintenance and operation, but agents from different industrial sectors must understand the importance of changing environmental policy. Orientation toward concerns about hazards and risks, environmental protection, public health and safety will help the standardization of a monitoring system to achieve results while respecting the community in which it is located.

This paper fills the lack of ecotheological applicative research related to environmental protection management systems. Ecotheological network aims orientation towards developing models of good practice in order to improve performance monitoring not only of the environment, but also in economic, political, social and educational terms. There is a large category of stakeholders towards the development

[1]

11 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/, European Council in June 1993 in Copenhagen

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Bibliography

[2]

[3] [4] [5]

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Cheremisinoff, N. P., A. Bendavid-Val, Green profits the manager’s handbook for ISO 14001 – Butterworth-Heinemann, SUA, 2001 Ionescu C., Cum să construim şi să implementăm un sistem de management de mediu în conformitate cu ISO 14001 – Ed. Economică, Bucureşti, 2000 SR EN ISO 14001 - Sistem de management de mediu, Specificaţii şi ghid de utilizare, 1997 SR ISO 14004 - Sistem de management de mediu, Linii directoare, sisteme şi tehnici White, L. Jr. 1971. “The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis.” Reprinted in A.E. Lugo &

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S.C. Snedaker (Eds.) Readings on Ecological Systems: Their Function and Relation to Man. New York: MSS Educational Publishing [6] Dampier, W.C. A History of Science. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1949 [7] Cengage, Gale. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion. Retrieved 4 April 2012 [8] Brown, Valerie 2012. “The Rise of Ecotheology”, Columbia.edu/cu/21stC/ issue-3.4/brown.html [9] EEA Report „Mapping and assessing the condition of Europe’s ecosystems: progress and challenges” 2015 [10] Elliot, R. Environmental Ethics, Routledge, London1998 [11] Watling, Tony. Ecological Imaginations in the World Religions: An Ethnographic Analysis, London and New York: Continuum International Publishers 2009 [12] Latouche S, 1993. La planète des Naufragues, Essai sur l` après-developpement. La Découverte. Paris [13] Escobar, A, 1999, El Final del Salvaje, ICAN, CEREC. Bogotá [14] Noguera, P. Educación Estética y Complejidad Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Manizales 2000 [15] Brooke, J.H. Science and religion. Historical Perspectives. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press 1991 [16] Hunt, Ch. B., Auster E. R., Proactive Environmental Management: Avoiding the Toxic Trap – Sloan Management Review 31/1990, p. 7-18

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A Pilgrimage trough Traditional Romania Memory, History, Religion: Exploring Irish-Romanian Boundaries in Peter Hurley’s THE WAY OF THE CROSSES Nicoleta Stanca, PhD Ovidius University Constanța, Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 9 August 2016 Received in revised form 30 August Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.6

This paper will look at the manner in which Romania is perceived by an Irishman, Peter Hurley, living here for twenty years, travelling on foot from Săpânța to Bucharest (26 days, 650 kilometres) and recounting it all in a book, The Way of the Crosses (2013). The title of Hurley’s book may have been inspired by a hybrid Irish-Romanian experience, signalled to the author by another Irishman, Shaun Davey, who, in 2009, composed music triggered by the “lyrics” of the epitaphs on the crosses in the Merry Cemetery of Săpânța, Romania. Travelling, being inspired by Romanian landscape and culture, with the background of the Irish writer’s “sense of place”, Hurley’s account is meant to reach audiences beyond the Romanian border and enable further interaction. The project of walking the way of the crosses and the writing about it, drawing maps and showing pictures fit in the Irish author’s preoccupations with bringing to the fore authentic traditional Romania. His travel writing becomes a means through which Romanian-Irish personal and collective memory are transmitted beyond boundaries, avoiding ideological perspectives, using elements such as Dacian pottery, Romanian ceramic production today and the story of the last family of potters in Maramureș. The translation of aspects of Romanian culture involves recalling legends, rituals, beliefs, stories, historical accounts, which are resituated in a trasnational context (for instance, haystack making in Maramureș and the West of Ireland, Romanian children in popular costumes playing with plastic Chinese-made toyguns, a Romanian peasant as the Last of the Mohicans). Hybridity also results from the author’s bilingualism (e.g. praying at a troiță in Romanian and translating the prayer into English in the book or keeping the Romanian words for “traistă”, “horincă”, “zacuscă”, “șindrile”).

Keywords: travel writing; collective and individual memory; crosses; Ireland; Romania; Peter Hurley;

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I. INTRODUCTION

The Way of the Crosses is a travel book published in 2013 by Peter Hurley, an Irishman who has been living in Romania for over twenty years. It covers the author’s walking 650 kilometres, for 26 days, in the fasting period before Christmas 2012, from Săpânța, Maramureș, one of the ancient provinces of Romania, mainly through the mountains (silent witnesses to Romanians’ tragedies) to the capital, Bucharest, where he was met by friends at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant. The project of walking the way of the crosses, as for over 600 kilometres he just encountered and stopped at these various crosses on the side of the road, and writing about it, drawing maps and showing pictures of places and people, friends on the way fit the Irish author’s preoccupations with bringing to the fore authentic traditional Romania. Peter Hurley comes from Dublin, Ireland, where he graduated from the Faculty of Commerce at University College Dublin (UCD) with a Masters degree in Business Studies. He worked in England, Austria and Ireland as a marketing consultant before coming to Romania in 1994. Until 2009 he worked in market research and advertising and from 2000 to 2006 he was also Honorary Vice Consul of Ireland in Romania. Now he is totally dedicated to this quest for Romanian authentic values traced especially in the rural area in the mountains, in such places as the ones he describes in his travel book. At present, he produces the festival of peasant traditions The Long Road to the Merry Cemetery in Săpânța and he is president of the Intercultural Association of Traditions. II. Mapping a pilgrim’s journey

Peter Hurley’s narrative includes narrative descriptions of people and places, images derived from observation, legends, myths, accounts, stories and histories:

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“for readers this narrative makes possible an image of the world much like that of a map” (Tally 49). Hurley’s project literally involves wayfinding and mapmaking, as he was looking for his way from the extreme north-west region of the country to the capital, the landmarks being crosses and other spiritually charged places, such as The Merry Cemetery in Săpânța, Maramureș, the starting point, and the homes of old friends and new friends he made during this journey. Hurley travelled with the Irish writer’s traditional “sense of place” and inspired by Romanian landscape and culture, thus offering an exquisite example of a hybrid experience meant to reach audience beyond the Romanian borders. Like any example of travel writing, apparently it is first-person factual narration of travel that has actually been experienced by the author-narrator. Actually, the meaning of the voyage goes beyond this superficial level, the author becoming “a messenger who lays his notes before you, attempting to give a picture of what I saw and what you would have seen if you had been with me” (Bryant qtd. in Youngs 15). We will analyze in this article the physical dimension of the journey as well as the spiritual and cultural ones. The title of Peter Hurley’s book, The Way of the Crosses, draws attention to the symbolical design of his travelling and to the profoundly spiritual dimension of his endeavours of which he seems to become aware while walking. The reader, in their turn, discovers a pilgrim-writer, a spiritual wanderer, whose pilgrimage can be interpreted as an exercise of selfconstruction. According to Zygmunt Bauman in his study “From Pilgrim to Tourist – or a Short History of Identity”, the figure of the pilgrim represents a metaphor for the modern life strategy, preoccupied with identity-building (18-36). The physical journey implies an inner one, into the mind of the traveller and into the deepest recesses of the self of the one who embarks

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upon the voyage: “Travel as restorative practice necessarily involves regressions and returns, loss and retrieval of self/selves” (Ravi 2). Nowhere perhaps as much as in the field of travel writing, in fact is the fundamental ambiguity of ‘representation’ more apparent. To represent the world is political as well as an aesthetic-cognitive activity. It is an effort both to put something alien into the words of a shared language for someone else at home and to put oneself in the Other’s place abroad in order to speak on its behalf. One is at the same time representator and representative, reporter and legislator. And in all that one writes one also inevitably (re)presents, however imperfectly, oneself. (Porter qtd. in Ravi 2) Travellers, unlike tourists, see themselves as contributing to the well-being of the cultures they visit and view themselves as open-minded and inquisitive rather than exploitative or just adventurers. On the one hand, the question of authenticity as regards the travelling report is taken into account. On the other hand, the travel writer may also assume various forms of disguise: a teacher, a clown, a pilgrim, a tourist, a nomad, a wanderer, a collector, “a patient gatherer of other people’s stories and connoisseur of distant places, remote cultures, exotic things” (Holland and Huggan 269), thus establishing a continuous dialogue with the audience. The persona of the traveller is usually characterized by what Michael Ignatieff calls a “metaphysics of restlessness” (in Holland and Huggan 267), the self being in a trajectory in transit. The multiple and discontinuous sense of the self is conferred by the sense of fragmentation of the travelling experience involving physical distance and estrangement. Such an approach may serve to disrupt clichés and binaries: self and others, domestic and foreign, home country and the outside world.

According to St. Augustine, Christians are by definition wanderers “on pilgrimage through time looking for the kingdom of eternity” (in Hall and du Gay 20). “JudeoChristian culture is, at its very roots, about experiences of spiritual dislocation and homelessness ... Our faith began at odds with place” (Richard Sennett in Hall and du Gay 20). Walking is seen as more appropriate for travel writing as speed contradicts the necessary time needed for indulging in the experience. “Travel will still suggest ‘travail’ to those who know that by leaving home they risk wire-walking without a net” (Keath Fraser in Holland and Huggan 271). There are exceptions but theoreticians are sceptical about contemporary journeys as via dolorosa experiences or as heroic or traumatic moments. Yet, Hurley proves it as he also confesses a spiritual crisis which seemed to have triggered the need for distance, homelessness and dislocation when he set on his way. In connection to the spiritual dimension of the departure point, The Merry Cemetery in Săpânța, Maramureș, Peter Hurley may have been inspired by another hybrid IrishRomanian experience: the concert “Voices from the Merry Cemetery”, performed in 2010 at “The Long Road to the Merry Cemetery” festival in Săpânța, Maramureș, organized by Peter and also supported by the Irish Embassy in Bucharest. “Voices from the Merry Cemetery” is a song cycle for orchestra, choir and soloists, written in 2009 by an Irish composer, Shaun Davey, after a visit to the Merry Cemetery. “Those inscriptions provided me with a collection of lyrics to turn into song and perhaps in so doing, create a musical meeting point between the peoples of Romania and Ireland” (Muzica e .... 7). The inscriptions in question are the epitaphs on the crosses in the cemetery, a unique instance of Romanian spirituality, conceived as a dialogue between the dead and the living. The similarities of the Romanian epitaphs

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with the traditional practice in rural Ireland of “waking the dead” - night-long celebrations of the lives of the deceased one before burial – helps the family come to terms with their own mortality and strengthens a sense of a common identity in the community and, interestingly, in Romania the same ritual is kept especially in the countryside even to this day. In 2008, Hurley confesses that he received a book, The Way of the Pilgrim by a 19th century anonymous writer. It contained “The Prayer of the Heart” (Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner) and explained how praying works in the aftermath of an experience of the anonymous author on Mount Athos in Greece. When walking becomes difficult or when he is grateful and wants to thank God Hurley stops and prays. When he passes a “troiță” (one of these traditional crosses), he also stops, kneels and prays, the journey turning gradually into a spiritual voyage, a liturgical act, based on sacrifice – fasting and praying. Forms of artistic expression of the religious community in the region or dedicated to the memory of victims of road accidents, these crosses on the side of the road, as well as the warm people who hosted and fed the pilgrim-writer, represented “the fountain on the route” (Hurley 182). I began to realize that the brightly illustrated wooden “troițe” that had kept me company on the road so far, with their “ștergare”, flowers and candles, were largely a feature of Orthodox communities. [...] There was a lot of spontaneity in their placement that was creative, colourful and expressive: in front of someone’s home, in the field near the haystack, and especially for the traveler, often seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Together they created a very powerful message, overwhelming evidence that: Here, we all believe! (Hurley 181-183) The journey is seen by Peter Hurley as a “leap of faith” (276), in accordance

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with Romania’s resonance and in a kind of vibration that responds to people. “And this trip, is about feeling the resonance” (277). The writer ponders towards the end of the journey on the dark humour shared by the Irish and Romanians: “The Irish lost every battle but won the war, whereas Romanians did the opposite” (277), watched only by the silent mountains around them. According to Hurley, the two crossroads of his journey were Pensiunea Magdalena, as he was lost and hopeless about finding a place or people to help him, and the second was Turnu Monastery, which he wished he had not left. I am living a miracle. I feel as if it’s a dream. I felt a moment, a sensation of absolutely pure joy when I sat at the table in the Turnu monastery. I felt that I had arrived to a place from where I never want to leave. (Hurley 346) He learns the story of the ancient monastery from Father Pavel and he is absolutely touched by Abbot Valentin’s words about the joy of living, the complicated human emotions and the difficult struggle for salvation. Along the journey, the key word for the pilgrim traveler seems to be faith - faith in the road, faith in people, who fed him and dressed him and wanted to take him in their cars, carts, faith in God who will eventually show him the meaning of his endeavor. In a kind of natural sequel to the journey and the book, in 2014, after launching The Way of the Crosses in Cernăuți (Ukraine), Peter Hurley started a similar journey, from Moldavia towards Bucharest, this time no money because for the walk recounted in the book he had the money but donated it as he was supported by the people on the way. Also, a good part of the 260 km which he managed to cover this time was through the woods, sometimes at night-time, yet he never felt frightened by the animals in the forest. It was again during the fasting period

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and he stopped and participated in the religious services in all the monasteries in Bucovina. On December 8, 2014, he reached the peak of Ceahlău (1907m) and he was so impressed with the beauty of the place and pushed by the feelings experienced after the walk he underwent soon a real transfiguration. Peter Hurley reached in the evening, on the same day, the Transfiguration Monastery on the Ceahlău peak; it was the time of the evening religious service and he went in; there were the priest and two other lay people and he was invited to read from the religious books together with the singer during the service. Then he was convinced that the time had come that he should be baptized and convert to the Orthodox Church; it was the proof of his understanding of the humanity of this people whose faith is best preserved in the monasteries in the countryside in Romania, and in all the places he saw on his journey. On December 9, 2014, he received the Holy Baptism from Father Ciprian from the Transfiguration Monastery, an experience which represented a natural step after climbing the way of the crosses. III. From Maramureș to the National

Museum of the Romanian Peasant

Peter Hurley’s book is divided into three parts, each subdivided into smaller sections for one part of the road and introduced by maps of the respective region: I. Maramureș, II. Bistrița to Brașov (Bistrița-Năsăud, Mureș, Harghita, Covasna, Brașov) and III. Brașov to Bucharest (Prahova, Dâmbovița and Ilfov, Bucharest). In Maramureș, Hurley mentions the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and its Resistance in Sighet, a former prison in which had been tortured Romanians that protested against the Communist regime in Romania, now turned into a museum. It is one example of “lieux de mémoire”

described by Pierre Nora in the synonymous study from the 1980s. “There are lieux de mémoire, sites of memory because there are no longer milieux de mémoire, real environments of memory” (Nora in Malkin 24). Collective remembrance implies collective memories, which occupy a central role in conceiving a society’s past. The museum belongs to this tradition of “memorisation-through-location” (Malkin 23). Hence, the need to preserve, within the walls of the former prison, the stories of the victims of the Communist regime, with a sense of conflicted and traumatized relation to the past being the common thread of the rooms in the museum and of similar museums in the country. Sites of atrocities, prisons, concentration camps, places of terror and genocide turned into heritage sites are part of what some critics refer to as “dark tourism”, “dissonant heritage” or “difficult heritage” (in Erll 53). Andreas Huyssen calls such cultures as ours, affected by the collapse of a grand narrative after 1989, “memory cultures”, types of cultures which offer alternative remembered pasts based on various legacies (in Featherstone 169). The geographic spread of the of the culture of memory is as wide as the memory itself, ranging from a mobilization of mythic pasts to support aggressively chauvinist or fundamentalist politics ... to fledgling attempts to create public spheres of ‘real’ memory that will counter the politics of forgetting, pursued by postdictatorship regimes either through ‘reconciliation’ and official amnesties or through repressive silencing. (Huyssen in Featherstone 169). It seems like the rupture between history and memory in the present context of “the acceleration of history” (Nora in Malkin 25) has led to an obsession with collecting and commemoration, which is nevertheless perfectly justified as “there is no spontaneous memory, that we must deliberately create

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archives, maintain anniversaries, organize celebrations ... because such activities no longer occur naturally” (Nora 144). Issued from this anxiety of discontinuity, Hurley’s cartographic method of evoking the historically charged sites in Romania comes as a way of anchoring national memory and placing it beyond our borders. Between 1845 and 1989, 60.000 people were imprisoned and sentenced to death in all these prisons in Romania, similar to the one in Sighet. During those decades, the Party imposed a Prolekult orientation in all domains, culture included. Nothing could be published or performed without approval. The national character of Romanian culture was replaced by social realism. The measures also involved severance of all the links with European connections. In one room in the ex-prison in Sighet one could see a number of aspects of this experiment. One of the most impressive rooms in the Memorial is dedicated to women as political prisoners – either because they were mothers, wives and daughters of men considered dangerous by the Communist Party or because they themselves were suspected of being involved in political activity. The names of 4.200 women prisoners are exhibited on the walls and the ceiling of this room. Students were another targeted category in the context of the Hungarian revolt against the communists in 1956, which has a room dedicated to in the prison in Sighet. Student organizations all over Romania reacted and as a consequence, students were arrested, suspended from courses and professors were dismissed. Back to the villages in the north, memory is connected to traditions. In Maramureș, people make hay and Hurley compares the haystacks there and in the west of Ireland. A lady working on her loom is weaving a traditional Romanian bag, “traistă”, readily adopted by the traveler-writer. The villages in the area display authentic wooden

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houses full of traditional objects, not always appreciated for their values, such as is the case of Dragomirești, where only a few of these houses are standing and the children beautifully dressed in national costumes are playing with plastic guns. Hurley calls on a family of artists belonging to Maramureș traditional music groups, one of those few authentic folk artists who make the difference between real value and merely popular forms of entertainment. I discovered that traditional music is inspired by rituals and that those rituals are part of the born fabric of the village. In order to appreciate the true beauty of the village one must visit at certain times when those rituals are taking place for example during religious feasts, or harvest time. (Hurley 37) Later on, in Feldioara, the author will meet Violeta Roman, weaving German lace, which proves as difficult for making a living as making “traiste” (traditional Romanian bags) or ceramic pots. The last stop in Maramureș is at a potter’s house. Pottery here and ceramic production in the village of Săcel is part of keeping an unbroken tradition of the old Dacians. The Dacians, the ancient inhabitants of Romania, fought two major wars against the Romans, who wanted the gold in Roman mountains; during the conflicts the Dacians retired to Maramureș, as a natural fortress and archaeological findings later revealed treasures of ceramic products. Hurley realizes that it becomes more difficult for the last descending potter of the Dacian artisans to compete with the business of craftsmen’s markets and fairs: “Tănase, the last Dacian pottery master, puts toppings on pizza in a restaurant in the student district of Munich” (Hurley 83). Many Romanians in these poor areas in the countryside have been forced in the recent decades to leave Romania and find work abroad; so, Peter Hurley links this recent Romanian experience of massive emigration to decades of emigration in Irish

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history since the Great Potato Famine in mid-nineteenth century and the coffin ships taking Irish people to America. The author remembers that out of the 135 graduates, his colleagues as UCD, 100 had positions abroad waiting for them on graduation day and that speaks volumes about the still rising trend of Irish emigration in 1989. This is one instance of individual (Hurley’s) and collective memory (Romanian and Irish) interdependent, as conceived by Maurice Halbwachs in his study on mémoire collective (Erll 14-18). In Bistrița, Peter Hurley stops at Mrs. Rus’ house. She is weaving “ștergare” (traditional Romanian towels) and “traiste” with ethnographic patterns and healing blisters with a powder made from flowers collected in springtime. Next he ponders on “pălincă” making (traditional Romanian brandy) and the dangers of shaving the mountains through the timber business in Harghita. The realization that a whole civilization in the rural area is dying, as it already happened, according to Hurley in Europe, strikes the reader, who is reminded that if the three pillars are maintained there is still hope: the school and the church, the administration and the economy of the region. Thus, another means of reviving the nation’s spiritual legacy is by connecting the memory of the past and traditional artifacts manufacturing, as illustrated by Peter Hurley through his examples. Irrespective of the community he finds himself in in the Romanian villages, Peter Hurley is concerned with the consequences of the Communist collectivization on the small farmers and artisans. Projects had been made since the 1990s to help small farmers and craftsmen to produce organic food and authentic folk objects and make a living within various programs, such as the National Rural Development Network (in 2012), but the overall results are far from satisfactory. The author found lodging in

Lupeni at a lady’s who had an apple farm, a fruit juice plant built on grant money and a house for guests (a refurbished house that belonged to a traditional Hungarian writer born in Lupeni). The secret shared by Peter Hurley, yet not learnt by Romanian small farmers or in any case by the Romanian authorities, is getting the community work together and a common agricultural policy. Out of Bistrița, it started snowing and Peter Hurley was walking with blisters and a pain in the leg after having fallen into a hole in the dark. The next stop in the village of Ardan brings Irish and Romanian history and memory together again. Excavations in the region and in other parts of Romania (a tomb of a Celtic warrior in Craiova and other artefacts in Oaș, Satu Mare) prove the third and first-century BC Celtic heritage in the area, also alive in the music and dancing in the region. The Celtic cross in Ireland is an exquisite combination of a solar disc and the cross of Christ; in Romania, there has been the same evolutionary perspective on Christianity, with its progression of a monotheistic tradition. Ardan is an Irish name, ardán meaning in ancient Gaelic a stage, a platform and a high point; the Romanian village stands on a higher level. The visitation of the Saxon Church (dating since 1330) in Târgu Mureș gives an opportunity to the author to recall the traumatized history of the Saxons in Transylvania. The name Transylvania in Saxon is Siebenbürgen, the seven settlements to protect the homeland of Central Europe (Mediaș, Sebeș, Sibiu, ClujNapoca, Sighișoara, Miercurea Sibiului, Orăștie, to which other historical sources add Brașov, Bistrița and Reghin) and the Saxon influence in this part of Romania remained strong in architecture, business ethics and craftsmanship. Since 1919, when, under King Ferdinand, Transylvania was united with Wallachia and Moldavia, a Greater Romania characterized by interwar

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flourishing emerged; the Saxons enjoyed prosperity next to the majority citizens of the country. At the beginning of WWII the Saxons in Transylvania were supposed to help the German forces in the war effort and upon entering the SS troops they were tattooed their blood type on their arms so after 1944 when the Russian army occupied the country they were considered traitors and suffered the consequences. Some Saxons fled West; those who did not manage to run were “exported” together with Jews to Siberia. Some other stayed and everything was taken from them, all property. After the reunification of Germany, there was a call that they might “go back” there; some did and stayed; some others returned to Romania. Thus, we can explain both the drama of the many Saxon deserted houses in the region and also the frustration of those like Johann Schaas from Richis, whose property had been confiscated and after 1989 nothing was given back, the reason being that there was a different law before the setting of the communist cooperatives which had operated and deprived people of their property (Hurezeanu, “Trista poveste...”). If the statistics showed 800.000 Saxons in Transylvania in 1910, the figures declined dramatically to only 60.000 in 2002 (Hurezeanu, “Trista poveste...”). The Saxons never fully assimilated their tragedy and probably neither did Romanians. Thus, it remains a traumatized memory, the victims being possessed by an event and unable to understand it or narrate it thoroughly, according to Cathy Caruth’s ideas on trauma and memory: in the structure of its experience or reception, the event is not assimilated or experienced fully at the time, but only belatedly, in its repeated possession of the one who experiences it. To be traumatized is precisely to be possessed by an image or event. (in Malkin 29)

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It is the trauma of a minority population sent into exile by an occupying foreign regime. An Irishman fully understands such suffering as the Irish have also been forced into exile (especially in the US) by the English, poverty, Famine, political and religious dissensions. In Covasna, in the village of Vărghiș, Peter Hurley is hosted by the Kore family, an extremely poor but warm Roma family, 14 souls in all; the grandfather was making limestone powder and the sons made money stealing wood from the forest. As it was a voting day in Romania, Hurley decided to use the opportunity to get the town hall involved in helping the poor family, which he achieved; the voting machine worked one more time. It seems that 3% of the population in Romania is officially registered as Roma, a distinct ethnic group, but off the record, they are many more, not acknowledging it in the attempt to defend themselves. There is a long European history of the persecution of the Roma people; in the Romanian principalities, they were slaves for 600 years, until the 19th century, property of landowners and monasteries and there were also gypsies descending from aristocratic families, who were rich, but the majority of them were extremely poor. In 1843-1856, they were released from slavery, but there were very few attempts at encouraging them to integrate. Modernity and the modernization of society exacerbated the problem because of the uselessness of the crafts they were good at. So, in the 1940, the issue of the Gypsies arose again, this time in racial and ethnic terms as well. And the decision of marshal Ion Antonescu was to deport 25.000 Roma people to Transnistria on grounds they “had no fortune”, “had no means”, “had no occupation” (Achim, “Plecarea in masa ...”). In Vărghiș, Peter Hurley had the pleasure of allowing Mr. Kore feel good at offering warmth and generosity and he recited a prayer for Mr. Kore’s son-in-

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law to stop drinking and support his family. In Brașov, Peter Hurley is met by Bogdan Buzescu, descendant of the Buzescu Brothers, who had helped Michael the Brave, the Romanian ruler who had managed for the first time to briefly unite (for 6 months, in 1593) Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. In the old Saxon city, he first enters the Black Church and finding it cold he heads towards the Holy Trinity Church to lit candles for all the good families on the way (19 of them), to which the drunk man in Babarunca, Willy, could be added and in whose hut Peter Hurley found the warmth and human contact he needed in spite of the squalor of the place. Then, he stops at Coada Malului, at Pensiunea Magdalena and shares the story of survival of the owners. At Zamfira, the author stops at a lady’s who was making national flags and then at Zamfira Monastery, whose interior had been painted by Nicolae Grigorescu. Then, he reaches Ilfov and Constantin Brâncoveanu’s Mogoșoaia. At last, Peter Hurley enters Bucharest flying the Romanian flag and as he was walking on the side of the road, cars were blowing horns as a positive response. Bucharest strikes him as a city full of energy and the first “welcoming committee” is formed of the cleaning ladies in the street. When he reached the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, there were close friends waiting, so feelings of gratitude and humility overwhelmed Hurley, who murmured prayers of thanks. Conclusion Peter Hurley brought together all these instances of Romanian collective memory in consonance with his personal interest in traditions, as according to Maurice Halbwachs, the collective memory is a depository of tradition (142). Walking the way of the crosses and describing

the journey in a book becomes a means through which Hurley’s personal memories and collective Romanian – Irish memories are intertwined. What is interesting is that travelling culture seems to be connected to travelling memory (Erll 66), with the focus not on sites of memory, but on movements of memory and on the routes taken by stories, rituals and images, not on their roots (Erll 66). Memory functions as techné, as a writing skill and a mediation (Frow 151); the activity of writing is “a kind of memorization itself or at least is intimately bound up with it” (Frow 151). Memory can also be conceived as social performance of “commemoration, of testimony, of confession, of accusation” (Antze and Lambek in Featherstone 172). “The important thing for the remembering author is not what he experienced but the weaving of his memory, the Penelope work of recollection” (Walter Benjamin in Malkin 7). It is only this unfolding and retelling of the past that allows it to take place in the present as narrative. Thus, we realize that the recoverability potential of memory is still relevant for the remembering self and his narrative weavings and epiphanies. A few conclusions Peter Hurley reached in the aftermath of this journey and in general after so many years in Romania: 1. Romania is a country difficult to understand, often misunderstood or ignored abroad; 2. The essence of the country is to be found mainly, but not only, in the folk civilization and culture in the countryside, which is trying to survive; 3. There is a certain level of awareness regarding the value of this old culture for Romanian identity as a nation but it might be widely accepted when it is too late, after its death, as it happened in the Western civilization; 4. The role of the community of those people who want to be informed and involved is therefore crucial (www.traditia.ro). I’ve often thought that it’s a miracle that

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this country has survived, as much together as it is, in its current form, almost complete. No friends, surrounded by enemies, surrounded by different ideologies, certainly different tribes, let’s say, and not a conquering or a warring or in any way a cruel nation, not revengeful, fundamentally Christian, extraordinarily welcoming and hospitable, extremely creative, warm, giving, generous people, who are completely misunderstood and misbranded by the people who don’t know them and somehow taken advantage of by the people who do know them, and yet they manage to keep going, they manage to keep it together [...] There has been a great tragedy for a long, long time, a silent tragedy, and as I walked towards these great mountains, I felt them standing over all of it. I felt that they saw it all. (Hurley 278-279) Hurley’s project can be situated in between “communicative memory” (lived stories, autobiographical remembering, intergenerational memory) and “cultural memory” (culturally mediated) (Assmann 27). Translating from one culture to another (Romanian and Irish) – exemplified through the Celtic heritage in Romania, the Romanian culture of the crosses and the Celtic crosses, the Voices from the Merry Cemetery performance and the Irish and Romanian long tradition of historical suffering and emigration - and translating a culture into a language (Romanian – English) represent forms of cultural hybridization (WolfgangStockhammer 15-16) used by the author to evoke the personal and collective travelling memories in The Way of the Crosses. Hybridity also results from the author’s bilingualism: prayers in Romanian and English and giving the Romanian words for “traistă”, “zacuscă”, “ștergare”, “horincă”, to give only the most frequently quoted one and explaining what they are. Hurley’s discourse of travelling memories seems to have inspired from Walter Benjamin’s views on history imitating memory “stressing Session 3. Social Sciences, Culture, Lifestyle Choices & Religion

the breaks and interruptions of the past and created in the form of discontinuous present” (in Malkin 27) as he considers that continuity is only that of the oppressors. The history of the oppressed is discontinuous and if we draw an imaginary line across Europe from Romania to Ireland, we realize, Hurley points out, the discontinuities of RomanianIrish memories vs. the continuities of those of the neighbouring countries. By walking the way of the crosses, Peter Hurley bears his own cross, tells the reader about the crosses of the friends on his way, the cross of the Romanian nation in more general terms and also about religious art and the spiritual dimension expressed through all these “troițe” he encountered on his journey. References [1] Bauman, Zygmunt. “From Pilgrim to Tourist – or a Short History of Identity”. Questions of Cultural Identity. Ed. Stuart Hall and Paul de Gay. London: Sage, 1996. 18-36. [2] Erll, Astrid. Memory in Culture. Trans. by Sara B. Young. London and New York: Macmillan, Palgrave, 2011. [3] Featherstone, Simon. Postcolonial Cultures. Edinburgh University Press, 2005. [4] Frow, John. “from Toute la mémoire du monde: Repetition and Forgetting”. Theories of Memory : A Reader. Eds. Michael Rossington and Anne Whitehead. Edinburgh University Press, 2008. 150-156. [5] Halbwachs, Maurice. “from The Collective Memory”. Theories of Memory : A Reader. Eds. Michael Rossington and Anne Whitehead. Edinburgh University Press, 2008. 139-143. [6] Hall, Stuart and Paul de Gay. Questions of Cultural Identity. London: Sage, 1996. [7] Holland, Patrick and Graham Huggan. “Introduction: Travel Writing Today.” Tourists with Typewriters: Critical Reflections on Contemporary Travel Writing. Ann Arbor:

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University of Michigan Press, 1998. 1-26. Reproduced in Contemporary Literary Criticism, vol. 204. Travel Narratives. 261276. [8] Hurley, Peter. The Way of the Crosses. București: Editura Martor, 2013. [9] Malkin, Jeanette R.. Memory-Theater and Postmodern Drama. The University of Michigan Press, 1999. [10] Muzica e irlandeză, dar textul românesc din Săpânța renumită unde morții toți vorbesc, Ateneul Român, 29 noiembrie 2011. [11] Nora, Pierre. “from Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire”. Theories of Memory : A Reader. Eds. Michael Rossington and Anne Whitehead. Edinburgh University Press, 2008. 144-149. [12]Ravi, Srilata. “Travel and Text”. Asian Journal of Social Science. Vol. 31. No. 1. Special Focus Travel and Text (2003). 1-4. [13] Tally, Robert Jr.. Spatiality. London and New York: Routledge, 2013. [14] Wolfgang-Stockhammer, Philipp. Conceptualizing Cultural Hybridization: A Transdisciplinary Approach. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlang, Berlin. 2012. [15] Youngs, Tim. “Travels in Editing: Ten Years of Studies in Travel Writing”. Travel (of) Writing. Eds. Adina Ciugureanu and Eduard Vlad. Constanta: Ovidius University Press. 13-24. [16] www.traditia.ro, accessed June 25, 2016. [17]http://www.ziaristionline. ro/2015/07/30/minunata-convertire-laortodoxia-romana-a-lui-peter-hurleyirlandezul-din-carpati/, accessed June 25, 2016. [18]https://www.mariuspavel.ro/peterhurley-irlandezul-din-romania/, accessed June 25, 2016. [19] Hurezeanu, Ruxandra. “Trista poveste a ultimilor sași din Transilvania.

Fabula lui Hans despre iezenul fugărit de vulpe.” http://www.hotnews.ro/stiriesential-5077721-trista-poveste-ultimilorsasi-din-transilvania-fabula-lui-hans-despreiezenul-fugarit-vulpe.htm [20] Achim, Viorel. “Plecarea în masă a țiganilor spre Occident este un fenomen care s-a mai repetat în istorie. ” [21]http://www.cultura.postdoc.acad.ro/ cursanti/vasile%20ciobanu.pdf

Autobiography Nicoleta STANCA, Associate Professor, has been teaching at Ovidius University, Constanța since 2003. She has published three book-length studies on Irish literature: Mapping Ireland (Essays on Space and Place in Contemporary Irish Poetry), (2014), The Harp and the Pen (Tradition and Novelty in Modern Irish Writing) (2013), Duality of Vision in Seamus Heaney’s Writings (2009), and articles in academic journals, such as ”Mapping New York Irish-American Identities: Duality of Spirituality in Elizabeth Cullinan’s Short Story ’Life after Death’.” in Dialogo. Journal of RCDST (the University of Zilina. Volume 2, Issue 1, November 2015). She has been a co-editor of conference

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volumes, two of the most recent being: The American Tradition of Descent/ Dissent: The Underground, the Countercultural, the (Anti)Utopian. A Collection of Essays (2012) and (Im)Migration Patterns: Displacement and Relocation in Contemporary America (2016). Nicoleta Stanca is a member of the Romanian Association for American Studies, the Romanian Society for English and American Studies and of the IrelandRomania Network. She is also a 2014 U.S. Department of State International Exchange Alumna.

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The Television Programs in the Greek Language of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania (2004-2012)

Dr. Olieta Polo

Dr. Manjola Sulaj

Department of Greek Language, Literature and Greek Civilization “Eqrem Çabej” University of Gjirokaster Gjirokastra, Albania

Department of Foreign Languages “Eqrem Çabej” University of Gjirokaster Gjirokastra, Albania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 1 October 2016 Received in revised form 24 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.7

This article aims to reflect the efforts of the Ethnic Greek Minority that resides mainly in southern Albania, in the villages of Dropoli in Gjirokastra town, to have its own television programs in the Greek language. Further to the editions of the printed media and the radio broadcasts in the Greek language that were dedicated to the Greek Minority, there arouse the need for television programs in the Greek language which would be another dimension in reflecting the worries, the problems, the traditions and the culture of the Greek Minority in Albania. Although the airtime of the programs in the Greek language, their frequency and the period in which they were broadcasted were short term, there remains undisputed their value in terms of the contribution to the social, political, economic and cultural life of the Greek Minority residing in Albania. The study of the Ethnic Greek Minority media in Albania is an unstudied field, so, in this article we aim to fill this gap somehow by providing a modest contribution, which may serve to many future researchers who will conduct studies of such topics.

Keywords: television; programs; Ethnic Greek; Minority;

I. INTRODUCTION

During the communist dictatorship in Albania (1945-1990) Radiotelevizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) (Albanian Radio and Television), a public state media, part of which became even Radio Tirana, which was estabilished in 1938, and the Albanian Television established in 1960, was the only

media institution in Albania. Only after the fall of the communist dictatorship and the establishment of the democratic system in Albania there started the brodcast of the first private TV channels. The first private television founded in 1995, was TV Shijaku (Shijak TV), which started the broadcast in an apartment. The private broadcasters multiplied in the following years. From

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1995 to 1998 in the entire country were dozens of such TV stations. After decades of government control over the only communist state radio and television, to the new Albanian media after 90s opened the freedom horizon. Naturally, the establishment of the independent media was characterized by growing political pressure and from a considerable absence of professionalism by the journalists. The competent services characterized this period as experimental. To some extent, these phenomena were due to the lack of a legal framework. To fill this gap, at the beginning of February 1998 the Albanian Parliament approved two draft laws that met the legal framework for the operation of private radio and television stations in Albania, under which the operation of TV channels should be regulated by the National Radio and Television Council. A. Development

In the new environment of the democratic system in Albania and media liberalization, it resulted essentially the establishment of a television for the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania, which is located mostly in the south of Albania. The TV channel would aim the revival of the traditions and inform the ethnic Greek Minority in Albania in their native language on the events that took place in Albania, and in particular on those that occurred in areas inhabited by the Greek minority, and not only. This TV channel in the Greek language would be the voice of this community and would represent it in Albania. It should not dedicate importance only to the information but also to the field of art, having as a priority the quality of the programs and not their airtime. While for the materialization of the channel should be met the main conditions respecting the law of the radio and television channels operation. The political leadership of Hellenism in Albania was cultivating and advocating the

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launch of a lawful television station on the basis of the minority rights. In this regard, the newspaper “Romiosini,” a press edition of the Greek Minority in Albania, in 1998 published the section titled “A television channel for the Ethnic Greek Minority!”. In this section was conveyed the idea that the present moment was suitable to be done the necessary efforts on the achievement of this target, where the open debate in the pages of the newspaper in question would have undeniable contribution, as there were published considerable thoughts of the people in the fields of entrepreneurship, journalism and art. In the section “A television channel for the Ethnic Greek Minority!” was expressed the desire about the TV channel for the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania to work completely independent from politics, to be “the channel of all and for all” and through its analytical programs to unite all Greeks of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania. Despite the good will, the establishment of a television channel was expensive, so through the newspaper “Romiosini” there were urged about economic support from the entrepreneurs and about spiritual support and encouragement from the intellectuals. In the article “Finally! A radio television channel to us”, which was also published in the newspaper “Romiosini”, there seemed that the target of creating a radio and television for the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania would soon become a reality. There was communicated that in the first quarter of 1999 would begin broadcasting a new radio and TV channel, headquartered in Jorgucat, Dropulli i Siperm and with studios even in Gjirokastra and Saranda, which in the first phase would transmit in the districts of South Albania. Also, in the article was mentioned that “... this radio and television channel would broadcast in both Greek and Albanian languages, and would give particular

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importance to the problems faced by the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania”. But this radio and TV channel was not established at all, even though around the years 2009-2010, Dhimitër Bocollo after receiving the license for opening a radio and television channel named ‘‘Harmonia’’(“Harmony”) started the construction of the headquarters offices, which did never end.

The TV programs in the Greek language in the Local State TV Channel “TVGJ” (2004-20012) B.

The first television program in the Greek language, dedicated to the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania, was broadcasted on October 15th 2004, in the local public state radio and television TVGJ (Gjirokastra Television). It was titled «Ενημέρωση στην ελληνική γλώσσα, ο κόσμος κι εμείς» (“Information in the Greek language, the world and us”) and was directed by the journalist Majlinda Kalludhi. The following programs with the same title, used to treat social, economic, political, and cultural topics related to the Ethnic Greek Minority, but reflected the events related to the overall development in the region of Gjirokastra town where is included the area of Dropoli and is inhabited from the minority. More analytically, the main topics that were discussed in the series of programs entitled “Information in the Greek language, the world and us” were: 1. The literary themes, which focused on the protagonists and the works of the writers in general (Spiro Xhai, Telemak Koça, etc.), but also in their concrete works, in the presentation of new books, in translations of books from the Greek language into Albanian and vice versa, in the Greek critical assessments on the books of

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the minority writers, etc. The topics about education, which were focused on the precautions taken before the start of the new academic year, regarding the conditions of the Ethnic Greek Minority school buildings; on the beginning of the educational process; the problems of education in the schools of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania (such as the the absence of some textbooks); on the completion of the school year in the prior to university education system of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania; on the state exams of high school graduates; on the Department of Language, Literature and Greek Civilization, which is set up in the University of Gjirokastra after the fall of the communist dictatorship, and on the students that frequented the university studies in the Greek language, etc. The topics about the traditions, which were focused on the celebrations of Christmas, the New Year, the Epiphany, the Easter, that are important feasts for the Orthodox believers. In some programs there was also paid attention to the reflection of the tradition of celebrating the carnival in Dropoli. The topics about the polyphony song, which were focused on the polyphony festival in the areas of Dropull i Sipërm (conducted at the initiative of the youth of Llongo village), on the features and the values of the polyphonic singing, its preservation and transmission to the new generations, on the portraits of the polyphony singers from the elderly to the youngest, etc. The memorial topics, which were focused on the activities organized to

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commemorate important historical events. These activities took place on the occasion of the Oxi Day, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day; on the occasion of the Greek revolution against the Turkish invaders, on the occasion of the creation of the OMONIA Οrganization (Democratic Union of the Ethnic Greek Minority - created after the fall of the communist dictatorship), on the occasions of death anniversaries of some of the most senior figures of the Greek community in Albania, etc. The social topics, which were focused on the problems that faced the Greek minority people and their institutions’ efforts to improve the living standards in the villages of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania. C. The TV programs in the Greek

language in the Local Private TV Channel “ALPO” (2008-2012) Besides the state television channel TVGJ, where the programs in the Greek language were broadcasted for a period of about 8 years (2004-2012), another television space was dedicated to the Greek minority in the private television channel “ALPO”, based in the town of Gjirokastra. In this television channel were broadcasted a series of programs in the Greek language dedicated to the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania, for about 4 years (2008-2012). The first TV program in the Greek language, which was launched in the midst October 2008 in the local private TV channel “ALPO” was titled «Ραντεβού με τους Έλληνες» (“Meeting the Greeks”). This program was followed by a series of other programs with the same title, which were transmitted every Friday evening and lasted about an hour and a half (from 19:00 to 20:30). The programs in the Greek language,

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about the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania broadcasted in this television channel, were conducted by Kristaq Xhai and Vasil Çukla. The title of the series of the television programs in the Greek language “Meeting the Greeks” («Ραντεβού με τους Έλληνες»), reflected the target these programs had: that of creating another area where the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania to reveal its problems, to keep alive the traditions and to cultivate the European democratic culture of the coexistence mainly with the Albanian residents of the suburbs of Gjirokastra town. The authors aimed these programs to be qualitative and to have a European profile, “....that is the reason they chose for the title the French word rendez-vous instead of the corresponding word to the Greek language “συνάντηση = meeting.” The programs “Meeting the Greeks” were focused primarily on the Ethnic Greek Minority culture, tradition and customs. These programs did not include political issues at all, and their topics were addressed to the religion, the education, the economic and the social issues, etc. Yet, these programs “...entered unhindered in the homes, as well as in the hearts of the residents of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania”, which is also confirmed by the brief article “Telecast in the Greek language” published in the newspaper «Λαϊκό Βήμα» (“Popular Tribune”) (another press edition of the Greek minority). Amongst others there was stated that: “generally, these programs achieved their target impressing enough audience from Dropoli and Gjirokastra.” The TV programs in the Greek language “Meeting the Greeks” were composed of three main sections, as follows: 6. The first sections was “Informimi” (“Information”), which included the news on the week developments in the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania. 7. The second section was “Tema”

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(“The theme”) or “Intervista” (“The interview”), which were dedicated to characters from various areas, mainly in the field of literature, art and folklore, and included interviews with different personalities. 8. The third sections had the subtitle “Ora e argëtimit” (“Entertainment time”) and broadcasted various types of music aiming the reviving of the traditions and the customs of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania. It concerned traditional music, mostly played with clarinet, that was provided by videotapes and CDs from different activities organized by the Greek minority or where they had participated. The TV programs in the Greek language “Meeting the Greeks” were produced by the collaboration of the two journalists also the presenters, jointly and with mutual respect. Kristaq Xhai took care mainly about the news and the basic topics, whereas Vasil Çukla took care about all the remaining sections. During 2011-2012 the program in the Greek language “Meeting the Greeks” was broadcasted only under the care of Kristaq Xhai, but was entitled «60’ λεπτά με τους Έλληνες» (“60 minutes with the Greeks”). The new name of the television program in the Greek language was mainly to show “just a formal change in the airtime after the departure of Vasil Çukla for other professional obligations.” conclusions Apart from the printed publications and radio programs in the Greek language about the Greek Minority in Albania, the TV programs in the Greek language were another dimension that reflected the concerns and the issues, and presented the tradition and the culture of the Greek minority in Albania.

In contrast to the TV program in the Greek language “Information in the Greek language, the world and us”, which was aired on a state television channel as an obligation of the Albanian state towards the Greek minority, the television program in the Greek language “Meeting the Greeks” was broadcasted voluntary on a private channel, with the initiative of Kristaq Xhai and Vasil Çukla, who contributed patriotically and without any monetary profit. Although the airtime of the programs in the Greek language, their frequency and the period in which they were broadcasted were short term, there remains undisputed their value in terms of the contribution to the social, political, economic and cultural life of the Greek Minority residing in Albania.

References “Media and Information Society in Albania”, ISHM, Tirana. [2] Newspaper “Romiosini”, Wednesday 25 February 1998, Year 1st, No 16. [3] Newspaper “Romiosini”, Wednesday 13 January 1999, Year 2nd, No 60. [4] Kondos, L., Saturday 19 April 2003, “An endless reportage…”, newspaper “Romiosini”. [5] Kondos, L., Saturday 21 January 2006, “Two words for our Media.”, newspaper “Romiosini”. [6] Cuklas, V., 2009, “Gag to the “unpredictables”!”, from the electoral form of Greek Left in Albania titled “Change now”. [7] European Union, 2003, “Local media, landscape and guide”, Albanian Media Institute, Tirana. [8] Albanian Radio Television http://sq.wikipedia. org/wiki/Radio_Televizioni_Shqiptar [9] Law nr. 9918 “Electronic Communications”, 19.05.2008. [10] Law nr. 10019, “Electoral Code”, 29.12.2008. [11] Newspaper “Popular Tribune”, 1-15 November 2008, “Television show in Greek language”. [1]

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Rediscovering Musical Bessarabia, in the Lexicon of Musicologist Mariana Popescu Ruxandra Mirea, PhD

Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Arts Constanta, Romania ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 03 September 2016 Received in revised form 23 October Accepted 25 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.8

Mariana Popescu, through her portraits of musicians, explored a cultural dimension, meaning, Bessarabia, a Romanian land. What resulted was a profound research work in what concerns Romania’s distinctive artistic values. In the 19th century, when Bessarabia was ceded to Imperial Russia (1812), the Romanian identity suffered a devastated social, cultural, religious and spiritual transformation. The Union with Romania in 1918 initiated the reconstruction and consolidation of a fragile culture. The musical education during the Greater Romania and in the 21st century reestablished the trust in Bessarabia’s consciousness and the cultural values. Each portrait includes details regarding music education, mentions of shows, concerts, recitals, significant photos and artistic evidence that marked the modern and contemporary history of Bessarabia and the rest of the countries that hosted or enjoy the presence of the already mentioned musicians.

Keywords: Bessarabia; Mariana Popescu; lexicon; Romania; culture; musicians; universities; Composers; Conductors; Opera soloists; Instrumentalists; music;

I. INTRODUCTION

One may become a teacher, but one will always be a child. Man’s purpose is to learn his whole life. In order for his gifts and knowledge to be shared with the others, man must, sometimes at an honorable age, become pupil again, must study in the marvelous field of knowledge and research the truth. This is the case of the distinguished musician Mariana Popescu, who has pleasantly surprised us, again, with a new remarkable publication, Bessarabian musician who distinguished themselves in Romania. Viorel Cosma, a performer

in lexicography, is madam’s Popescu’s professional model, as the author confesses in the Preface of the book which is to be reviewed. “In this project work, I have received counseling from Viorel Cosma, the distinguished musicologist, whose pupil I am and to whom I would like to thank for stimulating my research activity. Under his guidance, I have studied the Lexicons (vol. I-X), the lexicon Interpreters of Romania and Romanian Musical Encyclopedia, all written by him.”[1] The valuable book was published in November, 2014, by Musical Publishing

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House of Romanian Composers’ Union, having a proper graphic presentation. The project work is a lexicon containing dates, events, shows. The 347 pages contain comprehensive information regarding the chosen theme. Mariana Popescu, through her portraits of musicians, explored a cultural dimension, meaning, Bessarabia, a Romanian land. What resulted was a profound research work in what concerns Romania’s distinctive artistic values. II. Historical references

Bessarabian people owe their dignity and stability to Romanian rulers: to Steven the Great who enabled the construction of the fortified towns and monasteries across the Prut River, and to Vasile Lupu, whose long rule “represented one of the happiest periods in the history of Bessarabia.”[2] In the next centuries, the territory became more and more thriving, due to the continual resistance against the ottomans, owing to the rich landowners, or to the peasants working hard on the fertile land. “ During the 18th century, before the development of the national consciousness, a couple of landowners believed they could change the outrageous conditions of the Turkish rule, doubled by the phanariotic excessive fiscal policies, with an autonomy rule under the reign of Catherine II.”[3] In the 19th century, when Bessarabia was ceded to Imperial Russia (1812), the Romanian identity suffered a devastated social, cultural, religious and spiritual transformation. “Passed through fire and sword,/ Betrayed, always stolen,/ Bessarabia, for you I long,/ My nation’s own home.” (Dumitru Matcovski). The political pressure mobilized and aroused an elitist cultural movement, shared by the entire nation, then and today. One must remember that Vasile Alecsandri, sensing what was going to happen from the 20th century until today,

advised us: “defend the most precious treasure you have inherited from the ancestors, the language, our nationality’s sacred symbol.” The Romanian language, the key to the Romanian spirit, had been continually oppressed by the harsh Russian domination. In 1841, the Bessarabian nobility proceeded to ensure the pupil’s education in their maternal language. Thus, they have required the employment of Romanian language teachers within each native school or their bringing from Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Walachia.”[4] But the intense Russian campaign restrained the freedom of expression in Romanian. Due to this situation, the Romanians from the Romanian United Principalities realized that “Bessarabia is crucified,/And nails are being prepared for her,/ Spring demands new sacrifice,/ And Romanian nation again drops a tear.” (Adrian Păunescu, Bessarabia on cross). In the 19th century, the intellectual class tried to introduce the idea of patriotism and to prevent any type of Slavic culture mingling in the Bessarabian schooling system. The musical of the 19th century, when the cultural elements of next years started to take shape, gradually evaluated through a discrete but wide opening to the occidental culture. The lãutãreascã music was replaced by professional music through the concerts given by foreign instrumental musicians, such as Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Pablo de Sarasate, through choir performances conducted by Gavril Musicescu, or through Italian opera performances. “In 1880, at Chişinãu, was established the Amateur Musicians Society, «Armonia», which, in 1899, was converted into a branch of the Russian musical society.”[5] The private school and the Music School from Chişinãu, established in 1900, were the required institutions of education in what concerns the art of sounds. “The future composers Ştefan Neaga, Eugeniu Coca, S. Zlatov, P. Şerban would study in these educational

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establishments.[6] The Union with Romania in 1918 initiated the reconstruction and consolidation of a fragile culture. The musical education during the Greater Romania and in the 21st century reestablished the trust in Bessarabia’s consciousness and the cultural values. III. Musicology -Musicologist -Methods

Music is the science that comprises the practical, theoretical, diachronic and synthetic, ethical and aesthetic musical traits. It involves the thorough knowledge of past and present national and universal musical culture through the usage of specific methods, such as historic, synthetic, comparative, descriptive and structuralist investigation. The disciplines included in this comprehensive science are: historiography, music analysis aesthetics, ethnomusicology, Byzantinology, critic musicology, military music. The enthusiasm and the conquests of the 20th century generated other interdisciplinary domains, such as music cybernetics, semiotics or music sociology. The musicologist is the artistic personality who is extremely competent in interpreting and reinterpreting music (being an instrumentalist), due to his important role of historian which can develop into the one of encyclopedist, ethnographer, philosopher, and aesthetician. An authentic musicologist distinguishes between knowledge and interpretation. Knowledge may arrive from external achievements’ feelings and perceptions, such as conversations and musical auditions. Interpretation is the superior stage that involves the combination of several factors, familiar data and the experience of some personalities in connection to their culture. Work methods used in this extensive works are acknowledged by the science that is in charge of the musical texts analysis: examination, documentation and

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comparison. All the historical changes previously mentioned are to be found in the life period before or after the years of study of every artist from Mariana Popescu’s lexicon. This project work had taken the author seven years of hard work and research. She had gathered documentary evidence for each musician, using all types of communication: direct discussion, telephone calls, internet, and post. The amount of information had been gathered with each of the participation of the 153 personalities, reshaping a puzzled map of the musical Bessarabia. It included hall programs, flyers, books, studies, photos. She had been careful to cover everything through her studies, research and work for music and its servants. Mariana Popescu has emphasized, through her laborious research, all the abilities of a musicologist and of a communicative person. Due to aesthetic reasons, the next step included the pleasant and necessary music audition. Over the years, it had an important role in shaping opinions and convictions regarding the value of the artist, without knowing the soloist, the conductor, the composer or the musicologist. After that, what followed was the data documentation, archivation, selection, all in a scientific manner. The inclusion of all the gathered names was a laborious work due to distance in time, regarding the artists of the past centuries, age adaptation, and the impossibility for some of them to be traced. The musicologist has proved this time an important collaboration skill, which is the secret of success in art, and not only. One should notice the vivacity of musical presentations, formulated in a personal, accessible, instructed and harmonious style, without emotional intrusions, in which comments and opinions are being launched only by the quoted passages. Each portrait includes details regarding music education, mentions of shows, concerts, recitals,

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significant photos and artistic evidence that marked the modern and contemporary history of Bessarabia and the rest of the countries that hosted or enjoy the presence of the already mentioned musicians. What is, also, important, is the bibliography at the end of each musician portrait, which is the evidence of scientific rigor and of the arguments of the revealed data. IV. Lexicon- research and analysis

The work is structured in eight chapters, having as many varieties of the expanded music domain: I Conductors-Composers, II. Composers, III. Conductors, IV. Opera soloists, V. Instrumentalists, VI. Pop and jazz artists, VII. Traditional Music artists, VIII. Musicologists. The work thesis, the Foreword, is the only place where the author allows herself to write most noble and appreciative comments regarding the Bessarabian musicians. It is here where she reveals the point of departure towards Bessarabian places that are related to her position of choir conductor. The Bessarabian maestros that she had met and whose teachings had carefully listened to have guided her education, career, and her work of musicologist. It is to them that she brings this homage. The first chapter reveals the relation Conductors-Composers. It is a plea regarding the Bessarabian maestros who, having received education at the most prestigious schools or universities, developed the skill of composer. The 30 personalities were carefully subjected to the analysis of a musicologist in what concerns the music education and the professional portfolio. Gavriil Musicescu, Mihail Berezovski, Constantin Bobescu, Ştefan Neaga, Victor Iuşceanu, Sergiu Sarchizov, Anatol Goreaev, Boris Cobasnian, Constantin Romaşcanu, Ioan Pavalache, Emil Simon, are some of the listed musicians

who, through their excellent performances as conductors, managed to instill some of the most elevating emotional feelings in the concert halls. In the second chapter, entitled Composers, Mariana Popescu combines the science and experience of ten composers who perfectly mirror the Bessarabian spirit. The predilection towards the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries reveals the author’s skill of historian through the analysis of her predecessors’ creation: Ion Pralea, Ghelasie Basarabeanu, Varlaam Protosinghelul. The analysis does not include only the works of these sacred music creators, but also an evaluation of those cultural roots that strengthen a nation. In the third chapter, Conductors, the musicologist and, at the same time, conductor Mariana Popescu makes an analysis of the musical skills and authority of the twentyfive maestros. Each one of them has been a top performer, following the Universities they had attended: In Chisinau, Bucharest, Cluj, Vienna, Varsovia. Performance formulas, drawn up programs, complex genres, from choral to symphonic, vocalsymphonic and lyric, all of these mentioned by the author, prove the value of these conductors with a national and international career. Diverse repertoires ingrained in the artistic reality, author’s or other musicians’ remarks, the thoughts of some of the work colleges, successful concerts recalling, favorable reviews, all of these thoroughly complete the musicological analysis. Ion Vanica, Teodor Costin, Aurelian Octav Popa, Modest Cichirdan, Dumitru Goia, Nicolae Gâscă, Nicolae Racu, Inga Postolache, Mihai Gafi, are some of those people that bring honor to their nation, proving, at the same time, their virtuosity through their wand. The fourth chapter, entitled Opera Soloist, comprises the biggest number of artists subjected to analysis, thirty-six. This chapter was written with the purpose of

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revealing the artistic maturity of Bessarabia’s school of singing, through the famous, yet departed opera soloists (25 lyrical artists, among whom one must mention Grigore Melnic, Elena Basarab Berezovski, Maria Cebotari, Mihail Arnăutu, Zenaida Pally, Elena Cernei etc), through those who have already had an artistically fulfilled life (Anatol Covali), through those on top of their career (Stela Sârbu), or through those with a famous worldwide career (Tatiana Lisnic, Valentina Naforni etc.) The fifth chapter, Instrumentalists comprises a list of worldwide famous names due to their virtuosity, the musical instruments and musical genres interpreted by them. The public appearances of these famous artists received favorable review from the critics, aspects revealed by the author through the hall programs she had studied, the chronicles mentioned and the playbills posted. Nina Nagacevski, Serafim Antropov-Manu, Mihai Constantinescu, Mircea Cazacu are the instrumentalists to whom we owe Bessarabia’s integration into the world cultural heritage. In the sixth chapter, Pop and Jazz artists, the author brings together eleven artists, valuable through their recitals, concerts and show music genre variety and it is to them that we owe the widespread access to culture: Colea Răutu, Sergiu Malagamba, Dan Mândrilă, Anastasia Lazariuc, Ion şi Doina Aldea Teodorovici, etc. The seventh chapter, Traditional music artists, includes the creation of four of them: Alexandru Lemi, Teodor Costin, Angela Moldovan, Nicolae Botgros, their achievements, education, show programs, awards and collaborations. In the last chapter, Musicologists, the author reveals the workplace of the seven theorists (Mihai Popescu, Dumitru Avakian, Oleg Gazan, etc.). The biography of these personalities contain their publicist activities, conferences, congresses, symposia, radio

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and television shows; it, sometimes, carries the attitude of the teacher who, behind the desk, stimulates education, art and genuine musical creativity. Conclusions Mariana Popescu’s lexicon is extremely useful, not only for music artists belonging to each of the categories included in this book, but also for students and MA students, whose speeches before the university committee must be based only on solid arguments, as in the description of the Bessarabian musicians. This lexicon makes us meditate on the author’s effort of depicting each one of these musicians’ portraits. We thank her even more for enabling the work of many other musicologists, being an example and a starting point for other projects. Mariana Popescu’s editorial gesture is to be hold in esteem, as it reveals passion for music, appreciation in what concerns the talent and involvement of our Bessarabian brothers, and ethics in the elaboration of her thirteenth work. References [1]

[2]

[3] [4]

[5] [6]

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Mariana Popescu (2014). Bessarabian musicians who distinguished themselves in Romania. Bucharest: Musical Publishing House. http://basarabia-bucovina.info/wp-content/ uploads/2012/03/Nicolae-Iorga-AdevarulAsupraTrecutului-Si-Prezentului-BasarabieiBasarabia-Bucovina.Info_.pdf. pp. 32-33. Ibid., p. 49. http://www.ziaristionline.ro/wp-content/ uploads/2012/04/Istoria-Basarabiei-de-ProfUniv-Dr-Stefan-Purici.pdf. p. 42. Ibid., p. 96. Ibid., p. 96.

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Bibliography [1] Muşat, Mircea. Ardeleanu, Ion. (1983) From the Geto-Dacian State to the Romanian Unitary State (De la statul geto-dac la statul român unitar) Bucharest: Scientifical and Encyclopedic Publishing House. [2] Mariana Popescu (2014). Bessarabian musicians who distinguished themselves in Romania. (Muzicieni români afirmați în Basarabia) Bucharest: Musical Publishing House. Web sources [1] Iorga, Nicolae (1922). The Truth About the Past and the Present of Bessarabia (Adevărul despre trecutul şi prezentul Basarabiei). 1914-1940. Romanian Cultural Institute Publishing House. http://basarabia-bucovina.info/wpcontent/uploads/2012/03/Nicolae-IorgaAdevarulA s u p r a Tr e c u t u l u i - S i - P r e z e n t u l u i Basarabiei-Basarabia-Bucovina.Info_.pdf [2] Puruci, Ştefan. (2012) History of Bessarabia (Istoria Basarabiei) [3] http://www.ziaristionline.ro/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/Istoria-Basarabieide-Prof-Univ-Dr-Stefan-Purici.pdf [4] http://www.crestinortodox.ro/ credinta-pentru-copii/educatia-copiilor/ despre-iubirea-patrie-neam-79145.html [5] http://forbasarabia.blogspot.ro/p/ basarabia-in-versuri.html

Bucharest. She has a PHD in Music, from George Enescu Academy of Arts, Iasi, Musicology specialisation (2008). She has taught piano, in Quen Marry National College of Arts, Constanta (1988-1999). From 1999 she has become lecturer at Faculty of Arts, part of Ovidius University, where she has taught Theory of Music-solfeggio, dictate and History of Universal Music. Between 2004-2010 being a lecturer at Faculty of Orthodox Theology-specialisation Sacred Arts- she taught Theory of Music-solfeggio, dictate and Piano. Now, she is a lecturer at Faculty of Arts, where she teaches History of Music, Musical Esthetics, Theory of Musicsolfeggio, dictate.

Biography Ruxandra Mirea has graduated from George Enescu Highschool of Music, from Bucharest, piano specialisation, and afterwards Faculty of Music, specialisation and Music Composition, Musicology, Vocal and Instrumental Music, from Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory of Music,

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 3 : 1 (2016) 88 - 103

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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Church, Society, and Conflict Pr. Assistant Professor Popescu Nicolae, PhD Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Theology Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 03 September 2016 Received in revised form 23 October Accepted 25 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.9

In a recent suggestive description of our society we are warned of the impact of the relation between Religion (in our case between the Church) and Society upon humanity: „The changes in the last quarter of a century that comes at the end of the millennium are, to an un-researched extent, great religious insurrections. The state of the world depends on more and more heavily upon man’s religious condition. The millennium started on a secular note, progressively emphasized to the atheist globalization, which combines hedonism and the „gospel of the market” with Marxist communism, to close down on n incredibly pure religious note, that is, in the exactly opposed note. Thus, the „pagan” millennium draws to an end, exhausting the illusion of the great European para-religions and pseudo-religions, from the rationalist one to the individualist one or the Marxist atheist one” . The rebirth of the interest for Religion and for the increasingly powerful global assertion of the a Religious Movements reveals the fact that – without the need to cultivate false prophecies on conflicts between religions or civilizations – the religious dimension will evidently play (because of fundamentalist ideologies), an increasingly important role in conflict situations and it might even be a source of conflict with consequences upon the process of globalization.

Keywords: Church; Society; Conflict; Religious conflict; Ideology; War; Crisis; Violence; Peace;

I. „THE STATE OF THE WORLD

DEPEND HEAVILY ON MAN’S RELIGIOUS CONDITION” Christian witnesses are the best peacemakers (Matthew 5, 9). Unlike them, the anti-Christian „preachers” are the most efficient creators of conflicts, strife, and hatred. Maybe that is why, in a recent suggestive description of our society, we are warned

of the impact of the relation between Religion (in our case between the Church) and Society upon humanity: „The changes of the last quarter of a century that comes at the end of the millennium are, to an un-researched extent, great religious insurrections. The state of the world depends more and more heavily upon man’s religious condition. The millennium started on a secular note, progressively emphasized to the atheist globalization, which combines

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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hedonism and the „gospel of the market” with Marxist communism, to close down on n incredibly pure religious note, that is, in the exactly opposed note. Thus, the „pagan” millennium draws to an end, exhausting the illusion of the great European para-religions and pseudo-religions, from the rationalist one to the individualist one or to the Marxist atheist one” [1]. For the much powerful and global assertion of the Religious Movements and without the need to cultivate false prophecies on conflicts between religions or civilizations we can say one thing true. The rebirth of the interest for Religion reveals the fact that the religious dimension will evidently play, an increasingly important role in conflict situations and it might even be a source of conflict with consequences upon the process of globalization. Moreover, we think that this will happen because of fundamentalist ideologies. Fundamentalisms are religious ideologies in themselves, and their destiny must be their disappearance, just as for any ideology [2]. What is of concern is the fact that religions have always shown a lack of interest in defending themselves against the ideologies infusion, and because of them the conflict becomes more implacable through its systematic and nonnegotiable dimension [3]. Therefore, the weight of ideology in the social climate proves to be crucial, as long as conflicts have as their objective, various Messianism and representations of the world, as it is defined in the Holy Scripture (Matthew 23, 7; 24, 14; Mark 8, 36; John 1, 10; 3, 16; 7, 7; 8, 23-24; 15, 19; etc.). The contemporary global importance of Christianity when certain religions are involved in acts of terrorism, makes the hypothesis of a conflict between the Church and Society to no longer be considered a mere intellectual speculation, but to be perceived as a real serious problem that has

to be solved with responsibility and good judgment. Usually, the conflict appears between two parties when a party feels that the other party has affected or is about to negatively affect something that has a certain value to the former party [4]. According to the relation between the objective state of the world and the subjective perceptions of the parties involved, we can distinguish some things. A conflict is real when the conflict exists and people perceive it as such. Moreover, it is a latent conflict when it exists, but it is not perceived. Also, it is a false conflict when it does not exist, but it is perceived. Moreover, finally it is a nonexistent conflict when it neither exists nor is perceived. Obviously, there are no persons called State, Church, or Religion, to have the will and other human characteristics, to be capable of generating conflict, but, there is media activity to create a negative perception, by always presenting Church in a conflict binomial: Church-Society, Church-State, Religion-Science, etc. In this way, Church is related to Conflict and opposed to Society, which forces the interlocutory to associate Conflict to Church, and along responsibility, conflict is placed somewhere at a general level, between Religion and Science, or more exactly between theologians and scholars [5]. Quite often, the „critics” of religion have neither the qualification, nor the legitimacy to speak passionately, because a conflict is created through the passionate attitude of at least one party, that is ignorant, exclusivist or authoritarian attitude of the nonreligious people, regardless of what entity they belong to – Church or Society. [6] Unable to destroy the Church (Mt. 16, 18), unable to deny men’s right to censor the administration of the State, governing authorities still secure their authority position by acting towards eliminating

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the Church from public life and towards dissolving its social authority that competes with the political factor. As Orthodox, we will try to delineate the biblical teaching of the relation between Church and Society, from the perspective of Conflict. Respectively, if Church is responsible for the conflicts within Society, we must identify the factors that generate it and the method to control and solve it. This too at least eliminate the discomfort and the waste of resources and energies used in the conflict, most probably, through dialogue, mutually knowing one another and conjugated action for the benefit of humanity. II. „AND I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN, AND BETWEEN YOUR OFFSPRING AND HERS.” (Genesis 3, 15)

Alongside conflict people also research upon peace, but only according to their sinful and destructive nature. Thus, according to Christian teachings, God created man and gave him freedom, eternity, happiness and love. However, when man chose to disobey, sin changed man’s nature to violence and destruction (Genesis 3, 8, 9; Psalms 37, 11, 29). The conflict became his second nature, and so natural in a world that „specialists” consider it is defining for man, even though the entire written history of humanity rather shows a constant rejection of conflict and the need for peace. [7] The Holy Scripture urges us: „be alert and of sober mind! For your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5, 8), and asks us to be good soldiers of faith and: „put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6, 11). Conflicts have a bad reputation that hints

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to violence: „conflict = misunderstanding, the clash of interests, disagreement, antagonism; fight, dispute, (violent) discussion” [8]. Violence is associated with the aggression and the destruction, but, the Crisis and Conflict are concepts with difficult meanings. The Crisis being or the cause, or the effect of the Conflict, while the improper functioning of society leads either to a Crisis (which in the end escalates into a Conflict), or to a Conflict (which in the end there prolongs into a Crisis). The most common definition of Conflict comes from the history of military art, being in fact the definition of war, seen as: an „armed conflict (quite long) between two or more groups, social categories or states, in order to obtain certain economic and political interests” [9] or „a simultaneous conflict of armed forces, of popular feelings, of juridical dogma and of national cultures” [10]. According to Pruitt and Rubin, Conflict is the perception of a discrepancy of interests or the belief that current aspirations of the parties cannot be simultaneously attained. [11] In the same line, Hocker and Wilmot claim that a conflict refers to the interaction between some people, (interdependent groups) who perceive incompatible goals and mutual interference in attaining these aim. [12] That is why we can briefly consider Conflict as: a fight between hostile parties, a violent confrontation between different groups that have the same objective or very different and incompatible interests. [13] On the other hand, Crisis (a concept very close to Conflict) sociologically represents the manifestation of temporary or chronic difficulties in the organization of a system, expressing its incapacity to work in its existing form. The essential element of any definition

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of the phenomenon of crisis is the obligation to decide. Without the necessity of making a decision and without prior judgment, there is no crisis, but, getting out of crisis comes after making some decisions, either by structurally changing the system, or by making significant adaptive modifications to its structure [14]. Most frequently, religion appears within a conflict as a mark of ethnicity [15]. That is why for us the visible Religious Conflict in ethnic context is necesary, where the Ethnic group is: a „group of individuals who share the same origin and a common cultural tradition”. [16] In this regard, the problems related to language, religion and cultural tradition have an important place within the concept of State and may need to be defended or protected in case of cultural „imports”, so seductive so many times. Therefore, we understand why integrating minority (ethnic or religious) groups can create problems of national or international security, their behavior possibly deviating towards terrorist, separatist, revolutionary acts, etc. [17] We are interested in the ethnic dimensions of communities only from the perspective of their conflict capacity. That is visible in the attitude of the members of a community when relating to the foreign cultural forms and to the social facts they know. On these they assess them according to their own norms and, they estimate that in fact their culture is superior or it is preferable to any other one, on which they despise them and condemns them. This attitude is called „ethnocentrism,” a word introduced by W. Sumner in his work „Folkways” [18]. In most cases, this kind of attitude is an attitude that generates tension that can intensify, developing into a Conflict, and shows a lack of adaptation to the social order of a group/community to the evolution of society. [19] The ethno-religious dimension does not

explain all the conflicts today, but, the fact that a conflict implies an ethno-religious minority changes the dynamics of the conflict. [20] III. „DO NOT SUPPOSE THAT I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH. I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE, BUT A SWORD” (Matthew 10, 34)

In the relation between Church and Society there are numerous circumstances that are prone to cause conflicts. However, the reasons of the conflict are usually and directly related to the interests of the parties involved with respect to resources, power, identity. And its can have two forms: reasons directly related to the benefit of the parties and reasons that involve values. In this way, we speak about conflict of interest when the parties involved are aware of the significant value of certain functions, roles or resources, but there appear misunderstandings about who must have and control them. Moreover, then we speak about value conflict when the perceptions of the parties involved differ profoundly. When the reasons of the conflict are declared, we can identify more easily what the involved parties wish; - this means we can know their objectives. [21] Therefore, a disruptive / instigating Factor can fuse and maintain a Conflict, if an irresponsible human will interfere in the right context. We shall call all these: the basis of conflicts and we call it „basis” and not „cause” because these factors describe the most general context in which a conflict emerges, that is the number of factors the violence disease is based upon. Some critics of the Church might consider that rebellion and conflict have a biblical basis in Matthew’s Gospel, where the Messiah says: „Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set

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a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10, 34-39). In reality, the Messiah does not instigate to violence in these words. He does not legalize conflicts, and does not incite society to strife, but He describes for all people, (not only for Christians) the result of their holiness. When they freely choose to believe in Christ, rather than to live in sin ie to obey to passions and to evil spirits. Practically, the Messiah describes the intransigent aspect of the Christian identity; that refers to holiness and according to which a man, once member of the Christian community, willingly parts with any relation that lacks the Christian values, since the responsibility of these separations and concentrations belongs to Christians and non-Christians as well. Faith is not an attribute of religion but of all people’s, just as wisdom is not an attribute of science but of all people’s, and both are similar since they invoke faith to somebody’s authority. Thus: „How many of us have checked themselves, so many of the fundamental axioms that science offers us to believe? Without this headway of faith on science and this credit given to its supposed authority, science would not even be possible. How many of us have measured the Earth’s radius, or the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and yet we believe in their approximate dimensions that are given by others, either presuming that, if it comes to it, we can check them ourselves, but also mostly because we believe in the authority of those we have them from.” [22] Conflict and Propensity to conflict are born out of love for the carnal, the ephemeral and the sinful, described in the Holy Scripture as „friendship with the world”: „Know you not, that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of

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God. Do you think that the Scripture says in vain? The spirit that dwells in us, lusts to envy? But he gives more grace”. (James 4, 5-6). More precisely, on the contrary, Love and Aspiration for peace are born out of love for the spiritual, the eternal and the holy. Though avoiding referring to sin, lay „specialists” consider that a conflict can even have positive, constructive functions, so that in particular, it can consolidate group cohesion and can underline the position of the leader [23]. By this, they give conflict the meaning of a mere competition, and speak about preventing conflicts, in a manner which takes into consideration violence free conflicts, both in the context of preventing the outburst of violence, but also in its subsequent escalation or come-back [24]. Saint James the Apostle tells us that the main cause of conflicts is in moral. This imposes that in moral we must seek the solutions and the measures that can eliminate the destructions and to bring benefits to relation between holiness and sin, faith, science and religion, between the church, society, man and world. „From where come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence: even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4, 1-4). Difference and similarity are not sources of conflict, in faith, neither are faith nor teaching. Not even the difference in teaching, alone, generates a conflict, (though it is most often invoked), especially since there is no absolute difference, but a mixture of similarities and differences, that, even more do not justify a conflict, when similarities are more numerous than differences. And far from the teaching of the Messiah: „Do not judge, that you not be judged.” (Matthew 7, 1) we find out that many people perceive Christianity as an judicial authority. An authority meant to judge the world today , and not be judged by the world. This can be seen as a threat by

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the character and by the actions of certain people, to such an extent that it becomes a source of conflict for the ones who are frustrated and feel threatened, since „the threat of violence is, in itself, a form of violence.” [25] These people claim that they believed the words of the Messiah and feared responsibility of their own actions, but they choose a pseudo-solution: to kill the messenger and the witness of the messenger instead of changing their behavior. Einstein reckoned that the main cause of the conflicts between science and religion is the faith in a personal God [26], who watches man’s actions with justice and love. Therefore, we consider that a conflict between these entities: Science, State, Society, and Religion (Church), occurs solely as a consequence of attitudes that are first of all atheist, then frustrated, ignorant, exclusivist and passionate, which means that we reach the moral dimension of conflicts, which is usually neglected. Thus, when one speaks about Conflict, he refers to the actual process in which violent acts are committed, without bringing into question the moral source of the conflict, while the implication of the conflicted character and behavior seems to be ignored. Although such research would be not only natural but also justified, given the fact that a conflict occurs in an emotional and tense atmosphere. Yet, some military specialists make competent assertions that prove that the problem is well known [27]. The moral dimension of conflict solving by appealing to common sense is pointed out by Norbert Elias who defines this process as one to „raising the threshold of the painful”, or as a process in which using violence in conflicts becomes painful. He considers that only when it will be painful to use force will we look for means and ways to avoid being so [28]. What does Saint James the Apostle say

in response to this? That the basis of any conflict (exterior or interior; bodily or/and spiritual), is the restless fight [29] of man’s passions, (and not the teachings). There is a fight that goes all the way to radical attitudes, visible in extremist statements and actions, in all conflicts, but especially in those from Church and Society. Then the conflicts come in the account of religion, but not because of religion, what is most of the time just the pretext, and not the cause of wars. It meaning that religion does not create conflicts but only conceals them and „disguises” them, in order for them not to be too much different from the traditional ones. [30] Basically, the conflict between Church and Society (when it does exist) is only between the ways of thinking and living of certain representatives of the society, and between the ways of practicing a theology of particular representatives of the Church. Other religions do not go like this. For example, Islam invokes the Jihad as a spiritual killing of the sin, which is sufficient basis for some Islamists to interpret the Jihad as actual killing of the sinners. That is why today an arbitrary interpretation of the holy texts can be a source of conflict for a sick mind. Only a false and perverted religion could invoke God’s name and cause aggressive and discriminatory military interventions towards nations of other origins, religions, and cultures. [31] As an expression of discrimination, the lack of respect for other faiths is in itself a primary source of conflict. It is not by accident that God calls for loving foreigners and neighbors, orphans, and widows (Zechariah chapters 7, 9,10,13), because where there is discrimination there is conflict as well, and religion has always been considered a factor of discrimination and many people still suffer because of religious discrimination. Currently, there are religions in the world that do not allow individuals to change their

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faith, and the means of constraint them take aberrant forms, including death [32]. It is known that the sources for potential religious conflicts appear in zones where different cultures and large civilization units meet [33]. Subsequently, killing those considered to be „sinful” by certain religious interpretations is invoked and committed by more and more violent people and the reason for this is unacceptable. Contemporary theoreticians of peace and war are on different and sometimes hostile sides [34], and when they try to define peace they inevitably come to use terms such as violence, crisis, conflict, and say that Peace is „the opposite of war”, or more exactly, the permanent absence of organized military acts of violence. It is considered that Peace reigns only where conflicts are solved, of course, not without any form of violence, but without using military organized force, [35] which does not meet the „objective of a nonviolent global society or, in theological terms, the end of the human suffering” [36]. The Science-Religion relation does not reflect or characterize the ChurchSociety relation, because the ScienceReligion relation (even as a Science-Church relation) refers to the relation between the intellectual and supernatural aspect of knowledge [37], while the ChurchSociety relation comprises a more complex relations, first of all, of authority and hierarchy between State and Church, shaped according to the biblical principle: „So give back the Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22, 21). This relation does not finish the relation between Church and Society, but adds to other aspects of this relation expressed through: the philanthropic dimension, the pedagogical dimension, the soteriological dimension, the latreutic dimension, the charismatic dimension, etc.

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Also, the Science-Church relation comprises the symbiosis between natural and supernatural, that is the relationship between Church and Society (as a synonym for World). [38] A definition says that peace is that period of time when there is neither war, nor the propensity of people to star a war [39]. According to this view peace is defined in relation to conflict, and only as the opposite of war, respectively as an inhibition of conflicts (through maximum control), imagining between war and peace a „continuum” with numerous „aggregation states” (low intensity conflicts, crisis, armed conflicts), each bearing its own degree of violence, that can exist in international politics. Peace is conceived only as an exception imposed upon the natural state of conflict; that is a nonviolent solution to conflicts. The only question the researchers ask is: whether conflicts can or cannot be solved through violence, and if so, how exactly. [40] IV. „THEY MUST SEEK PEACE AND

PURSUE IT” (1 Peter 3, 11b)

This teaching seems to be showing that it is enough to want it and we can get rid of conflicts and have Peace. Nothing could be further from the truth. Peace must be desired for and can be accomplished through sacrifices and not through fighting, but only partially, locally and individually by people. True Peace will be set in only by God Who will transform all Creation after establishing „a new Heaven and a new Earth” (Apocalypse 21, 1). Theoretically, to solve the issue of the conflicts of the world, we should eliminate their basis, which implies common global action that obviously will not be accomplished because of the conditions it comes along with. Nowadays, most of the actions that are

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said to be taken against conflicts should prevent their outburst and reiteration. Then ceasing all forms of violence should eliminate discrimination and injustice, should reinforce and support people’s moral education through consistent social measures and to institute a political climate that should be moral, honest, competitive and transparent. In reality though, these actions are only temporary solutions to violence during social conflicts that are more and more extensive these days, and they do not have Peace and social harmony as their objective. The genuine prevention of a conflict can be done in two of the stages of the its normal cycle, respectively: before it reaches violent forms, or after the ceasing of violence, to prevent them from breaking out again, and in both stages knowing and accepting the identity of the other party is of interest in the dynamics of a conflict. [41] Therefore, identity can be a factor of conflict, and it is necessary to draw a distinction between „solving conflicts” which comprises „a more refrained sphere that only describes the approach to get to the formula that defuses a conflict”, on the one side and „conflict management” which has a wider meaning and refers to the „appropriate management of disagreements, misunderstandings and conflicts, in such a way as to make most of their positive potential” [42]. Usually, prevention but also conflict management measures are inefficient because (political) decision makers find themselves in the situation of responding to a crisis and a conflict, not to preventing them. While institutions limit their actions just to the freezing the conflict and do not intend actually to prevent it, by identifying and by straightening the injustice on which they are based, or which can regenerate the dispute. However, for this, valid information on the development of the events and the

intentions of the participants in the event is needed. From this social perspective conflict (inter-individual) is considered the „process which includes perceptions, emotions, behaviors and effects of two parties (...). Conflict is the process that begins when a party perceives the frustration of the other party, which worries it” [43]. Thus, not only the opposite intentions and interests can generate a conflict, but also the psychological activities - the perceptions, feelings and conduct. This imposes a true diplomacy of conflict solving[44], and shift the issue of conflicts from the moral dimension into the intellectual and didactic dimension. In this way it make a true balancing of the dialogue in all its forms within the conflict: mediation, negotiation, arbitration. What solutions do Saint James the Apostle and conflict Christianity come up with? First of all, changing the passionate attitude, which in scientific research does not exist, and in religion is eliminated on principle, being a new proof of the external intrusions and genesis of religious conflicts. Secondly, including God in the discourse of science and of laymen, because all things are connected to Him. Applying the solution of these measures, we can hope that the exterior intrusions in religion will become harmless. And that people will become immune to the manipulations that tear society apart through religious conflicts. And that the partners of an optimized dialogue between Church and Society they will set a precedent for the solving of other dysfunctions as well. But „In order to turn confrontation into dialogue… it is imperative to reach a balance between the loyalty to one’s own faith and the opening up to the others, beyond any form of relativism and absolutism” [45]. Here are some general principles of dialogue of our Orthodox Church based on the error of the one who parts through

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gloomy and violent measures [46]: a) The priest’s wide vision on the lost brother. Any believer who lost his true faith must be treated kindly, respectfully, soothingly, by the irenic method. (Matthew 5, 39, 44). In this way only can we disarm them and especially „heaping burning coals on their heads”, as Saint Paul says, giving them bread, water etc. (Romans 12, 20). b) Avoiding dogmatic discussions. Sectarians are lost not because of the dogmas of the Church, but because of their simple-mindedness and of the singular interpretation of the Bible. In many cases they are sincere in their beliefs, because they justify themselves with biblical verses. The priest’s duty is to know the movement, the causes of the sect, to explain the text and then theologize it. An example for this is the Parables of the Messiah and especially the one with a moral: the parable of the sower (Luke 8, 11-16). c) „I urge you to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ” (I Corinthians 4, 15-17). This urging is overwhelming for the lost ones, among which the rebelled, the revolted and the violent are recruited. For them the priest must be an example of punctuality at services and church, of love for those in trouble, of closeness to the profane. He must treat all people as friends, being assured by the Gospel: „Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven...” (Matthew 5, 12). d) Moreover, yet, „watch out...” (Matthew 24, 24), because there are evil and stubborn people who do not accept to discuss and are violent; we leave them alone in their errancy (II John, 10-12). Yet, the priest accepts to discuss and have contact with them for their benefit, just as the Messiah discussed with the tax collectors and the Pharisees (Matthew 9, 10; 11, 19). In case of stubbornness when the lost one leaves the house „even the dust must be shaken off your feet” (Mark 6, 11).

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A religious conflict is in fact a political conflict with religious actors which occurs when an ethnic group, respectively representatives of a certain religious community „demand the right to a collective status, to their own territory, to a self-governing system”, demands which are considered a threat to its sovereignty and integrity by the country where the group may live in, or not. The ethnic challenges, risks, threats generate such crises and conflicts [47]. Generally speaking, inter-religious dialogues aim at, „dissolving this dangerous tension between religion and national or political interests. Religions have noticed that they alone were not able in the past and are not able today to cause a war between nations. However, in almost all contemporary bloodsheds the religious factor is usually emphasized as being decisive for the interpretation of the intensity or the duration of the clashes, though it is known that religions are used to back up civilian or any other kind of interests. It is important that in current conflicts in Eastern Europe, yesterday’s theoretical fighters against any kind of religious freedom today are asking to be the self-constituted administrators of the undeniable social influence of religions to back up personal, political, national or even foreign interests, which do not concord with the spiritual mission of religions” [48]. V. „LIVE IN PEACE WITH EACH OTHER” (I

Thessalonians 5, 13b)

The attitude towards social conflicts is dictated by the view on society, and the fact that society is torn apart by conflicts does not mean that they will continue forever. There will come a day when all conflicts will cease, and the fact that they exist does not mean that all conflicts have religious basis [49], or that religion generates conflicts. The Gospel might be a source of religious

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conflict because sinners are against peaceful means – kindness and other moral aspects -, preached by the Church. On the other hand, when Society is conceived as an organism wholly infested with violence, there will be differences only in terms of the intensity of the disease between different parts. Therefore we will understanding they will always be conflicts in times of war but also in the times of peace, and the conflicts will be considered to be essential, thus they will being accepted like an inherent part of our social life, and not as a problem. [50] Because of sin, there can only be a relative or partial Peace, that people maintain, with difficulty, however. The vigilante spirit but also the cowardly leniency do nothing but amplify conflicts. Only Christian forgiveness and metanoia can transform people and eliminate the source of any conflict, by making the soul holy. Therefore, only the permanent risk of escalation is considered the true problem with conflicts, when power-obtaining strategies and the use of violence are more and more important, and the conflict gets out of control and surpasses the threshold of violence, causing destruction and suffering. [51] A possible urging to kindness it comes, also, from to the secular experts in peace and war, true representatives of Society. When they we urge us to be tolerant, that is, to we stoically accept the conflicts as being inevitable. And even worse, when we are urged to we take guilt upon us and to see aggressions as being rightful, and in terms of their destructive consequences just to we expect to their reduction (if and where it is possible). Undoubtedly, dialogue is the mutually advantageous means of communications between people, to bring mutual tolerance, so they can be closer, remove barriers and perfect concepts. But tolerance does not

compel us to make compromises about our own values, to abandon them and take on foreign values, on the contrary, tolerance means a harmonious relation with the identity of the other, and only a false and perverted religion could generate aggressive and discriminatory military interventions against nations of other origins, religions and cultures invoking God’s name. [52] When inconsistencies appear inside a religion, there implicitly appear factors of tension and intolerance to the others which soon break into non-religious actions, respectively: political, economic, cultural, military, and of other nature which degenerate into conflicts, and the particular religion is considered responsible for them. Thus, tolerance imposes a consistency between actions and thoughts. From this perspective, religious intolerance represents unequal, even totalitarian relations [53] which set in between „a subject who assumes all rights and privileges and another one who has no right whatsoever, who is chased and eliminated”. [54] Being aware of the steps required by dialogue, we will find out that Society and Church are partners in building the united human family, on two levels, technologic and ethic. The first level may impose a price to pay to organization and uniformity, but „at the ethic level, unlike the technologic one, the unity of the world will not be, for sure, oppressed, but inspired. A feeling of brotherhood, that will embrace the whole world, will definitely bring spiritual exaltation” [55]. One last observation would be that, although there are numerous theories to explain and describe the apparition, utility, and responsibility of Religion in social conflicts, in response and by comparison, there is not the same preoccupation for the apparition, utility and responsibility of Science in social conflicts.

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References [1]

[2]

[3]

[4] [5]

[6]

[7]

Ilie Bădescu, Geopolitică și religie. Insurecții religioase în secolul XX. Insurecția euxiniană (Geopolitics and religion. Religious insurrection in the twentieth century. The Pontus Euxinus insurrection), in „Euxin” Magazine, no. 1-2, 1997, p. 31 - 32. According to Sandu Frunză, Fundamentalismul religios şi noul conflict al ideologiilor (Religious fundamentalism and new conflict of ideologies), Ed. Limes, 2003, p. 7. P. Ansart, Ideologies, Conflits et pouvoir (Ideologies, Conflicts and power), Pris, PUF, 1977, p. 59. S. P. Robbins, Organizational Behavior, McGraw Hill, Boston, 1998, p. 21. As far as science is concerned, we can also speak of ignorant, exclusivist and passionate views, for those who invoke utilitarian philosophy as being based solely on science and on the ignorance of the other one and favors passionate exclusivism through the ideology impose from the outside, usually, on the political channel. See the Ernest Stere’s definition of „utility” in „Din istoria doctrinelor morale” (From the history of moral doctrines), Vol. 3, Ed. Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1979, p. 159. The authoritarian aspect of theology incriminated in the Middle Ages because it considered that science had to work under the authority and control of the Church was reversed, but the situation did not change, and theologians incriminate the dictatorship of contemporary science which undeservingly dominates everything related to the cognitive, thus setting in the dictatorship of science. (According to Pr. Prof. Dumitru Popescu, Hristos, Biserică, Societate (Christ, Church, Society), E.I.B.M.B.O.R., 1998, p. 37). One solution would be the withdrawal of each party in their own domain and the mutual tolerance as a maximum of concession the people in these two fields can grand one another. See: Gheorghe Ioan Savin, Apologetica (Apologetics), vol. 1, Ed. Anastasia, București, 2002, p. 63. Dinu Mihai-Ştefan, Componenta etnico-

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religioasă a conflictelor (Ethnic-religious component of conflicts), Ed. Universităţii Naţionale de Apărare „Carol I”, Bucureşti, 2005, p. 5. [8] Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române (DEX) (Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language), Ed. Academiei, București, 1984, p. 184. [9] Dumitraş Dorel, Giurcă Ion, Alianţele şi coaliţiile politico-militare – garant al securităţii statelor member (The alliances and coalitions politico-military - security guarantor of Member States), Ed. Universităţii Naţionale de Apărare, Bucureşti, 2004, p. 58. [10] Quincy Wright in Prof. Ion M. Anghel, PhD, Dreptul Tratatelor (Law of Treaties), vol. I, Ed. Lumina Lex, Bucureşti, 2000, p. 47. [11] D. G. Pruitt, J. Z. Rubin, Social Conflict: Escalation, stalemate and settlement, Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, 1985, p. 13. [12] J. L. Hocker, W. W. Wilmot, Interpersonal Conflict, Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, 1985, p. 13. [13] H. Miall, O. Ramsbotham, T. Woodhouse, Contemporary Conflict Resolution, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2000, p. 19-20. [14] Cătălin Zamfir, „Criză” (article), in: Dicţionar de Sociologie, coord.: Cătălin Zamfir and Lazăr Vlăsceanu, Ed. Babel, Bucureşti, 1998, p. 144. [15] Dinu Mihai-Ştefan, Componenta etnicoreligioasă a conflictelor (Ethnic-religious component of conflicts), p. 25 [16] Gilles Ferréol (coord.), Dicționar de sociologie (Dictionary of Sociology), Ed. Știință și Tehnică, București, 1998, p. 69. [17] Dinu Mihai-Ştefan, Componenta etnicoreligioasă a conflictelor (Ethnic-religious component of conflicts), p. 8. [18] See: W. G. Sumner, Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals, New York: Ginn and Co., 1967, p. 93. [19] Dinu Mihai-Ştefan, Componenta etnicoreligioasă a conflictelor (Ethnic-religious component of conflicts), p. 10. [20] Ibidem, p. 21. [21] Ibidem, p. 15.

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Gheorghe Ioan Savin, Apologetica (Apologetics), vol. 1, p. 112. [23] Buşe Dorel, Managementul crizelor şi conflictelor regionale (Management of Crisis and regional conflicts), Ed. Fundaţiei România de Mâine, Bucureşti, 2006, p. 33. [24] International Crisis Group Report no. 2, EU Crisis Response Capability. Institutions and Processes for Conflict Prevention and Management, 2001. [25] Johan Galtung, Kulturelle Gewalt; in: Der Bürger im Staat 43, 2/1993, p. 106. [26] Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, New York. Bonaza Воoks, 1954, p. 11. [27] In international relations there is reference to „conflict behaviour”, understood as war or war threat. According to G. Evans, J. Newnham, The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations, Penguin Books, London, 1998, p. 93. [28] Reinhard Meyers, Grundbegriffe, Strukturen und theoretische Perspektiven der Internationalen Beziehungen, in: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (ed.): Grundwissen Politik, 2. Aufl., Bonn 1993, pp. 283-285. [29] The dictionary of psychology defines conflict as „the fighting between tendencies, interests, the situation of an individual subjected to vectorially opposed forces and to almost equal powers”. According to Norbert Sillamy, Larousse, Dicţionar de Psihologie (Dictionary of Psychology), Ed. Univers Enciclopedic, București, 1998, p. 77. [30] Eng. Isabela Ancuţ, PhD, Conflicte religioase. Surse de conflict. Ameninţări. Riscuri (Religious conflicts. Sources of conflict. Threats. Risks), in „Univers Strategic” Revistă Universitară Română de Studii de Securitate, No. 4(8)/2011, p. 47. [31] Pr. prof. I. Bria, PhD, Lumina care luminează în întuneric și întunericul n-a biruit-o Lumina care luminează în întuneric și întunericul n-a biruit-o (Light that shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not to), in Violența „în numele lui Dumnezeu”, (Violence “in the name of God”), International Sympozium, Alba-Iulia, 2000, p. 56. [32] David Herbert, Religion and civil society: [22]

rethinking public religion in the contemporary world (Ashgate religion, culture & society series), (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003), 229245, 265. [33] GEN Mureşan Mircea, PhD, BG (ret) Văduva Gheorghe, PhD (coordonators), Criza, Conflictul, Războiul (The Crisis, the Conflict, the War), Vol. I, Definirea Crizelor şi Conflictelor Armate în Noua Configuraţie a Filozofiei şi Fizionomiei Naţionale şi Internaţionale de Reţea (Defining of Crisis and Armed Conflict in New Configuration of Philosophy and physiognomy National and International of Network), Ed. Universităţii Naţionale de Apărare „Carol I”, Bucureşti, 2007, p. 289. [34] Jo Ann O. Robinson, Diverse Views on Peace and War, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 4, 2000, pp. 359-361. [35] Ioan Crăciun, Prevenirea conflictelor și managementul crizelor (Conflict prevention and crisis management), Ed. Universității Naționale de Apărare „Carol I”, București, 2006, p. 18. [36] Ernst-Otto Czempiel, Friedensstrategien, Systemwandel durch Internationale Organisationen, Demokratisierung und Wierschaft (Peace strategies, system change through international organizations, democratization and business), Padeborn, 1986, p. 11. [37] Conflict is the developed form of the principle contradiction between knowledge and false knowledge. According to Florin Georgescu, Societate şi religie (Society and Religion), Editura Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică, Bucureşti, 1982, p. 244; „in general, ... there have always been intelectuals, either belonging to religion, or to science, who have rejected conflictual attitude on principle, promoting the complementarity between these two approaches. According to Constantin Bălăceanu-Stolnici, Religie şi ştiinţă, complementaritate, nu antagonism, in Basarab Nicolescu, and M. Stavinschi, Ştiinţă şi religie – antagonism sau complementaritate? (Science and religion antagonism or complementarity?), Ed. XXI: Eonul dogmatic, Bucureşti, 2002, p. 72. [38] „The world is the place in which the Church

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is called upon to live and shine. This is the purpose of holiness, and of the unity of the Church, revealed by the Messiah before His Passion (John 17, 21; 11, 52)”. According to Pr. prof. Boris Bobrinskoy, PhD, Taina Bisericii (The mystery of the Church), trad. Vasile Manea, Ed. Patmos, Cluj-Napoca 2002, p. 188-189. [39] Czempiel Ernest-Otto, Friedensstrategien, Systemwandel durch Internationale Organisationen, Demokratisierung und Wierschaft (Peace strategies, system change through international organizations, democratization and business), p. 35-37. [40] Ioan Crăciun, Prevenirea conflictelor și managementul crizelor (Conflict prevention and crisis management), pp. 11, 16, 19, 2124. [41] Ibidem, p. 59. [42] M. Bocoş, R. Gavra, & S.-D. Marcu, Comunicarea şi managementul conflictului (The Communication and the management of conflict), Editura 45, Piteşti, 2008, p. 15 [43] Z. Bogathy, Conflicte în organizaţii (Conflicts in organizations), Ed. Eurostampa, Timişoara, 2002, p. 19-20. [44] The definition of preventive diplomacy was given by Boutros Ghali in 1995: „preventive diplomacy is the action to prevent disputes between parties, to prevent the escalation of existing disputes and their transformation into (violent) conflicts and to limit the latter when they appear”. According to Lexicon militar, Ed. Militară, Bucureşti, 1980. [45] Ioan Ică jr., Reflecţii filosofice şi teologice asupra ideii de toleranţă, in Ioan Vasile Leb (coordinator), Toleranţă şi convieţuire în Transilvania secolelor XVII-XIX (Tolerance and coexistence in Transylvania XVII-XIX centuries), Ed. Limes, Cluj, 2001, p. 65. [46] Dcn. P. I. David, Călăuza Creștină – Sectologie (The Christian fugleman - theory abot sects), Ed. Episcopiei Argeșului, Curtea De Argeș, 1994, p. 126. [47] GEN. Mureşan Mircea, PhD, BG (ret ) Văduva Gheorghe, PhD, (coordonatori), Criza, Conflictul, Războiul (The Crisis, the Conflict, the War), Vol. I, p. 291. [48] The Most Rev. Damaskinos Papandreou,

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PhD, Dialogurile interreligioase și întâlnirea celor trei religii monoteiste (The interreligious dialogues and the meeting the three monotheistic religions), in vol. Biserică, societate, lume, (Church, society, world), Ed. Trinitas, Iași, 1999, p. 272. [49] Nowadays, religions are incriminated as being responsibile for all conflicts. According to Pr. Assist. Prof. Tran Sorin Pitic, PhD Student, Religia, Sursă de stabilitate sau factor de conflict? (Religion, Power factor of stability or conflict ?), in Biserica ortodoxă în Uniunea Europeană, (The Orthodox Church in the European Union), Ed. Universităţii Bucureşti, Bucureşti, 2006, p. 244. [50] Ioan Crăciun, Prevenirea conflictelor și managementul crizelor (Conflict prevention and crisis management), p. 22. [51] Ibidem. [52] Pr. prof. I. Bria, PhD, Lumina care luminează în întuneric și întunericul n-a biruit-o Lumina care luminează în întuneric și întunericul n-a biruit-o (Light that shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not to), p. 56. [53] Anca Manolescu, Europa și întâlnirea religiilor (Europe and the encounter of religions), Ed. Polirom, Iași, 2005, p. 157. [54] Pr. N. Achimescu, PhD, Religii în dialog (Religions in Dialogue), Ed. Trinitas, Iași, 2006, p. 264. [55] Arnold J. Toynbee, East to West: A Journey Round the World, (De la Est la Vest. O călătorie în jurul lumii), HC/DJ New York: Oxford University Press, 1958; apud Mircea Malița, Unicitatea ştiinţei şi varietatea religiilor, in Basarab Nicolescu, and M.Stavinschi, Ştiinţă şi religie – antagonism sau complementaritate? (Science and religion - antagonism or complementarity?), p. 88.

BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] [2]

[3]

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Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, New York. Bonaza Воoks, 1954. Anca Manolescu, Europa și întâlnirea religiilor (Europe and the encounter of religions), Ed. Polirom, Iasi, 2005. Arnold J. Toynbee, East to West: A Journey

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Round the World, HC/DJ New York: Oxford University Press, 1958 [4] Basarab Nicolescu, and M. Stavinschi, Ştiinţă şi religie – antagonism sau complementaritate? (Science and religion antagonism or complementarity?), Ed. XXI: Eonul dogmatic, Bucureşti, 2002. [5] Buşe Dorel, Managementul crizelor şi conflictelor regionale, (Management of Crisis and regional conflicts), Ed. Fundaţiei România de Mâine, Bucureşti, 2006. [6] D. G. Pruitt, J. Z. Rubin, Social Conflict: Escalation, stalemate and settlement, Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, 1985. [7] David Herbert, Religion and civil society: rethinking public religion in the contemporary world (Ashgate religion, culture & society series), (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2003). [8] Dcn. P. I. David, Călăuza Creștină Sectologie, (The Christian fugleman - theory abot sects), Ed. Episcopiei Argeșului, Curtea De Argeș, 1994. [9] Dicţionar de Sociologie, (Dictionary of Sociology), coord.: Cătălin Zamfir and Lazăr Vlăsceanu, Ed. Babel, Bucureşti, 1998. [10] Dicționar de Sociologie, (Dictionary of Sociology), Gilles Ferréol (coord.), Ed. Știință și Tehnică, București, 1998. [11] Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române (DEX), (Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language), Ed. Academiei, București, 1984. [12] Dinu Mihai-Ştefan, Componenta etnicoreligioasă a conflictelor, (Ethnic-religious component of conflicts), Ed. Universităţii Naţionale de Apărare „Carol I”, Bucureşti, 2005. [13] Eng. Isabela Ancuţ, PhD, Conflicte religioase. Surse de conflict. Ameninţări. Riscuri, (Religious conflicts. Sources of conflict. Threats. Risks), in ”Univers Strategic” Revistă Universitară Română de Studii de Securitate, No. 4(8)/2011 [14] Dumitraş Dorel, Giurcă Ion, Alianţele şi coaliţiile politico-militare – garant al securităţii statelor membre (The alliances and coalitions politico-military - security guarantor of Member States), Ed. Universităţii Naţionale de Apărare, Bucureşti, 2004. [15] Ernest Stere, Din istoria doctrinelor morale

(From the history of moral doctrines), Vol. 3, Ed. Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1979. [16] Czempiel Ernst-Otto, Friedensstrategien, Systemwandel durch Internationale Organisationen, Demokratisierung und Wirtschaft (Peace strategies, system change through international organizations, democratization and business), Padeborn, 1986. [17] Florin Georgescu, Societate şi religie (Society and Religion), Editura Ştiinţifică şi Enciclopedică, Bucureşti, 1982. [18] G. Evans, J. Newnham, The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations, Penguin Books, London, 1998. [19] Gheorghe Ioan Savin, Apologetica (Apologetics), vol. 1, Ed. Anastasia, București, 2002. [20] GEN Mureşan Mircea, PhD, GB (ret.) Văduva Gheorghe, PhD (coordonators), Criza, Conflictul, Războiul, (The Crisis, the Conflict, the War), Vol. I, Definirea Crizelor şi Conflictelor Armate în Noua Configuraţie a Filozofiei şi Fizionomiei Naţionale şi Internaţionale de Reţea, (Defining of Crisis and Armed Conflict in New Configuration of Philosophy and physiognomy National and International of Network), Ed. Universităţii Naţionale de Apărare „Carol I ”, Bucureşti, 2007. [21] H. Miall, O. Ramsbotham, T. Woodhouse, Contemporary Conflict Resolution, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2000. [22] The Most Rev. Damaskinos Papandreou, PhD, Dialogurile interreligioase și întâlnirea celor trei religii monoteiste, (The interreligious dialogues and the meeting the three monotheistic religions), in vol. Biserică, societate, lume, (Church, society, world), Ed. Trinitas, Iași, 1999. [23] Ilie Bădescu, Geopolitică și religie. Insurecții religioase în secolul XX. Insurecția euxiniană, (Geopolitics and religion. Religious insurrection in the twentieth century. The Pontus Euxinus insurrection), in „Euxin” Magazine, no. 1-2, 1997 [24] International Crisis Group Report no. 2, EU Crisis Response Capability. Institutions

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and Processes for Conflict Prevention and Management, 2001. [25] Ioan Crăciun, Prevenirea conflictelor și managementul crizelor (Conflict prevention and crisis management), Ed. Universității Naționale de Apărare „Carol I”, București, 2006. [26] Ioan Vasile Leb (coordinator), Toleranţă şi convieţuire în Transilvania secolelor XVII-XIX (Tolerance and coexistence in Transylvania XVII-XIX centuries), Ed. Limes, Cluj, 2001. [27] J. L. Hocker, W. W. Wilmot, Interpersonal Conflict, Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, 1985. [28] Jo Ann O. Robinson, Diverse Views on Peace and War, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Vol. 6, No. 4, 2000. [29] Johan Galtung, Kulturelle Gewalt; (Cultural Violence) in: Der Bürger im Staat 43, 2/1993. [30] Lexicon militar, (Lexicon military), Bucureşti :Ed. Militară, 1980. [31] M. Bocoş, R. Gavra, & S.-D. Marcu, Comunicarea şi managementul conflictului (The Communication and the management of conflict), Editura 45, Piteşti, 2008 [32] Norbert Sillamy, Larousse, Dicţionar de Psihologie (Dictionary of Psychology), Ed. Univers Enciclopedic, București, 1998. [33] P. Ansart, Ideologies, Conflits et pouvoir (Ideologies, Conflicts and power), Pris, PUF, 1977. [34] Pr. N. Achimescu, PhD, Religii în dialog (Religions in Dialogue), Ed. Trinitas, Iași, 2006. [35] Pr. Assist. Prof. Tran Sorin Pitic, PhD Student, Religia, Sursă de stabilitate sau factor de conflict? (Religion, Power factor of stability or conflict ?), in Biserica ortodoxă în Uniunea Europeană, (The Orthodox Church in the European Union), Ed. Universităţii Bucureşti, Bucureşti, 2006. [36] Pr. Prof. Boris Bobrinskoy, PhD, Taina Bisericii (The mystery of the Church), trans. Vasile Manea, Ed. Patmos, Cluj-Napoca 2002 [37] Pr. Prof. I. Bria, PhD, Lumina care luminează în întuneric și întunericul n-a biruit-o (Light that shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not to), in Violența „în

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numele lui Dumnezeu”, (Violence “in the name of God”), International Sympozium, Alba-Iulia, 2000 [38] Pr. Prof. Dumitru Popescu, Hristos, Biserică, Societate (Christ, Church, Society), E.I.B.M.B.O.R., 1998. [39] Prof. Ion M. Anghel, PhD, Dreptul Tratatelor (Law of Treaties), vol. I, Bucureşti: Ed. Lumina Lex, 2000. [40] Reinhard Meyers, Grundbegriffe, Strukturen und theoretische Perspektiven der Internationalen Beziehungen, (Basic concepts, structures and theoretical perspectives of international relations), in: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (ed.): Grundwissen Politik, 2. Aufl., Bonn 1993. [41] S. P. Robbins, Organizational Behavior, Boston: McGraw Hill, 1998. [42] Sandu Frunză, Fundamentalismul religios şi noul conflict al ideologiilor (Religious fundamentalism and new conflict of ideologies), Ed. Limes, 2003. [43] W. G. Sumner, Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals, New York: Ginn and Co., 1967. [44] Z. Bogathy, Conflicte în organizaţii (Conflicts in organizations), Timişoara: Ed. Eurostampa, 2002.

BIOGRAPHY Born on 09/01/1977. Attended the Theological Seminary (1992-1997), Faculty of Theology (1997-2001) and Faculty of Law (2000-2005), graduated from the same faculty and graduated level courses (Theology - 2001-2002) and (Law 2003-2004). Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology, „Ovidius” University of Constanta since 2007. Published three books along with Pr. Prof. Emilian Corniţescu, PhD,: „Old Testament and timeliness” and „The Old Testament cultural and social moral religious issues” at the Europolis Publishing House in

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Constanta in 2008, and „Biblical Studies” at the Archdiocese of Tomis Publishing House in 2015, as well as other books, studies and articles. PhD in Theology since 27/11/2009.

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This paper was presented in the

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held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

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Indian Communities Embracing Judaism in the state of Andhra Pradesh Assoc. Prof. M. Jaya Kumar Jacob

Yehoshua Yacobi

Environmental Studies Department, Chirala Engineering College (CECC) Chirala, Andhra Pradesh State, India

Student in the Faculty of Humanities, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 30 September 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 8 September 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.10

Certain people groups who belong to different traditional communities in India, specifically in the Andhra Pradesh State are embracing Judaism. Some untouchable communities in A.P. State are claiming that they belong to “Bnei Ephraim” means “sons of Ephraim” and known themselves as “Telugu Jews” and they feel that they are the descendants of lost 10 tribes of Israel. Most of the elite Indian people are thinking that out of their poverty, sufferings only untouchable people groups are claiming, keep on changing, adopting, migrating to other possible alternatives and searching for safe religions for their welfare.

Keywords: Religions; sustainability; economic gains; poverty; untouchables; Indian society; knowledge; humanity; cultures and traditions;

Apart from these untouchable communities, Schedule Castes (SCs), Schedule Tribes (STs), Backward Castes (BCs) and Ordinary Castes (OCs) people groups and individuals are also adopting the Judaism is their original religion and agreeing that this is the best way to righteous living on this globe. The focus of this paper is to emphasize that what made these people groups in India, who followed divine and universal religions like Hinduism, Christianity and Islam from centuries, to embrace Judaism in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In this context, it is essential and crucial to focus research and scientiﬁc analysis on freedom and freewill of the people in the society on the religious aspects to establish awareness and education to provide a means of distinguishable responses between improvements in quality of lifestyle and those of damages. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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I. INTRODUCTION

India is one of the Mega-diversity nations. There were a lot of diversified microbial, plant, animal as well as human species in Indian subcontinent. “Indian” refers to nationality, but not ethnicity or language. The Indian nationality consists of many regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of India. India hosts all major ethnic groups found in the Indian Subcontinent. A. Jewish Diaspora: Indian Jews

The origin and migration of ‘Jewish Diaspora’ has been curious among people across the world. Although the genetic studies on European Jewish have traced to Middle East, the exact parental population group and time of dispersal of Indian Jewish has remained disputed. The Jewish communities are distributed throughout the world, however, of all the Jewish Diaspora community, Indian Jewish are among the least studied, according to Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) scientists 2016. In the absence of archaeological evidence and with the availability of only scanty historical documentation of the Indian Jewish, the international team of scientists led by Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj from CCMB, Hyderabad involving scientists from Estonian Biocentre, Tratu, Estonia, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur, India, University of Kolkata, India and Genome Foundation, Hyderabad have traced the founder of the Indian Jewish populations, using genetic data (Gyaneshwer Chaubey et al. 2016). There are several legendry stories about their migrations to India, but because lack of written records and inscriptions, the origin and migrations of Indian Jewish remain moot. A number of groups became attracted to Judaism of their own accord. Sometimes this interest was aroused by the perceived

‘exclusivity’ of Jewish culture, which could offer a new grounding for communities with ‘uncertain’ origins. Some groups turned to Judaism because the historical experience of suffering of the Jewish people seemed to mirror their own conditions of discrimination (Parfitt and Trevisan Semi 2002). In the 20th century a considerable number of Judaizing movements emerged in different parts of Africa, India, as well as among African American groups. History of the Lost Tribes discourse see Parfitt 2002, Ben-Dor Benite 2009, the Jews of India see, among others, Isenberg 1998, Katz 2000, Roland 1999, Katz et al. 2007, Weil 2002. For Indian perceptions of the Jewish culture see Egorova 2006. the Madiga see Charseley 2004, Singh 1969, Still 2009. The Bnei Menashe (also known as Shinlung) movement emerged in the early 1950s from the Christianized tribes of Chin, Kuki, Lushai and Mizo settled in Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and the plains of Burma (Samra 1992, 1996, Weil 1997, 2003, Halkin 2002). B. Bnei Ephraim: Telugu Jews in A.P.

Self claiming Telugu Jews argue that when they were introduced in the Telugu country they were included in the untouchable people groups by then cruel authoritarian people groups. The origins of the Telugu Jewish communities, or at any rate the most secure origins, are found in the intensive Christian missionary activity that has persisted for several decades in the Andhra countryside. The majority of the newly Christianized population are Madiga and Mala untouchables (Harijans). Christian missionaries, Catholic and Protestant, have won conversions partly through material incentives, including housing, education and medical care, and partly through creation of an ideological alternative to Brahmanic Hinduism and untouchability emphasizing universal salvation regardless of birth.

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In fact Jews do have a long and imperfectly recorded history in the subcontinent, from the two thousand year old community founded by merchants on the Malabar Coast to Iraqi Jews in Maharashtra and Calcutta, to the ancient Shin lung community in Manipur. So called Telugu Jews from the Lost Tribe of Ephraim, one of the ten Jewish tribes driven into exile after the collapse of the northern kingdom of Israel in 586 B.C.E. migrated from Afghanistan into northern India, becoming teachers in the Ashokan capital of Magadha which is, the etymological root of “Madiga.” Further, the Buddhists who converted Ashoka were actually Jews, and Buddhism is an Indianized version of Jewish wisdom. Sometime during the 9th or 10th centuries C.E., the story goes, these north Indian Buddho-Jews migrated south, ostensibly with Torah scrolls and other artifacts that the unsuccessfully appealed by their groups (Shmuel 2002). II. THE JUDAISATION OF THE BNEI

EPHRAIM

The ‘Judaisation’ of the Bnei Ephraim has been described as Jewish liberation theology, as its objective appears to be to challenge the position of this community in the Indian caste system (Francisco 1997). Robert Deliege argues that the narratives of origin of a range of untouchable groups in Indian often ‘explain’ how their ancestors lost their higher status by mistake or as a punishment (Deliege 1993). Some called Telugu Jews claims currently to be writing a comparative philological study of Hebrew and Telugu proving that Hebrew is the unrecognized source of many words in proto-Telugu. They always practiced their own Caviloth [Oral Traditions and customs] such as: burying the dead, eating cow and beef meat, marriage under Chuppah, observing Shabbat and other

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Hebrew, Israel and Jewish Festival and maintaining Elders Court System. The Telugu Jews for centuries formed a distinct kulam (jati), marrying only among themselves and maintaining distinct customs, eating habits, occupations, and literacy in Hebrew, but converted to Christianity during the colonial period. Why the British, of all people, should have been able to break their iron wills remains an open question. But all of this obfuscates the point. Their desire to be a remnant of a Lost Tribe is that they might thereby qualify to emigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. III. ORAL TRADITIONS AMONG BNEI

EPHRAIM

There are certain Oral Traditions among Bnei Ephraim: traditions known as Cavilah Traditions. There are about 450 ancient halakhic customs, habits and Hebrew Cultural Elements among them that continued since prehistoric times and Exodus. They shared some of those elements with the Telugu people in Andhra Pradesh. There are several traditions and customs similar in both Telugu and Hebrew cultures i.e. burying the dead, eating kosher animal meat, marriage under chuppah, burial customs, 7 day purification, bar/ bath mitzvah, Hebrew words, sayings and many other usages. The Telugu people remade Amaravati as their capital today and the Bnei Ephraim are hopeful to find their hidden Torah Scrolls, Hebrew literature and ancient valuables when the Government digs out during constructing the new capital for Andhra Pradesh State. A. Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh State:

Andhra Pradesh state was formed based on linguistic arena in 1956. Recently, Andhra Pradesh State was once again separated (2014) due to the agitation of Telangana people for their struggle against ill-

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treatment and inequality in sharing natural resources. Which made them to separate the state into two Telugu states i.e. newly formed Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh State. Based on the growing needs of the people, selfishness and increase in crime rate, people felt insecure in their daily life. This conflict among people of Telugu land resemble and remember us the mythological Mahabharata war epic in between brethrens of Kouravas and Pandavas due to the illtreatment and inequality in sharing natural resources among fraternity (Swaraj Prakash Gupta et al. 2016). B. Annapurna (food bowl) to Hunger

Hotspot:

Regressive and aggressive nature of people in Andhra Pradesh State in the recent times is not only challenging the democratic life of thousands of peaceloving innocent people but also inspiring unsolvable, unending, unnecessary debate/ conflicts. Andhra Predesh is an agrarian land commonly considered as “food bowl” of India, now become the drought prone area and suffering with severe hunger problem in the recent years. Andhra farmers once treated as kings (Raithe Raju) become hopeless and helpless scapegoats making suicides now. Unfortunately, A.P. was turned as a hunger hotspot, drought prone area due to the blind dumping of synthetic chemicals on the soil in the form of fertilizers by the greedy industrialists and exporters. In this context, one can understand that Nature has enough to satisfy all the needs of man rather than his greed’s. Culturally, there is a proverb in Telugu language says that when you destroy anything in the nature you will be destroyed by the nature’s fury. Means that every action there is equal opposite reaction will be there. The same thing was happened in the case of A.P. now. Farmer’s suicides in the recent years were best example of

human self extinction. Unconditional and unprecedented love towards biological species is the key to human survival on this globe, which prevents the further environmental degradation and human self extinction. C. According to the Washington Times in

2006

Many people think that the Bnei Ephraim Jews are trying to escape poverty and that they want to leave this region of Andhra Pradesh, where six successive years of drought and crop failure have driven more than 3,000 peasants into debt and to suicide. D. Chandra Sekhar Angadi, a social scientist in neighboring Karnataka, said of the Telugu Jews: They are among the poorest of Jews in the world. They are desperate for the recognition by Israel’s chief rabbinate simply to be guaranteed a passport from that country where they can lead a much better life — away from this life of poverty and hunger. IV. The 21st CENTURY U.N. MILLENNIUM

REPORT

At the end of March 2000, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan released a report “We the Peoples - The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century”. This report has become widely known as the Millennium Report. In the section titled “for consideration by the Summit”, the end of the Millennium Report stated: “The following values, which reflect the spirit of the Charter, are—I believe— shared by all nations, and are of particular importance for the age we are now entering: 1. Freedom. Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and squalor and from the fear of violence or

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oppression. These rights are best assured by representative government, based on the will of the people. 2. Equity and solidarity. No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit from globalization. Global risks must be managed in a way that shares the costs and burdens fairly. Those who suffer, or who benefit least, are entitled to help from those who benefit most. 3. Tolerance. Human beings must respect each other, in all their diversity of faith, culture and language. Differences within and between societies should be neither feared nor repressed, but cherished. 4. Non-violence. Disputes between and within nations should be resolved by peaceful means, except where use of force is authorized by the Charter. 5. Respect for nature. Prudence should be shown in handling all living species and natural resources. Only so can the immeasurable riches we inherit from nature be preserved and passed on to our descendants. 6. Shared responsibility. States must act together to maintain international peace and security, in accordance with the Charter. The management of risks and threats that affect all the world’s peoples should be considered multilaterally.” V. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, FREEWILL

SOCIETY IN ANDHRA PRADESH TO CONSTRUCT A PEACEFUL WORLD

The second half of the 20th century witnessed mass conversions of untouchable in India to Buddhism (famously initiated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar), Islam and Christianity. The objective of these conversions was to liberate these communities from the stigma associated with their status in the caste system. Madiga untouchables – the community of Bnei Ephraim stem from –

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probably have the lowest status in Andhra Pradesh. Madigas have traditionally been associated with shoemaking and agricultural labour, and continue in these activities today. Demographically, the Madigas constitute 46.94% of the total scheduled caste population of the state, which the 2001 census put at twelve million. The Christianization of their ancestors in the 19th century did not allow them to escape untouchable status, which is not surprising given that in the caste system elective association with a group cannot form a solid basis for asserting a new identity, and Christian Universalism could not help them to change their status. Grounding their identity in the discourse of the Lost Tribes would mean claiming physical kinship with a community completely foreign to the caste system, and might thus provide Bnei Ephraim with an opportunity to dissociate themselves from it. In fact, some of their legends are reminiscent of those other Madiga groups suggesting that their ancestors had had a higher status. The religious freedom must extend beyond just worship. Religious freedom must include protecting morally or religiously motivated public expression. People of faith and religious-based institutions continue to play an important role in shaping social and moral issues through proper democratic channels. Like other worthy organizations and causes, religious people and institutions deserve to be heard in the public sphere — neither religious nor secular voices should be silenced. Of course, the accommodation of religious liberty does not undermine other crucial interests in society. Government can and does, for example, impose reasonable restrictions to protect the health and safety of citizens in a pluralistic society like Andhra Pradesh. However, the legal and legislative process provides a means to continually protect, shape and define religious freedom

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so it is not overridden. While reasonable protections are welcomed, they should respect the healthy separation between government and religion that allows religion to thrive. Indeed, the proper separation of people and society has the effect of strengthening religious institutions and the broader community. To exert its positive influence, religious organizations and individuals must maintain space from government — physical, social and legal — to freely practice their faith. This enables religious institutions to express their message, determine who they are, and live out their convictions in meaningful ways. Religious space must continue to be respected, and religion should not be sequestered. VI. Discussion

The task of the this research is to check the chronological developments of all ancient religious texts and other contemporary literatures of the ancient people groups and back project the cultural translations both within and without on the subjective and objective cultural screens of the present day descendent people groups through which process the scholars may have more access to see the parent texts and their parent groups. This is an interesting invitation for an open-minded search for origins of the people groups in India through this approach towards the Hermeneutical History. It is quite fascinating to see the similarities between two languages, scripts, cultures and people groups who knew nothing about each other for so many centuries yet grew like twins. Indian Government indirectly contributes towards the continued poverty and oppression of low castes and non-Hindus by ‘masking’ traditional discrimination. Robert Deliége (1988, 1992, 1993, 1999) has studied the ‘untouchable’ communities of India

extensively and states that the future of untouchables (and the poor in general) does not look encouraging and that policies such as ‘positive discrimination’ have accentuated caste differences (Srinivas 1962), resulted in violence (Yagnik & Bhatt 1984) but has contributed towards the ‘caste’ becoming a political force (Béteille 1991; Deliége 1999). The proposed gains in equality are still uncertain (Upadhyaya 1998). Mendelsohn and Viczainy (1998). “Both men and women struggled in the village, but the women, because of their gender, struggled and suffered twice as much as the men.” (Bumiller 1991:79) A. Poverty and Vulnerability:

“poverty is essentially a static concept; in contrast, vulnerability is more dynamic, capturing the multi-dimensional aspects of socio-economic status” (Moser & McIlwaine 1997:16). Vulnerability is considered to be closely linked to asset ownership; the more assets people have the less vulnerable they are (Sen 1981; Swift 1989; World Bank 1990 and Putnam 1993a, 1993b). There are strong linkages between poverty and vulnerability, in spite of this poverty is not always the predominate factor in determining levels of vulnerability but can reinforce some of the other factors (Chambers 1983). Poverty reduction at state, district as well as village level is an essential requirement that needs immediate concentration by the Governments. Poverty is also an unavoidable and undesirable qualification of Indian masses, directly or indirectly leading to many other problems. Poor and unorganized people do not have a chance for political representation unless their interests can become a weapon in the struggles of the professional political ﬁeld (Bourdieu 1991, 188). The politicization of poverty is necessary for the empowerment of the

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poor. Making poverty a public, moral, and political issue is often the basis upon which the poor gain leverage by making power work to their advantage through enrolling elite interests, through pro-poor coalitions, and from competition between elite groups (Moore and Putzel 1999). This view of political representation argues against both interest group economism’s zero-sum view of structurally opposed interests dividing up the power cake (ibid), and voluntaristic approaches to empowerment through capacity building. This research paper is to reveal as it is to the civilized nations of our times gives a new insight in the understanding of the worldwide interactions between nations, cultures and people groups and shows how certain people groups shared their knowledge in the fields of music, drama, linguistics, medicine, art of administration, economics and religion of peaceful lifestyles among the ancient warring nations. Several opinions of the people and constitutional implications are presented here in this research paper to draw attention to the environmental consequences of traditional and technological trench in the Andhra Pradesh State. There are several opinions on this matter to be discussed here. These issues are multidisciplinary in nature where economical, ecological, environmental, historical, archeological, psychological, mythological, technological, biological, geographical, anthropological aspects should be thoroughly studied to get an eco-friendly, non-violent, peaceful, egalitarian sustainable solutions. The people, groups, officials involved in the process of debating each other day to day since from the bifurcation took place in 2014 in the state of Andhra Pradesh. CONCLUSION In the State of Andhra Pradesh people

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groups of different cultures clubbed together in the history. Telugu people and their traditional communities are embracing Judaism in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Their claim of descendant of lost 10 tribes of Israel some centuries back needs further research. In this direction, In Indian system, since from the caste system was operated should be studied. Apart from these untouchable people groups, Schedule Castes (SCs), Schedule Tribes (STs), Backward Castes (BCs) and Other Castes (OCs) people are also adopting the Judaism is their original religion, the way to righteous living on this globe. Since from its inception, Indian caste system, some communities with their people are being included and illtreated for centuries and occupied lowest status in the social ladder in India. The research reveals that people groups along with their communities exchanged several things in their daily life. Multiple modifications occurred in these people groups and intercourse among these groups made them to reshuffle their original state. Telugu communities adopted polytheism for some time to escape cultural wars in between cruel cultures those who want to perish other fellow cultures. At last in this century some people groups of peace-loving communities shared the knowledge of Judaism in the recent years. Ultimately, they made to embrace monotheistic Judaism in their lifestyle when they encounter peace-loving culture. It is worthwhile to understand that the telugu people are contesting caste with religion. So called propaganda of religion lost its glory and people are very careful to follow the religion. Certain people groups not only the untouchable telugu jews got awareness about the righteousness and how to live with peace full of mind. Most of the Hinduism, Christianity and Islam religion for centuries, to embracing Judaism, which is a Monotheistic religion, without any propaganda achieved success to satisfy

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them to follow or claim Jewish traditions. It is essential and crucial to focus research and scientiﬁc analysis and establish awareness and education to provide a means of distinguishing responses between society and religion and its improvements in quality of lifestyle and those of damages. The core principle will therefore be to conserve sensitive religious as well as social systems. The state will need to use a judicious mix of balanced regional development strategies and focused interventions to increase employability, productivity and output, while simultaneously reducing poverty and vulnerability. This will imply strengthening decentralized planning and local capacity and harnessing the potential for good governance of the peace loving country. Money problems are several in several countries. Thus, wise people thing wisely like Telugu Jews in the Andhra Pradesh. The knowledge dissemination is more important than anything. REFERENCES [1]

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world history. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. [7] Bourdieu, Pierre, Language and symbolic power. Ed. John B. Th ompson, trans. Gino Raymond and Matthew Adamson. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991. [8] Chambers R., Rural Development: Putting the Last First, Harlow: Longman, 1983. [9] Charsley, S.. “Interpreting untouchability: The performance of caste in Andhra Pradesh”, South India. Asian Folklore Studies, 63, 2004: 267-290. [10] Chilaka Abraham, Ten Commandments Constitution - A Sociological study - A.N. University, Guntur. [11] Deliége R., Les Paraiyars du Tamil Nadu, Nettetal, Steyler Verlag, 1988. [12] Deliége R., “Replication and Consensus: Untouchability, Caste and Ideology in India”, in Man (n.s.), Vol.27/ 1992, pp155-17. [13] Deliége R., “The Myths of Origin of the Indian Untouchables”, in Man (n.s.), Vol.28/ 1993, pp.533-49. [14] Deliége R., The Untouchables of India, Oxford, Berg, 1999. [15] GoAP, White Paper on Human Resources and Social Development, 2014. [16] GoAP, White Paper on Governance, 2014. [17] GoAP, White Paper on Industry Infrastructure and Employment. Office of the Registrar General of India. (2011). Census of India. New Delhi: GoI. Planning Commission. (2014). [18] Halkin, H., Across the Sabbath River: In search of a lost tribe of Israel. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. [19] Katz, N. 2000. Who are the Jews of India?, Berkeley: University of California Press. 2007. Indo-Judaic studies in the twenty-first century: A view from the margin. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [20] Kelly, John D. “Seeing Red: Mao Fetishism, Pax Americana, and the Moral Economy of War.” In Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, edited by John D. Kelly, Beatrice Jauregui, Sean T. Mitchell, and Jeremy Walton, 67–83. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. [21] Mendelsohn O. & Vicziany M., The

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Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern India, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1998. [22] Moore, Mick and James Putzel, Thinking strategically about politics and poverty. IDS Working Paper 101. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, 1999. [23] Ministry of Interior, Israel, Rabbi Marvin Tokayer U.S - Letters to Shmuel Yacobi, member of Bene Ephraim Community [24] M Witzel, Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state, EJVS vol.1 no.4 (1995); also in B. Kölver (ed.), Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien. The state, the Law, and Administration in Classical India, München, R. Oldenbourg, 1997, p.27-52. [25] Parfitt, T., The Lost Tribes of Israel. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson and Trevisan Semi, E. 2002. Judaising movements: Studies in the margins of Judaism. Richmond: Routledge Curzon. [26] Samra, M.. “Judaism in Manipur and Mizoram: By-product of Christian mission”. The Australian Journal of Jewish Studies, 1: 7-23, 1992. [27] Sen A., Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981. [28] Shaikh Azizur Rahman, “Another tribe seeks rabbinical recognition”, Washington Times, 1 May

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Tudor Parfitt (2002), “The Lemba: An African Judaising Tribe”, in Judaising Movements: Studies in the Margins of Judaism, edited by Parfitt, Tudor and Trevisan-Semi, E., London: Routledge Curzon. [36] Telugu Jews: Are the Dalits of coastal Andhra going caste-awry? by Y Egorova ‎2012, www.southasianist.ed.ac.uk/article/ viewFile/27/56 - ‎Cited by 1 - ‎Related articles. [37] “The Children of Ephraim: being Jewish in Andhra Pradesh”. Anthropology Today. 26. Retrieved 8 February 2015. [38] Upadhyaya K. K., (1998), “The Political Economy of Reservations in Public Jobs in India: Implications for Efficiency in Public Administration and Equity in Society”, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 25, pp1049-1063. [39] Yacobi, S.. The cultural hermeneutics: An introduction to the cultural transactions of the Hebrew Bible among the ancient nations of the Thalmudic Telugu empire of India. Vijayawada: Hebrew Open University Publications, 2002. [35]

Biography

2006, accessed 16 May 2013

Shmuel Yacobi, The Cultural Hermeneutics, an introduction to the cultural translation of the Hebrew Bible among the ancient nations of the Thalmulic Telugu Empire of India. [30] Shmuel Yacobi, Manamevaru, Ereb Rab, Telugu people and their links with Israel. [31] Swaraj Prakash Gupta; K.S. Ramachandran. “Mahabharata: Myth and Reality”. In Singh. Delhi: Ancient History. Social Science Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-8187358299. Retrieved 5 August 2016. [32] Swift J., (1989), “Why are rural People Vulnerable to Famine?”, in IDS Bulletin, Vol.20, No. 2, pp. 49-57. [33] Still, C.. “From militant rejection to pragmatic consensus: Caste among Madigas in Andhra Pradesh”. Journal of South Asian

Development 4: 7-23, 2009. The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XXV (Bhagavad Gita Chapter I)”. Sacred-texts.com.

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M. J. K. Jacob, Vijayawada, 15.06.1975, born and raised in Vijayawada, India. Living in Vijayawada has provided me with opportunities to grow and develop, both in my personal and professional life. My

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schooling was also took place at Vijayawada, which is a strong base for me to grow ethically, philosophically and morally. It is this foundation, along with the continued support of my family, educators, and friends that has allowed me to embrace my dream of teaching. The year 1998 was the best year for my life. In this year I completed my post graduation at Acharya Nagarjuna University Campus, Guntur. A.P. South India. I entered into the field of teaching environmental studies in the 2006. Later, I was married in the year 2007 and now I got two children, one daughter and one son. I successfully completed my master of philosophy degree in the same university, 2010. And I was so happy in the teaching field at present and enhancing my teaching skills by attending conferences/seminars/workshops/training programs at national and international level in the same field which I love more and more. B.Sc., P.B.Siddhartha College, Vijayawada, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, 19921996, A/First/ 73.10%. M.Sc., Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Environmental Sciences, 1996-1998, A/First/ 70.40%. M.Phil., Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Environmental Sciences, 2005- 2010. A/First/ 70.16%.

[1]

Membership: 1. Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) Life Membership (LM 102506), New Delhi. 2. Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), Kolkatta, India. 3. Indian Academy of Social Sciences Congress (IASC), Allahabad, India.

[2]

[3]

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Dr. Syed Kamaluddin, Principal, Chirala Engineering College, Chirala, Prakasam District, A.P. India. Mobile: 9848937718, email: principal@cecc.co.in. Dr. P. Brahmaji Rao, Research Supervisor, Environmental Sciences Department, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur District, A.P. India. Mobile: 9849746169, Email:drbrahmajirao@gmail.com. Dr. T.V. Prasad, Dean R & P, Chirala Engineering College, Chirala, Prakasam District, A.P. India. Mobile: 9493239815, email: tvprasad2002@yahoo.com.

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Best Three Publications: [1]

[2]

[3]

ELSEVIER Publication: Socio-ecological studies on marine ﬁshing villages in the selective south coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh by Jacob, M.J.K., Rao, P.B., Ecotoxicology & Environ. Safety. (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. ecoenv.2015.08.026, Please cite this article as - Article in press. Filthy to Healthy Nations – India as a Case Study by Jacob, M.J.K., published in Recent Advances in Energy, Environment and Financial Science, 2015. Y O G I C / Y O G E V I C ENVIRONMENTALISM by Jacob, M.J.K., published in Everyman’s Science, ISCA, Vol. XLVIII No. 5, Dec ’13 — Jan ’14, pages 347-251 (31-35 pages in present downloaded publication).

Yehoshua Yacobi, Israel, 23.10.1971 Yehoshua Yacobi is a student in the Faculty of Humanities, working towards an M.A in Bible Studies with a focus on Jewish communities in India. He hopes to pursue Ph.D. studies in the field. Yehoshua is originally from a small Jewish community in southern India, which traces its history to the lost Ten Tribes of Israel. He made aliyah to Israel alone at age 20. Yehoshua loves to teach, particularly Hebrew and Jewish studies, and is studying for his teaching certification.

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The National Ideology, a Constant Philosophical Poetry in the Creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio Dr. Manjola Sulaj

Dr. Olieta Polo

Department of Foreign Languages “Eqrem Çabej” University of Gjirokaster Gjirokastra, Albania

Department of Greek Language, Literature and Greek Civilization “Eqrem Çabej” University of Gjirokaster Gjirokastra, Albania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 03 September 2016 Received in revised form 23 October Accepted 25 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.11

The poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, one of the most important nowadays personalities in the field of Albanian literature, is a “window” that provides the Arbëresh world recognition from different perspectives, focusing especially on highlighting the existence and the Arbëresh identity preservation but also the risks that threaten it. In this article we aim to show that the national ideology in the poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is a constant philosophical poetry which becomes an Albanian conscience reviving the hope to strengthen the part of the Albanian ethnic identity to the Arbëresh people, previously isolated and now opened to the Albanian world, and emotionally part of it. In the context of the Arbëresh community to which he himself belongs, Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is a poet with clear targets and a leader of today’s Arbëresh world with his ideals.

Keywords: national ideology; constant philosophic poetry; concept of homeland recreation; connection with tradition; Albanian world;

I. INTRODUCTION

Historically, Albania has been emerged in the sight of the Arbëresh community as a concrete reality, like a homeland that has inspired them to maintain their own culture. In the rich literature tradition that was set up there with the works of Dhimitër Kamarda, Jeronim De Rada, Giuseppe Serembe,

Giuseppe Schiro, etc., it has always been present the national ideology aiming to boost the efforts in the fight for freedom and independence within the Albanian territory, to awaken the national conscience to affirm their nation and culture, at the same time causing a great progress to the scientific thought about the issues of language, history and traditions of the

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Albanian people. This genre of the AlbanianArbëresh literature, which acknowledged the highest artistic level in the 19th century, crucially enriched the whole process of Albanian Renaissance with a wide range and significant political-cultural-literal activities, and regained the impetus after World War II with a new literature that was carried on and is represented nowadays by writers and poets already affirmed in the contemporary Arbëresh literature such as: Dushko Vetmo, Vorea Ujko, Lluka Perrone, Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, etc., and also by nowadays affirmed national and international Arbëresh writers like Carmine Abate. In today’s situation, this generation of Arbëresh writers is struggling, so far successfully, to keep alive the language, the culture, the traditions and the national ideology in a completely original way. While the disclosure of the nation and the homeland state was realised with an emotive description versus the previous literary tradition, the contemporary writers bring it in a more rational way serving to their existence maintainance, and to the strengthening of the Albanian ethnic identity to the Arbëresh people. A. The relationship with the national

conscience

If we judge the Arbëresh community from the perspective of its ethnic affiliation, their issue results controversial. What connects this unit with the Albanian nationality is the language and the culture. The perpetuation of the language and the culture in one of the forms of art like literature, which has served and still serves as a bridge connecting the national conscience, makes the issue and the connection with the Albanian world more acceptable. Only in this regard we can speak about the connection and relationship of the Arbëresh world with the national conscience. The Arbëresh isolation from the Albanian community due to the historical circumstances, has led the development of

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a paralel Albanian literature with the one developed in the political borders of the Albanian state. The contemporary poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio has overcome the isolation boundaries in the recent decades. Besides the common language that binds his works with the national conscience, the recent works are connected with it even through the themes and the ideas they convey. If in the first poetry editions as “Sunata” (“Sonata”), “Më para se të ngriset” (“Just before the dark”), “Metaforë” (“Metaphor”) etc., the poet emphasis mostly the issues that threaten the existence of the members of his community and the Arbëresh village in order to revive the feelings of preserving the ethnic Arbëresh identity, in the recent editions he brings to the reader’s attention the issues and the dramas of all the Albanian people. He also brings another

romantic idea, that of the ideal union of the homeland including the Arbëresh, Albania, Kosovo, and other Albanian minorities around the world. In this concern affected even the events that occurred in the recent decades: the establishment of the democratic system in Albania, the Kosovo war and the creation of the new state of Kosovo. These nowadays events have influenced the poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio in coming out of the Arbëresh frame making it a poetry of the whole Abanian nation conscience. These events, perhaps unconsciously and unspecified by the poet, revive even the hope to strengthen the part of the Albanian ethnic identity to the Arbëresh people, previously isolated and now opened to the Albanian world, and emotionally part of it. The poetic editions of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio where is more evident the relationship with the national conscience are the poetries collections: “Udhëtimi i parë” [“First trip” (80s)], “Kosova lule” [“Flower Kosovo” (1991)], “Anije me vela e me motorrë” [“Sailing ship with engines”

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(1992)], “Poezi dashurie në kohë vdekjeje” [“Love poems in death times” (1999)]. The Arbëresh drama is presented in the broader context of the Albanian drama (“Anije me vela e me motorë”) and also in that of Kosovo (“Kosova lule”). “Poezi dashurie në kohë vdekjeje”, is a testimony to the call of fraternal blood. The Arbëresh poet suffers the Kosovo drama, he writes poetries about it. The other poetic edition “Anije me vela e me motor” is also a an Albanian drama, including the Arbëresh who feel part of it. The Arbëresh are sensitive towards the events that deal with the Albanian wherever they are, and proof of this statement is the dedicated poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio. This means that for the Arbëresh it is a new discovery the fact that he is part of the Albanian ethnic identity and this will give him trength, because it will not feel anymore alone and isolated! The image of Albania appears in a progressive change in the poetic creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, from the Albania with romantic tones in the series of poetries “Udhëtimi i parë” into the Albania with realistic tones in the edition of poetries “Anije me vela e me motorë” (1992) dedicated to the great exodus of Albanians in the 90s but even to the escapes of Albanians of all times including the escape of the Arbëresh “our yesterday’s and today’s escapes” - and the Albania of the recent years, considered for the first time with optimistic and confident tones in the poetry “Këtu kalimthi” (“Here passing”) that is part of the edition “Poezi gushtore e tjera” [“August poetries and others” (1995)]. In the series of poetries “Udhëtimi i parë” the poet brings in a poetic language a sense of nostalgia for the strongly desired and dreamed land from the Arbëresh. A popular and treated theme even from the romantic predecessors. The poetries of this series are free verse poetries with cheerful

rhythms. The form of modern poetry, which generally characterizes the poetries of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is missing. The poetries are characterized by complete sentences, without lack of syntax. The content with romantic ideal tones regarding Albania appears in the foreground. Albania appears as “forever young mother”, “first mother”, “patient”, “history challenging”, “extraordinary land”, “bride”, and the Arbëresh as “the ancient son”, “with centuries’ turbulence on his breast”, “happy face”, etc. We do not find the romantic ideal vision of the poet about Albania in the later collections of poetries after the 90s “Udhëtimi i parë”. The ideal Albania does not exist anymore! The vast breakage of this ideal for Albania comes with the poetry collection “Anije me vela e me motor”, published in 1992 after another large escape of the Albanians in Italy and to other Europe countries, no doubt inspired by the great exodus of the Albanians in the 90s. More than in any other poetry or poetry book, there is evident in this edition the common ethnic identity of the Arbëresh with the Albanians, and the relationship with the national conscience. This is also evident from the title of the book “Anije me vela e me motor” [“Sailing ship with engines” (1992)] where “the sailing ship” symbolizes exactly the Arbëresh escapes in the past and “the motor ship” symbolizes nowadays escapes of the Albanians. The poetries of the book are all without titles, and with only a serial number (I, II, II, etc.) that clearly warns the same thematic of all poetries: the pain of the past and nowadays pain, the escape from the homeland. Therefore, the book may be considered as a long “epic” - lyric poem from the viewpoint of thematic continuity of the poetries and the long period of the Albanian history it includes, since 1480

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(large exodus of the Arbëresh) until today (contemporaneous exodus of the 1990s). In the poetry I, that may be regarded as a prologue of this poetry edition, consisting of 21 (twenty one) parts, precedes the atmosphere of a poetry with low tones and not joyful where the author compares it with the cloudy weather, ideal weather for tragic tones poetry. Overcast weather (Overcast weather./For tragedy not for poetry.) does not warn anything good except pain, drama, tragedy. The poet can not remain silent regarding today’s escapes, because the pain of the refugees is even his (he has got Albanian blood) and knows very well this bitter experience (because he is Arbëresh). Albanianism and its drama belong to him as well. There is that Albanian part of the Arbëresh identity that makes him part of the drama! It seems like even the Arbëresh escape is fresh, occurring in front of the poet’s eyes, no matter the time escapes are alike, same bitterness! The poet feels obliged to speak, otherwise today’s escape (poetic verses) for him would be ignoring yesterday’s escape, furthermore, a second escape. He feels responsible to speak not only on past escapes but also on the present ones (Can not be silent./Either escape, I feel responsible even this time...) In the poetry II, even though he does not entitle it, the poet calls Albanian “an always robbed Olympus”, abandoned by the Gods who wear human shapes. Apparently this is a warning, a bad omen, to be confirmed and detailed in the following poetries. Always A robbed Olympus And then the Gods Put on the human shapes the torn clothes of the escape. After the bad omen predicted in the initial poetries “overcasted weather”, “robbed Olympus” begins the Albanian drama. Initially, the escape raises hope

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for a better life away from the homeland, simultaneously with the hope - light arouses the fear from the unknown - darkness: The face turned pale The eyes googled They had faith in the darkness-light. The escaping Albanians just ran away from their country and had faith in “the dark-light” that awaited them. The verb “had” in the verses above, which is in the past tense, makes you think that the trust is broken! The “Darkness-light” is a powerful antithesis expressing hope for a new life but also anxiety about the fear from the unknown. The poet does not agree with the escape, he is against it, against the past and nowadays escapes. There comes a powerful call to not abandon the homeland (... but do not sell/to no bidder the distinguished holy name/of the homeland you left in its fate!). In some poetries included in the poetry edition titled “Poezi gushtore e tjera” there is a time sequential with the edition “Anije me vela e me motor” because after the great escape is given even the life of a part of Albanians in the foreign country. The Albanians are viewed differently now! While in the poetries collection “Udhëtimi i parë” the Albanians are seen from a romanticist point of view, as “determined”, “invincible”, “workers”, “simple”, “dancers”, “prudent with gestures”, “lovers of their land”etc, in the poetries that belong to the two last decades they are (drug dealers,exploiter, killer, sequestrive ...!) The poet believes that the events in Albania rolled non wisely. These events had a negative impact, not only in Italy but also throughout Europe. Many Albanians emigrates ended tragically for they could not overcome the weight of civilization. The pot’s cover arose without wisdom like a boiling radiator cap and the soup was poured.

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Europe was singed. But first Italy. The optimism about Albania in the future comes powerfully in the poetries “Shqiptarja” [“Albanian girl”] and “Këtu kalimthi”. The poet has confidence in the power of women regarding country’s progress by viewing them in the ordinary jobs as well as in the most important areas of life. “Këtu kalimthi” is one of the most significant poetries, dedicated to the Albanian female world and one of the rarest where comes to light the feminine world. The optimism about an Albania with a better future is evident when the poet calls Albania “Lady Albania”. HERE PASSING Here passing For leading works study or holidays. The other side of the coin. Many women About forties in career in newspapers publishing houses, TV determined discerning eyes accustomed with command hungry for modernity with a grain of hysteria. Feminine power. Today more than ever two and two make four. I congratulate you Lady Albania. Kosovo is a permanent concern in the poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio. We find his concern in several editions of poetries, such as “Poezi gushtore e tjera”, also in the poetic summary dedicated entirely to Kosovo, such as “Kosova lule”,

“Poezi dashurie në kohë vdekjeje”. The poet is concerned about the fate of the people under the Slavonian oppression and about the indifference of Europe towards Kosovo. (I fear that Europe/when it sees the smoke of the sacrified/will believe that there is taking place/a picnic with grilled meat). Kosovo asks for help their brothers of the same blood, but they feel unable to do anything, so all they can offer is moral support (we can help/exactly morally). In the poetic edition dedicated to Kosovo “Kosova lule” (1991) is felt the danger and the following conflict. Kosovo is a “dry tinder” that can flare at any moment from any possible negligence, or loss of patience. The poet feels the Kosovo pain, it is the blood that calls him, and makes him feel part of the Albanian identity. objective tragedy enrages even us because Kosovo is fluid that draws us behind In Kosovo it is forbidden to learn Albanian “the school is arrested”, to write and read “the books are arrested”, to have institutions that speak and write Albanian “the newspapers, radio, TV are arrested”. The irony deepens when the poet sees Kosovo imprisoned and according to the authorities there prevails “peace and serenity” (In this handcuffed Kosovo/in locks/rule the “Order” and “Peace!”). All of these happen in Kosovo, part of Europe of the 20th century. Yet, greeting and thinking is prohibited in Kosovo, ironizes the poet. But how can you stop people’s thoughts? How can be stopped someone’s feeling from being expressed? Definitely not! A nation is not killed physically, it is killed when its memory dies. Kosovo’s memory are its writers. Although a poet can be prisoned, or killed, he still lives through his work. Literature breaks every dictatorship, it survives and becomes the strength of a

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nation. Even the war in Kosovo in 1999, does not leave the poet indifferent. His poetry dedicated to the war culminates with the poetry collection “Poezi Dashurie në Kohë Vdekjeje” where the poet has created love poetries for Kosovo during wartime. He is aware that it requires sacrifices without which there can not be obtained the desirable freedom. Before Kosovo entered the war, it tried all possible ways to gain its freedom and the war came as a “forced choice”, because of injustices towards it, which are various. When you enter the war as forced choice closed the notebook of the suffered violations ………………………………….. your face has a wrinkle only groove of a pain fertile land seems with which to wrap whom will fall down lifeless for love The poet does not justify the war, although sometimes it is necessary, like the intervention of NATO army in Kosovo. Man lives in an imperfect world with pain, with hurricanes and earthquakes and part of this imperfection is even the war. The present edition of poetries dedicated to the Kosovo war, and written by an Arbëresh writer whose poetics reaches its artistic maturity peak, is an emotional edition of an Albanian son who is able to understand the pain of his Kosovo brothers (... my love you are burning with your own fire/and kindle mine. .....). Matteo Mandalà rightly calls the Kosovo war “The new chronicle of an old tragedy”. There are the old tragedies of all the Albanians that occasionally appear

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in all poetries of Di Maggio and this poetries’ edition is dedicated to another Albanian tragedy in the modern times. The poet identifies his Albanian identity with the Kosovo one and the equality sign of these identities is the common language with which he dedicates love songs in death times to Kosovo. In your language and in mine ................................ I want your proud step with the disgraceful procession step. And at this moment where life of a Kosovo person decreases in the lowest market price of Serbian wisdom I’m giving you written love evidence in your language and in mine Love songs permeate the whole book, and the poet’s human feeling is found everywhere. The pain of death is the same for both people who lose their sons. The human pain of death is the same for the humans, regardless the nationality, and despite the death rituals. Death hurts the same Kosovo people and Slovak people. The weight of murders goes on the conscience (if they have one) of those few powerful humans that put people in conflicts and consequently bring only death, destruction, pain and suffering. I do not know if the dead are all equal the dead rituals change but identical are the sorrows ... …………………………………. ... while the ritual wears the dead Kosovo sons as Lazar away the dead Serbian in carved wood accompanied by different mournings essentially identical ... The poet is concerned even about the

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post war, the feeling of revenge that may arise among Kosovo people. He does not justify the revenge despite the cruelty and the serious crimes. In the series of poetries “Vjersha të verëshme dhe vëllazërie” [“Summer and fraternity poetries”], written after the war in Kosovo, is given an atmosphere of harmony and a sense of brotherhood between the poet and the Kosovo people in various cities with Albanian population. Kosovo is no longer a stone hanging at the bottom of the bag, Kosovo is no longer hostage of today Albanianism. After the establishment of the State of Kosovo it is quite possible to speak of “The great return”, of the entire Albanian homeland without physical borders! The poetries of this series are dedicated to Tetovo, Skopje, Struga, etc., to brotherhood and friendship (Who cultivated the vineyard knew/that worked for friendship/ for poets’ inspiration/so we apply this gospel/of brotherhood that comes easily....). The poet feels like home (Wherever I step on this ground/I feel the good community/as human are our lands). It is evident in the following verses the optimism, the overcoming of the Arbëresh isolation entering into contact with their brothers of the same blood, being in contact with the Albanian: We do not need the vineyard blood drunk as we are from the sparkling wine of brotherhood, but these personal cups receiving liquid from the bottlecommunity tonight have as many sparks as the stars that build on the glasses new outlines. B. The relationship with the predecessor

poetics (tradition)

If Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is ranked with the lyric poetry amongst the contemporary Arbëresh poets, with the epic

poems “Nëpër udhët e Parrajsit shqiptar dhe t’arbëreshë” [“Through the Albania and Arbëresh Paradise”] and “Fatosat - Trimat e rinj arbëreshë apo arsyeja e gjëravet” [“New generation – The brave young Arbëresh or the reason of the things”] he will continue the epic tradition of his predecessors. Likewise the Arbëresh poetic tradition all the creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, whether epic or lyric was inspired by the Arbëresh world and its poetic messages were addressed to that world, to those people who are the main protagonists of his creativity by enabling the readers a comprehensive approach to the recognition of the community to which he belongs. In the poetic creativity of this poet is obvious the pride about his Arbëresh that managed to resist the Italian assimilation impact and extinction of the ethnic identity that his ancestors fought for, and contributed to the several centuries old resistance done from the Arbëresh to face the assimilation. The poetic creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is expression and product of the series of cultural and spiritual enrichment of the Arbëresh world, a worthy successor of transmitting the tradition. The Arbëresh poet is a follower of the tradition in addressing the issue of the ethnicity aiming the awareness for its preservation, but unlike the tradition, he did this through evoking glorious events and protagonists of the history, and also through emphasising the risks that threaten today the Arbëresh community. The continuity of the Arbëresh literary tradition in the poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, appears also in the constant presence of the national ideology in his verses. This continuity with tradition is separated from the target of identifying this issue. If the national issue in the tradition literary creativity had as political goal the encouraging of the Albanian people in the way of their country’s independence,

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in the poetic creativity of Di Maggio the purpose of the national ideology presence is more spiritual and aims at raising the awareness of the Arbëresh that in his veins flows Albanian blood and this should be a sufficient reason to preserve their ArbëreshAlbanian language and culture. The time and place in the poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio are determined, they are not casual, the spirit of his time is present in all the poetic creativity. For Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio nowadays it is no longer an inherent issue the lament of the past and the loss of the ancient homeland, but primarily the existence and preservation of the Arbëresh as a community with ethnic and linguistic individuality. The cultural myths of the tradition are broken in the poetic creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio. The idealized images from the Arbëresh Romantics are seen in the light of modern times or symbolize the good in the fight against the evil. The image of Skanderbeg, an image of the tradition literature of the Arbëresh, the symbol of resistance against the Turkish enemy, in the the poetry edition Atje kam - La mia Morea (My Homeland) hides another story, not legendary, but the one that shows the lost struggle of Girolamo Schirò, brother’s poet, against the century’s evil. The traditional Arbëresh writers, who revived and idealized the past of Albania, are turned into myths in the poetic creativity of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, and into legendary characters of the Arbëresh culture. Between these characters shines the image of Jeronim De Rada. The poet calls this writer “The Great Voice”, whose monument is renewed to his descendants: ...of De Rada monument renewed to the descendants. Besides the fact that Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is a follower of the Arbëresh tradition for the reasons mentioned above,

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he stands out for its creative individuality, recording except the meeting points with the tradition, even his individual features. The two key elements that distinguish and make his poetic creativity deeply individual are: 1. The poetic modernity. The traditional Arbëresh poets often created their written works on the basis of verbal poetry, so that they could find acceptance from a wider range of readers, whereas the poetry of Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio is directed especially to cultivated readers and from its shape it belongs to the modern poetry. 2. The overcoming of the national constant ideology. In the poetry collection “Atje kam” Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio presents poetries with intimate personal notes, at the same time mystical poetries that overpass the national ideological immobility of the Arbëresh tradition. References [1] [2]

[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

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Anton Nikë Berisha, Arbëresha on Italian literature, Tirana, 2000. Anton Nikë Berisha, Interpretations of literature of Arberesha in Italy, Luiggi Pellegrini Editore, Cosenza, Italy, 2008. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, -Viaggio nel Paradiso Albanese- , 1974. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Fatosat - Settimo Torinese, 1977/79. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Sonata - poesie 1965/’75 - Settimo Torinese. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - Prima che si faccia buio - Settimo Tor. 1977. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, APKLPS, fotoparole - Settimo Torinese, 1980. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, La tignola e la ruggine - Palermo, 1981. Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Language of bread – editor Ali Podrimja; choice afterword: Rexhep Ismaili Renaissance, 1981 Prishtina (Kosovo).

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Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Beyond the mountains behind hill - selected and prepared by Nasho Jorgaqi - “Naim Frashëri” - Tirana, 1985. [11] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, -500 anni tuoi-, -Mastro gio’ italo- albanese - Mondo Albanese - Lercara Friddi, 1988. [12] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - Metafora Mondo Albanese, 1990. [13] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - Fiore Kosovo Mondo Albanese, 1991. [14] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - Navi a vela e a motore – Mondo Albanese, 1992. [15] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - Poesie agostane e altre – Mondo Albanese, 1995. [16] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - L’orto e le finestre - Mondo Albanese, 1996. [17] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - Geometrie e fughe - Mondo Albanese, 1998. [18] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Poesie d’amore in tempo di morte. Kosova Martire Secondo Trimestre 1999. – Preface of Matteo Mandalà - Salvatore Sciascia, Caltanissetta, 2000. [19] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, - La mia moreaPreface of Matteo Mandalà - Salvatore Sciascia, Caltanissetta, 2004. [20] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, Islands anthology of his poesia - prepared for publication by Nasho Jorgaqi – OMBRA GVG – Tirana, 2007. [21] Giuseppe Schirò Di Maggio, – Giorneroe, – Pitti Editore, Palermo 2009. [22] Italo Costante Fortino, Village as a metaphor - Newspaper “Drita” 28 January 1990. [23] Nasho Jorgaqi, Preface of poetry volume Islands, Tirana: Di Maxho, 2007. [24] Nasho Jorgaqi, “Poet Arbëresh of Ithaca”, -Islands-, Zef Schirò Di Maggio, OMBRA GVG, 2007. [25] International Seminar materials for Albanian Language and Literature, Prishtina, August, 2002, Prishtina: Publisher Faculty of Philology, 2003. [10]

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

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The Relation between the Hebrew People in the Old Testament and the Science of Those Times Assoc. Prof. Adrian Vasile, PhD

Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Theology Constanta, Romania ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 September 2016 Received in revised form 19 October Accepted 22 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.12

Man is God’s only creation who was given reason, will and feeling, having been created in God’s own image. Reason refers to man’s ability to know nature and to rule over it (Genesis I, 28) which occurred throughout his millenary existence through the development of science in all its aspects. Science is the fruit of the divine gift offered through genesis – man’s wisdom (Proverbs I, 7). The first step taken by man was to develop writing to help him record his actions, his nature-related discoveries or his feelings towards the world around him. Later on man has developed the other sides of science: mathematics, physics, astronomy, philosophy, etc. For the Hebrew people, science was subjected to religion and urged it to apprehend the divine work. The science of the Hebrews in the Old Testament was known to the cultures and civilizations of the old oriental peoples.

Keywords: the Hebrew people; the Old Testament; Language; History; Philosophy; Geography; Astronomy; Mathematics;

I. INTRODUCTION

Writing and language represent the tools for knowledge and for transmitting thoughts and feelings, being absolutely necessary in the development of any science. Initially, man used pictographic, cuneiform and hieroglyphic scripts to express certain things, phenomena or deities. Later on, Phoenicians were the first to use alphabetic writing which was taken over by the Greek (1200-1000 B.C.), who included vocals in the alphabet, and then by the Romans. Older than the Phoenician writing are the signs of the Sinaitic inscriptions belonging to a

Semite population as well which used 32 phonetic symbols. The increasingly frequent use of writing allowed for all kinds of sciences to appear and develop, among which we mention humanities (linguistics, history and philosophy), natural sciences (geography, astronomy) and exact sciences (mathematics). The Hebrew people of the Old Testament was well acquainted with all these aspects of science that they acquired in their own way, in constant relation to the divine law revealed in the Old Testament.

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II. THE HEBREWS AND HUMANITIES: LINGUISTICS, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY

Cuneiform writing was used in the Holy Land in Abraham’s times, just as the tables of Tell el-Amarna show. The tablets or letters of Amarna represent an ancient epigraphic monument, dating from the middle of the 14th century B.C. which consisted of 382 ceramic tablets. One of the letters shows the fact that the governor of Jerusalem „complained about the fact that Habiru or the Hebrews were invading and conquering the land of that province”. [1] During their stay in Egypt, the Hebrews used hieroglyphs. After the conquest of Canaan by Joshua and until the Babylonian exile, the Israelites used paleo-Hebrew writing related to the Phoenician one in form and after returning from the exile they adopted the Aramaic square writing widely spread among the oriental peoples. The paleo-Hebrew writing used to write the holy books and the Hebrew language used in service were replaced by the Aramaic language and writing, which are to be found in the Masoretic text. The forms of the paleo-Hebrew writing are confirmed by the text of the ancient inscriptions such as the Mesha Stele (the 9th c. B.C.), Hischia (the 8th c. B.C.) and the Dead Sea Scrolls. We must mention that the paleo-Hebrew writing was used to write the Pentateuch or Job’s book. [2] The biblical Hebrew language was spoken by Abraham’s offspring and it is related to the ones in the Semite Phoenician and Canaan branch, as well as to the Accadian or the Assyro-Babylonian one. It is different from the Assyro-Babylonian language that the Prophet Isaiah calls strange (Isaiah 28:11) and obscure (Isaiah 33:19). Also, it was different from Aramaic (4 Kings 18:26) in which some texts or chapters of the Old Testament were written, such as Jeremiah 10:11, Daniel 2:4-7 and 28, Ezra 4:8; 6:18; 7:16-

26. In other words, the Hebrew people spoke the Hebrew language which is part of the large family of Hamito-Semitic languages. In terms of writing, several kinds of paleo-Hebrew writing are known in the Old Testament, because it was used to write different names, the rulers and the elderly of the Sukkot, (Judges 8, 14) and was used by Soferim, the writers of the royal court (2 Kings 20:25). As far as the writing instruments are concerned, the Hebrew used the stylus, the quill, the cane and the ink. [3] The writing kit was word one on the side (Ezekiel 9:2). In the beginning what they wrote on were clay tablets for cuneiform writing, and then the papyrus and, starting in the 2nd c. B.C., the parchment (from the name of the city of Pergamum). Books were shaped as tomes or scrolls and were written in columns. We can notice from the above that the Hebrew people were concerned about using the spoken and the written language, this resulting from the many texts preserved until today. Also, the fact that there was a religious group (essenes) dealing with the reproduction of Hebrew literature’s old text, it shows the major interest the Hebrews had in Linguistics. Just like all oriental peoples, the Hebrew were particularly interested in history. Initially it was orally preserved, then in writing by putting down triumphal songs (Exodus 15; Judges 5). We cannot know the exact time when the history of the people of Israel started being recorded, but in the beginning preoccupations of this kind are to be found in genealogies and epic poems highly appreciated by the Orientals in royal times. The chancellor had the obligation to write down the events during the reign of the kind and the writer to write down information about the life of the people and of the kings. [4] Historical data have also been recorded by the prophets in their

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writings or by their apprentices as well as by the priests who were specialized in writing history. What ancient history missed on, since it was more preoccupied with the origins and the development of the families instead of recording the historic events, is compensated by the authors of the Old Testament who among genealogies also include years of a certain time period. Those who dealt with genealogies were called soferim while those who wrote about history soferim. The Pentateuch is not a historical book in itself. The author does not write the universal history of mankind or of the biblical people. is not about cosmogony, neither about geogony. These are only aspects that are touched to justify its very content. In reality, the Pentateuch is the history of the beginnings of the humankind. Its main content is «the Law given by God ». This Law is not systematically presented, it is not organized in paragraphs, as in a law codex, but it is historically presented, according to the order in which it was promulgated. [5] The Pentateuch is the first and most important part of the Old Testament, that the Jew call Torah = „Law“. Its biblical name comes from two Greek names pénte = „five“ and teuhos = „book“; therefore, Pentateuch means „The Five Books“, that is the generic name of the writings it is composed of: Genesis (since it tells about the creation of the world and of the humankind), Exodus (meaning the history of how the chosen people left slavery in Egypt), Leviticus (containing references to the functions of the priests from the tribe of the Levites), Numbers (the numbering of the Hebrew people in the desert) and Deuteronomy (which translates into, also from Greek, „The second Law“, a detailed recounting of the a Law received by Moses on mount Sinai). All these made up a single book from the very beginning; the division was made

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in the 3rd c. B.C. by the translators of the Septuagint, without them flawing the unity of the work. Joshua continues the story from Moses’ death and his replacement by Joshua, the military, but also spiritual leader. Joshua urges the Israelites not only to conquer Palestine, but also to follow God. The first part of the book presents the conquest of the Promised Land, while the second part describes in detail the division of the territories among the twelve tribes of Israel. [6] Judges. Because the Israelites did not obey God’s express orders, and left isolated pagan communities scattered across the Pales¬tine untroubled, subsequently they suffered waves of oppression from the surrounding nations – 7 in all. Judges contains several somber recounts – two or three of them being bloodcurdling – which show the terrible consequences that disobeying God’s Word brings along. Ruth’s book, a „small tome” of biblical history does not chronologically come after Judges, but comes after a period of deep spiritual darkness, demonstrating that even in times of spiritual downfall, the remaining faithful people can serve God in an acceptable and admirable way. The Monarchic books (Samuel, Kings and Paralipomenon or Chronicles) are books that cover the period of the era monarchy (1043-586 B.C.), even though, in all modern editions each of these three books was divided into two parts, so that in fact we have six books. Samuel. 1 and 2 Samuel have three persons as main characters: Samuel, Saul and David. Samuel is the prophet who anointed the first king of Israel, Saul, who was followed by David, whose attempts and successes are described in enough detail in these books. [7] Kings. Though Solomon, son of David,

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was a wise and bright ruler, he lost his spiritual strength after marrying a number of pagan women. His son, Rehoboam, caused the splitting of the kingdom into two separate states, Judah to the south (which had both good and bad rulers) and Israel to the north (which only had bad rulers). In 722 B.C. the Northern Kingdom fell, its population was taken into captivity, while between 605 and 586 the Southern Kingdom had the same faith, being taken into captivity as well. Paralipomenon or Chronicles. In the Hebrew Bible it is the last book, telling the history of the Jewish people from Adam (by simply enumerating genealogies) until the fall of the Southern Kingdom. Being a spiritual recount of the Hebrew history, the book emphasizes the positive elements (and for this it even omits David’s great sin and totally ignores the revolted Northern Kingdom). The Restoration Books (Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther). After the seventy-year exile in Babylon, the nation was at first a theocracy then a monarchy, and later becomes a mere province of the non-Jewish powers ruling the world - first Persia, then Greece and then Rome. The period covered is 536- 420 B.C. Ezra. In 536 B.C. King Cyrus issued a decree which allowed the Jews to come back to their country. Around 50.000 Jews (that is only a small minority out of their total number) came back to Palestine led by Zerubbabel, to reconstruct the temple. Ezra the priest brought 2.000 Jews with him in 458 B.C. Nehemiah. In 444 B.C. Nehemiah got permission from the king of Persia to reconstruct the collapsed walls of Jerusalem that surrounded the reconstructed temple. When the walls were repaired, Ezra and Nehemiah were the leaders of a reform and of a spiritual awakening in the life of the Jewish state. Esther. Chronologically, this book is not

the last one in the series of the Restoration books, since the events that are describes inside it take place in Persia, between chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Ezra. Maybe it was placed in final position among the books of the Restoration because it tells about the life of those who did not care to return to the Holy Land when they were offered the chance to do so. Esther illustrates how sometimes God works from behind the scenes, to say so (actually, His name does not appear a single time in the contents of the book), to protect His ancient people of anti-Semitic persecutions and even of genocide. The tools He used for that were: that beautiful heroic Jewish queen, Esther, and her valiant cousin, Mordecai. [8] Besides the historical books of the Old Testament there were others of the same kind, which unfortunately were not preserved: „The Book of the Wars of the Lord” (Numbers 21:14), „The Book of Wisdom of Solomon” (3 Kings 11:41), „The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah” (3 Kings 14:29) or „The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel” (3 Kings 22:39). „The Book of the Wars of the Lord” is a document mentioned and quoted in Numbers 21:14 and the following. The quote ends with the word „Moab” (verse 15), but it is possible that the fragments of poetry in verses 17-18 and 27-30 come from the same source. The work is evidently a collection of popular songs that commemorate the first fights of the Israelites. Its name shows that the Israelites considered Yahweh their virtual commander general and gave Him the merit of their victories. According to some researchers, „The Book of the Wars of the Lord” was written during the life of Moses. [9] Not much is known about „The Book of Wisdom of Solomon”. In the Old Testament we are reminded that: „As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, all he did and the wisdom he displayed, are not they written

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in the book of the annals of Solomon”. (3 Kings 11:41) We understand it is a historical book in which Solomon’s life and actions are presented, without it being canonical, and which disappeared, „without even a copy of it being left”. [10] „The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah” (3 Kings 14:29) and „The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel” (3 Kings 22:39) represents two sources used by the author of the Book of Kings 3 when he mentions a king from the Southern Kingdom, respectively from the Northern Kingdom. The author took out information from these sources, and indicated them to those who want to know more. But these two sources must not be mistaken for the two canonical books 1 and 2 Chronicles. [11] The History represented, within the Hebrews science, a branch highly appreciated through the fact that both the Old Testament writers and other writers who are not in the biblical canon, all were concerned about recording the facts contemporary with them or those kept in the Jewish tradition. It should be mentioned that not only the writers of the historical books of the Old Testament had a significant role in recording the Jewish history, but other writers and even the prophets mentioned within their writings historical aspects, this showing the desire of framing their writing in a historical actuality. The philosophy of the Jews is rather a theosophy related to life rather than speculation. They tried to explain everything through religion and adjust their way of life to the precepts of the divine Law to have earthly happiness and eternal life. After the Babylonian exile we can speak of Jewish philosophers, in the true sense of the word. They live in the Hellenist period and try to reconcile Mosaic religion with the philosophy of those times, especially the Greek one (Neo-Platonism). [12]

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III. GEOGRAPHY, ASTRONOMY AND

MATHEMATICS

From ancient times history has been studies just like geography. From the Old Testament we can see that the Jews had geographic knowledge about the universe, the earth and the paradise. The location of certain peoples with their fortresses, as well as the description of the Holy Land, proves that the Israelites possessed rich knowledge in this field in the times of the Old Testament (Genesis 2:8, 10:14; Joshua 13:21). „The expressions „the land of Israel” (1 Samuel 13:19) and „the promised land” (Hebrews 11:9) have the same region in view, the latter usually referring to the region from Dan to Beersheba, north of Negev”. [13] The settlement of two and a half Israelite tribes east of Jordan was the result of unpredicted circumstances, while keeping the lands beyond Jordan seems generally uncertain. After the division of the kingdom, the name of Israel was usually used for the Northern Kingdom in the Middle Ages, and the term „Holy Land” was often used (Zachariah 2:12). Geographical references are also given by the prophet Isaiah who reminds of the „Way of the Sea” (Isaiah 9:1) which goes along the low coast of Egypt to the Valley of Esdraelon. Then goes inland approaching the mountains of Syria, passing west of the Lake of Galilee, then through the Gate of Syria and the central depression of Damascus, where it joins the caravan routes, then crossing Mesopotamia. Another well-known route is the imperial one, which passes by the plateau of Transjordan, from the Gulf of Aqaba to Damascus”. [14] It marks an area with increasingly richer precipitations and was partly covered by the Israelites on their way out of Egypt (Numbers 21-22); all the cities enumerated in Numbers 21 and in Numbers 27-30 are situated along the same route.

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The cutwater of central Palestine is crossed yet by another route, the shortest between Sinai and Canaan. To the north of Negev this route connects a series of important springs, west of the arid and deserted depressions of eastern Negev, which are hard to cross. This route connects the most important historical centers, starting from Qadesh-Barnea and Beersheba to Hebron, Jerusalem, Sihem and Megiddo. All these routes enforced the north to south positioning of Palestine which drew benefits from commercial and cultural contacts. But rarely was Israel able to have control over these commercial routes without interfering with the strategic interests of the great powers that dominated their ends. „Even during Solomon’s reign, the coast routes were too tightly controlled by the maritime powers to allow any interference (1 Kings 9:11; 10:22; Ezekiel 27:17), while Edom was for a rather long period the sworn enemy of Israel, because it dominated the commercial routes coming from the Gulf of Aqaba, where Israel brought its lead from (Obadiah 3)”. [15] From the above mentioned we notice that in the times of the Old Testament the Jews were interested in geography-related aspects, knowing very well the positioning of the Holy Land and the privileges it brought. Astronomy was far less cultivated because it was so developed in Assyria and Babylonia and many times identified with astrology, that it could have attracted them towards idolatry: „And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:19). The Jews had astronomy knowledge that they used in agriculture, trade and to calculate time

(the calendar). They gave up the astrology discoveries since God expressed His will through prophets and not through fortune tellers. To calculate time and draw the calendar the Jews used the knowledge they had taken from the Egyptians, the Assyro-Babylonians, the Greeks and the Romans. Similarly to the Babylonians, the year was lunar, because it was divided into months according to the phases of the Moon and the Sun and the compensation for the Sun’s movement was made by adding in a month. Given the regular changing or repetition of the seasons, the formal year got its name being made up of 354 days, with 12 months of 29 and 30 days varying irregularly. Every 2-3 years a 13th month was added to harmonize the lunar and the solar years (365 days just as the Egyptian year). Adding a13th 29-day month called the second Adar was done according to the moment when barley became ripe on 14 Nissan so that on 16 Nissan (the second day of Easter) the barley sheaf could be brought to the temple as offering at the beginning of the harvest period. In the Old Testament, the Jewish year started in autumn because it was believed that harvest was celebrated at the end of the year: „You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor”. (Exodus 23:16) [16] Later on, in Moses’ time, the year began in spring (Exodus 12, 2). The two beginnings of the year will be preserved, the first for the economic year, the second for the religious year. One year began on Tişri when the «Tabernacles» were celebrated and the counting of the sabbatical and Jubilee years began, the other one on 1 Abib when Passover was celebrated. Jews, as well as other ancient peoples

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divided the year into four seasons, that is two equinoxes and two solstices. In the books of the Old Testament there are frequent references to two seasons: summer and autumn (Genesis 10:22). [17] The ordinary year had 12 months while the leap year had 13 months and months were made up of days that make up weeks. Days begin in the evening, according to the moonrise and last until next evening, just as it is the case for the liturgical day. Prior to the exile the natural day had, besides evening and morning, just like the year, 6 parts: dawn, morning, the heat of the day, afternoon, dusk or the wind of the day and evening which was double, and both were before sunset, and between the two evenings the chandelier was lit and incense was burnt in the Holy and the Passover lamb was stabbed. For the Jewish people, a group of 7 days makes up the week which ends on Saturday, a day for rest and celebration. Related to the week there are the Pentecost or the week of the weeks, the sabbatical year (every 7 years) and the Jubilee year (every 50 years). The days of the week have no special names and are counted as they follow Saturday. In terms of counting the years, it starts after leaving Egypt or after the establishment of the state of Israel. [18] Different counting of the years was made starting with the building of the temple, or in relation to the reigns of the Israelite or foreign kings. Counting the years was also done in relation to the reign of the Seleucid rulers starting the autumn of 312 B.C. or in relation to the reign of Simon Maccabeus (143 B.C.). Because of the divine revelation of the Old Testament, the Hebrews managed to use the astronomy as a science, of course limited at the level known at that time, and they did not has turn this science in idolatry, as their neighbors did. The Jews used the movement of the planets only for Session 3. Social Sciences, Culture, Lifestyle Choices & Religion

dividing the years, months, weeks, days or hours. Staying away from the idolatry had an important role in the transformation of this branch of science, very appreciated at the time, into an ideology or reason for distancing from the revealed truth. The Hebrews of the Old Testament also had mathematical knowledge borrowed from the Egyptians and the Canaanites. The Egyptians used this knowledge a lot to construct pyramids, urban buildings, and irrigation systems as well as to trade. The Hebrews would use it in turn to construct public edifices and through trade they also got additional information in the fields of arithmetic and geometry. The biblical people used numbers in a practical manner, rather than in mathematic theory. They used numbers for ordinary day-to-day problems. In the Old Testament, numbers are always phonetically written. But, during the period between the Old and the New Testaments, an alphabetic writing system was used. Even though it cannot be demonstrated in the Old Testament, it is an interesting fact that the numerical value of the letters in David’s name (14) seems to have determined the genealogy pattern in the first part of the Gospel of Matthew. Archaeological digging found evidence of the way the Hebrews used and wrote numbers. Inscriptions such as the Gezer Calendar, the Moabite Stone or the Siloam Inscription contain only numbers from one to three; contrary, in other cases numbers are stated. Little is known about the theoretical arithmetic of the Hebrews, but they at least had practical awareness of science. The Bible itself contains examples of additions (Numbers 1:26), subtractions (Leviticus 27:18), multiplications (Leviticus 27:25) and divisions (Numbers 31:27). Also, a remarkably high degree of accuracy in using fractions was noticed (Genesis 47:24; Leviticus 5:16; Ezekiel 4:11; 45:13). Scientists

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have noticed that the relations between the measurements of Ezekiel’s temple must have called for considerable mathematical qualification of the prophet. Most of the numbers in the Bible indicate specific quantities. But, in some cases, the authors of the Old Testament did not mention exact or official amounts and detailed enumerations. They estimated the total amount, which was adjusted. The most frequent numerical data mentioned in the Old Testament are censuses, age or other statistics. The age of the people are close to nowadays’ life expectancy, except for the people before the Flood and for Patriarchs. All the ages before the Flood are either a multiple of five or a multiple of five plus seven (or in Methuselah’s case a multiple of five plus seven plus seven). Scientists have established neither the reason why the age of these people is calculated in this way not what it really represents. [19] Conclusion The above mentioned show the fact that the Hebrew people in the Old Testament was not skeptical when looking upon the benefits of the not very developed science of those times. As we have already mentioned, the first step towards developing science was adopting a writing method, starting from the cuneiform one and ending up using an alphabet. This progress of writing can be traced in the history of the Jewish people. Taking into account the fact that it was particularly preoccupied with its religious and social development, they have left behind a series of historical, prophetic or poetic writings, that can also be found in the biblical canon of the Old Testament. Many of the writings of the Old Testament have a profound historical character, which shows a strong relation between the Jewish people and history, which was closely preoccupied with recording the facts, the important characters the numerous genealogies. The

philosophical nature of the Hebrew people is given by the fact that it emphasized spiritual development, many of the things being perceived taking the divinity and its will view. Natural sciences such as geography or astronomy were not neglected. Many of the authors of the Old Testament felt the need to set the facts they referred to in a geographic context. Astronomy, as it was understood by the neighboring peoples, namely the Egyptians and the AssyroBabylonians, was completely rejected as an expression of idolatry. On the other hand, the calendar and the division of time according to the movements of the Sun or the Moon played an important role in the social and religious life of the Hebrews, especially since there were celebrations closely related to elements pertaining to astronomy – equinox, solstice, etc. As an exact science, mathematics was especially used in trade, but also in the construction of lodging and religious facilities. To conclude, the Hebrew people in the Old Testament was very open to everything science in those times meant, using it to progress from the economic and social point of view, but especially to enhance their religious life. REFERENCES [1] L. Siekawitch, The Uniqueness of the Bible, Knoxville, Tennessee: CrossBooks Publishing, 2013, p. 37 [2] Michael D. Coogan, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 177 [3] B.M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Paleography, New York: Oxford University Press, 1982, p. 17 [4] Old Testament Commentary: General Introduction Commentary Books Old Testament, Philadelphia: The Muhlenberg Press, 1961, p. 412 [5] Jacob Neusner and Alan Jeffery, Judaism in Late Antiquity, Part 3, Leiden: Brill, 2000, p. 26

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[6] James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson, Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003, p. 174 [7] Michael Avioz, Josephus’ Interpretation of the Books of Samuel, London: Bloomsbury, T&T Clark, 2015, p. 63 [8] William MacDonald and Arthur L. Farstad, Believer’s Bible Commentary, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1989, p. 223 [9] J.F. MacArthur, The MacArthur Bible Commentary, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2005, p. 184 [10] Carol Stream, The One Year Bible Companion, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 2014, p. 15 [11] J.M. Miller, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1987, p. 197 [12] D. Abrudan and E. Corniţescu, Arheologie Biblică (English “Biblical Archeology”), Sibiu: Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR, 2002, p. 124 [13] A. Negoiţa, Câteva numiri de geografie biblică (English “Some Names of Biblical Geography”), Bucureşti: Editura Credinţa Noastră, 1992, p.21 [14] E. Corniţescu, Arheologie Biblica Biblică (English “Biblical Archeology”), Bucureşti: Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al BOR, 1999, p. 72 [15] J.D. Douglas, Dicţionar Biblic (English “Biblical Dictionary”), Oradea: Editura Cartea Creştina, 1995, p. 928 [16] James Hastings, A Dictionary of the Bible: Volume IV: (Part II: Shimrath - Zuzim), Honolulu, Hawaii: University Press of the Pacific, 2004, p. 764 [17] G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume 13, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004, p. 24 [18] J.H. Hayes and P.K. Hooke, A New Chronology for the Kings of Israel and Judah and Its Implications for Biblical History and Literature, Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2007, p. 28

Dictionary, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2014, p. 813.

[19] Ronald F. Youngblood, Nelson’s Illustrated Bible

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 3 : 1 (2016) 133 - 141

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

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Science and Religious Impacts on the Indian Society Assoc.Prof. Mukthipudi Jaya Kumar Jacob

P. Brahmaji Rao

Environmental Studies Department, Chirala Engineering College (CECC) Chirala, Andhra Pradesh State, India

Environmental Sciences Department Acharya Nagarjuna University Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 September 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 28 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.13

There are three fundamental aspects in every Indian Society, constantly quarrelling, contradicting and compromising one another every time and contributing pollution at alarming rate. They are cultural, secular and religious aspects. Understanding the Interplay of these three aspects can give us valuable information regarding the country’s spiritual forwardness and its social backwardness; ultimately relieve us from the mystery of Indian system. In every aspect, poverty is constant and pollution is dynamic. All Indians are struggling for existence in everyday life. Economy and Ecology are another two aspects, which exploiting the natural resources. Traditionally and technologically, people of India follow religious as well as scientific sentiments. Gap in between poor and rich are widening, inspiring controversy and increasing crime rate. Women are more vulnerable facing insecurity of life problem. Political system is always dominating aspect and acting as opportunistic, parasitic in nature. Knowledge and intelligence of Indians in mother land are vain; where as in foreign lands it is gainful. Brain drain is one more additional problem in recent years in India. Here Education system is in dilemma position and failed to empower the 60% youth in progressive direction, which is a largest in the world. Now India is suffering with falsehood and false prestige. The seventy years of independence and self rule are fruitless more over throwing into debt nation with uncontrolled over population, poverty and pollution pang. Religion without superstitions and Science without side effects are impossible in Indian Society. In this paper researcher investigates the real life problems in India for further rectification. With a view to overcome this pathetic situation in India a new nationalistic and socialistic dimension of life-saver concept was identified namely Yogic Environmentalism [YE] which is an unique journey of humans through their interior, exterior and ulterior spheres to reach a green paradise on Earth. This paper focuses on the symbiotic and synergetic relationship in-between the concepts of ancient yoga and recent environment.

Keywords: culture; yoga; tradition; technology; environment; society; ecosystems; mythology; pollution; poverty; population; religion;

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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I. INTRODUCTION India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, spanning a period of more than 4000 years, and witnessing the fusion of several customs and traditions, which are reflective of the rich culture and heritage of the Country. India is one of the Mega-diversity nations. There were a lot of diversified microbial, plant, animal as well as human species in Indian subcontinent. “Indian” refers to nationality, but not ethnicity or language. The Indian nationality consists of many regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of India. India hosts all major ethnic groups found in the Indian Subcontinent. In short India is an All-inOne Nation. Family is the nucleus of the Indian system. It represents peace, love, hate, poverty, richness, discrimination, inequality, pride, deprive, violence and non-violence, secular, theistic and atheistic, tolerance and intolerance etc. It is worthwhile and noticeable to observe that in one family different religious and nonreligious members co-exist. Means that one can find Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, Jew and Atheist live together and maintain family relationship. When we think of the Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more. Confronted by this difficulty, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, realized that to many Hinduism seems to be a name without any content. Is it a museum of beliefs, a medley of rites; or a mere map, a geographical expression [16, p. 11]. Having posed these questions which disturbed foreigners when think of Hinduism has steadily absorbed the customs and ideas of peoples

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with whom it has come into contact and has thus been able to maintain its supremacy and its youth. The term Hindu according to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, had originally aterritorial and not a creedal significance. It implied residence in a well deficed geographical area. The Hindu religion is a reflection of the composite character of the Hindus, who are not one people but any. It is based on the idea of Universal receptivity. It has ever aimed at accommodating itself to circumstances, and has carried on the process of adaptation through more than three thousand years. It has first borne with and then, so to speak, swallowed, digested, and assimilated something from all creeds [14 , p.57]. By origin or by tradition, often non-Indians or foreign nationals failed to understand what the India exactly. Is India a cultural country, secular country or religious country? The interplay of cultural, secular and religious aspects reveals the mystery of Indian system of spiritual forwardness and its social backwardness. Historians, writers, politicians and other eminent personalities across the globe have greatly appreciated India and its contribution to the world. Undoubtedly, India is a nation of pride and privilege, but unfortunately based on growing levels of pollution, population and poverty, one can say that it is worst polluted site or a dirty nation. India is the world’s most populous democracy. As a nation, India enjoyed 70 years of freedom and independence. An unprecedented, unconditional love of life and life-forms is the ultimate panacea of deaths presently at global and local levels particularly due to the natural and anthropogenic causes. In Indian scenario human deaths reached high and alarming number recently. Poverty is the prime crime in India and a cause of all sufferings in India. Due to uncontrolled population explosion, India suffers a lot with the problem of poverty and pollution. Moreover, Indian Government indirectly contributes towards the continued poverty and oppression of low castes and non-Hindus by ‘masking’ traditional discrimination. Robert Deliége (1988, 1992, 1993, 1999) has studied the

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‘untouchable’ communities of India extensively and states that the future of untouchables (and the poor in general) does not look encouraging and that policies such as ‘positive discrimination’ have accentuated caste differences (Srinivas 1962), resulted in violence (Yagnik & Bhatt 1984) but has contributed towards the ‘caste’ becoming a political force (Béteille 1991; Deliége 1999). The proposed gains in equality are still uncertain (Upadhyaya 1998), Mendelsohn and Viczainy (1998). “Both men and women struggled in the village, but the women, because of their gender, struggled and suffered twice as much as the men.” (Bumiller 1991:79) The relatively unrepresentative role of women in the Panchayat (Moore 1998), and the exclusion of women from traditional institutions (Agarwal 2001; Beck 1995; Moore 1998; Robbins 2000) and even the newly created participatory institutions (Agarwal 1997; Deepa et al. 2000) has contributed to maintaining the role of women as ‘second class citizens’ in rural village life. A. Poverty and Vulnerability: “poverty is essentially a static concept; in contrast, vulnerability is more dynamic, capturing the multi-dimensional aspects of socioeconomic status” (Moser & McIlwaine 1997:16). Vulnerability is considered to be closely linked to asset ownership; the more assets people have the less vulnerable they are (Sen 1981; Swift 1989; World Bank 1990 and Putnam 1993a, 1993b). There are strong linkages between poverty and vulnerability, in spite of this poverty is not always the predominate factor in determining levels of vulnerability but can reinforce some of the other factors (Chambers 1983). Poor and unorganized people do not have a chance for political representation unless their interests can become a weapon in the struggles of the professional political ﬁeld (Bourdieu 1991, 188). The politicization of poverty is necessary for the empowerment of the poor. Making poverty a public, moral, and political issue is often

the basis upon which the poor gain leverage by making power work to their advantage through enrolling elite interests, through pro-poor coalitions, and from competition between elite groups (Moore and Putzel 1999). This view of political representation argues against both the interest group economism’s zero-sum view of structurally opposed interests dividing up the power cake (ibid), and voluntaristic approaches to empowerment through capacity building. II. NATURE AND OUR FUTURE Nature is always our best teacher forever! Earth is our first Mother. Mother Earth is enveloped by the colorful garments of environmental layers i.e. air, water, soil and life. The planet Earth is divine because it has enough to satisfy our daily needs and also meant for the goodness of all its living and nonliving creatures from the beginning. But today the same planet Earth seems to be very violent dancing burning ball of solar family and become a bad star due to the irregular natural calamities as well as anthropogenic causes of pollution. The mass extinction of the species today tells us that man and his mindless activities are the main cause of pollution. Breath of life (O2) and lifespan was shortened and the breath of death (CO2) is increasing daily and crossed 400 ppm mark globally. Chemically both carbons and oxygen’s are very good elements by origin itself in the nature. But their combinations are more dangerous today to the environment causing global warming and ice cap melting. Most of these dangerous combinations are made by the super race of human beings only rather than nature. Indian subcontinent is geographically more vulnerable and more disastrous. In religious terminology, India is suffering with the Vaastu Dosham (Problem or defect of Geographical Position/placement). Today, modern wise man out of his freewill and knowledge spoiling and polluting the life operating and life supporting environment and ecosystems. One of the best examples of this problem is India’s Capital city i.e.

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New Delhi and its dangerous air pollution levels. In the 21st century man is at high risk, becomes a victim and at last scapegoat to the wrath of nature and preparing for the self-extinction. Global retaliation against environmental and ecological exploitation by anthropogenic activities is inevitable in this country in this century. For example, Kedarnath flood, Hudhud cyclone, Chennai floods etc. III. INDIAN PROBLEMS Now India is facing critical problems like pollution, over population, poverty, illegal mining, over exploitation of natural resources, inequality, extremism and terrorism, acid attacks, scams, religious intolerance, caste conflicts, cyber crimes, corruption, farmer’s suicides and deadly natural disasters (NCRB obituary Report, 2013) than ever before. These problems are prone to demolish and demoralize our country’s democracy. In this pathetic situation, India’s prestigious position in the world is utterly damaged and lost its previous name and fame. Here our ancient cultural heritage and civilization is in greater dilemma due to development in Science and Technology and its effects of modernization, industrialization, urbanization and pseudo political aspirations. Modern modifications in every field due to the technological advancement to cope up with the competitive world led us to unconsciousness, mental agony and severe physical stress. Now India never needs patriots or rebels, scientists or technologists, religious or atheists but only needs enthusiastic common and common sense citizens of this country to enable us to overcome these problems to lead peaceful, secured harmonious sustainable life. With a view to overcome this pathetic situation in India a new nationalistic and socialistic dimension of life-saver concept was identified namely Yogic Environmentalism [YE] which is an unique journey of humans through their interior, exterior and ulterior spheres to reach a green paradise on Earth.

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IV. YOGIC LIFE In this turmoil the Semitic Telugu people of Andhra Pradesh State found a new, cognate and cohesion relationship in-between the Yoga and Environment concepts for the sake of delightful and blissful yogic life. The transformation of traditional yoga into modern conservative environmental ethic is to combat the transgressions of human conscience. Henceforth freedom is taken to give a reintroduction to the ancient yoga concept which is free from all the previous ambiguity, sarcastic and pan demoniac meanings, mesmerizing interpretations, delusions and misunderstandings. Yoga concept is resurrected from the death and decay postures of graveyard to regain the Nature’s bounty and Earth’s Green Glory by this new approach. Its original cultural meaning was exposed now to the entire world for kind consideration and practice deliberately. We are not required to become austere, ascetics while we are in yoga now. Yoga is the diameter of birth and death Bio-cycle. Scholars like Arabindo Ghosh admitted that the whole life is Yoga when it is usefully spent. Hence Yoga teaches us about living simple and ordinary with extraordinary multi-talents. Yoga made us to live closure to the nature and lead eco-friendly environment with interconnected relationship with the fellow species - i.e. web of life. Bhavanam Venkatram, the former chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh State once rightly said, ‘According to the Yogic tradition, a religious teacher who is devoted to his personal god, a tiller of the soil who is wedded to his work and a research scholar who is in pursuit of truth may all be Yogis of the same order depending upon the level of their selflessness and sincerity. The great values of egalitarianism, eclecticism and humanitarianism which Hinduism had always cherished are now slowly giving way to the corrosive influence of authoritarianism preached by the Nazi and Fascist forces, not so much outside the Hindu fold but mainly inside itself. The father of the Nation had to sacrifice his life on the altar of this authoritarian tradition. We

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are yet to learn lessons from this and we cannot afford to slacken our vigilance in safeguarding our ancient values of sympathy, tolerance and understanding. Henceforth Yoga is not a lazy or crazy job but it is a divine dynamic duty of natural work division of fruitful, thoughtful and dignified labour of life. It is not a time waste or time pass occupation but it is a timely agenda of life. And it never needs our sixth sense or 3rd eye to open but need our common sense only. Yoga is an eye opener to the world which stimulates the body, mind and soul for divine action. V. REINTRODUCTION TO YOGA Yoga is a commonly known generic term for the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India with a view to attain a state of permanent peace of life. In the Semitic Hebrew language Yogev means farmer or cultivator that works the land and causes it to flourish, yagav a husbandman, yaagev is field, yegia means toil, work, labour etc. After all the word has etymologically nothing to do with the physical bodily exercises or asanaas even in the original Semitic Telugu yoga concept. The word Yoga is a pure Semitic Telugu word, which was terribly plagiarized, hijacked from the non-Aryan cultures by the selfish cultures and had acquired the most irrelevant and limited meaning as yoga – asanaalu meaning physical bodily exercises or positions, gymnastics or photogenic images. The scholars are slowly opening their eyes and admitting that the yoga concept was pre-Dravidian and pre-Aryan. The Telugu people use the word everyday with multiple applications since it was their cultural word example Paryavarana-yogam, udyogam, santhana-yogam, upa-yogam, samsarayogam, sam-yogam etc. Every type of sincere and systematic labour, which eventually bears fruit, is yoga in the original Semitic Telugu Yoga concept. That’s why the Telugu people always say Yoga-abhyaasam in their typical didactic way to tell the people that Yoga means practice or a

systematic cultivation[9]. Therefore it must be correctly understood that any sincere labour that surely bears fruit in any field is Yoga. The ancient Semitic Telugu people groups who had contributed such a rich and fruitful concept to the yoga world must be greatly appreciated. In the ancient Semitic Telugu culture there was no room for laziness or lethargy. That tells us that Semitic Telugu people groups were very hard working, intelligent and scientific. All these labours were called Yogas. All the industrious people were known as Yogis. The hard working and vigorous Semitic Telugu women were known as Yogins. They work along with their husbands unlike the Aryan women who were forced to stay home and worship the husbands. Any sincere practice in any field is Yoga. Let the ones who misinterpret yoga as mere bodily exercises explain the words like Gnana Yoga in their terms. They even teach that great people like Buddha got his enlightenment by merely sitting under a tree and meditating. If that is the way to acquire knowledge, why do the governments spend billions? Yoga is one thing and these meditation techniques and bodily exercises are another thing. Yoga covers peaceful sustainable lifestyle from 360 degrees. The real yoga lesson surely gives 100% peaceful lifestyle to anyone who follows its course naturally and sustainably. All the great figures that inspired the world in human history that never and ever mentioned anything about any physical exercises in their biographies had become such great figures by following the natural course of Yoga. And on the other hand many so called mighty Goliaths that developed their physical bodies ended their lives with no peace. When we draw a picture of a person, we need to follow the natural proportions of the parts of the body of a natural person. We cannot draw a huge head to a tiny body and say that he is more intelligent. Life covers all the aspects of natural life and we need to live our total lives in a very living way. Otherwise we miss the mark. To learn more about the original pre-

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Aryan Yoga traditions, one can refer Yoga or Yaga? series No. 145, published by Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam, Tirupati in which Sri S. Malayandi, Director, Institute of International Palaeographical studies and historical research, Madras has quoted the eminent linguistic historian S. K. Chattterjee who said, “The North India contributed ritualism without any profound spiritual and mystic approach, but the deeper and more universal things like Yoga and Bhakti came from the Pre-Aryan background”. This is the time for Telugu scholars to speak up about their egalitarian Yoga tradition. VI. THE ENVIRONMENT The Environment is the sum of all external conditions affecting the life, development and survival of an organism. In real world everything that affects an organism during its life time is collectively known as its environment3. The Environmental protection is a burning common problem today and an urgent social need that we all know very well. Every day, the human activities are misbalancing nature and imposing more dangers to the environment than by the natural disasters. In this juncture it is proved that human intelligence and technological advancement is under great dilemma and facing critical threat. From the beginning Man is the main polluter and most dangerous pollutant destroyer of the nature and the healthy environment, who is swallowing fellow species and weak cultures of his own species since from the inception and introduction to this world. No one could be vague in the awareness of his or her own existence. Everything else that hinders the scientific investigation is only good for the itching ears that meddle with the definitions. More and more people are living in larger and larger cities nowadays. These high-density communities pose a special challenge in the provision of potable water, clean air, waste disposal, transportation and recreational space. Modern communication has made the world a global village and has raised expectations in most of us for a better life. It will take enormous

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ingenuity, diplomacy and determination for the world’s leaders and those who help them scientists, engineers, lawyers, economists and managers - to guide development over the next century. To influence governmental policies on these matters, pressure groups have emerged that often put their case forward in a biased and exaggerated way. It is not surprising that on particular environmental issues reports appear that are diametrically opposed to each other. Day to day we are witnessing this in the popular press, radio, televisions, websites and in the scientific field. It becomes difficult at times to know what the truth is and whom we believe. VII. YOGIC ENVIRONMENTALISM In this juncture the oriental contribution of Yogic alias Yogevic Environmentalism by the Semitic pedigree is the only solution which gives self glory, self satisfaction and universal bliss to the peasant and pedant Indians from their self made problems. This is the journey of unique union, divine destitute destination, utilitarian, unostentatious, unconditional love of life and unprecedented natural ultimatum. The peace loving, life promoting people i.e. Semitic Telugu people of Andhra Pradesh State are ready to share their views and show the path of light to hopeless and helpless innocent farmers (Body) and intelligent Indians (Mind) to rethink and work together to make India as a debt free and death free nation by the evergreen supreme concept called the Yogic alias Yogevic Environmentalism - A password to the Green Paradise. Yogic Environmentalism [YE] is the most effective, simple and best adopted kibbutz model method to observe for the Environmental protection in cities. In this method every human being must work whole-heartedly and willfully act as Environmental Yogi for the sake of healthy environment. Yogic Environmentalism is not a billion dollar question, needs any pen, printed or paper but gives peaceful, non-violent, simple act of struggle for healthy existence of life. For a true Environmental Yogi or Yogic Environmentalist, his real human life starts when he starts a useful

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work and continues forever in the lives of others who enjoy the fruits of his labour. VIII. EMPIRICAL ERGONOMICS This nationalistic, socialistic way of Yogic life unites us and reminds us that we are all one and we are all belongs to one family, which leads us to oneness. A day is divided into three parts. All these parts are equally shared and exercised by the human Body, Mind and Spirit - Eight hours each. In this divine dignified division of labour everyone must do eight hours bodily work (Agriculture), eight hours mind work (Education) and eight hours spiritual work (Rest/Sleep). Likewise experimentally by taking 50 weeks per year and 5 working days in a week as per day wise exercise will lead us to prosperity. Every citizen of this country if strictly follow this day wise and weekly natural nationalistic, socialistic cultural calendar concept proposed by the Yogic Environmentalism [YE] definitely India is going to fulfill the natural and environmental criteria and enjoy the fruits of the divine dignified labour. IX. THE NATIONALISTIC WAY OF LIFE There are thousands of agrarian laws developed by the Semitic Telugu sages in the field of agriculture (Sedyam) from the stage of sowing (Natlu) to the stage of cutting or harvesting (Kothalu) which made andhra pradesh state as fertile land (Sedya Bhoomi) and food bowl (Annapurna) of India. The original teachings of the first and foremost Telugu luminary Yoga Dakshinamurthy belonging to the egalitarian and humanitarian tradition was mostly in Ancient Telugu language which leads us to the vasudaika kutumbam - Universal family. Throughout the human history, Yogic techniques have been practiced in the entire world, so it would be unwise to consider Yoga an Indian import. In fact, Yoga with its powerful living tradition for creating a sense of inner peace, harmony, and clarity of mind and body, is absolutely relevant to the modern world. In one family, the husband can be a farmer, the wife can be washer-women,

the eldest son can be a barber, the second son can be a potter, the third son can be a metal worker and the fourth son can be a teacher or preacher of religion. To be simpler, with all kinds of needful occupations, the Telugu people are self sufficient and multitalented with arts, music, and drama and singing. Whether shepherds, farmers, potter, tailors, tanners, weavers, barbers, washer men, metal workers, all are treated with equal respect. CONCLUSION In a view to avoid present human problems out of danger one has to think positively to save the life on earth. In this juncture our ancient Yoga philosophy and infant Environment concept if combined and studied together may help us to overcome our present situation. Both these disciplines are having multidisciplinary nature. For example Yoga is all about shaping inner beauty (Body, Mind, and Spirit) and environment is shaping outer beauty (Air, Water, Soil). Hence if the life incidences coincide with the environmental conditions human life will be more meaningful and reach its ecstasy. Both Yoga and Environment had their own importance today to bring change in human life. Henceforth Yoga and Environment are having utilitarian and egalitarian aspects rather than authoritarian and religious monarchy. Yoga and Environment disciplines had their own layers and ways to promote lifespan in human beings on this earth. Two eyes give a very good sight as well as good vision than one eye.

References [1] Barbara. A. H., Veda and Torah, State University

of New York Press, Albany, 1996;

[2] Bryant. E, Edwin, The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

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New Edition, Translation, and Commentary. New York, USA: North Point Press, 2009. 56-90; Carson. R, Silent Spring, 1-30, Mariner Books, USA, 2002; Chambers R., Rural Development: Putting the Last First, Harlow: Longman, 1983; Charsley, S.. Interpreting untouchability: The performance of caste in Andhra Pradesh, South India. Asian Folklore Studies, 63, 2004: 267-290. Chilaka Abraham, Ten Commandments Constitution - A Sociological study - A.N. University, Guntur. Deliége R., Les Paraiyars du Tamil Nadu, Nettetal, Steyler Verlag, 1988.

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[8] Deliége

R.,“Replication and Consensus: Untouchability, Caste and Ideology in India”, in Man (n.s.), Vol.27/1992, pp155-17. [9] Deliége R.,“The Myths of Origin of the Indian Untouchables”, Man (n.s.), Vol.28/1993, pp.53349. [10] Deliége R., The Untouchables of India, Oxford, Berg, 1999; [11] De Michelis, Elizabeth, History of Modern Yoga. London: Continuum. 2004, p 60-90. [12] Gandhi. M.K., An Autobiography- The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, Indian, 2001, 291-293. [13] Jr. Koshland, Daniel E. “The Seven Pillars of Life”. Science 295 (5563)/2002, 2215–2216. [14] Mendelsohn O. & Vicziany M., The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty and the State in Modern India, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1998. [15] Monier-Williams, Monier, Religious thought and life in India: an account of the religions of the Indian peoples, based on a life’s study of their literature and on personal investigations in their own country, London: John Murray, 1883. [16] Paul. C, The Gospel of Buddha, Publications Division, Ministry of Information, Government of India, 1997. [17] Radhakrishnan, Dr. Sarvepalli, The hindu view of life, Oxford: Upton Lectures, 1926; http:// isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic588512. files/13047494-A-Hindu-View-of-Life-Dr-SRadhakrishnan.pdf [18] Reddy. G.K, Yoga or Yaga, series No. 145, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Publications, Tirupati, 1982. [19] Shmuel. Y, The Cultural Hermeunutics, Hebrew Open University press, India, 2002, 255-294. [20] The Mahabharata, Book 6: Bhishma Parva: Bhagavat-Gita Parva: Section XXV (Bhagavad Gita Chapter I)”. Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2012. [21] Thurston. E., Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Madras: Government Press, 1909. [22] Upadhyaya K. K., “The Political Economy of Reservations in Public Jobs in India: Implications for Efficiency in Public Administration and Equity in Society”, International Journal of Social Economics, Vol.25/1998, pp1049-1063. [23] Wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Crime_Records_ Bureau‎ Report, 2013 [24] Yacobi, S.. The cultural hermeneutics: An introduction to the cultural transactions of the Hebrew Bible among the ancient nations of the Thalmudic Telugu empire of India. Vijayawada:

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Hebrew Open University Publications, 2002.

[25] Yulia. E and Shahid. P, The Jews of Andhra

Pradesh, Oxford University Press, NY, USA, 2013.

Biography M. J. K. Jacob, Vijayawada, 15.06.1975, born and raised in Vijayawada, India. Living in Vijayawada has provided me with opportunities to grow and develop, both in my personal and professional life. My schooling was also took place at Vijayawada, which is a strong base for me to grow ethically, philosophically and morally. It is this foundation, along with the continued support of my family, educators, and friends that has allowed me to embrace my dream of teaching. The year 1998 was the best year for my life. In this year I completed my post graduation at Acharya Nagarjuna University Campus, Guntur. A.P. South India. I entered into the field of teaching environmental studies in the 2006. Later, I was married in the year 2007 and now I got two children, one daughter and one son. I successfully completed my master of philosophy degree in the same university, 2010. And I was so happy in the teaching field at present and enhancing my teaching skills by attending conferences/seminars/workshops/training programs at national and international level in the same field which I love more and more. B.Sc., P.B.Siddhartha College, Vijayawada, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, 1992-1996, A/First/ 73.10%. M.Sc., Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Environmental Sciences, 1996-1998, A/First/ 70.40%. M.Phil., Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Environmental Sciences, 2005- 2010. A/First/ 70.16%.

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Work Experience: 1998-2000: worked as Quality Control Laboratory Supervisor In Pfiton Pharmaceutical company, vijayawada. 2001-2004: worked as Quality Control Laboratory In-charge in Hi-Tech water plant, vijayawada. 2004-2006: worked as Music Teacher (Violin) at Kaladarshini, Andhra Loyola College, vijayawada. 2006-onwards: working as Assoc. Professor in Environmental Studies, H & S Department, Chirala Engineering College, Ramapuram Beach Road, Chirala – 523 157. A.P.India. 2014 - onwards: working as NAAC College Coordinator, Chirala Engineering College, Ramapuram Beach Road, Chirala – 523 157. A.P. India. 2013- onwards: working as NSS Programme Officer, NSS Unit No. AP 10-048, Chirala Engineering College, Ramapuram Beach Road, Chirala – 523 157. A.P. India. 2014 - onwards: working as IQAC College Coordinator, Chirala Engineering College, Ramapuram Beach Road, Chirala – 523 157. A.P. India. 2016 – onwards: working as Convener of Voluntary Services Committee (VSC) at College level. Contact information of at least three (3) academic references: [1] Dr. Syed Kamaluddin, Principal, Chirala Engineering College, Chirala, Prakasam District, A.P. India. Mobile: 9848937718, email: principal@cecc.co.in. [2] Dr. P. Brahmaji Rao, Research Supervisor, Environmental Sciences Department, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur District, A.P. India. Mobile: 9849746169, Email:drbrahmajirao@ gmail.com. [3] Dr. T.V. Prasad, Dean R & P, Chirala Engineering College, Chirala, Prakasam District, A.P. India. Mobile: 9493239815, email: tvprasad2002@ yahoo.com.

Jacob, M.J.K., published in Everyman’s Science, ISCA, Vol. XLVIII No. 5, Dec ’13 — Jan ’14, pages 347-251 (31-35 pages in present downloaded publication).

Best Three Publications: [1] ELSEVIER Publication: Socio-ecological studies

on marine ﬁshing villages in the selective south coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh by Jacob, M.J.K., Rao, P.B., Ecotoxicology & Environ. Safety. (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. ecoenv.2015.08.026, Please cite this article as Article in press. [2] Filthy to Healthy Nations – India as a Case Study by Jacob, M.J.K., published in Recent Advances in Energy, Environment and Financial Science, 2015. [3] YOGIC/YOGEVIC ENVIRONMENTALISM by

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

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The Theory of a multilayered Reality Being real or being thought as real Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 4 July 2016 Received in revised form 25 September Accepted 02 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.14

The experiments of quantum physics indicate that an electron will change its behavior/ reality depending on whether or not the electron is being observed as if the particle is aware that it is being observed. The reality thus is presumed to be, or only to be thought of as a scenario that can be altered, changed, or imagined differently depending on the observer or the screenwriter. Our historical development made us think that the reality has as many facets as we want it to have, and none is more real than the other, as long there is a self-conscious being aware of it even if it has more accuracy or it stands on more evidence or arguments each proponent can bring into it. Therefore, a world full of unseen creatures that moves and determines a child’s life is not less authentic than one full of invisible particles making the world running and moving for a scientist. Each has its proofs, trials, ways of probation, so it is entirely entitled to be considered ‘real.’ However, what happens when concurrent theories over the same circumstance pronounce several valid testimonies? Do we have to pronounce either their validity based on the evidence brought by their proponents or should we consider only one of them? On what grounds can we make either these selections? It would be wrong to say that the reality is, in fact, the construct of a multitude of layers, each with different consistency and evidence, each real and provable, therefore each entitled to be called ‘reality’? Hence, consciousness can change reality just by being aware of it. In this context, we will also take into account the story of creation and see how it fits in this context. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: conscious; predictability; phenomenology; ontology; fabric; matter; creation; God; circumstantial;

I. INTRODUCTION to Predictability and

Reality

The reality – as we know it – tends to be simple even if it has lots of things interconnected and related to each other. We are always used to think that eventually, they are all falling in their places. For us, that signifies that things and actions have

meaning and purposes, and unless these meanings and objectives are not fully understood by the conscience than the ‘reality’ still looks intricate and possible absurd or chaotic. But with time, when man was discovering meanings of things, his reality became organized, purposeful, clear and predictable. So, the laws of all sciences rely on this characteristic, predictability, the

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fundamental law of identifying elements that are to be known, then express their ‘behavior’ in a determined equation, to design a pattern for future events and similar cases. This is, in fact, a mental resort that, by phenomenologists, can distort reality for our human capacity of apprehending the reality, and that is why, they say further, the very laws and science’s development are merely our projection of reality and not the reality as it is, per se. Since things are together in an ongoing chain of reactions, some have declared that reality has an equilibrium state [homeostasis] which links all things together in an organic reality. According to the second law of thermodynamics, telling us about “the equilibrium state that a system will evolve to, and steady states in dissipative systems can sometimes be predicted, there exists no genum, e.g. chaotic systems, if they do not approach an equilibrium state”[1]. Others, taking into consideration actions that are not in our reach of understanding, say that we only think that everything is connected and runs as a whole, an equilibrium organism and a predictable being. In fact, everything runs entirely aleatory, but it is all too big, too vast to be encompassed by any law, action rule, or even comprehension. Moreover, since every new theory of existence changes our perspective on the ‘reality’ and makes obsolete our previous understanding of reality, it is presumed that the real nature of reality still escapes from the grasp of our knowledge. “Could it be that our theories are basically 90% wrong, and there are actually other things that are beyond our current comprehensive ability that determine our perception of our universe and reality? Most likely, yes.”[2] Experiencing a version of reality that is in our reach does not guaranty that we know it because both the presumption that things are there as we think they are, and also their observation alter the reality/behavior. John Searle introduces consciousness as a natural biological phenomenon that does not fit Session 5. Philosophy of Science & Theology

comfortably into either the traditional categories of mental and physical, caused by lower level microprocessors in the brain[3]. There are so many variables of the same reality that we can enter into contact with that nobody have never even considered measuring the length of these layers or how they interfere and interconnect. As Charles Dickens might say through his character, Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol): “You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!” In other words, any chemical distraction can alter a version of reality we are living in or help us run through multiple layers at the same time, and no one can say it is not so since we are convinced about it and live accordingly. II. What is Real and what is [only]

Thought as Real?

There has always been room for debating on this question; the man simply couldn’t face the reality of the answer to this since it is so devastating. If ‘real’ is everything outside us, regardless of whatever we might feel, imagine, think or construct, then this image of reality is scaring for we cannot control it, describe it or even thought of. The Reality, for that matter, is a landscape someone else is looking upon, but not us, since we are trapped in it without escaping, without considering the case that we are part of this reality. Somehow, in our petty and limited

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minds, we like to think that we master the reality, that we can alter it, changing the course of action by having our own opinion and interaction with reality. Along the way, mankind has invented the ‘free will’ concept, one that should give him some comfort when passing by this painting scene he is allocated to. It serves the purpose of alluring the pain emerged from the fact that there is actually no control whatsoever over the reality he is already, unyielding, inexorable involved in. The ‘free will’ constant is the self-conserving energy method when the characters trapped in a painting, carried out to its dedicated end by a traveler, maybe careless or unmoved by the scene and its characters he carries; it is another job he rushes to conduct. So, that means that we are living a lie? Not at all, because we already figure it out that there are many layers of ‘reality,’ each with its set of rules, each apparently contradicting other’s set of rules, but each ruling par excellence in spite of what another layer might say about it. An ‘ambiguity of certainty’ – as what one might say[4] - for which everything is real, and, at the same time but from a different perspective, none is true. However, then again, how is religion helping us solve this riddle? We have said that reality is something we are part of, and yet we can alter it, at least in part. If we can indeed change, influence the course of actions in a layer of reality, then we possess that layer: it is in our custody, and so it is real. If not, and anything we can do is merely a fulfillment of our imagination. This piece of philosophic nonsense will get its meaning when we take a look at the beginning of ‘time’ when everything was [the existing], but still was not [thought by a conscious]. That was the moment when God, the transcendent being, one that is even creating this layer of reality could not make it become a part of reality since He transcended it and was not regarding

it from within. By making a self-conscious being, one that could look upon himself and say ‘I am’ [conscious that this is ME], and placing him inside this layer of reality, God has duplicated oneself in this layer, “as it is in heaven, so also upon earth.” “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Gen 1:27) and the command that follows, “let them rule over … all the earth” (vs. 26), is the full hermeneutic of this transcendent-immanent contradiction over reality. Painting a landscape in detail was not enough for it to be[come] a [layer of] reality, but once He storages the conscious man inside it, this painting became another layer of reality, from the Big Picture where everything has its own value and purpose. Through Man self-conscious, capable of being aware of himself and of everything that surrounds him, God has transformed a small fragment of painting into another layer of reality. It was the same as He did with the fragment [called by some universe] of heaven when He inhabited it with self-conscious angels or with hell, another layer of reality inhabited by self-conscious demons. How many layers of reality are in this multiverse? – no one can ever answer. The man himself tries to replicate this creationistic act and wants to place another self-conscious Mind within a painting created by man with the output of discovering another layer of reality[5]. III. Is there a possibility of leaving a

layer for another?

In religious teachings we will also find two contradictory answers to this Q. On the one hand, the majority of theologies say that after death man’s conscious spirit leave this place [this layer of reality] and step into another one, for the better or the worst, heaven or hell. On the other hand, there are also teachings saying that the self-conscious spirit cannot leave this place – since they don’t believe there are such places –, and

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that everyone stay here as ‘haunting spirits’, unable to move things since they do not possess a body to make a direct connection with the material world. That is why, for this explanation, there are rarely opportunities to allow spirits interfere with the living. Even if we name in a way or another different layers of reality, like heaven, hell, or multiverse, the mere fact that someone calls them by a given name it means they are already real, for there is at least one selfconscious being aware of its existence, and by this that ‘place’ became a layer of reality. Inhabited or just observed, such layers of reality grow in numbers each time one conscious Self became aware of them, one by one. There were disputes and endless fights over the “reality” of other worlds, inhabited – as religious teachings said – by other beings, spiritual, superior, or just different. It became legendary with time, and some, disregarding these tales, launched the assumption that we should also demystify our knowledge from such myths[6]. As a result, religion got back and tried to get even with another discontent regarding such debate/ accusations. But, what do you know? The science comes with new theories into our help now, because, from quantum theory, there are indeed different layers of existence [reality] ruled by a various set of regulations, paradoxical opposed and still applied at the same time. This discovery of physics proved wrong even to logical thinking, in which ‘the third’ is excluded (Latin principium tertii exclusi). However, if for the ‘normal’ sense of the reality of tertium non datur “no third (possibility) is given,” from quantum perspective every third is equally possible and acceptable. This goes lately also for the social considerations too, but this is yet another story. One of the quantum’s laws says that human observation and perception make valid the existence of another layer of reality, but it influences that

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existence in order to make it possible for observation[7]. “In the philosophy of science, the distinction of knowledge versus reality is termed epistemic versus ontic. A general law is a regularity of outcomes (epistemic), whereas a causal mechanism may regulate the outcomes (ontic). A phenomenon can receive interpretation either ontic or epistemic. For instance, indeterminism may be attributed to limitations of human observation and perception (epistemic), or may be explained as a real existing may be encoded in the universe (ontic). Confusing the epistemic with the ontic, like if one were to presume that a general law actually “governs” outcomes – and that the statement of regularity has the role of a causal mechanism – is a category mistake.”[8] That is why, from this ontic perspective of philosophy, our question about what is real or thought as real is pointless for it involves subjectivity and conscious implication, and the philosophical realism considers that some aspects of our reality are ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, perceptions, linguistic practices, beliefs, and so forth. That is why their perception of reality tends to be generic, integrative, as a whole, a system encompassing everything and for that matter, it does not leave room for ‘mistakes’ such as the excluded third. However, this presumption is also subjective since there are many opposed laws that apply paradoxical coherent without interfering one with another; that means that reality, as we try to describe, is not necessarily a systemic body cumulating all that exists, but a Multilayered reality (MLR) [9] . So, instead of embedding everything into a singularity of existence, and trying to adjust our knowledge and theories with each layer, we discover different/opposed ‘side’ of this singularity.

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IV. The story of ‘creation’ as real as it is A. Introduction on if it is even possible?

The quantum theory grants us the ability to see things organized in layers of existence, each with its own set of rules and, moreover, acknowledged by a conscious self. We can go to the original question and search for a root trace of religion in human thoughts and see if this ‘reality’ is still countable. Is there any evidence that religion(s) had ever thought about such possibility – of considering the existence of reality in layers, that are not necessarily opposed and impossible to coexist, but rather paradoxical oxymoron? Starting from the biblical telling of the origin of life and its relation with cosmogony we can see the plan of it written and then explained in kind. God has created everything in the material universe and prepared it for the only being with real importance, who really matters, Man. Over this creationist theory most religious teachings agree so that we do not need to develop it any further. For that ‘anthropocentric universe’ ideology religion (e.g. Romano-Catholic Church) has fought against scientists and philosophers whenever any discovery has led to an interpretation/theory that could jeopardize the anthropocentrism, as the target of the creation’s story. But the fact is that, in this dispute over supremacy, anthropocentrism against, by turn, heliocentrism, geocentrism, evolutionism, or any other scientific theory that has ever occurred in the human development, no side – religious or scientific – couldn’t see the real involvement of the anthropocentric vision: the divinity has insisted on emphasising in every revelation that He relates everything to Man. By underlining the anthropocentrism, it does not mean that the world cannot be created in a way or another (as science has explained in time, through its theories) or that we are

all alone in this huge universe. In fact, we do not know how each command of God, (Gen. 1.3, 6, 9, et. all.) “then God said, «Let there be a …»,“ has manifested and in which way; what kind of leverages were involved within the universe to fulfill God’s demands and to accomplish His will, etc. Man can study God’s creation as long as he wants and as long as he praises Him as the Creator of all. He can suggest any theory and there is nothing wrong in this endeavor if he keeps in mind the fact that He, as the first one in the chain of causality, is behind every material leverage that was ever pulled to come to this wonderful outcome the world is. Also, theologians should assume the fact that creation’s myths/stories, or whatever they might be called, if divinity revealed them at least in some parts, have never supposed to explain how things were made the way they can be seen/studied in time. In fact, this is another issue for the ‘reality in layers’ theory that needs to be treated in kind, as following a religious/ worshiping purpose only. If the universe’s matter has obeyed God’s commands to let things and beings be out of its fabric in a way or another, this has no relevance what so ever for the religious stories of creation. It simply is not its aim to conduct or to be the starting point of a scientific investigation on how everything come into existence and take an ideology out of it. B. What does it mean to be the central

point of creation?

The only relevant point in the biblical essay of ‘creation’ is to appoint that mankind is the target of all things and everything is placed into the creation story/ interpretation as aiming towards man. That is why most part of theologians appoint man as the “coronation of creation,” the purpose of all material world. The purpose may or not be taken in the literal sense, but the ‘coronation’ issue gets back to our

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actual topic, because the real question – when studying and doubting the reality of the creation story – is not if God has created the universe in seven days or if things were even done with that easiness ‘said and done’. It is even more foolish to say that this story is not genuine (by scientists) or that it is the only objective one (by theologians). None of these estimations target the true meaning and aim of ‘the story of creation.’ Moreover, with every scientific discoveries there are more and more scholars that are jazzing up their rhetoric against the creationist myths with findings that the universe is not so perfect as it was presented in the Holy Scriptures, that it has infinite problems and flaws that work against the universe itself or, worse, against the ‘crown’ of creation, man. On the other hand, theologians, assaulted with these accusations, come with sophistic answers and deviate the whole point of creation, saying for example that evil resides in nature because of man’s sin, or that the natural disasters are G-d’s punishment of sin, etc. However, none of these accusations-responses get the true meaning of what was, in fact, the central point of creation. The universe itself can have flows, errors or ontic inconsistents, but it really doesn’t matter. Why? Because it was judged by two self-conscious beings and proved to be ‘perfect’. First, its Creator looked upon everything and pronounced it accordingly with its consistency with the purpose it has (Gen 1:31). Then man became aware of his universe and has labeled everything according to his own aim, and so he has also founded everything flawless, thus perfect (Gen 2:19,20). That means that whatever flaws the creation might ontologically had [or better, we may think it has], it did not matter as long as it can reach its goal as appointed by its Creator or help man develop to its fullness. Declared content by the result of His work,

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the Creator became the first self-conscious being that has declared the existence of the material universe ‘a perfect (suitable) one.’ Then, since He could not inhabit this universe in the way that it could help Him be/became something He was not (yet), the universe needed another conscious being to be inhabited by and help this one develop towards his aim. In this relationship, universe-mankind, the former’s reason of existence is to help the later reach its purpose. But this assertion is also about man’s axe of values, and not per se. In this regard, our universe will definitely have an end, but not because “everything that had a beginning, has to have an end too”[10], but because it will become obsolete once its conscious inhabitant will be fully developed and reach his target. Then, as we became more and more aware of, this welcoming garden we were born in is consumed, and it will come to an end with time; the closer its conscious being is to his purpose, the closest to its end the world gets. It is like a scholarly notebook: it has no need to have an ontic perfection because nobody can declare what that ‘ontic perfection’ might be – not even its designer –, but it can be declared perfect if it can serve its owner to fulfill his scholarly duties. Of course, with time, the notebook gets full, and one day, full of sketches and notes, it has no room for more, but its owner is the content of it, for it has served him well and helped him reach any goals he purposed with it from the beginning. The same goes for the world: we cannot fight its ending, its consumption. In the end to be consumed and to reach an end is part of its purpose, and as long as we use this consumption to reach our ‘ontic goal’, then the world does not stop purposeless. C. About the flaws of creation

Natural catastrophes, meteorites collapsing and other disasters were thought by religion as ‘God’s punishment’ for sins

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and disobedience. It never occurred that these can be flaws in the universe since God is perfect and His creation was also seen by Him as perfect. Only late, in the Middle Ages, the Romano-catholic theologians (Scotus Eriugena, Bonaventura, etc.) considered that creation was not entirely perfect and not everything that came against man’s will or well-being is a punishment. They finally declared the imperfection of everything universe, man, whole creation by their natural powers (pura naturalia). But, still the declaration of God (Gen 1:31) had to be saved, so the theologians came with a solution to that: Donum Superadditum, or Supernaturalè. According to them God, taking into account the flaws in the creation’s (man included) nature, has created an extra thing, “the divine supernaturale gift of grace, superadded to the endowments of nature”[11], and poor it unto the whole creation in order to absorb the flaws and imperfections. In the EST, the holly Fathers couldn’t accept such theory for it came against the perfection of God’s creation and, along with that, against God’s mightiness and sovereignty. They have said that with man’s sin the nature became hostile to man and has ended ‘obeying’ him as the master of material verse. In this case ‘the nature was subject to decay …’ (Rom 8:20, cf. Luke 12:33; 1 Cor 15:52), and nothing worked properly ever since. That was the reason why the theory of salvation – that supposed to be a help offered by God’s Son to man, who’s will became his enemy for it has conducted man on a different path that he was designated for – was addressed in the end to the whole nature, because theologians had to answer to some QUESTION related to the consequences of after-original-sin era: why nature is not obeying man’s will? And mostly why natural disasters happen? Thus they have concluded to all these that it was man’s fault that the nature became leadershipless, guideless and grew savage [wild; untamed; not

cultivated, domesticated, or controlled[12]], against its governor, man. Forgetting that natural disasters occur in whole universe, and moreover thousands of years before man even existed, theologians have ever fought against these scientific proofs for the sake of safeguarding their global “sinconsequences” theory. As we know now from observation and other scientific methods, natural so-called ‘disasters’ have ever occurred and is nobody’s fault for them; there are not even disasters, but merely natural acts that are placed in nature to keep the balance at all times. Therefore, flaws or noncomprehensive acts of nature, they are dispensable parts of it and for that matter, theologians should embrace that Romano-catholic view I have mentioned or rethink their position with a better explanation than that. So, what the becoming aware of something is about? What is the relationship between the reality of existence, and the reality of what is thought to be existing? In the theory of MLR there are enough proofs to consider that reality is made out of varieties of layers in which existences are linked to different sets of rules that became / determine the ‘dimension’ in which such existence had to be considered. As a first, simple, and handy example: we know that deep inside matter the electrons and protons of the basic fabric of an organism are distributed and move according to their personal set of rules. Moving up, on the next level of existance, the cells are composed different and act differently according to regulations other from electrons and from other cells. Furthermore, tissues have other movement, organs, and systems play after different laws of existence, while the whole organism sets macro-laws and rules, not by combining laws from the lower levels, but establishing others, rather new and unique[13]. But this higher level of organizing and acting may not be also the last one, since every organism is part of a group, a

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society that binds together organisms of the same kind and establish new social laws, also different from everything appointed before. This is also strange from other possible layers that we can think of for the same structure of electrons-cells-tissuesorgans-organism-individual (e.g. as related to its internal development, aims, needs, desire, etc.). However, even if we accept quantum’s assertion that each set of rules determines a specific field of existence by creating its landmarks inside which things are limited to move, the QUESTION still remains: is there any possibility for a ‘thing’ to go across fields / layers? To answer this, maybe a concrete example from the social MLR would be helpful. When entering the room in which Christ was invited for lunch by Simon the pharisee, that woman that washed Christ’s feet with her tears has entered three layers of reality at the same time (at least). For (a) [potential or former] clients she was [regarded as] an object of desire; (b) for the Judaic Law-appliers she was [considered as] irreconcilable sinner; (c) for Christ she was [seen as] a penitent who reaches for an improvement, a positive deviation from its sinful trajectory. [Maybe we can add, for the sake of exemplification, other layers: (d) for her parents – an innocent child, worth to fight for; as for her acquaintances (e) – a compromising company that could get them into trouble, etc.]. Anyways, each of these layers had very precise regulation that constructed them paradoxically opposed, but yet entitled to coexist; no one was wrong, yet every layer she was part of determined an entirely different reaction from her and her co-layer inhabitants. The rules conceiving the (a) field are: desire-lastdepravation -> leading to embarrassing (a response emerged from the confrontation with all other fields); for (b), Law-moralitynecessity of imposing them -> anger / fear; for (c), Love-understanding-compassion -> forgiveness / shame and penitence; Session 5. Philosophy of Science & Theology

for (d), irrefutable care and protection -> unconditional caretaking attitude and presumption of innocence / safety; for (e), Law – proximity to the Law-imposers -> culpability and disgrace / need for a normal social behavior and relations.

D. Can we change the world’s layer just by

thinking this?

As we can see, that woman was equally part of all these fields simultaneously, each with enough gravitational power to keep her inside its landmarks. The case of crossing from a layer to another is simple here for, beyond the internal forces driving her inside each field, her statuses made her a common point of interfering for all these five fields, so that this small MLR has already a resolution for our Q: an element common to multiple layers. Yet, what made that single-being simultaneously part of n fields of existence and how was possible for her to exit those fields with high gravity [EDAB, from weak to the strongest], and stabilize her only in the (c) field? For both Qs the answer is always the same: the conceptualization of her role and its verbalization over all other areas. Because she was thought by each layer co-inhabitant the way I have said, she became equally part of each layer, but when Christ has pronounced her forgiveness and has corrected even the reactions of other people through his parable, he almost

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convinced everyone that they had wrong grounds to hold her inside their layers, then the gravitation of holding her captured into other fields has loosened.

Therefore, by changing everyone’s thinking over her and especially by pronouncing her forgiveness and convincing her of God’s embracement Christ has ‘freed’ that woman from the strongest layers she was held trapped (B,A,E) and invite her into this layer (C) with incompatible gravitation. That was a classical case of theotherapy by verbalization. So, from a MLR, she was attracted into each layer by mutual thinking / empathy one-to-each other and eventually stabilized into other field also by reposition her thinking about her reality. Thus, even if people from other fields would not have been capable of reconsidering her from Christ perspective / worlds, she still would have been kept inside those gravitational fields because Christ has succeeded to convince at least her of His thinking / truth / reality. In another perspective: if the inhabitants of other fields would have been convinced by Christ to let her go, but not the woman herself, then she still has remain gravitating those fields, because her thinking would not have changed and it still kept her inhabitant of those layers. In all these alternatives I have tried to consider the only constant we can see is the conceptualization the reality as thought it might be. That entitles me to say that the crossing

between layers is possible for objects by stabilizing the item inside it. In our scenario the influencing, gravitational force and the crossing key was the word of Christ. In quantum experiments it is the light that forces protons to exit their auto state / layer and become part of another, cognoscible layer. However, each time the stabilizing principle for all layer-builders is thought and strongly believed, definitely in its appurtenance to a field or another. This discovery, made possible with the dialogue between quantum physics and theology, can serve further as base for methodology of correcting miserableness and sadness for people and more than that. This method was prophesied by Christ who used it thoroughly in this activity. First he said that ‘for that who believe, it is possible to move mountains’ (Mat 17:20); then he apostrophize his apprentices do not deepen this method entirely and definitive, unequivocally. “You unbelieving and rebellious generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you?” (Mat 17:17; Mark 9:19), by which they became irrevocably, firmly mastering this method. “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf... if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you” because “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours” (John 16:23,26; Mark 11:24). The method looks by far like the Placebo effect, but then again it is not by far as the psychiatry – who invented this term for ‘unreal’ treatment that makes real, visible changes in the patients’ behavior – that pronounces mental illnesses in which patients still remain (psychological or bodily) in this [social] layer of reality,

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live (also) in different other layer(s), i.e. psychopaths, sociopaths, autists, all with so-called delusional personality? All these cases of mental diseases have the same pattern as MLR: the patients inhabit a parallel field of reality because they think that way, in its reality, and, unless they are convinced (by someone) to leave it, that the gravitational (landmarkers – markers) are wrong, deceiving – they will never leave it. That is the reason for both psychiatry and psychotherapy act in kind: the former considers those patients lost irrevocable the social layer of existence and tries to keep them out from interfering brutally with it (by supplying them with psychotropics footnose), while the latter strives to reach their inner conscious/ self and convince it to take over other psychic instances that keep the control of the personality for the moment (e.g. Superego, Self = own demons). These two approaches of same ‘diseases’, even if look / seem entirely opposed, have also same ground with MLR: the patient is convinced to inhabit a layer or another and unless convinced otherwise, he lives in a parallel psychic field of reality, thoroughly equipped to be inhabited while hiding any trace of delimiting its landmarks. The miracles of (social) ‘healing’ of these patients, stabilized into different layers of Reality, consists of extracting them from those parallel ‘realities’ by their conviction that those fields are unrealistic and harmful. Still, there are at least as many proofs those persons ‘convinced’ to leave a psychic layer for the mutual convenient, socially engaging and useful, cvasi-accepted layer, became sadder, lost appetite for life and eventually commit suicide. The reason for that ‘depression’ behavior is that they could not adapt to the new layer which they find not as appealing and sustaining as the other one in Session 5. Philosophy of Science & Theology

which they were captives. For the social purpose only and with an exhaustively social explanation of engagement such cases are always resulted in favor of this common layer (CLR) and not for another. It is a fact that more and more attention is stressed on social condition against non-social behavior. That is also the reason why, in the case of coma persons – in which it is proved that they still have psychic activity, dreams, thoughts, etc. – the most common resolution is euthanasy. Why?, because they cannot relate to people in the CLR, so they should be shut down. However, if this is the case, why should we sustain or tolerate people with same less ‘social’ engagement, that are also engaged more in a different psychic layer than in CLR – as autists, monks, children or ‘senile’ people? Without going into this ethical debate any further, we should relate their questions to the main idea that any layer of reality, thought or sensitive, is as real as can be. So, in the end, to answer our heading, what would be the trigger to make us change the inhibiting layer with another one, a new one? We saw in the scenario of the woman that got forgiveness from Christ that believing in the power invested in Jesus she may be forgiven for her sins. Same faith followed by indifference to other layers was needed for her to step in the other layers too, A, B, C, etc. For example, to step in the layer of last (A), she must believe that she belong there with all her body and her passions that followed her will; obvious, not everybody can step into such layer, and definitely not without believing totally in the power of seduction of sins. To enter the second tier, she has to believe in the strength of the moral Law and for that reason, she was embarrassed by her behavior and sins every time she

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entered this layer in the presence of Pharisees. Of course, the trigger was their notorious law enforcement in the society, but for atheist villains, this was not working either. To step in Christ’s layer of love and forgiveness was also required strong belief (Matt 9:28; 21:22; Luk 24:11; et. al.). It is also notorious that no so many people were able to enter His layer, even His apostles were outside it without believing (Luk 24:41; John 10:25). Therefore, entering a layer and stepping out of another is due to believing in the former and deny, flee from the latter by losing any trust in it. Maybe the “believing” word seems more like a religious concept, but replaced with ‘trust’ it tells the same thing about every possible layer of social, physical, mental, or spiritual, that you need to believe in the extra-dimensional existence to step in from another, previous, abandoned layer. V. Moreover, another question that MLR should answer: how ‘real’ is the layer thought as real in comparison with the sensitive layers of reality?

Before answering to that, we have to pronounce what a ‘real’ layer of reality is considered to be. ‘Real’ signifies anything that conducts to a complex experience, with emotions, the projection of further behavior, bodily changes (alert Heart rate, jerky breath, specific brain waves, etc.). Until those definitions of reality stuck exclusively to what we could ‘experience’ through our muscles, with our five sense organs. Before that rational definition and scientific explanations, everything not fitting this pattern of bodily engaging an experience was considered paranormal, mystical or imaginary. Then the correlations between neurosciences discoveries and psychological theories came to the conclusion that there

are many other ‘experiences’ with same bodily responses, changes, and more than that. For example, it is more intense for the brain and therefore for the body a psychic incentive (watching a movie, making an illusional, hypothetical experiment, virtual reality, etc.) than the routine work of a public employee in the office. So, even if we would still be forced to apply the ‘real’ label to what makes bodily changes experiences, than we should level up the virtual layers of reality instead of the material or social layers since you can turn grey faster and in higher quantity from a ten minutes intense experience into a thought layer of reality than from ten years of peaceful social engagement layer.

Perfection is not within, but outside the substance (ousia, essence) This soteriological detour I did served me to a specific purpose: to prove you that ontic perfection [for created things] is nothing else but just an idea, not an objective state of matter; it is the mere projection of the ideal condition of a thing in which it serves its owner’s target in its best way. That means that ‘the ontic perfection,’ the reality that is (to on, Gr.) does not exist at all per se. This leads us to another assertion: each object can be made with multiple possible purposes, and everyone can find in it one that suits him best. In case someone can also not find a suitable use for it, or in case he would try to leave the ‘goal’ part aside

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– as it would be an accidental character of the object, out of its substance (ousia, essence) – then he should try characterize the object with other criteria than goals, one that makes the entity/substance what it fundamentally is: Forms which are eternal, unchanging and complete. But we know that it is almost impossible to understand the actual substance of an object/being unless we are its creator. Otherwise we will always relate it to our experience, wishes or aims. This is the same with the universe or the life itself, like a book we try to find out its true meaning: we can read and understand each paragraph, each page or chapter, but unless we don’t read the author’s introduction and abstracting we won’t connect every detail and understand its true purpose. Unless we create a thing and designate it for a single, simple use, we cannot say it is perfect for it; unless we assume a purpose for a thing we receive, we also cannot determine its perfection as in relation with that assumed purpose. Therefore, there is no perfection within per se, but outside the substance (ousia, essence), in the mental projection of the self-conscious being, ipso facto. For example, if we make a four lined notebook and give it for use to a student in the first grade, then he will be content, and the notebook will be perfect for its thought purpose. But if we consider giving to the same student a vellum notebook he will get confused and will not be able to learn writing perfectly, so that means that the notebook is not perfect for the use we have designated for it. Again, as another example, let’s suppose we make a door out from wood, with every details and ornament we want, and after a special design, we want to serve us in the best way. That door is designated for the front door, and we find it perfect in all aspects. But after everything is set and done, when we come to assemble the door to its place, we ascertain that it is a

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little smaller to fit properly in its designated location, the “perfect door in all aspects” became useless, inappropriate and thus, imperfect for what it was conceived. That door still remains ‘perfect in all aspects’, maybe for someone else, who can install it in another house, but from the perspective of its original owner, it is downright useless, imperfect. Why is that paradoxical double existence possible, that for the same object we can pronounce both its perfection along with its downright imperfection? The answer suits our assertion: because they are thought so. A. The story of creation: perfection in its

purpose

Related to the everlasting conflict between religion and science over the supremacy of creationist theory against any other scientific one, we have to take into consideration two things: firstly, the story of creation was revealed to man, and so it was said to and for him only. Therefore, it could not be otherwise than related to man, to his time and understanding. Due to that, we have to consider secondly that this tell was said to Moses in the context of his cultural, social and of the knowledge they had back then. It was not supposed to be the perfect, ideal and exhaustive story, told exactly the way it happened, regardless of what the hagiographers might think about it or, moreover, of the least of what they could understand out of that revelation. If we theologically hold that the biblical story of creation – as any other ‘revealed’ story of creation – is the real, genuine and precise history of it, one that surpasses and transcends time and human knowledge and understanding, than we are in a profound and regrettable stage of religious (mis) understanding: firstly, because we place religious knowledge as against science without any doubt of losing this fight that is not ours to take on, and secondly, because

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we get wrong even the theological purpose of the revelation itself. How can we assume that God would reveal His precise actions, exact and whole activities He did when He took out all things and beings from the depths of nothingness and of matter? Are them even known by others than Him (Job 21:31, “Who will confront him with his actions, And who will repay him for what he has done?”)? Even revealed, could they be understood by those that were not witnesses to those acts or nor have the proper knowledge even to imagine those divine acts that put everything in place according to God’s plan? Is it not still a theological mystery how God’s (un)created grace acts within the matter of the universe leading to Quantic movements and macro results? Do we even know what physical and non-physical leverages this grace has moved to perform that simple-said act, “God said and it was so”? I suppose we will never know for sure, for the mighty and the beauty of those acts, and for it is not ours to be revealed, but at most discovered through reason and leading to the Creator’s praising. We can only understand that God could indeed ‘talk’ to His creation because He had it all filled with His grace and He actually was talking with the ‘spirit’ within the matter that makes everything listen and obeying God’s commands. Same commandobeying conversation occurs between Christ and the sea and winds (Luke 8:25/Exod 15:113), with the spirits (Mat 8:29-32), with the inexistent capacities of the blind man (John 9), paralyzed Aenea (Acts 9:33, 34), etc. All are listening to the Creator’s voice because they have their internal capability to vibrate at His command[14].

existence, unaware of our experience in relation to it. Instead, this theory proves that reality exists only through experience, is altered by a self-conscious being, and became part of existence by entering a layer inhabited by that conscious being. The question “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”[15] will get its negative answer in the context of this solipsistic thesis. It appears to be a scenario in which only awareness can create reality and can define existence as part of reality, “No, given the absence of a hearing entity, there is no such a thing as sound in those woods”[16]. In this line of logic that same existence consists of multiple layers of reality, each considered and thought by a conscious being that is more than a subjective, contingent and paranormal field in which imagination can consider anything without being firmly real. These layers of thought reality are as real as the existent reality since the former brings effects, influences, and inhabitation as the latter. That is the reason for considering perfection or imperfection, flaws or unnecessary additions, not within existence, but inside the layers of reality. References [1]

[2]

[3]

Conclusion Considering the main idea of this article we understand that reality is not that we do not do not engage it by any means, a transcendent, impassive and necessary

[4]

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“Predictability”, in Wikipedia, accessed 09.08.2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Predictability. Bryan Borich, “THE AWAKENING – Quantum Mechanics of the Human Brain and Consciousness”, in END GAME TIMES, accessed 09.08.2016, https://endgametime. wordpress.com/the-awakening-quantummechanics-of-the-human-brain-andconsciousness/. Traveling at the Speed of Consciousness? Doowans News&Events, https:// doowansnewsandevents.wordpress. com/2014/04/11/traveling-at-the-speed-of(accessed August 09, 2016). Cosmin Tudor Ciocan, Ambiguitatea Certitudinii [Eng. The ambiguity of certainty],

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Sibiu: Editura Astra Museum, 2013, ISBN ePub: 978-973-0-14129-0. [5] I refer to the AI, artificial intelligence, which has as purpose the capturing of another ‘side’ of reality, different from what mankind has ever considered to be. From the beginning of imagining something like this man saw AI the feedback from beyond the barriers of his layer, the echo that could guide him through the exit. AI supposed to give man a landmark placed at the edge of his layer-reality, with the purpose of understanding that there is another layer beyond this one and it is also [possible to be] inhabited. All the space probes send in ether with messages for another civilization, the construction of AI and the tantalize to imagine another ‘us’ have a single purpose: to beacon the edge of this thought reality with the presumption that there is another one waiting for us to step in from here. [6] Appointing Jean-FrancËois Lyotard (1924± 98) who’s “theory attempts to demystify the unifying force of language through a liberatory concept of unfulfillment, in the processes of knowledge acquisition”. Victor E. Taylor, Charles E. Winquist (ed.), Encyclopedia of Postmodernism. London: Routledge, 2001, 270. [7] For example, in order to observe an atom, the researcher has to place a fascicle of light over it, but by that the ∆ energy changes, compelling the proton to exit its original state or medium of existence and entering the one prepared by the researcher. For the sake of science objectivity he still believes that “When the photon exits the medium, its identity is preserved,” (Harvard Professor of Physics Mikhail Lukin and MIT Professor of Physics Vladan Vuletic), but still he forces observation by interfering with the state of existence. http://phys.org/news/2013-09scientists-never-before-seen.html [8] “Nature of interpretation” in https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_ quantum_mechanics, Accessed 11.06.2016. [9] Tom Kutscher, Multi-Layered Reality: The Most Comprehensive Perspective of Reality That There Is. Bloomington IN, United States: i Universe, [10] “7 Steps of heaven”, http://7stepsofheaven.

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com/english.html (accessed August 27, 2016). Johnann Adam Mohler, Symbolism: Exposition of the Doctrinal Differences Between Catholics and Protestants as Evidenced By Their Symbolical Writings (Milestones in Catholic Theology). Vol. 1, 2nd Edition, London: Charles Dolman, 1844, 38. [12] Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014. S.v. “untamed.” Retrieved August 17 2016 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/savage & http://www.thefreedictionary.com/untamed. [13] See the example of cars in the theory God, the Creator of the Multiverse. 23. „God, the Creator of the multiverse. The theory of concomitance” în volumul The 1st International Virtual Conference on Advanced Scientific Results (SCIECONF-2013), conferinţă pe 10-14 iunie 2013 Slovakia, Zilina: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, pp. 295-300, ISBN: 97880-554-0726-5. Link online: indexat SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2374468; [14] As it is proved in the article “The Universe, the ‘body’ of God. About the vibration of matter to God’s command or The theory of divine leverages into matter”, in Dialogo, 3:1, EDIS, 2016, 226-254, doi: 10.18638/ [11]

dialogo.2016.3.22;

This notorious philosophical thought experiment raise the question regarding observation and knowledge of reality. It was firstly proposed by George Berkeley, in his work, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), “But, say you, surely there is nothing easier than for me to imagine trees, for instance, in a park [...] and nobody by to perceive them. [...] The objects of sense exist only when they are perceived; the trees therefore are in the garden [...] no longer than while there is somebody by to perceive them”. Then, in June 1883 in the magazine The Chautauquan putted the way we have ever since. But the current phrasing appears to have originated in the 1910 book Physics by Charles Riborg Mann and George Ransom Twiss. [16] Walter Kiceleff, Quora erat demonstrandum, accesed 29.08.2016. https://www.quora. com/If-a-tree-falls-in-the-woods-and[15]

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nobody-is-there-to-hear-it-does-it-make-asoundReferences

Biography Ciocan Tudor Cosmin, born in Constanta/ Romania in 1977, I have attended several theological and psychological schools (BA, MB, PhD), obtained my PhD in Missiology and Doctrinal Theology in 2010. I was ordained as orthodox priest in 2002. High-school teacher from 1998, then Professor assistant and Lecturer from 2012, I have written more than 30 papers on theology and psychology, along with 4 single author books in the past two decades. In 2013 started a multidisciplinary program aiming to engage scholars from different files into friendly and academic debates with theology and in the same year a Research Center was founded in Ovidius University with researchers from 11 fields. in lest then 1 year I manage to gather people from around the globe around this idea and so we have started Dialogo Conferences project. In 2014 I received a Fulbright scholarship and I spent the summer California and 4 other States in USA, gathering data and understanding how religious pluralism is possible at a high level of involvement; in the same time I made friends from many different countries and religions that are now involved in this project or another, helping in his endeavor.

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 3 : 1 (2016) 163 - 172

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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Morphological and Termal Studies of Synthesized Ethanehydroximohydrazide (1Z, 2E)N’-[(1Z)-1-biphenyl-4-yl-2-bromoethylidene]2-(hydroxyimino) and Its Metal Complexes Nursabah Sarikavakli

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, and Arts, Adnan Menderes University, 09010 Aydın-Turkey ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 5 September 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 27 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.15

A new vic-dioxime derivative including the hydrazone group ligand with four N-donor set and its coordination compounds with Co(III), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) metal centres were synthesized. For this task, these compounds were characterized by spectral analyses like FTIR, 1H, 13C NMR, HMQC, molar conductances ΛM (W -1), elemental analysis, magnetic moment and thermal behavior (TG) of the compounds was determined by simultaneous thermogravimetric. All of the coordination compounds were prepared under similar conditions from the ligand and the corresponding metal salts by putting them of a strong base. On the basis of the magnetic and spectral evidences a square-planar geometry for [Ni(HL)2] and [Cu(HL)2] complexes, octahedral geometry for [(HL)2Co.2H2O] and tedrahedral geometry for [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex were introduced

Keywords: vic-Dioxim; Ligand ; Hydrazone; Hydrazoneoxime; Coordination compounds;

I. INTRODUCTION

The synthesis of vic-dioximes and their different derivatives have been the subject of study for a very long period of time. Moreover, the importance of these classes of compounds originates their biological, applications in medicine [1], catalysis [2], electrooptical sensors [3], liquid crystals [4], and trace-metal analyses [5]. To a great degree, hydrazone-oxime derivatives containing a heterocyclic moiety, as well as their metal complexes, continue to arouse special interest due to their antiinflammatory, antiulcer and

antituberculosis properties [6]. The pharmacological features of such derivatives and their ability to form stable complexes with transition metal ions present in trace amounts in living organisms provided an impetus for this study [6]. Just like vic-dioximes, hydrazones are a versatile class of compounds with several applications. Hydrazone derivatives possess anti-microbial [7], anti-tubercular [8] and anti-convulsant properties[9]. Besides, the copper (II) complex of salicylaldehyde benzoylhydrazone was proved to be a potent inhibitor of DNA synthesis and cell

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growth [10]. Some hydrazone analogues have been investigated as potential oral ironchelating drugs for the treatment of genetic (diseases) abnormalities, like thalassemia [11] and have also been suggested as possible metal-chelating agents for treating neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease [12]. In our former studies we investigated the synthesis and characterization of various transition metal complexes of hydrazoneoxime ligand [13, 14]. In this work, a new vic-dioxime derivative including the hydrazone group, (1Z,2E)-N’-[(1Z)-1-biphenyl4-yl-2-bromoethylidene]-2-(hydroxyimino) ethanehydroximohydrazide [LH2], with Ni(II), Cu(II), Co(II) and Zn(II) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, spectral, thermal, magnetic and molar conductance measurements. As far as we know, this is the first report on this ligand. We assume that, attachment of hydrazone moieties on a vic-dioxime can result in new vic-dioxime derivatives with unique properties owing to fundamental significance of vic-dioximes and hydrazones in biochemistry and their great potential for important applications. Details of experimental data used A. Chemicals and Methods Used

All chemicals, metal salts and solvents were either Aldrich or Merck products. All of the chemicals used in this study were of analytical reagent grade and used without further purification. The chemicals / compounds (1Z,2E)-Nhydroxy-2-(hydroxyimino) ethanimidoyl chloride and (1Z,2E)-2-(hydroxyimino) ethanehydroximohydrazide were prepared according to formerly published procedures [13,15].

B. Characterizations

The electronic spectra were recorded at room temperature on a Shimadzu UV1601 spectrophotometer using 1 cm quartz cells. 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra were recorded at room temperature on Bruker 400 MHz spectrometer in DMSO. IR spectra, as KBr discs, were recorded on a Varian 900 FT-IR spectrometer (200–800 nm). Elemental analysis data were obtained with a LECO 932 CHNS analyzer. M.p. s’s were measured on a Buchi SPM-20 digital melting point apparatus. An Orion Expandable Ion Analyzer EA 940 was used for the pH measurements. Magnetic susceptibilities were determined on a Sherword Scientific Magnetic Susceptibility Balance (Model MKI) at room temperature using Hg[Co(SCN)4] as calibrant; diamagnetic corrections were calculated from Pascal’s constants. Molar conductivity of the ligand and its metal complexes were determined at room temperature using a CMD 750 WPA conductivity meter. TG curves were recorded with Shimadzu TG-50 thermo balance. C. Synthesis of the ligand [LH2]

The starting material (1Z,2E)-2(hydroxyimino) ethanehydroximohydrazide (GH2)[13] was synthesized according to the procedure described in our previous paper. As the precursor, GH2 was not stable at room temperature so it was used as obtained without further purification. The chemical reaction and structural formula are shown in schemes 1, 2. HO

N 2(E) 1(Z)

NH -NH .H O, 0 0C, ETOH-H O 2

NaOH

HN NH2

N 1(Z) 2(E)

Scheme 1. Synthesis of anti-glyoximehydrazine (GH2) [13].

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LH2 ligand (Scheme 2 and Figure 1) was prepared by intensive stirring an ethanolic solution of the (1Z,2E)-2-(hydroxyimino) ethanehydroximohydrazide (1.18g, 10 mmol) and CH3COOH dissolved in water (10 mL) with the stoichiometric amount of 1-biphenyl-4-yl-2-bromoethanone (2.750 g, 10 mmol), respectively, for 5 h at room temperature. The resulting precipitate was filtered, and washed several times with cold ethanol, dried in a vacuum desiccator overnight and stored in an ambient environment. HO

N 5

1(Z)

ETOH-H O, CH COOH 2

C H BrO 14

2(E)

1' 2'

NH2

Figure 1.

Proposed structure of LH2 argets

5' 0C,

2 1

4 1(Z)

N N

1(Z) 2(E)

Scheme 2. (1Z,2E)-N’-[(1Z)-1-biphenyl-4yl-2-bromoethylidene]-2-(hydroxyimino) ethanehydroximohydrazide (LH2 )

D. Synthesis of the [Ni(HL)2] (1), [Cu(HL)2]

The structures of the ligand were elucidated by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and electronic (UV–Vis.) spectroscopy, as well as by thermal studies. The results of the elemental analysis, % yield, M.p. s’s and colour are given in Table I.

TABLE I.

Color: White. Yield: 2.78 g (74.0%). M.P.: 160 0C, Calc. (Anal.) for C16H15BrN4O2 (375.22 g.mol-1), calculated:: C, 51.22, H, 4.03, N, 14.99. Found: C, 50.59, H, 4.60, N, 14.27. IR (KBr, cm-1): 3430 n (N–H), 3342 n (OH), 30503000 n (C–H)Arom., 1683 n (C=N)Oxime, 987 n (NO).

Analytical and physical results for the ligand and its complexes

Results of the compositional and spectroscopic analyses are as follows.

(2) and [Co(LH)2(H2O)2] (3)

The coordination compounds were prepared by the following general procedures: A solution of NiCl2.6H2O (0.238 g, 1.0 mmol), CuCl2.2H2O (0.170 g, 1.0 mmol) or CoCl2.6H2O (0.238 g, 1.0 mmol) in water (15 mL) was added to a solution of the ligand, [LH2], (0.750 g 2.0 mmol) in 30 mL absolute ethanol at room temperature. A distinct change in color and a decrease in the pH value (~3.0–3.5) of the solution were noticed. While stirring at the same temperature, to adjust the pH, ethanolic NaOH (1%) was added to increase the pH ~5–5.5 and the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature. The reaction mixture were stirred for 60 min at 50 0C in water bath in order to participate of complexes. On refluxing the reaction mixture with stirring for 60 min a red precipitate was formed. It was then filtered, washed with distilled

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water and hot ethanol, and dried in dynamic vacuum, over anhydrous calcium chloride. The proposed geometries for the monomeric nickel, copper, zinc and cobalt

acetone, toluene, n-hexane, butanol, and benzene. Scheme 3 represents a suggested structure of the complex Zn(II) of the ligand. F. Details of Compounds 1. [Ni(HL)2] (1)

Color: red. Yield: 1.21 g, (75%), M.P..; >400 0C.. µeff., BM: diamagnetic. Calc. (Anal.) for C32H28Br2N8O4Ni (807.44 g.mol-1), C, 52.82, H, 3.85, N, 15.41, Ni, 8.12 Found: C, 52.27, H, 4.10, N, 14.92, Ni, 8.67. IR (KBr, cm-1): 3478 (N–H), 3040-3010 (C–H)Arom., 1783 (O....H–O), 1560 n (C=N)Oxime, 967 n (N–O). 1H NMR (DMSO-d6): d =8.02– 7.15 (m, 12H, Ar–H), 10.30 (s, 2H, C–H), 11.20 (s, 2H, N-H), 15.33 (s, 2H, O–H---O). 13 C NMR (DMSO-d6): d =125.40, 126.74, 131.16,132.50 (Ar–C), 133.60 (C5), 136.40 (C6), 155.95 (C7).

complex of LH2 are given in Scheme 3. Scheme 3. Synthetic scheme for 2-4

2. [Cu(HL)2] (2)

E. Synthesis of the [Zn(LH)CI].H2O (4)

The compound with Zn(II) was prepared similarly, zinc chloride was used. A solution of ZnCl2.2H2O (0.172 g, 1 mmol,) in water (20 cm3) was mixed with the ligand LH2 (0.375 g, 1 mmol) dissolved in absolute ethanol (15 cm3) at room temperature. A distinct change in color and a decrease in the pH of the solution (3.5-4.0) were observed. While stirring at the same temperature, to adjust the pH, ethanolic NaOH (1%) was added to increase the pH 7-7.5 for Zn. The reaction mixture was allowed to stir on a waterbath at 50 0C for 1-2 h in order to complete the precipitation. The obtained solid yellow complex was collected by filtration and repeatedly washed with distilled water and ethanol, and dried in dynamic vacuum at room temperature. Coordination complexes of the ligand is soluble in common organic solvents such as DMSO, DMF, CH2Cl2, CHCl3, CCl4, EtOH, MeOH,

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Color: Dark brown (almost black). Yield: 1.09 g. (67%), M.P.; 400 0C µeff., BM: 1.59. Calc. (Anal.) for C32H28Br2N8O4Cu (811.94 g.mol-1), C, 52.49, H, 3.82, N, 15.31, Cu, 8.68 Found: C, 51.87, H, 4.41, N, 14.71, Cu, 8.18. IR (KBr, cm-1): 3340 (N–H), 3040-3010, (C–H)Arom., 1745 (O....H–O), 1615 n (C=N) , 985 (N–O). Oxime 3. [Co(LH)2(H2O)2] (3)

Color: Dark brown (almost black). Yield: 1.24 g, (74 %), M.P.; >360 0C µeff., BM: diamagnetic. Calc. (Anal.) for C32H32Br2N8O6Co (843.44 g.mol-1), C, 45.53, H, 3.79, N, 13.28, Co, 7.01 Found: C, 52.12, H, 4.55, N, 14.70, Ni, 8.72. IR (KBr, cm-1): 3332(N–H), 33300/3420 (H2O), 3040-3010 (C–H)Arom.,, 1607 (C=N)Oxime , 973 n(N–O). 4. [Zn(LH)CI].H2O (4)

Color: Yellow.Yield: 0.32 g (65 %), M.P.; >360 0C µeff., BM: diamagnetic. Calc. (Anal.)

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for C16H16BrN4O3ClZn (492.72 g.mol-1), C, 52.82, H, 3.85, N, 15.41, Co, 8.12 Found: C, 52.12, H, 4.55, N, 14.70, Ni, 8.72. IR (KBr, cm-1): 3374 (N–H), 3415 (H2O), 3057-3017 (C–H)Arom. 1580 (C=N)Oxime, 1637(C=N) , 987 n(N–O). Hydrazone The Formula weights, colors, yields, melting point, magnetic susceptibilities, elemental analyses FT-IR, UV-vis. of the ligand and its Coordination complexes are given in table I, II, III and TG data of the coordination complexes are given in table IV.

TABLE II.

characteristics for ftir bands of the compounds

II. Results and dicusssions A. Synthesis of Compounds

The desired substituted (1Z,2E)-N’[(1Z)-1-biphenyl-4-yl-2-bromoethylidene]-2(hydroxyimino)ethane hydroximohydrazide [LH2] was obtained by the reaction (1Z,2E)-2(hydroxyimino)ethanehydroximohydrazide (GH2)[13] with 1-biphenyl-4-yl-2bromoethanone in absolute ethanol solution in a single step (Scheme 1). The resulting solid is intensively colorued, and stable in air. The metal complexes of the ligand were prepared under similar conditions in presence of a strong base. The analytical and physical data of vicdioxime derivative including the hydrazones group and its metal complexes are given in

table I. B. IR Spectra

The infrared spectra of the vic-dioxime ligand and its coordination complexes have been studied in order to characterize their structures. The relevant i.r. absorption bands and their assignment are listed in Table II. For the ligand [LH2] and coordination complexes, bands at 3342–3420 cm-1 may be assigned to n (O–H) [16] and strong bands at 1560–1683 cm-1 are assigned to azomethine group vibrations [17]. In i.r. spectra of the [Ni(HL)2], [Cu(HL)2] and [(HL)2Co.2H2O] complexes, the absorption assigned to (C=N) in the free ligand is shifted slightly to lower frequencies (1560–1615 cm1 ) after complexation, owing to N,N-metal coordination[16,18,19]. The disappearance of absorptions at 3288 cm-1 [n (O–H)] in the [Ni(HL)2], [Cu(HL)2], [(HL)2Co.2H2O] complexes along with the presence of absorptions at 3328–3377 cm-1 [n (N–H)], 1560–1615 cm-1 [n (N–O)] are in agreement with the proposed structures. In i.r. spectra of the cobalt complex a strong broad band at 3415 cm-1 supports the presence of coordinated water[19]. As a distinct lowering in the pH of the solution was observed during complex formation, deprotonation of the ligand with subsequent N,N-chelation of the vicdioximes probably occurs[16]. The usual intramolecular hydrogen-bonded bending vibrations (O–H--O) associated with square-planar vic-dioxime complexes were characterized by weak deformation bands at 1745–1783 cm-1 in these complexes[20, 21]. The resulting values agree with previously reported diaminoglyoxime derivatives [22]. In the i.r. spectra of [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex, the n (C=N) around 1637 cm-1 is shifted to 1683 cm-1 in [LH2]. There is no (O–H---O) peak, as expected for complexes with the formula shown in scheme 2. At the same time, the N–O band around 967 cm-1

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in the free ligand moved to lower frequency by ca 20 cm-1 after [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex formation. These results show that the ligand is coordinated to each metal through nitrogen and oxygen donors. A chloride and water are also coordinated to each metal ion as reported for [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex of vicdioximes[14,23]. The reaction of [LH2] with [Ni(HL)2], [Cu(HL)2] and [(HL)2Co.2H2O] gives products with 1:2 metal–ligand ratios (Scheme 3). [LH2] reacts with [Zn(LH)CI].H2O in a 1:1 metal–ligand ratio to give complexes with two of the four metal coordination sites occupied by nitrogen of each oxime and oxygen of the other group[24]. The analytical data and other spectral analyses are in good agreement with the proposed stoichiometry of the complexes in scheme 3. C. For the ligand [LH2] and coordination

complexes, bands at 3342–3420 cm-1 may be assigned to nThe 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR Spectra

The (E,E)- and (E,Z) stereoisomers of vic-dioximes coordinate through their N,N or N,O sites and, in a few cases, interconversion of (E,E)- and (E,Z)complexes[20, 25-27] is possible. Tschugaeff [28] was the first to identify the bidentate nature of vic-dioximes in his important work on the reaction between nickel(II) salts and dimethylglyoximes. Transition metal complexes of these vic-dioximes are mainly N,N-coordinated square-planar structures, but the uranyl complexes compose µ-hydroxo-bridged dimers with N,O-coordination as shown by infrared and 1 H NMR spectroscopy[17,21]. When the 1H NMR spectrum of the ligand in DMSO was examined peaks corresponding to N–OH were observed at 11.20 (s, 1H) and 10.80 ppm (s, 1H). A single chemical shift for each OH (OHa, OHb) suggests that the oxime groups are

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in the E,Z form [18,29]. The N–H protons give only one singlet at 8.50 ppm. The C–H protons adjacent to the oxime groups were observed at 7.75 ppm. The spectrum is in harmony with the previously reported oxime derivatives[16,18]. A 13C NMR spectrum is convenient to prove the structure of vicdioximes. In the 13C NMR spectrum of the carbon resonances of oxime were observed at 142.87 147.88 (C7) and 141.63 145.67 (C6) ppm. Observation of dioxime carbons in 13C NMR spectra at two different frequencies indicates that the vic-dioxime ligands have the anti-structure[13,30][21, 22]. The values for 1 are in good accord with those of vicdioximes [23,30]. The peaks of (Ar)2C=N(C5) and Ar–C were at 140.24 and 135.10– 138.16 ppm, respectively, as expected. We were able to obtain 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra for this Coordination complexes even though the solubility of the [Ni(HL)2] complex in organic solvents was limited. 1H NMR spectra of 2 have intra-molecular D2O-exchangeable H-bridges (O–H ---O), which were observed by a new signal at low field, d =15.33 ppm. The chemical shifts of –NH and –CH protons were observed at 11.20 and 10.30 ppm as singlets for 2, respectively. Ar–H protons were observed at 8.02–7.15 ppm as multiplets. In the 13C NMR spectrum of the [Ni(HL)2]complex, carbon resonances of the dioxime groups were observed at 155.95 (C7) and 136.40 (C6) ppm. Two different frequencies of the dioxime group in 13C NMR show that the vic-dioxime complex has an anti-structure[30]. The peaks of (Ar)2C=N– (C5) and Ar–C were observed at 133.60 and at 125.40–132.50 ppm, respectively, which are in good agreement with those of vic-dioxime complexes[14,23]. D. UV-Vis. Spectra and Magnetic Properties

The Electronic spectra bands of vicdioxime ligand (LH2), and complexes were taken in DMF (table IV). The UV-Vis spectra of the ligands and complexes showed absorption bands between 245–694 nm. In the complexes the low intensity bands in the 653–694 range nm are consistent with d→d

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transitions of the metal ions. The 250–380 nm bands seem to be due to both the π→π* and n→π* transitions of C=N and charge– transfer transition arising from π electron interactions between the metal and ligand [14, 31] The UV-Vis peaks corresponding to the π→π* transitions in the vic-dioxime ligands were observed at about 240 nm; these transitions shift to longer wavelength as a consequence of coordination, confirming the formation of vic-dioxime metal complexes [32]. The common characteristics of the vic-dioxime complexes are their insolubility which hinders solution spectral investigations. However, magnetic susceptibility measurements provide sufficient information to identfy the structures. In table III, the room-temperature solid-state magnetic moment data of the complexes are reported. Themononuclear Ni(II) complexes are diamagnetic, as expected for a square-planar d8 complex while the d9 Cu(II) complexes and Co(II) complexes are paramagnetic [19]. The [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex is also diamagnetic. The measured values for the [Cu(HL)2]and [(HL)2Co.2H2O] complexes are 1.73 B.M. and 3.72 B.M. which correspond to a single electron. On the basis of the magnetic and spectral evidence, a square-planar geometry for [Ni(HL)2] and [Cu(HL)2] complexes and a tedrahedral geometry for [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex and octahedral geometry for the [(HL)2Co.2H2O] complex are proposed [32] . The suggested structures of the complexes are shown in Scheme 3.

TABLE III.

E. Thermal Studies

Thermal characteristics of the transition metal derivatives with azomethines (oximes, Schiff bases and hydrazones) have been investigated [33]. Thermal characteristics of the complexes were investigated using TG/DTA with decomposition step, product loss, and found and calculated weight loss percentages are depicted in table IV. The Ni(II) complex of vic-dioxime loses 81.74% of its original mass between 25 oC and 1067 oC, with 9.78 % greenish-black residue. Sample decomposes in two stages, the first stage was between 258 oC and 438 o C with 61.77 % mass loss, and the second stage between 438 oC and 1067 oC with 19.97 % mass loss. The theoretical mass of remaining NiO is 9.29 % which corresponds to 9.78 % from TG studies. The TG studies on the [Cu(HL)2] complex showed initial mass loss at 143 oC losing 61.55 and 19.88 % in each stage at 143-412 and 412-1058, respectively. Further the compound [(HL)2Co.2H2O] complex is stable up to 145 oC, where dehydration begins. For [(HL)2Co.2H2O], loss of the axial water is overlapped in the first transition (temperature range: 145-165 o C, weight loss exp.: 2.68 % 6.02%, Calcd: 2.13 %). In the thermal decomposition of [(HL)2Co.2H2O] complex, at first the coordinated water, then the amine group and last the equatorial oxime is lost [34]. The TG curves of the [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex (Calcd: 3.66%, exp: 3.98% [Zn(LH) CI].H2O show weight loss at 135-145 oC, indicating that Zn(II) complex contain one coordinated water [23].

characteristics for uv-vis bands of the compounds

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TABLE IV.

the tg data of the coordination complexes

F. Molar Conductance

The ligand (LH2) is highly soluble in the common organic solvents such as DMSO, DMF, CH2Cl2 and CHCl3, although its mononuclear metal complexes due to the presence of two hydrogen bridges in the oxime moities are slightly soluble in the same solvents. All complexes are stable in the solvents reported in this study at room temperature. With a view to studying the electrolytic nature of the metal complexes, their molar conductivities were measured in DMF (N,Ndimethyl formamide) at 10–3 M. The molar conductivity (ΛM) values of metal complexes are in the range of 9.3–1.7 Ω–1 cm2 mol–1 at room temperature, indicating their almost non-electrolytic nature (Table I). Due to nonfree ions in metal complexes, the results indicate that these metal complexes are poor in molar conductivity [35].

measurements, spectral (1H NMR, 13C NMR, HMQC, UV–Vis, and FT-IR spectroscopy, molar conductivity, and thermal studies TG. The most oxime metal complexes are slightly soluble in common organic solvents, which limit their practical usages for many purposes. We have attempted to prepare single crystals of ligand and metal complexes in different solvents, but could not prepare single crystals. On the basis of the magnetic and spectral evidence a squareplanar geometry for [Ni(HL)2] and [Cu(HL)2] complexes, octahedral for [(HL)2Co.2H2O] and tetrahedral for [Zn(LH)CI].H2O complex are proposed. Also, TG studies show that all the metal complexes converted by pyrolysis to corresponding oxides. Acknowledgment The author is grateful for the kind financial supports provided by thank Adnan Menderes University-Turkey (FBE 08009). References [1]

[2]

[3]

Conclusions In this work, the novel vic-dioxime derivative containing the hydrazone group, (1Z,2E)-N’-[(1Z)-1-biphenyl-4-yl2-bromoethylidene]-2-(hydroxyimino) ethanehydroximohydrazide[LH2] and its mononuclear metal complexes were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, magnetic susceptibility

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[4]

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J. K. Sears and J. R. Darby, “Mechanism of plasticizer action,” in The Technology of Plasticizers, J. K. Sears and J. R. Darby, Eds., Wiley-Interscience, New York, NY USA (1982): 35–77. S. S. Jurisson, J.D. Lydon. “Potential technetium small molecule radiopharmaceuticals.” Chem. Rev. 99 (1999): 2205–2218. S. Sevagapandian, G. Rajagopal, K. Nehru, P. Athappan, “Copper(II), nickel(II), cobalt(II) and oxovanadium(IV) complexes of substituted β-hydroxyiminoanilides” Transition Met. Chem. 25 (4) (2000): 388393. D. Sellman, J. Utz, F.W. Heinemann. “Transition-metal complexes with sulfur ligands. 132.1 Electron-rich Fe and Ru complexes with [MN2S3] cores containing the new pentadentate ligand ‘N2H2S3’2- (= 2,2′-Bis(2-mercaptophenylamino)diethyl sulfide(2−))” Inorg. Chem. 38(3) (1999): 459466.

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M.C. M. Laranleira, R.A. Marusak, A.G. Lappin. “Driving force effects in proton coupled electron transfer.” Inorg. Chim. Acta 186 (2000): 300-302. [6] Rakha, T.H. “Mononuclear and binuclear chelates of biacetylmonoxime picolinoylhydrazone” Trans. Met. Chem. 24 (1999) 659-665. [7] Viñuelas-Zahínos, E., M.A. MaldonadoRogado, F. Luna-Giles and F.J. BarrosGarcía. “Coordination behaviour of Schiff base 2-acetyl-2- thiazoline hydrazone (ATH) towards cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II).” Polyhedron, 27(2) (2008): 879-886. [8] B. Kocyigit-Kaymakcioglu, S. Rollas, “Synthesis characterization and evalution of antituberculosis activity of some hydrazones” Farmaco 57(7) (2002) 595-599. [9] J.V. Ragavendran, D. Sriram, S.K. Patel, I.V. Reddy, N. Bharathwajan, J. Stables, P.Yogeeswari. “ Design and Synthesis of anticonsulvants from a combined phthelimede -GABA-anilide and hydrazonepharmacophore.” Eur. J. Med. Chem. 42(2) (2007): 146-151. [10] E.W. Ainscough, A.M. Brodie, A.J. Dobbs, J.D. Ranford, J.M. Waters. “Antitümör Copper(II) Salicylaldehyde Benzoylhydrazone (H(2) SB) Complexes- Physicochemical Properties and the Single-Crystal X-ray Structures Of [(Cu(H(2)SB)(CCL3CO2)(2))(2)] and [(Cu(HSB)(CIO4)(C2H5OH))(2)] and the Related Salicylaldehyde Acetykhydrazone (H(2)SA) Complex, [Cu(HSA)CI(H2O) ] Center-DOT-H2O” Inorg. Chim. Acta 1(267) (1998): 27-38. [11] J.L. Buss, B.T. Greene, J. Turner, F.M. Torti, S.V. Torti. “Iron chelators in cancer chemotherapy” Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 4(15) (2004): 1623-1635. [12] M. Whitnall, R. Richardson. “A new target for pharmacological intervention in neurodegenerative diseases.” Sem. Ped. Neurol. 13 (2006): 186-197. [13] N. Sarıkavaklı, G. İrez, “Synthesis and Complex Formation of Some Novel vicDioxime Derivatives of Hydrazones” Turk J Chem. 29 (2005): 107-115. [14] N. Sarıkavaklı, H.T. Çakıcı . “Synthesis and [5]

Characterization of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) Complexes of Glyoxime Hydrazone” Asian J. Chem. 23(3) (2011): 1321-1326. [15] H. Brintzinger, R. Titzmann. “Some halogenated aliphatic oximes.” Chem. Ber. 85(3) (1952): 344-5. [16] A. Uçar, P. Deveci, B. Taner, M. Findik, S. Bereket, E. Özcan, A. O. Solak. “Synthesis, characterization, thermal, and redox properties of a vic-dioxime and its metal complexes” J. Coord. Chem. 63(17) (2010): 3083-3092. [17] A. Gül and Ö. Bekaroğlu. “Syntheses of NN′bis (4′-benzo [15-crown-5]) diaminoglyoxime and its complexes with copper (II), nickel (II), cobalt (II), cobalt (III), palladium (II), platinum (II), and uranyl (VI)” J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans. (1983): 2537-2541.

L. J. Kirschenbaum, R.K. Panda, E.T. Borish, E. Mentasti. “Vic-Dioximate complexes of silver (III).” Inorg. Chem., 28 (19) (1989): 3623-3628. [19] A. Gerli, L.G. Marzilli. “Costa-type-B12 models–Synthesis, structural characterization, and electrochemistry of chloro derivatives.” Inorg. Chem. 31 (1992): 1152-1160. [20] Y. Gök, H. Ertepınar and S. Z. Yıldız, “The Spektroscopic İnvestigation of Amphi-anti İsomerism and interconvertion in a Novel vicDioxime and ıts Complexes” Spect. Lett. 23 (1990): 713-725. [21] Y. Gök and H. Kantekin. “Novel vic-Dioxime with Crown Ether Moieties”Synth. React. Inorg. Met.-Org. Chem. 20 (1988): 10851102. [22] Ö. Bekaroğlu, S. Sarısaban, A.R. Koray, B. Nuber, K. Weindenhammer, J. Weiss, M.L. Ziegler. “The crystal structure of tris(oxamide oxime)cobalt(III) trichloride, Co(C2H6N4O2)3Cl3.” Acta Crystallogr. Sect. B(34) [18]

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Y. Gök and S. Serin, “Synthesis and Complex Formation of the Structural İsomers,2,3Bis(hydroxyimino)-2,3-Dihydro-4H-1-1,4Benzothiazin” Synth. React. Inorg. Met.-Org. Chem, 18(10) (1988): 975-988. [26] S. Serin and Ö. Bekaroğlu. “The Synthesis and Complex Formation of Stereoisomers of 1,3- diphenyl-2-thioxa-4,5-bis (hidroxyimino) imidozoline” Z. Anorg. All. Chem. 496 (1983): 197-204. [27] V.Ahsen, E.Musluoğlu, A.Gürek, A.Gül, Ö.Bekâroğlu, M.Zahnder. “ Synthesis and Complexation of 1,2-Bis[(monoaza[15] crown-5)-N-yl]glyoxime. Crystal Structure of (1,2-Bis[(monoaza[15]crown-5)-N-yl] glyoximato) Palladium (II).” Helv. Chim. Acta., 73, (1990): 174-179. [28] L. Tschugaeff, “Ueber ein neue Methode zur Darstellung ungesattigter Kohlenwasserstoffe..” Chem. Ber. 38 (1905): 2520-2522. [29] V. Ahsen, F. Gökçeli, Ö. Bekaroğlu. “Synthesis of S,S’-bis(4’-benzo-[15-Crown-5] dithioglyoxime and its Complexes with Copper(II), Nickel(II), Cobalt(II),Cobalt(III), Palladium(II), Platinium(II) and Platium(IV).” J. Chem. Soc. Dalton Trans. (1987): 18271831. [30] N. Sarıkavaklı, H.T. Çakıcı “Synthesis and Characterization of Novel (Z,E )-vic-dioximes and their Transition Metal Complexes” Asian J. Chem. 24(3) (2012): 2643-2647. [31] L. Sacconi, M. Ciampolini, F.R. Cavasino. “Studies in Coordination Chemistry. IX.1 Investigation of the Stereochemistry of Some Complex Compounds of Cobalt(II) with N-Substituted Salicylaldimines.” J. Am. [25]

Chem. Soc. 84(1962): 3246-3248.

R. Ruiz, F. Lloret, M. Julve, J. Faus, M.C. Munoz, X. Solans. “A Study Of The THE Exchange Interaction Through Phenolato, Oximato and Oximidato Bridges in (MnCuII)-Cu-II Dimers-CrystalStructure Of [Cu(SALEN)Mn(HFA)(2)].” Inorg. Chim. Acta 213(1) (1993): 261-268. [33] A. Para. “Complexation of metal ions with dioxime of dialdehyde starch.” Carbohyd. Polym. 57 (2004): 277-283. [34] L.B. Luo, H.L. Chen, F. Wang, Q.P. Dai, W.X. [32]

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Tang. “Thermolysis Of Beta-Cyclodextrin Alkycobaloxime Inclusion Complexes In The Solid-State.” Thermochim. Acta 298(1-2) (1997): 129-134. [35] A. Kilic, Tas, E., Yilmaz, I. “Synthesis, spectroscopic and redox properties of the mononuclear NiII, NiII(BPh2)2 containing (BC) bond and trinuclear CuII-NiII CuII typemetal complexes of N,N′-(4-amino-1-benzyl piperidine)-glyoxime” J. Chem. Sci. Vol. 121(1) (2009): 43-56.

Biography

Nursabah SARIKAVAKLI completed Ph.D in experimental inorganic Chemistry from Selçuk University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Division of Inorganic Chemistry, Konya, TURKEY. She is working in Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Division of Inorganic Chemistry, Aydin, TURKEY since 2002. She has published more than 20 research articles in various National/ International Journals.

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Germination Behaviour of Lawsonia inermis L. as Influenced by Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) Enneb Hanen, PhD

Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad, PhD

Arid & Oases Cropping Laboratory; Arid Area Institute (IRA) of Medenine, 4119 Tunisia

Physics Department, Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 741, University of Tabuk, 71491 Saudi Arabia

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 24 September 2016 Received in revised form 15 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.16

Tunisian Flora is well known for its richness and diversity of medicinal plants such as henna plant (Lawsonia inermis L.) a flowering plant belongs to the family of Lyteraceae, distributed in dry tropical and subtropical zones including North Africa. This plant pertains to continental oases where water shortage, constitute the essential limiting factor of agricultural production. The present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of water stress on the germination of the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis L.). Seeds were germinated under stress of aqueous Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) solutions blended to create water potentials of 0, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, - 0.8 and -1 MPa. Results showed that seeds germinated in PEG solutions exhibited significantly lower cumulative germination rate (CGR) than control especially when water potential fell below -0.6 MPa. Mean germination time (MGT) was delayed by increasing PEG concentrations, while germination stress tolerance index (GSTI) was decreased with the increase in PEG concentrations. The highest percentage of GSTI in stressed condition was 84.13% for PEG (-0.2MPa) whereas, the lowest value was 8.37% for PEG (-1MPa).

Keywords: L.inermis; Water stress; Cumulative germination rate; Mean germination time; Germination stress tolerance index;

I. INTRODUCTION

Environmental stresses constitute the most important factors leading to unpredictable decreases in agriculture productivity [1]. There are a significant number of abiotic stresses such as radiation, extremes temperatures, drought and salinity which all have prejudicial effects on yield and plant growth [2]. Such stresses negatively influence survival grain yield biomass

accumulation and production of most crops [3]. Among the stages of the plant life cycle, seedling emergence and seed germination are key processes in the survival and growth of plants [4]. Germination stage is one of the most critical stages of plant growth so that this stage determines establishment, endurance and final performance of plants [5]. One of the primary tests to determine the seed quality is the standard germination

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test in optimal conditions [6]. In coastal environments and certain arid regions, osmotic stress is responsible for inhibition or delayed of seedling establishment and seed germination [7]. Seed losses resulting from drought stress can reduce seed yield by as much as 50% [8]. Plants with increased tolerance and excellent performance under sub-optimal environmental conditions to severe abiotic stress are sources of genes for forestry crops and breeding of agricultural [9]. Henna Lawsonia inermis (syn. Lawsonia alba) is the sole species in the genus Lawsonia in the Lythraceae family [10]. This plant is commonly known as henna or mhendi and frequently cultivated in India, Middle East and along the African coasts of the Mediterranean Sea [11]. In Tunisia, the total area of planted L. inermis stood at 500 hectars [12]. In Tunisia, Henna from Gabes, known for its high quality and long lasting, has crossed the Tunisian area to establish itself in international markets under the name of “Gabes Henna” [13]. L. inermis L. is widely known as ethnomedicinal plant and by its medicinal and cosmetic uses for over 9,000 years [14-15-16]. In the present study we attempt to investigate the optimal germination conditions that have been used to better understand the adaptability of henna plants to drought stress during germination stage. Several concentrations of PEG (0 to -1 MPa) were applied on seeds. I.

Materials and methods

Seeds of L. inermis were obtained from plants that were collected from the oasis of Chenini-Gabes one of the most famous oases of south-eastern Tunisia (Latitude 33° 53’ N, Longitude 10° 12’E; South-east of Tunisia) in July 2014. Gabes has a semiarid climate, characterized by hot and dry season and a cool and arid season. Gabes is situated in or near the subtropical desert scrub biome. Its climate is Mediterranean,

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total annual precipitation averages 222.9 mm which is equivalent to 222.9 Litres/m². The mean annual temperature in Gabes, Tunisia is 19.5 °C. Fruits were stored in the seeds bank of the Laboratory of Dryland and Oasis Cropping, Institute of Arid Zone of Medenine, Tunisia, in which, relative humidity was maintained at 30% and temperature at 20 °C. When experience were carried out and to ensure rapid germination of L.inermis that are hard to germinate, often have a tough seed coat, to soften we put them in a bag and immersed in running water of irrigation channel for up to one night, after that, seeds were surface sterilized and disinfected with 5% Sodium hypochlorite for 30 minutes, KMnO4 and H2O2, with washing by water after each one. seeds 3 mm across, angular, with thick seed coat were scattered in 90mm petri dishes wrapped with two filter paper wetted with 6 ml of deionized water. Petri dishes were sealed with parafilm to prevent evaporation, and the seeds were incubated in the dark at 24°C. The germinated seedlings were counted every 2 days for 10 days. A seed was considered germinated when the ridicule protruded through the seed coat [17]. L inermis seeds were germinated on medium conditions, with PEG treatment. The experiment was implemented in an entirely randomized design with four replications at the Laboratory of Dry land and Oasis Cropping in the Institute of Arid Regions of Medenine, Tunisia. Treatments were (control, PEG: Polyethylene glycol 6000 at -0.2, -0.4,-0.6, -0.8 and -1 MPa). Germination percentage was recorded every 48 h for 10 days. The cumulative percentage over 10 days of germinated seeds was calculated by the formula: CGR (%) = Σ (ni/N)* 100; MGT was calculated according to the formula: MGT= Σ (ni×di)/N, where d the incubation period in days, ni is the number of germinated seeds at day i and N the total number of germinated seeds in the treatment [18].

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The germination results were expresses in terms of a promptness index (PI) and then a germination stress tolerance index (GSTI) are estimated by the formula as below: (i)Promptness index (PI) was calculated by the formula [19]: PI = nd2 (1.0) + nd4 (0.8) + nd6 (0.6) + nd8 (0.8) + nd10 (0.2) where, nd2, nd4, nd6, nd8 and nd10 are the number of seeds germinated in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10 day, respectively. (ii) Germination stress tolerance index (GSTI) [19]: GSTI= (PI under stress condition PI under non stress condition) * 100 A. Statistical analysis

Germination data was carried out regarding four replications of the same henna cultivar for each measurement. Six irrigation levels with control have been the subject of statistical analysis. Analysis of variance, ANOVA was used in this study to test: the effect of PEG-6000 on the germination capacity (CGR), mean germination time (MGT) and germination stress tolerance index (GSTI) of L. inermis germination seeds. Duncan’s new multiple range test (MRT) was used to compare means and to distinguish between henna responses to each irrigation regimes. II. Results

To evaluate the response of henna plant to drought during germination, we analyzed MGT, CGR and GSTI. Analysis of variance for CGR data after ten days for L.inermis revealed significant differences among different levels of osmotic potential (0 to -1MPa). (Fig.1). CGR over 10 days was highest in deionised water control (96%) and there was declined with a decrease in osmotic potential. CGR did not change much under PEG (-0.2 and -0.4 MPa) and

the plants showed highest values (88% and 80% respectively). Polyethylene glycol (-0.6, -0.8 and -1MPa) induced water stress significantly reduced CGR by 66%, 84% and 94% respectively. Inhibition of seed germination was greatest under the osmotic potential, -1MPa. Water stress not only affects germination rate but also mean germination time of henna plant. The number of days to first germination increased with a reduction of osmotic potential (Ψπ). MGT was significantly (P < 0.003) inhibited by an increase in the concentration of PEG solution (Fig. 2). The inhibitory effect of PEG on MGT was greater at -1MPa. MGT approximately extended to twice (8.37 days) as compared to control (4.67days) when seeds were germinated at Ψπ of -1MPa. MGT was 5.19 to 6.2 days at the osmotic potential of -0.2 and -0.4MPa. In addition, MGT was 6.67 to 7.37 days at osmotic potential of -0.6 and -0.8 MPa. This result was confirmed by the Duncan test (1%) that grouped the two treatments (-0.2,-0.4) MPa in one part, and (-0.6, -0.8) MPa to another part (Figure. 3). PI gradually declined with the decreasing osmotic potential of solutions. Comparison of means grouped the PI in different classes under various levels of PEG solutions (Fig. 3). The GSTI were calculated using PI in non- stress and stressed condition values. The highest percentage of GSTI in stressed condition was 84.13% for PEG (-0.2MPa) whereas, the lowest value was 8.37% for PEG (-1MPa). So the differences in GSTI are due to the osmotic stress created by PEG-6000. With higher GSTI also has higher drought tolerance (Fig.4). III. DISCUSSION

Henna plant belongs to continental oases where water shortage constitutes the essential limiting factors of its agricultural production [20]. Henna culture in arid

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and semi-arid regions must be directed towards the use of less water-demanding and more stress-resistant plant materials. The use of drought-tolerant crops has been proposed for the economic exploitation of non-cultivated and marginal areas [21]. Germination is one of the most critical periods in the life cycle of plants. Under water stress, low water potential is a determining factor inhibiting seed germination [22]. The inhibiting action of water stress on the wheat germination was increased with PEG-6000 concentration increasing. CGR of L.inermis decreased from about 96 to 6% in PEG-6000 solutions of 0 and −1 MPa, respectively (Fig.1). Similar results showed that, with the increase in moisture stress, Seeds of Z. lotus germinated to 100 and less than 5% in PEG-6000 solutions of 0 and −1 MPa [18]. Whereas, the highest CGR was observed in -0.3 MPa, indicating its high tolerance to water stress and the least belonged to -1.5 MPa with 29% [23]. Germination of L.inermis was sensitive to water potential (-0.6 to-1 MPa). While [24] showed that germination of Entandrophragma cylindricum was very sensitive to water potential from 0 to -0.75 MPa. Water stress not only affects seed germination but also increases MGT in crop plants [25], MGT was delayed by increasing PEG concentration when seeds were germinated in -1MPa concentration. MGT of L.inermis was greatly affected by PEG concentrations (P≤ 0.003), it varied considerably between 4.67 days (0 MPa) to 8.37days (-1MPa). (Figure2). MGT of L.inermis increased by 55.79 % from0 to -1MPa. MGT for all maize (zea mays) hybrids was 1.5 days for control but 5.6 days at osmotic potential of -9 bars. The MGT (70.4%) increased with decrease in the osmotic potential of PEG solution [26]. [27] Indicated that GSTI as a useful criterion in screening for water stress tolerance. GSTI can be utilized to screen sunflower germplasm for drought tolerance. [28]. [29] reported same findings in wheat.

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Figure 1.

Cumulative germination rate (%) (CGR) of L.inermis seeds during 10 days at different level of PEG6000 solutions of different osmotic potentials (0 to −1 MPa). The values are the means of four replicates. Means followed by different letters in the same stress type are significantly different at P≤0.05 according to Duncan’s method.

Figure 2.

Mean germination time (MGT)of L.inermis seeds during 10 days at different level of PEG-6000 solutions of different osmotic potentials (0 to −1 MPa). The values are the means of four replicates. Means followed by different letters in the same stress type are significantly different at P≤0.05 according to Duncan’s method.

Figure 3. Promptness index (PI) of L.inermis grown under different level of PEG-6000 solutions of different osmotic potentials (0 to −1 MPa). The values are

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the means of four replicates. Means followed by different letters in the same stress type are significantly different at P≤0.05 according to Duncan’s method.

Figure 4.

Germination stress tolerance index (GSTI) of L.inermis grown under different level of PEG-6000 solutions of different osmotic potentials (0 to −1 MPa). The values are the means of four replicates. Means followed by different letters in the same stress type are significantly different at P≤0.05 according to Duncan’s method.

Conclusion The results of the present study showed that PEG affected seed germination of L. inermis. Henna responds to drought as a moderately tolerant plant. Drought stress responses mechanisms displayed by henna plant were partially different depending on the irrigation dose. Henna plants were able to tolerate water stress from 0 to -0.6 MPa to counter drought damage. However, beyond these values and after application of high dose (severe stress), plants seem to be more sensible to drought. This study provides basic knowledge about henna seeds germination in dry soil that can be used for re-establishing projects. To explore the relationship among abiotic stresses (water) levels and tolerance mechanisms. This will improve seedling drought and resistance abilities of dryland farming in the semi-arid regions.

References Ahuja, de Vos, Bones and Hall. “Plant molecular stress responses face climate change”.Trends in Plant Science 15. (2010): 664–674 [2] Mittler R. 2006. “Abiotic stress, the field environment and stress combination”. Trends in Plant Science. (11): 1360-1385. [3] Bhattacharjee S. 2008. “Triadimefon pretreatment protects newly assembled membrane system and causes up-regulation of stress proteins in salinity stressed Amaranthus lividus L. during early germination”. Journal of Environmental Biology. (29): 805-810. [4] Hadas A.. “Seedbed Preparation: The Soil Physical Environment of Germinating Seeds.” In Handbook of Seed Physiology, Applications to Agriculture’, edited by Benech-Arnold R. L. and Sanchez R.A. Food Product Press. New York: 2004, p. 480. [5] De and Kar. “Seed germination and seedling growth of mung bean (Vigna radiate) under water stress induced by P. E.G. 6000”. Seed Science and Technology 23(1995): 301-308. [6] ISTA, 1987. Handbook for Cleaning of Agricultural and Horticultural seeds on smallscale Machines Part 1, International Seed Testing Association. Zurich, 126pp. [7] Gul, Ansari, Flowers and Khan. “Germination strategies of halophyte 392 seeds under salinity”. Environmental and Experimental Botany 92 (2013): 4-18. [8] Chaves and Oliveira. “Mechanisms underlying plant resilience to water deficits: prospects for water-saving agriculture.”Journal of Experimental Botany 55 (2004): 2365–2384 [9] Sapeta, Costa, Lourenco, Maroco, van der Linde and Oliveira. “Drought stress response in Jatropha curcas: Growth and physiology.” Environmental and Experimental Botany 85 (2013): 76-84. [10] Uddin, Siddiqui, Begum, Bhatti., Khan, Parveen and Choudhary. “Bioactive flavonoids from the leaves of Lawsonia alba (Henna).” Phytochemistry Letters 44 (2011): 454 - 458. [11] Badoni Semwal, Semwal, Combrinck, Cartwright-Jones and Viljoen. “Lawsonia [1]

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inermis L. (henna): Ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects”. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 155 (1) (2014): 80-103. [12] Omri, Wali and Benzina. “Adsorption of bentazon on activated carbon prepared from Lawsonia inermis wood: Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies.” Arabian Journal of Chemistry. (2012): 1-11, http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2012.04.047 [13] Mounaouer, Wali, Fourti and Hassen. “Henna wood as an adsorptive material for bentazon. Henna wood as an adsorptive material for bentazon”. African Journal of Biotechnology. Vol.13(35) (2014): 3597-3606. [14] Makhija, Dhananjaya, Kumar, Devkar, Khamar, Manglani and Chandrakar. “Lawsonia inermis – from traditional use to scientific assessment.” African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy 2 (2011): 145-165 [15] Zumrutdal and Ozaslan,. “Amiracle plant for the herbal pharmacy: Henna(Lawsonia inermis).” International Journal of Pharmacology 8 (2012): 483–489. [16] Li, Ga and Zhao. “Advances instudies on chemical constituents and biological activities of Lawsonia inermis.” China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 38 (2013): 795–799. [17] Kubala, Garnczarska, Wojtyla, Clippe, Kosmala Żmieńko. “Deciphering priminginduced improvement of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) germination through an integrated transcriptomic and proteomic approach”. Plant Science 231 (2015): 94–113. [18] Maraghni, Gorai and.Neffati. “Seed germination at different temperatures and water stress levels, and seedling emergence from different depths of Ziziphus lotus.” South African Journal of Botany 76 (3) (2010):453459 [19] Bouslama and Schapaugh. “Stress tolerance in soybean. Patr1: evaluation of three screening techniques for heat and drought tolerance”. Crop Science 24 (1984): 933-937. [20] Enneb, Belkadhi and Ferchichi. “Changes in henna (Lawsonia inermis L.) morphological traits under different deficit irrigations in the southern of Tunisia”. Plant Science Today 2

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(2015): 2–6. Behera, Srivastava, Tripathi, Singh and Singh. “Evaluation of plant performance of Jatropha curcas L. under different agro-practices for optimizing biomass – a case study”. Biomass and Bioenergy 34 (2010): 30-41 [22] Wang, Chen and Zhang. “The effect s of water stress on soluble protein content, the activity of SOD, POD and CAT of two eco types of reeds ( Phragmites communis ).” Acta Botany Boreal-Occident Sinica 22(3), (2002): 561565. [23] Khayatnezhad, Gholamin, Jamaatie-Somarin and Zabihi-Mahmoodabad. “Effects of PEG stress on corn cultivars (Zea mays L.) at germination stage”. World Applied Sciences Journal 11(5) (2010): 504-506. [24] Pangou, Zoysa, Tsouboula and Lechon. “Effect of temperature and water optional on germination of Entandrophragma cylindricum (Sprague) seed of different provenances.” Seed Science and Technology 36 (1) (2008): 462–466. [25] Alebrahim, Janmohammadi, Sharifzade and Tokasi. “Evaluation of salinity and drought stress effects on germination and early growth of maize inbred lines (Zea mays L.)”. Electronic Journal of Crop Production 1(2) (2008): 35-43. [26] Khodarahmpour Z. 2011. “Screening maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids for salt stress Tolerance at germination stage”. African Journal of Biotechnology 10 (71): 15959-15965. [27] Fernandez G C J. 1992. In: Proceeding of Symposium, 13-16 Aug, Taiwan, 257-270. [28] Ahmad, Ahmad, Ashraf, Ashraf and Waraich. “Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) response to drought stress at germination and growth stages”. Pakistan Journal of Botany 41(2) (2009): 647-654. [21]

Biography Enneb Hanen received the B.E. degree in Science of Life and Earth (4years) from the Faculty of Sciences Gabes-Tunisia, in (2006) and the Masters of Science degree in Ecophysiology of Plants from the Faculty of Sciences Tunis Elmanar-Tunsia in (2009) under the guidance of Pr Ali Ferchichi. In 2010 she started her

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Ph.D. work in Science Biology at the Institute of Arid Regions (IRA) Medenine-Tunisia. Her thesis focused on the morphological and physiological adaptation of Lawsonia inermis to abiotic stress (water and salt stress)”. She spent six-month intership with Dr. Enrique Olmos at the centro d’edafologia y Biologia appliquada Del Segura (CEBASCSIC), Murcia-Spain. supervision and co-supervision of a student’s (technicians and professional masters) in Biology Institute of applied biology in Medenine-Tunisia (ISBAM). She participated in 7 meeting national and international. She has published many articles in various national and International Journals and conference proceedings.

M. Ayaz Ahmad completed Ph.D. in experimental high energy physics in 2010 and M. Phil. (physics) in 2005 from the Physics Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, under the supervision of Prof. Shafiq Ahmad. He worked as a guest lecturer for B. Sc. Laboratory Classes in the same Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh w.e.f. 10th Oct. 2002 to 10th Oct. 2008 and also as a Lecturer at Senior Secondary College (Boy’s) of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh w.e.f. 11th Oct. 2008 to 15th Dec. 2010.

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The Psychophysics behind the “Banariu visual phenomenon”- A particular case of Entoptic Phenomenon prof Mihaela Rus, PhD

Gheorghe Mihail Banariu, M.A.

Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

UMF- Carol Davila (The University of Medicine and PharmacyCarol Davila) Asociatia Criminalistilor din Romania (Romanian Forensic Association) Otopeni, Bucharest

ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 01 October 2016 Received in revised form 21 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.17

Keywords: Banariu; method; phenomenon; phosphene; entoptic; clinical; observations; brightness; particular; case;

ABSTRACT

To describe the psychophysics behind the Banariu visual phenomenon is a delight. Scientifically, a phenomenon is any event that is observable. In this case we will be describing an entoptic phenomenon (ent means within and optic means the eye). Before starting to experience the phenomenon, ask yourself: Does the eye lie? It is certainly undeniable that it does not, anyway, not voluntarily. Even if it may not lie, it does not mean that for a moment at least it can’t be lied to. In this case the patient suddenly experiences dizziness and a feeling of falling on his back accompanied by a brief moment of slight brightness. Because of this “brightness”, it is obvious that Banariu visual phenomenon is a particular case of Phosphene. In fact, Phosphene appears as the movement of multiple light sensations. But that Banariu visual phenomenon when expressed, at least in descriptions, gives the illusion of light growth. This will generate the sensation of falling, especially when the head is tilted back to look upward. These clinical observations have led to the working out of a method to establish when the phenomenon occurs, but it relies basically on the sincerity of the subject analyzed (Banariu method). In this method the subject studied is asked to look up quickly at a fixed point which should preferably be at the equivalent height of a second or third floor of a building. Meanwhile, a medical team should be standing behind the patient to catch him if he falls back. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

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I. INTRODUCTION

Before we start, it would be advisable to define a number of terms to give a better understanding. What is visual Psychophysics? Let’s break the word down. Psychophysics is the study of the functional relationships between the physical properties of stimuli and the psychological responses to them. In simple terms, visual psychophysics is a measurement of vision. What is a visual phenomenon? Scientifically, a phenomenon is any perceivable event. Helmholtz comments on phenomena which some observers could see easily, but others could not see at all .[9] In this case we will be describing an entoptic phenomenon (ent means within and optic means the eye). Therefore, an entoptic phenomenon is an event that occurs within the eye and is noticeable. II. ENTOPTIC PHENOMENON

But what exactly is an entoptic phenomenon and what actually happens within the eye? To start off, let us try to experience one. Stare very hard on a fixed point for about 30-45 seconds. And see if you spot any small dots squiggling in random directions.

Obviously, there is not anything really moving.

But why do we see this squiggly movement of dots? It all happens on the retina, where the thinnest blood vessels in a human body lie over the inner surface of the retina. Human blood is made up of 40% red blood cells. About 1-5% consist of white blood cells and platelets. (White blood cells are basically transparent.) All these cells float in a yellowish liquid body known as the plasma which makes up 55% of the total blood volume. Now let’s focus more on the red and white blood cells. As we know, the blood vessels on the retina are so thin that at some parts, the blood cells line up within the vessel. Now red blood cells (being red) absorb all other lights but reflect red light. The white cells are larger than the red cells and must deform to fit. As they go through a capillary, an open space opens up in front of them and red blood cells pile up behind. This makes the dots of light appear slightly elongated with dark tails.[7][8] Therefore, when our eyes look at the previous blue screen, blue light enters the eye and is blocked by the red blood cells from entering the retina. However, the white blood cells, being transparent, allow the blue light to pass through. Blue light enters the retina and excites the photoreceptor at that spot. This local excitation of photoreceptors occurs all over the retina where the white blood cells are.

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Due to the movement of the blood flow within the retina, squiggly movements are observed. This entoptic phenomenon is called the blue field entoptic phenomenon. Others are less complicated. For example, cells floating within the vitreous are often observed as “floaters” because they cast shadows on the retina. “Some may be individual red blood cells swollen due to osmotic pressure or chains of these cells stuck together and diffraction patterns can be seen around these.”[10] Another simple entoptic phenomenon that doctors can observe easily is called the Purkinje’s tree which is actually the blood vessel silhouettes seen during internal eye examinations. When light enters the eye the blood vessels cast shadows on the retina underneath. Becker[2] described how light can reflect from the posterior surface of the lens and then again from the anterior surface of the cornea to focus a second image on the retina, this one much fainter and inverted. Tscherning[6] referred to this as the sixth image and noted it was much fainter and best seen with a relaxed emmetropic eye. Haidinger’s brush is another entoptic phenomenon which is not easily observed. It is caused by the preferential absorption of blue light by the xantaphyll pigment on our fovea. When polarized, white light enters the eye, causing the observer to see a subtle yellow structure at the center of the field. And in case polarized blue light enters the eye, the observer will see a subtle grey shadow at the center of the field. As Haidinger’s Brush occurs only within the center field which is projected by the fovea, it can be manipulated during eye examinations to detect and treat eccentric fixation which occurs in patients with strabismus. Eccentric fixation is an adaptation to strabismus by viewing an image using a spot on the retina other than the fovea. In essence “It is due to the Session 6. Biology, Medicine, Natural Sciences & Theology

preferential absorption of blue polarized light by pigment molecules in the fovea.”[3] [4] And last but not least we will be talking about Phosphene III. PHOSPHINE

What exactly is posphine? To start off, let’s try to experience one. Stare very hard on a fixed point for about 30-45 seconds.

After staring at this image for a while, you might feel that the patterns are moving. In fact, phosphine appears as the movement of multiple light sensations. The same happens without any presence of light. One way to experience phosphine is by rubbing your eyes or by applying pressure with our eyes closed for a while. So how will applying pressure to the eye cause us to see phosphine? Applying pressure on our eye is equivalent to adding pressure on the retinal ganglion cells, which in turn stimulates the cells to “think” that light is perceived. Patients will observe phosphine in conditions that affect the retina, like posterior vitreous detachment and retinal detachment which cause mechanical stimulation to the retinal ganglion cells. The result will be the sighting of “flashes of light” in the absence of light. IV. VISUAL PSYCHOPHYSICAL METHODS

What exactly are we measuring by means of visual psychophysical methods? The answer is a threshold.

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What is a threshold? The threshold in this case is the amount of stimuli that need to be applied before the experience of the phenomena. “Describing the psychophysics behind Banariu visual phenomenon is a delight.” Scientifically, a phenomenon is any event that is observable. In this case we will be describing an entoptic phenomenon. Therefore, before starting to experience the phenomenon, ask yourself: Does the eye lie? ? It is certainly undeniable that it does not, anyway, not voluntarily. Even if it may not lie, it does not mean that for a moment at least it can’t be lied to or guided to see what we want it to see. In this case the patient suddenly experiences dizziness and a feeling of falling on his back accompanied by a brief moment of slight brightness while looking at a fixed point. Because of this “brightness”, it is obvious that Banariu visual phenomenon is a particular case of Phosphene. In fact, Phosphene appears as the movement of multiple light sensations. But the Banariu visual phenomenon when expressed, at least in descriptions, gives the illusion of light growth. This will generate the sensation of falling, especially when the head is tilted back to look upward. In this case, the patient suddenly feels dizziness and a feeling like falling on his back accompanied by a brief moment of slight brightness while looking at a fixed point. However, the Banariu visual phenomenon when expressed, at least in descriptions, gives the illusion of light growth. This will generate the sensation of falling, especially when the head is tilted back when looking upward. To start off, let’s try to carry out an experiment. Quickly look up to a fixed point or to the

ceiling or facade of a cathedral or a building which should preferably be at least at the equivalent height of a second or third floor of a building. Consider the following example: You are inside a cathedral and you quickly look up to a fixed point or to the ceiling. These would be the chronological sequence steps.

I) A normal perception of the ceiling

II) Ceiling perception after inducing the effect through stress or spontaneous induction in the case of normal occurrence of the Banariu visual phenomenon.

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III) Ceiling perception as the effect evolves over time. Please note that as the brightness increases the image also tends to fade slightly. The 3 previous images are from: Chapter House ceiling in York Minster cathedral, in York, UK (http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/yorkminster-chapter-house.html) 1 These clinical observations have led to the working out of a method to establish when the phenomenon occurs, but it relies basically on the sincerity of the subject analyzed. This method of determination is named the Banariu method and it relies on the threshold triggering the phenomenon. In this method the subject studied is asked to look up quickly at a fixed point or at the ceiling of a cathedral which should preferably be at the equivalent height of a second or third floor of a building. Meanwhile, a medical team should be standing behind the patient to catch him if he falls back. Repeat this maneuver several times (10-15). This recurrence will cause the generation of this phenomenon in patients prone to it. This test was carried out on a group of 60 volunteers represented by students. (Medical and Law students)

Colum III - Wearing glasses Colum IV - With a normal view Colum V - With myopia Colum VI - With hyperopia Colum VII - Without diabetes Colum VIII -Diabetes Colum IX - Spontaneous phenomenon Colum X – Induced phenomenon (if not spontaneous!) Colum XI – It could not be induced Students admitted that they never experienced this phenomenon at least to the extent of their memories.2

Not wearing glasses and wearing glasses. With a normal view or with myopia or with hyperopia. With diabetes or without diabetes.

Of the total 60 volunteers 40 students admitted that they had experienced at least once this phenomenon or something very much like it before. Colum I – Student number Colum II – Not wearing glasses 1 Disclaimer: The Chapter House ceiling in York

Minster cathedral, in York, UK was not used to conduct these tests thus none can state for certain that it could or ever will induce this effect to any person. This cathedral was chosen by the author to explain a phenomenon and for its architectural beauty.

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2 The

students have been placed to structure information as best as possible for the first table

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Students admitted that they had experienced at least once this phenomenon or something very much like it.3 Colum I – Student number Colum II – Not wearing glasses Colum III - Wearing glasses Colum IV - With a normal view Colum V - With myopia Colum VI - With hyperopia Colum VII - Without diabetes Colum VIII -Diabetes Colum IX - Spontaneous phenomenon Colum X – Induced phenomenon (if not spontaneous!) Colum XI – It could not be induced V. EASE OF USE

Through this test we managed to induce this phenomenon to 10 participants; 6 cases were spontaneous, which cumulated to 16 experiencing the phenomenon of the total 60 (20+40). The method established for determination of this phenomenon is straightforward, but it is based on the sincerity of the subject analyzed, otherwise errors may occur. As stated earlier this method of determination is named the Banariu method and it involves triggering the threshold for the phenomenon to happen. As far as the actual method is concerned: the subject studied is asked to look up quickly to a fixed point which should preferably be at the level of at least the equivalent height of the 2nd or 3rd floor of a building. During this time a medical team should be standing behind the patient to catch him if he falls on his back. The reiteration of this maneuver for several times (10 to15) will cause the phenomenon in patients prone to it. 3 The students have been placed to structure

information as best as possible for the second table.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT The study had 60 participants represented by college students. From: “UMF-Carol Davila” (med school) and “Universitatea Romano-Americana” (Law school). These students have given consensual agreement to participate in this study. And most stated that “students” don’t mind providing this information because it serves a scientific purpose. I wish to thank them for having donated their time and effort to contribute to this project. References [1] H. von Helmholtz, Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik, published as “Helmholtz’s Treatise on Physiological Optics, Translated from the Third German Edition,” ed. James P. C. Southall; 1925; The Optical Society of America. [2] Becker, O., 1860, “Über Wahrnehmung eines Reflexbildes im eigenen Auge [About perception of a reflected image in your own eye],” Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, pp. 670 672 & 684 688. [3] Bill Reid, “Haidinger’s brush,” Physics Teacher, Vol. 28, p. 598 (Dec. 1990). [4] Giles Skey Brindley, Physiology of the Retina and Visual Pathway, 2nd ed. (Edward Arnold Ltd., London, 1970), pp. 140–141. [5] http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/yorkminster-chapter-house.html [6] M. Tscherning, 1920, Physiologic Optics; Third Edition, (English translation by C. Weiland). Philadelphia: Keystone Publishing Co. pp. 55–56. [7] Sinclair, S.H., Azar-Cavanagh, M., Soper, K.A., Tuma, R.F., & Mayrovitz, H.N. (1989). Investigation of the source of the blue field entoptic phenomenon. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 30(4), 668-673. Available online at: http://www.iovs.org/. [8] Snodderly, D.M., Weinhaus, R.S., & Choi, J.C. (1992). Neural-vascular relationships in central retina of Macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Journal of Neuroscience, 12(4), 1169-1193.

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Available online at: http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/ reprint/12/4/1169.pdf. [9] H. von Helmholtz, Handbuch der Physiologischen Optik, published as “Helmholtz’s Treatise on Physiological Optics, Translated from the Third German Edition,” ed. James P. C. Southall; 1925; The Optical Society of America. [10] White, Harvey E., and Levatin, Paul, 1962, “’Floaters’ in the eye,” Scientific American, Vol. 206, No. 6, June, 1962, pp. 199 127.

Authors Bibliography prof dr. Rus Mihaela Constanta, Romania, February 8, 1975 Doctor in Psychology from Babes Bolyai University in Cluj, full professor at Ovidius University, Constanta, with a sustained scientific activity materialized through constant participation in the scientific communications both national and international. Main areas of interest: labor and organizational psychology, social psychology, communication, social statistics and judicial psychology.

MA. Banariu Gheorghe Mihail Constanta, Romania, November 8, 1990 A graduate of the Romanian-American University section: School of Law and its university master’s program in “Criminal Sciences”, currently an undergraduate student in the last year of the medical school ( UMF) “Carol Davila”. He is majoring in General Medicine. At present he is also attending a master’s specialization

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program: “Organizational Management and Marketing. He is also a member of the” Forensic Doctors Association of Romania “, the “Romanian Association of Penal Criminal Sciences” and “Romanian Association of Medical Law”. He is keen on the following fields of activity: Medicine, Psychology, Law and other sciences derived therefrom.

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 3 : 1 (2016) 191 - 203

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

journal homepage: http://dialogo-conf.com

A Transdisciplinary Approach of the Conflictual Paradigm, a Semiophysical Context The Art of Negotiation: Commandment or Request? Ilie Soritau

Ioan G. Pop

Emanuel University of Oradea Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 31 August 2016 Received in revised form 6 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.18

The communication and the authorithy rank issue in resolving the conflict in Paul’s letter to Philemon are two important issues to be addressed in this application. The problem of the role of communication in general and particularly in this paper can be summarized by three points: a) communication is closely related to knowledge and understanding; b) communication’s purpose is to connect to others; c) communication can play a decisive role in influence and persuasion. Addressing this topic involves a synthesis between exegesis, as an essential part in the study of the text and communication within the larger context of science education. One can easily identify the deep relational character of the epistle, which is why it can be framed in synergistic communication with a warm language, full of sacrificial overflow, forgiving and ministering love. We can identify as the author of this short epistle not only Paul as a theologian, but especially Paul as a wise old man.

Keywords: conflictual paradigm; synergistic communication; top down and bottom up knowledge search window; ethicsemiotic filter of values; deferential difference; transdisciplinarity;

„... yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love...”

I. Synergistic communication.

Epistolary context of communication and the conflict Although at first glance the communication model seems to be the type of ABX [10], [34], where A is the transmitter,

in this case Paul, a prisoner, old and sick, Philemon as receiver, B, companion of Paul’s work, slave master and a man with great reputation in the community of saints in the city of Ephesus; however, a transdisciplinary, contextual and the synergistic nature of the communication model can be easily observed working here [35]; [43]. The Philemon’s slave Onesimus (name usually worn by slaves, pointing to their simple

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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utility and dignity of work, and in social terms, representing the least respected social class) deserted his master, and enters the jail where reaches around Paul becoming convert, generating the contextual problem as subject X in the letter of Paul to Philemon [7], [46]. It is interesting to know what Philemon knows about Onesimus (useless, ostracized, a servant yet), and what Paul knows about Onesimus, in addition to what Philemon knows (useful, beloved brother in Christ, a possible companion) and especially how Christ changes people (out of a slave useless for a while, He makes a useful brother for eternity) [7]; [9]; [17]; [34]; [45]. On a closer examination it can be said that communication is one of transdisciplinary model, of contextual synergistic and of semiophysical type, called contextualsynergistic message model [31], [33], [43]. There is a significant difference between the quality and quantity of information that Philemon holds on Onesimus {XF0} and the informational components that Paul holds and tries to pass on to Philemon. Between these two sets of information, represented as {XP0}{XF0}>0, held by the two communicators about Onesimus there is a difference in favor of the transmitter. What Paul knows and Philemon does not is that Onesimus is converted and this means a change of paradigm [7], [35], [36], to be made new in the attitude of the mind; „....and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24). This causes the message to be of interest to the receiver, the chance to achieve the objective 3R (common repertoire, avoiding meaning of failure, and communication remanence) [34], [35], being thus ensured, the isomorphism of the two communication fields, the transmitter and the receiver, being determined by the operation principle of cooperative referential; when the message reaches its goal, receiving Onesimus as a prodigal son, who confessed his sin (the best robe, the ring on the finger, and sandals on his feet, the slaughter the fattened calf for the Session 8. Epistemology, Metaphysics and Communication Sciences & Theology

celebration), “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:22-24). From the perspective of the rank of authority of Paul as a transmitter, the authoritative-expressive principle (who, know who) associated with the expressive function of contextual-synergistic message (fig.1), the model works through three rules: responsibility, credibility, and deference [35]; [43]. Paul is trying to convince Philemon to be responsive to the request of receiving Onesimus with the same respect (deference) that he would receive himself (“...Receive him as myself”, “... him my heart”), to manifest availability and get involved acting in his status as a child of God requires [7]; [35]. The resources of influencing the receiver are Paul’s authority, coercion, and persuasion of the theological arguments (through imagination, through emotion and suggestion, in four steps: perception, passive memorization, rationalization, and even seduction); [1]; [14]; [34]; [45].

E – Transmitter – authoritative-expresive function (pathos) R – Reiciever – participative-conative function (ethos) CM – Contextual message– cooperative-referential function (logos)

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Fig. 1 The semiophysical contextual message model [34]; [36]

Persuasive

communication

involves

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interdependence between the objectives and the means of communication, between pragmatic [20] and semantic [40], towords an apobetic perspective [11]. In regards to the principle of cooperative-referential context of the message, the quantity, and quality of the message is ensured by what is named [30], [40] as poetic function of the message (what, know what), which apparently uses psycho persuasive artifices, dressed in biblical truths and decorated with apostolic signs, but a deep analysis of the “wrapping” of the message shows something else, the language of love springing from the source of perfect divine love - the cross from Golgotha [18], [36], [46]. Thereby Paul calls Philemon beloved, thanking God for the “love for all the saints” (Phil. vs. 5), being encouraged because of his love (vs. 7), making a request “in the name of love” (vs. 9). Paul hopes that Philemon will understand the message of Christian love so that he would respond to his request about Onesimus in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, receiving Onesimus “as a beloved brother” (vs. 16) [34]. The rule of the manner (know how) in the message of the text is referring to the code and channel, as well. In the letter to Philemon the greetings open and close the communication, functioning as a password with a value of special significance in the sphere of authority relations and associated with individuals or groups. Nowhere there are given so many names as in this text, in terms of a letter of 25 verses (335 words in Greek language). The wealth of greeting words («Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ» - vs. 3) is accompanied by numerous names that reveal a relationship of strength that nothing and no one can destroy. Although the greeting serves to keep the communication channel open, without transmitting proper information, there is a strong paralanguage communication that reveals the fullness of grace poured out

by the Holy Spirit from „the fountain of living waters springing up into everlasting life» (John 4:14). From the perspective of the semiophysical synergistic contextual message model of communication it works as the metalinguistic function, through the language of love as identified in the text code (beloved, love to all the saints, his love, in the name of love, beloved brother) [46]1. Wherever they are, Christians are identified and recognized based on a common language of sacrificial love, forgiveness, and ceaseless service, which fully corresponds with what the Lord Jesus tells his disciples: «By this all will know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another» (John 13:35) (communication through communion code as synergistic significance of communitarian identity) [19], [24], [26], [34], [35]. In order to achieve the ultimate goal, reconciliation takes place through the harmonization of relationships in the body of Christ, regardless of the political, socio-economic, and cultural context. Paul writes the letter to Philemon with the fonts of Christian love, as he understood, lived and preached it, making it possible to decipher the code of universal love, as shown above. This is not at all about a formal reconciliation, but a battle for rehabilitation, not just for Onesimus, in the eyes of his former master, but now, by his conversion he became a brother, as well as for Philemon’s rehabilitation in his own eyes and in front of the whole community, in front of the brothers and everyone in the city, as the broader community. Paul’s heart vibrates with the love of a parent, brother, and mentor opening wide the window to Philemon, by canceling deferential difference between the levels of authority that determine the two ranks of authority [1], [6], [18], [36].

1 For a deeper understanding see the poem of love from Paul Apostles it is written in 1 Cor. 13.

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II. SINERGISTIC SIGNIFICATION IN THE

CONFLICTUAL COMMUNICATION.

The axiological perspective of the message is generated by valuing ethical semiotics in communication and considers the principle of cooperative-referential, with the rule of contextual relevance, of legitimacy (why - the why), corresponding to the referential function [31], and is determined by three dimensions. The first dimension, the physical one, is defined as all elements of the environment which contribute at the communication process and occurs in the context of the book of Philemon in the “useless”/”useful” pair, with respect to Onesimus, a slave, toward Philemon, the master. The second dimension of the axiomatic perspective is the psychosocial one that includes the roles of participants, social and cultural elements and belonging to certain group’s elements. The physical context upon the communication is obviously, while the psycho-social context depends of the actors involved in the communication, or the conditions to happening: the proximity (neighbourhood), similarity (interests, convictions, activities, scopes, common feelings), the group communion, status and the role of every person being well established, modulating the communicational flow in a synergistic way [29], [35]. Thus, from a former slave, Onesimus gains after the act of conversion the quality of a brother, co-equal with Paul and Philemon, through the love of Christ, the identity equation to body of the Church being the following [34]: Paul/Love of Christ=Philemon/Love of Christ=Onesimus/Love of Christ=…. instead of the known equality in the literature as follows [10]: My inputs/Your inputs=My outputs/Your outputs.

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The integration into the body of Christ is thus possible through faith and love that give out “all the good that is in us in Christ” (v. 6). There is no equality outside the body of Christ, the identity of each is preserved, giving it a superior community dimension [36]. There all differences disappear, the only things that make the difference are rooted in what the Lord has given each and the extent to which each gives of what received after the Lord gave him. It includes both male and female, Jews, Greeks, Scythians, in a transdisciplinary heterarchicalhierarchy according to everyone gifts and everyone’s call to ministry (1 Cor.12: 1-11, Gal.3: 28) [13], [21], [25], [39]. It is detected here the transdisciplinary included middle which explains the complementarity of the universal reconciliation between the Divine, top-down perspective, and the human, bottom-up perspective, model to be universal, replicated by Jesus Christ and His work [21], [24]. Transdisciplinary is putting together in a superior balance by a specific transdialog, how to learn the things by doing (creativity in action) as the active extrinsic window of the knowledge, and how to understand the world (authenticity through participation), as intrinsic window of the reactive process of knowledge, by being [2]; [3]; [15]; [35], [36]; [47]. In this equation, the three commandments, love, forgiveness and service determines an optimum function of the system, semiotic significance of ethics generating values that build the body of Christ, the redeemed Church, through a system of relationships that is rooted in the great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mark 12:30-31). The third dimension of the axiological perspective is the temporal one identified by the antithesis from the words “for a while”/”forever”. Thus, there

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is a paradigm shift of perspective regarding Onesimus; from a useless servant for a while, Philemon is blessed with a useful brother for eternity [34]. III. The model of the specific deferential differences (interaction vs retroaction)

This model applies to the synergistically type communication, where the threshold and the barrier are given by the differences between communicators (gender, race, culture, knowledge, position and social status, etc) identified by the variable I, interaction with states S - symmetrical and C - complementary to the other variable R being retroactively (feedback) which may be negative - N, balance (“brake wheel”, “water on the fire”), or positive - P gain imbalance (“ acceleration “,” fuel to the fire “) [20], [34]. The SN condition is called assumed harmony, and requires a symmetric interaction (co-equal relationships by minimizing differences) with negative feedback (homeostasis, conflict mitigation process, restore balance, resettlement system within normal parameters stability stable or metastable state).

I-interaction, with S - symmetrical action, ΔNER → 0, and C - complementary action, ΔNER → ∞; R-retroaction with N as negative feedback, and P as positive feedback; Fig. 2. The matrix of the specific deferential differences in a conflict [34]

The two states, S and C express two representations of authority relations, by the specific deferential differences. Specific deferential differences between the different levels of reality are working as follows [4], [25], [35]: (a) the situation represented by S, as a symmetric action, with a cancellation of the differences between the authority ranks of the transmitter E and receiver R, ΔNER →0, finally resulting an assumed harmony, as a constructive synergy; (b) C representing a complementary action, with an augmentation of the differences between the authority ranks of the transmitter E and receiver R, ΔNER → ∞, finally resulting a disharmony by blockage, as a destructive synergy [2]. So, there will be a minimum difference between the levels of authority, a certain coequality, acceptance, tolerance, indulgence, with two trends: one of evolution during disharmony through conflict SP, respectively in harmony negotiated CN, characterized by a complementary interaction (inequality parties by maximizing differences) and negative feedback N. The latent conflict that occurs due to frustrations accumulated in the state SN may cause evolution to antisymmetric state NC - negotiated harmony or SP, - disharmony by conflict, through a negative retrospective to minimize the differences and negotiate new situation or a positive feedback maximizing the differences, which degenerates into conflict. In the CP symmetric state differences are maximum and the feedback is positive in the sense of maximizing differences purposeful devastating, resulting in a situation of disharmony through the roadblock. AC complementary attitudes minimizing the differences may be answered with a submissive behavior, which could increase by an exacerbation of authoritarian attitude. At the same time may appear attitudes of rebellion, insubordination, which degenerates into an open conflict [14]. One can mention here

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the special role of the transmitter and that of the message in the achievement of the 3R’s being represented through various situations of transition between states characterized by a certain rank of authority between communicators established differences deferential context (of place, of time, and of relationship) [4], [35], [41], [42], [44]. The conclusion that emerges is the need for complementary action by learning the specific rules of receptivity (choosing freely), availability (assuming with dignity) and engagement (action of authenticity) of the model for the synergistic message context [31], [32], [33], in which there is a harmonization of the rules functioning in a continuous learning process of assuming commandments of love, forgiveness and serving. The correlation of the individual and internal conflict, that leads to the relocation, reordering of priorities, and lines of action in the progress of knowledge through networking with external conflict resulting from interaction with the sociocultural environment is a particularly important and complex psychosocial component with barriers that sometimes are invincible (insurmountable) in the absence of educational and motivational consistent sides. A complementary alternative to the specific deferential difference model is the matrix model for analysis rules (law), as interaction vs relations (grace), as retroaction, with an obvious connotation to the postmodern challenges of the relations in restricted or enlarged communities (family, church, and in general, in any inhabited community). The model has four matrix windows, such as: (1) rules and relationships (+ +), as blessing (positive response), (2) rules without relationships (+ -), as rebellion (flee or fight), (3) relationship without rules (- +), as irresponsibility, and (4) no rules, no relationships (- -), as curse [22], [23], [34]. In this context the authority of the transmitter, the upper threshold, topSession 8. Epistemology, Metaphysics and Communication Sciences & Theology

down, lowers the level of authority of the transmitter, threshold down, bottom-up, realizing what we call assumed harmony of the matrix model of specific deferential difference, where the interaction is symmetrical S type and the retroactive is negative N type, such as calming, balancing, “water on the fire”, and breaking process [34] (fig.2). The code is identified with the language of love, as a common denominator of the synergistic communication process, through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that provides forgiveness and reconciliation: “Though I have all boldness in Christ to command you, I would rather you make a request in the name of love. .. “(vs. 8) are the words of Paul that do not expresses a cheap humility, but a deliberate concern for” co-orientation”, establishing consensus between protagonists, by focusing the eyes on the cross from where the help comes, for the work of Christ in us, for us and others as well [1]. There are four aspects of the state of conflict that must be reconciled [35], [41]: a) the social and legal aspect - the status of the escaped slave, gives to the master a right of life and death over him; b) the economic aspect - the embezzled money has to be recovered; c) psycho-social aspect - the image of Philemon and Onesimus’ in the community, the two possible situations: forgiveness, or conviction; d) last aspect, the ethic-semiotic aspect, of the spiritual dimension [8], [25], [37] is considering the testimony of both: Onesimus - a slave became free in Christ and brother with Philemon, a prominent member of the community, both saints in the local and wider community. If the first three aspects, social, legal, economic and psychosocial, concerns aspects of the material world in which we live as people with other people, the last aspect, that of enhancing the ethic-semiotic behavior as children of God, targeting their testimony in front of those who live together with, refers to the kingdom of heaven, to the laws,

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commandments and ordinances of God, in the context of plenary manifestation of His grace [6], [24]. It verifies the semantics overlapping of the messages issued and accepted by the communicators, the risk of not understanding the message transmitted being thus excluded (see paradigm 3R) [35]. In the Christian message, we meet two complementary aspects, that of the universal reconciliation and the model to be universally replicated, Jesus Christ and His work [24], [27]. Both communicators, transmitter E, and receiver R, had alike and equally access to these spiritual axioms, so the possibility that the process of encoding and decoding of the message to be damaged is almost zero, the problem is circumscribed not so much to the semantics areas, as to the capacity (availability) to listen (responsiveness, availability and involvement) [47]. In the absence of codec errors, of background and ethic-semiotic noise, it is possible that the message decoded and interpreted by the receiver to overlap, in ethical and semiotic terms over the message sent by the transmitter, achieving the objective of 3R (common repertoire, avoiding meaning of failure, and communication remanence). The rule of contextual relevance (why, know the why) corresponds to the referential function (why) and focuses on three registers. The first register is our common identity in Christ who “does reveal all the good that is in us in Christ....in the name of love.” The second register concerns the relationship between communicators as fellow workers, friends, brothers who work together to broaden the Kingdom of God and to promote its values. The third register describes the testimony of Philemon, whom Paul writes so beautifully: “...I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints” (vs. 5). Thus, the context, as a referential function in the synergistic communicational process represents the axiological dimension of the message and manifests itself through

physical component, given by all the elements of the environment (usefuluseless) by psychosocial component, which considers the participants roles, elements of social culture, the affiliation group (slave - sibling) and temporal component (for a while - forever), and is expressed in three registers: identity in Christ (companions), the relationship between communicators (friend) and Philemon’s tested testimony (“I heard about faith and love”). Paul dares to ask Philemon to receive Onesimus as himself, convinced that he, Philemon will do even more than is required (vs. 21). A believer that refreshed the hearts of the saints will be able to refresh and heart of Paul, receiving Onesimus as he would receive Paul himself: “Yes, brother, let me have joy in the Lord, refresh my heart in Christ” (v . 20). It can be observed how the structures of authority, that are socio-cultural legitimate, subordinate to love, its supreme values passing any claim of personal merit. “Master” Philemon becomes “as an equal” to Onesimus under the “authority” of the old, sick and imprisoned Paul. Thus, the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus is located on spiritual coordinates of redemption reflecting not only the equality of believers in the church or the commandment of ministry, but the authority of Christ’s sacrificial love, which transcends and transforms all social organization. The participativereferential principle assimilated with the referential function represents the result of interaction of the theological vectors, harmony in the Lord, equal the value in Christ and eschatological unity (vs.15-16) [27]. Paul knows both methods of direct influence, of argumentation technique and the indirect influence by creating a special ambiance, being introduced sporadically controls and evaluation elements [12], [6]. In this way, Paul is motivating Philemon to act regarding Onesimus according to the lesson about love between brothers (vs. 6),

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by Paul giving up to the right to impose a point of view, absolutely justified otherwise (vs. 8, 14, 19b) and by empower Philemon with the “right” to choose his own solution to a complicated problem that he faced [34]. This puts Philemon in a deadlock, leaving him no chance to remain neutral, he must decide alone, the conative function (will and accomplishment) being therefore well expressed (contoured) [35]. The rules that make possible the proper function of the cooperative-cognitive principle, the responsiveness (choosing freely), availability (assuming with dignity the choice made) and involvement (voluntary action by authenticity) are in this way respected, so that the communication process to operate efficiently and at a higher ethic-semiotic level, thus ensuring optimal values [33]. The fact that the decision was the right one, suggested more or less directly by Paul, is given retroactively, by the feedback of the communication, shown in the text of Colossians 4: 9; “... together with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of yours” [16], [38]. The rank of authority, not imposed, but willingly accepted (vs. 14), is built on a history of service, embodied by Paul (vs. 19b), a present of a honest character, through Philemon (vs. 7b) and through a future cooperation by Onesimus (v. 15b) [37]. IV. THE ETHIC-SEMIOTIC FILTER IN THE

SYNERGISTIC COMMUNICATION

Paul’s letter to Philemon enables the identification of some truths regarding synergistic communication type: common values (common repertory), friendship and respect and personal dignity respect. It requires a detailed analysis of each truth identified in synergistic communication contextual. The first truth is identified by the common values, functioning as a specific repertory, known as 3R paradigm, where the communication works well in the Session 8. Epistemology, Metaphysics and Communication Sciences & Theology

context of clear values and commitments by both the transmitter and receiver. If the two interlocutors do not believe in the same things, and do not identify with same set of values, communication is practically blocked, «disharmony through the roadblock» [34]. When, from the point of view of ethicsemantic signification both author of the message and the recipient «are in the same boat» (the same side), the criterion 3R being fulfilled, there is detected a solid interaction between participants in the communication process. The pastoral letter, for negotiation with a an eternal love for an existential conflict is a fascinating window of a special knowledge, not only on a social reality in the first century, but also on Christian principles applied in a concrete situation in the early church [28], [38]. The second truth is talking about the relations of friendship and respect, where the communication determines a maximum effect when there is a relationship between communicators, assuring the solution of possible conflicts through a «assumed harmony» or at worst through a «negotiated harmony», friendship is a «sine qua non» condition of effective and valuable communication. Levels of love of «phyle» or «storge» can coexist with «agape» as subspecies of the same category, existing real opportunities for conversion, integration of the first ones in the latest, in the context of conversion, metanoia («renewal in the spirit of the mind», Colossians 3: 7-12; Ephesians 4: 20-24), as a process of transition from the state of slave of sin in the converted into a new existence [34]. No doubt that the referential model, the personal example of the apostle Paul, «following me, as I follow Christ» makes that «his disciples» as followers (John Mark, Philemon, Onesimus, Tihic, etc) to be the bearers of the message of love, forgiveness and serve as testimony to their adherence to the community of saints, the Church, the body of Christ. Friendship comes from God if we do His will [27], [43]. The principle

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- cooperative-referential function refers to the context as legitimacy of the action (why). In the model of authority spheres, in the sphere of guidance (equipment, education), the level of referential power, the model that determines the legitimacy of contextual communication of a message (of a certain quality and quantity), in some code and through a suitable channel so that efficiency is maximized and valued [35]. The text of the letter, this sense of communication through communion is present and is revealed by the words «... if you count me as your friend, receive him as myself», showing him the same friendship as I do (v. 17) and «... prepare me a lodging» (v. 22) [5], [39]. If the communication window opened in verses 8-9 establishes an authoritative report of type SN (symmetric interaction - negative feedback) at the end of the message in verse 19, Paul overbids the desired effect through the statements: «... put that to my account ... I will pay ... you owe yourself me» completed with what the verse 21 contains, comes to fulfill the special way in which Paul induces the feeling of deference to a certain authority when it comes to honoring God through the witness of a life lived according to His will, «relied on listening to you, I know you will do even more than I say» (v. 21) [34]. The motivation of the receiver by the transmitter (Pathos) is working as the principle of-authoritativeexpressive with the rules of accountability, credibility and deference [35]. Paul turns out to be not just a man concerned about the proclamation of the truth of the gospel of the kingdom, but also one that is concerned with the cultivation and appreciation of relations, through a very special relationship system in the Church, the pointly relationship with the self, horizontally relationships with others, both being dominated by the vertical relationship with God («to love the Lord your God with all your strength, with all your mind, with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself”) [5]. The

rules do not mandatory create connections and cause relationship, the ideal solution for drama existential adolescent does not imply more structuring through which to impose a law to give as many instructions, primordial being resolving the problem and correcting the behavior. Everything comes down, ultimately, to choose to impose certain rules (why type approach), and/or straighten mistakes (how type approach) [22]. Thirdly, is detected the truth of the respect for personal dignity, another important lesson being the freedom in Christ as a pattern to negotiate the conflicts. Paul is making the request on the rehabilitation of Onesimus firmly, using all the arguments that he holds but lets Philemon decide alone, knowingly, and freely so that Philemon « to act out of conviction and not coercition” [35], [39]. The conative-participative principle is working through the rules of receptivity (free choice), availability (assuming with dignity the choice made) and engagement (action by authentic communion in the context of apprenticeship). The statement “I wrote relied on your obedience and I know that you will do even more than I say” (Phil. vs 21) shows that integrating the intrinsicallyreactive synergistic type “... with all my heart and to the end” is verified through the text content of Col. 4: 9, which authenticates indirectly the response to Paul’s letter to Philemon about Onesimus rehabilitation [32], [38]. Conclusions The conflict that must be reconciled has a contextual approach in some different spaces: the status of the escaped slave, which gives to the master Philemon the right of life and death over him, including here the embezzled money duty which has to be recovered, as social, legal and economic aspect; the image of Philemon and Onesimus’ in the community, with two possible situations: forgiveness, or

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conviction, as psycho-social communitarian aspect, and the last but not the least, the ethic-semiotic aspect, with a strong spiritual dimension. As a win-win consequence it is important to reveal the testimony of both: Onesimus - a slave becoming free in Christ and brother with Philemon, a prominent member of the community, both saints in the local and wider community, as well. Here, are putting together the social, legal and economic aspects, concerning of the material world where we live as people with other people, the last aspect, that of enhancing the ethic-semiotic behavior as psychocultural creature, targeting their testimony in front of those who live together with, as sons of God. It is important to realize the semantics overlapping of the messages issued and accepted by the communicators, the risk of not understanding the message transmitted being thus excluded. From the Christian perspective there is detected here the transdisciplinary included middle which try to explain the complementarity of the universal reconciliation between the Divine, top-down perspective, and the human, bottom-up perspective, model to be universally, replicated by Jesus Christ and His work. The synergistic communication assures the equally access to the spiritual axioms of the dual reconciled reality, as capacity to listen and to act with responsibility, availability and involvement. The rule of contextual relevance is focusing on the our common identity in Christ who “does reveal all the good that is in us in Christ....in the name of love”, on the relationship between communicators as fellow workers, friends, brothers who work together to promote values of the Kingdom of God, and on the testimony of Philemon, and Onesimus, as well, in the community, expressed so beautifully by the words of Paul Apostle: “...I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints”. It can be observed here how the structures of authority, that are socio-

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cultural legitimate, are subdued to love, its supreme values passing any claim of personal merit. “Master” Philemon becomes “as an equal” to Onesimus’ under the “authority” of the old, sick and imprisoned Paul. So, the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus is located on the spiritual coordinates of redemption reflecting not only the equality of believers in the church, or the commandment of ministry, but the authority of sacrificial love of Christ which transcends and transforms all social-cultural organizations. References [1] Abric, Jean-Claude, Communicational Psychology, Theory and Methods, Polirom, Iaşi, 2002. [2] Bernstein, H. Jay, The Data-InformationKnowledge - Wisdom Hierarchy and its Antithesis. Proceedings North American Symposium on Knowledge Organization Vol 2. (2009). Available at:http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/2633/ [3] Berte, Mircea, Transdisciplinarity and education: “The treasure within” - Towards a transdisciplinary evolution of education, The 2nd World Congress of Transdisciplinarity, September – Brazil, 2005, http://transcv.blogspot. com/2005/10/verso-final-da-mensagem-de-vila.ht ml. [4] Borca, J.A., Authority and...authority, Ed. Didactica & Pedagogica, Bucureşti, 1975. [5] Dascălu, Nicolae, Communication for communion, Trinitas, Iaşi, 2001. [6] Deac, Ioan, Introduction to negotiation theory, Paidea, Bucureşti, 2002. [7] Durand, Emmanuel, La périchorèse des personnes divines: immanence mutuelle – réciprocité et communion, Cerf (Cogitation Fidei; 243), Paris, 2005. [8] English, M. Leona, Spiritual dimensions of informal learning, New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, vol. 2000, Issue 85, pp. 29–38 (2002). [9] Erdman, Ch.R.1929. The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon, Westminster Press, Philadelphia. [10] Fiske, John, Introduction to Communication

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Studies, Routledge, London-New York, 2003. [11] Gitt, Werner, In the Beginning Was Information, Christliche LiteraturVerbeitung e. V. Postfach, Bielefeld, 1997. [12] Graur, Eveline, Techniques of communication, Ed. Mediamira, Iaşi, 2001. [13] Grossberg, Stephen, ART (Adaptive Resonance Theory), American Scientist 83, 439 (1 995). [14] Hanes, Cornelius, and Faire, Shapiro. Science to solve conflicts, Science and Techniques, Bucureşti, 1996. [15] Jantsch, Erich, Towards Interdisciplinarity and Transdisciplinarity in Education and Innovation, Interdisciplinarity, Problems of Teaching and Research in Universities, OECD, Paris, 1972. [16] Keener, S. Craig, The IVP Biblical Background Commentary – New Testament, InterVarsity Press, 1993. [17] Knox, John, Philemon among the Letters of Paul, University of Chicago, Chicago, 1959. [18] Leigh, L. Thompson, The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator (ed. IV), Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2009. [19] Lloyd-Jones, Martin, Authority, The Banner of Truth, Edinburgh, 1997. [20] Lohissee, Jean, Communication, from the mechanical transmision to interaction, Polirom, Iaşi, 2002. [21] Lupasco, Stephane, The dinamic logics of the contradictorium (translation by author), Ed. Politică, Bucureşti, 1982. [22] McDowell, Josh, The strainger generation, a bridge over the gap between generations, Scriptum, Oradea, 2005. [23] McDowell, Josh, and Bellis, H. David, The Last Christian Generation, Green Key Books, Holiday, Florida, 2006. [24] Negruţ Paul, The church – divine and human, Evangelical Times, vol. 40, nr. 9, pp. 14 (2006 [25] Nicolescu, Basarab, Transdisciplinarity - Theory and Practice (Ed.), Hampton Press, Cresskill, NJ, USA, 2008. [26] O’Brien, P. T. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 44 Colossians, Philemon, Milton Keynes: Word Publishing, 1987. [27] Patterson, Paige, Revelation. The American Commentary. Vol. 39. Nashville, TN: Publishing

Group, 2012. [28] Patzia, G. Arthur, Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians: A Good News Commentary, Harper Row Publishers, San Francisco, (1984). [29] Pânişoară, Ion-Ovidiu, The efficient communication, method of educational interaction, Polirom, Iaşi (2003). [30] Pierce, Charles Sanders Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, Volumes I and II, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1960. [31] Pop, G. Ioan, The Semiophysical Communicational Model and Transdisciplinary Knowledge, ENEC International Conference, Hyperion University, Bucharest, May (2008). [32] Pop, G. Ioan, Transdisciplinary topdown and bottom-up search window and the synergistic integrative knowledge in the sciencereligion dialogue, International Congress “The Dialogue between Science and Religion in the Orthodox World”, Bucharest, Romania (2008). [33] Pop, G. Ioan, Considerations about the transdiciplinary knowledge search window in mechatronical education, 5th Balkan Region Conference on Engineering Education & 2nd International Conference on Engineering and Business Education, pg. G159, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania (2009). [34] Pop, G. Ioan and Vereş, Otniel, Fundamentals of applied Semiophysics, Cluj-Napoca: Risoprint, 2010. [35] Pop G. Ioan, Phd Thesis in Engineering, Considerations about Transdisciplinary approach of the mechatronics in the knowledge based society, partially published as chapter 13 in Advances in Mechatronics, pg. 270-300, Edited by Horacio Martínez-Alfaro, ISBN 978-953-307373-6, Publisher: InTech, 2011 DOI: 10.5772/875; [36] Pop, G. Ioan, and Sorițău, Ilie, The mankind between Bethel and Ai, a synergistic contextual communication model on faith, Conference: ComSymbol 2014 Montpellier, At Beziers, Volume: Communication on Faith, Published in Espace Public et Communication de la Foi, pp 487-502, (2014). DOI: 10.13140/2.1.2932.5448. [37] Reason, Peter, Political, Epistemological, Ecological and Spiritual Dimensions of Participation. Studies in Cultures, Organizations and Societies, 4, 147-167 (1998). [38] Rees, P. S, The Epistles to the Philippians, Collossians, and Philemon I, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1964.

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[39] Rinehart, T. Stacy, Reversed values, the servant leadership paradox, Ed. New Life, Timişoara, 2005. [40] de Saussure, Ferdinand, Course in General Linguistics, Fontana, London,1974. [41] Shapiro D. Matthew, The conflicts and the communication, a guide to face the conflicts, Ed. Arc, Bucureşti, 1998. [42] Šlaus, Ivo, Political Significance of Knowledge in Southeast Europe, Croat. Med. Journal; 44, pg 3-19 (2003). [43] Soritau, Ilie, and Pop, G. Ioan, Transdisciplinary Perspective through the Synergistic Communication on Faith in the Seven Letters of Revelation, The 2nd International ComSymbol Conference, Beziers, Montpellier Volume: Communication on Faith, Published in Espace Public et Communication de la Foi, pp 453-468 (2014), DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3981.1203. [44] Şoitu, Laurențiu, Communication and Action, Ed. of European Institute, Iaşi, 1997. [45] Van Cuilenburg, J.J., Scholten and O., Noomen, G.W. Communication Science, Humanitas, Bucureşti, 1998. [46] Vaughan, Curtis, Colossians and Philemon, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1980. [47] Vereş, Otniel, and Pop, G. Ioan, Transdisciplinarity and Christian Thought, Transdisciplinarity in Science and Religion Dialogue, no. 6, (2009).

Biography Ilie Soritau, is born in Gurahonț, Arad county, on September 19th, 1968. He has received a Bachelor Degree in Biblical Studies from Tennessee Temple University in 1994, Chattanooga, Tennessee and a Science Degree in Theological Studies in 1997 from Southeastern Baptist Theological College, Wake Forest, North Carolina. Passionate about communication, he has continued his education receiving in Master of Divinity Degree with a concentration in classical languages, majoring in Homiletics/Biblical Communication.

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He worked as a visiting professor of Preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas and from 1996 to present time serves as professor of Preaching at Emanuel University of Oradea, Romania. Among his interested areas of studies, are communication and faith. Mr. Sorițău has received his PhD in Theology from Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2012, being involved in a transdisciplinary research on advanced knowledge and knowledge integration management (KIM). Currently he is working on preparing the publish of one book, Synergistic Communication and Faith. The publications are posted on Research Gate and Academia Edu. The following articles have been presented and published as well: 1) Trandisciplinary Perspective through the Synergistic Communication on Faith in the Seven Letters of Revelation, Ilie Soritau, Ioan G Pop, Conference: ComSymbol 2014 Montpellier, Beziers, Volume: Communication on Faith, Published in Espace Public et Communication de la Foi, pp 453-468, DOI: 10.13140/2.1.3981.1203. 2) The Mankind between Bethel and Ai, a Synergistic Contextual Communication Model on Faith, Ioan G Pop, Ilie Soritau, Conference: ComSymbol 2014 Montpellier, Beziers, Volume: Communication on Faith, Published in Espace Public et Communication de la Foi, pp 487-502, DOI:10.13140/2.1.2932.5448. 3) Entropic and Negentropic Transitional Model; a Semiophysical Context, Ioan G Pop, Ilie Sorițău, LUMEN 2016 International Conference, Iași, Romania, 26 – 28 May 2016, published in European Proceedings of Social & Behavioral Sciences EpSBS, Future Academy eISSN: 2357-1330. Recently he has co-authored „Reformarea mântuirii, Vol.1, Repere soteriologice în teologia reformatorilor din Anglia și Europa continentală în secolele XVI și XVII”, Published on September 2016 by Emanuel University Press, Oradea, Romania. ISBN: 978-6068431-40-6.

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Ioan G. Pop, is born in Cehei, Salaj county, RO, on September 14th 1946. In 2013, Master in Musical Arts, Emanuel University Oradea, RO; 2011, Energetic Audit for Buildings, Level I, Technical University

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Cluj-Napoca, RO; 2011, PhD in Engineering Sciences, Technical University Cluj-Napoca, RO, with the thesis Considerations about the Transdisciplinary Approach on Mechatronics in the Knowledge Based Society; 1987, PhD in Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University Babeş-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca, RO, with the thesis Magnetic Properties of Ions; 19641969, Physics degree in Theoretical Physics Faculty of Physics, University Babeş-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca, Ro; 1960-1964, Bachelor degree High School, Şimleu Silvaniei, Salaj county, RO; Ioan G. has a work experience as follows: 2012-present, expert in Quality Assurance and Academic Governance, at Emanuel University Oradea, invited professor; 2010 - 2011 full professor at Emanuel University Oradea; 2003-2010: associate professor at Emanuel University Oradea; 1990-2003: associate professor at Technical University, Cluj-Napoca; 19801990: lecturer at Technical University Cluj Napoca; 1978-1980: assistant professor at Technical University Cluj Napoca; 1973-1978: assistant professor at Pedagogic Institute, Oradea; 1969-1973: physics teacher at Huedin High School; The Expertise Competence Fields are : (A) Physics and Engineering of the Environment (Environmental Physics, Engineering and Sustainable Development; Habitual Radioactivity Measurements, Radioprotection Research; Research in Energetic Systems; Energetic and Hydrothermal Building Rehabilitation; Audiovisual Means of Communication; Sound measuring in Radio and TV Studios); (B) Integrative Management in Physics and Engineering Knowledge (Measuring and Monitoring Equipment and Methods, Mechatronic Knowledge Integration Management and Interparadigmatic Communication; Educational Methods, Techniques and Means); (C) Physics and Engineering Materials (thin layers, magnetic systems, rare-earth based systems). The most representative publications are: (1) ”Transdisciplinary Approach of the Mechatronics in the Knowledge Based Society”, I.G.Pop, and V. Mătieş, in Mechatronics, Intech Open Access Publisher, Rijeka, 2011, pp.ISBN 978-953-307-373-6 (book chapter); (2) Simultaneous Measurements of Radon and Thoron Exhalation Rate From Soil and Building Materials, coauthor (C. Cosma, O. Cozar, T. Jurcuţ, C. Baciu, I. Pop, D. Ciorba), 7-th International Symposium “NATURAL RADIATION ENVIRONMENT (NRE-

VII) 20-24 May 2002, Rhodes, Greece, pg.215, Published Elsevier 2005, Editors J.P. Mc Laughlin, S.E. Simopoulos, Steinhausler, vol.VII, pg.699, ISSN 1569-4860/DOI 10.1016/S1569-4860(04)07086-X (chapter in volume); (3) Transdisciplinary Approach on the Advanced Sustainable Knowledge Integration, Ioan G. Pop, Mihai-Florin Talpos, Igor Prisac, Balkan Region Conference on Engineering and Business Education, Volume 1, Issue 1, ISSN (Online) 2391-8160, Proceedings of the IETEC-BRCEBE Conference, 1-2 Nov. 2015, Sibiu, Romania, DOI: 10.1515/cplbu-2015-0025, De Gruyter, January 2016. 4) SmartModels–Contributions to Developing an Evolving Platform for Mechatronic Software Systems, Emanuel Țundrea, Gerhard Steinke, Ioan G. Pop, Advanced Materials Research, 2014, Volumes 875 – 877, pp, 2073-2077, Chapter 7: Applied Mechanics, Machinery, Mechatronics, Smart and Control Systems, Ed. Duanling Li, Dawei Zheng and Jun Shi, DOI 10.4028 /www.scientific.net/AMR.875-877.2073, 875877, 2073, on line February, (2014). Mr. Pop has a PhD in Physics in Magnetic properties of the diamagnetic ionic crystals, and the second one, a PhD in Mechatronics. He is university emeritus professor, and teaches Synergistic Communications, Ecological Economics, Science and Religion, Semiophysics and Knowledge Integration. He is attending at Rumanian Society of Physics, Rumanian Radioprotection Society, ENBISS. Is involved in a transdisciplinary research on advanced knowledge and knowledge integration management (KIM). Two books are prepared to be published, Synergistic Communication and Advanced Knowledge, and Ecological Economy. The books and other publications are posted on Research Gate, Academia Edu, CIRET and other scientific sites.

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A Page of Romanian Pilgrimage History Assoc. Prof. Claudiu Cotan, PhD. Faculty of Theology Ovidius University of Constanţa Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 August 2016 Received in revised form 6 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.19

Pilgrimage has been one of the dimensions of the Christian life ever since ancient times. The desire to go to the places related to the activity of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, or to the life of the best-known saints of Christianity has always been present in the hearts of the faithful. Mount Athos and Jerusalem have become the most desired destinations of the Orthodox faithful. It is to these places that the Romanian pilgrims went to. This study presents the best-known pilgrimages of the Romanian Orthodox pilgrims and their travel impressions which they published for everybody to known about them.

Keywords: pilgrimage; faithful; prayers; ways; monasteries; saints; monks;

I. INTRODUCTION

Pilgrimage has always been one of the most important means of pastoral service used by many priests wishing to consolidate faith and parochial community. The desire to reach the most important places of Christianity has always been present with Christian faithful. One proof in this sense can be found in the notes of Saint John Cassian from Scythia Minor in which he gives important data on the pilgrimage he went on together with Gherman to the Holy Land and the desert of Egypt inhabited by a large number of monks at the time. During

the Middle Ages more and more Romanians started to go on Jerusalem, Mount Sinai, and Mount Athos. Once back from pilgrimages, the well to do ones thanked God for the spiritual journey done building churches, sketes and even monasteries. Later on, they used to note down the important events they attended during their pilgrimages and publish these notes so that today they are very useful for us for understanding the spiritual changes the pilgrims passed through at the time. Pilgrimage is an element of the religious anthropology and a phenomenon thoroughly studied during the last few years. Pilgrimage

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is an act of devotion, a gate open to meet the sacred realities, a journey to a holy place, a sacred space related to the existence of some outstanding Christians, to their holy relics and to the miracles worked out due to their desire of prayer and personal sacrifice as thanksgiving for God’s love. Pilgrimage is a religious phenomenon present in all religions as a way of expressing the relationship with God. Pilgrimages have appeared ever since ancient times, even before Christianity. The Christian pilgrim left his house and went on a journey, in general, with no means of locomotion, travelling many times for hundreds or even thousands of kilometres on land or sea, suffering privations and making efforts till he reached the sacred space desired. Today too the pilgrim is obliged to observe rules of decency, humbleness, and respect to the other pilgrims and to the places he passes through during his spiritual journey. Pilgrimage is a journey to a reality unknown and different, an imitation sancti remembering the sacred rites of the Old and New Testament or the miraculous acts of the saints. Jerusalem has become famous as pilgrimage place, as well as one of the most desired tourist religious destinations. For the Orthodox faithful a special place of pilgrimage was the Holy Mount Athos. Some of the pilgrims went on their journeys wishing to become monks. Even in terminal phases, the sick pilgrims left for the Holy Places wishing to be buried in the holy earth where Christ walked. This is why the monasteries had the pilgrims’ cemeteries nearby. Some of the Romanian monks went to the Holy Places to stay there as ordinary inhabitants, such as the case of Saint John Jacob from the Monastery of Saint George the Hosevite. The pilgrims go to the pilgrimages to Israel to get into the Jordan water, where Christ, our Saviour, received the baptism from the hands of

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John the Prodrom. The pilgrimages ended when this act was accomplished attesting the pilgrimage done. Pilgrims always needed guiding on their journeys. The publication of the books of prayer and of information in the Middle Ages was a means of providing useful touristic information and advertisement. Such works have been published by the Romanian publishing houses too at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1710, Antim of Ivir printed in the Greek language, at Targoviste city, a book of information on Sinai Mount [1]. A book of information on the Holy Mount Athos was published at Snagov, in Wallachia, by the Greek theologian Ioan Comnen. We also know the book of information by Hrisant from Prusia, translated into Romanian by Anton Pann, and the book by Serafim printed in Bucharest in 1856, with rich information and pictures of Mount Athos [2]. Such a guide of information can be considered the book by Veniamin Pocitan entitled “Holy Mount of Athon. On the occasion of a journey to the East”, Bucharest, Publishing House of “Patriarch Miron” Missionary Brotherhood, 1940. One first proof of the Romanians’ relations with Sinai Mount is provided by a donation document of 1497 made by prince Radu the Great of Wallachia. It was here, at this place known by the Christian pilgrims that Prince Radu Paisie (1535 – 1545), who had been abbot of Curtea de Arges Monastery, arrived in his exile. During the same period Monastery of Saint Catherine from Sinai was headed by Ioanichie the Wallachian (1510 – 1540). This abbot re-established Saint Sava Monastery helped by the Romanian ruling princes. Prince Radu Schiopu (1547-1594) wanted to go to Mount Sinai, where a part of his fortune was deposited [3]. Such a pilgrimage to Saint Catherine Monastery was also done by abbot Mardarie from the Holy Trinity Monastery

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of Bucharest, in 1593. Although he was of Romanian origin, he spent a time at Hilandar Monastery of Mount Athos. He came back to Bucharest from Mount Athos and then went back to the Athonite monks, in 1591. Then, after two years he went on a pilgrimage to Alexandria, Sinai and Holy Land. [4] Such a pilgrimage was also done by metropolitan Varlaam of Wallachia (16721679) from 1680 – 1681/1682. Metropolitan Varlaam travelled to Russia from 1666-1668. In 1670, prince Antonie Voda, the hierarchs, and egumens elected him Bishop of Ramnic [5], and two years later metropolitan of Ungro-Walllachia. Back from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land he raised Trivale Monastery in Pitesti city. At the beginning of the 18th century, bishop Pahomie of Roman too went to a pilgrimage to Russia, bringing spiritual books, icons and vestments from there which he gave to Neamt Monastery, where he had been abbot, and to the diocese. After retiring from episcopate he travelled to Russia for the second time where he settled at the well known Pecerska Lavra of Kiev, where he died [6]. The pilgrimage to Sinai and Jerusalem that Mihai Cantacuzino made, together with his mother Elena and his sister Stanca, in 1682, was mentioned in the documents of the time. The pilgrimage of the Cantacuzinos is mentioned by Patriarch Samuil of Alexandria (1710 – 1743) in a note. Cantacuzino family was accompanied by an impressive retinue worthy of a great boyar’s family. The large retinue was motivated by the safety needed on the foreign roads. Elina Cantacuzino explained in a will clause dated 1 September 1681, the reason of the pilgrimage that was to be done: “I, Elina, daughter of the late Serban Cantacuzino and Lady Elina, wife of the late court marshal Constantin Cantacuzino, I certify in this letter of mine that, having reached an old age, I wanted to travel to Jerusalem, to pray to the holy place over there, where the pure body of His Grace was buried, to repent for

my many sins, as He said: “I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners to repentance and whoever will come to me I will not drive him away””[7]. The pilgrims prayed at the Holy Sepulchre, at the Mount Sinai, and distributed presents to the Greek monks and to the poor, and were seen out with respect by the inhabitants of Jerusalem when they departed.[8] After coming back from his pilgrimage, from 1690 – 1695, Mihai Cantacuzino built Sinaia Monastery “... in the image of the big Sinaia one, for the glory and praise of God and veneration of the Falling Asleep of our Mistress” as the foundation document reads.[9] Metropolitan Antim of Ivir of Wallachia should have arrived at Saint Catherine Monastery in 1716, but he was killed by the Ottoman guard that was accompanying him. Although the pilgrimage to the Holy Place and Mount Athos granted a higher statute to the participants in society, as persons worthy praying at the holiest places of the Orthodox, only a few people succeeded in making such a spiritual journey during the following years. Yet, at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, the names of such pilgrims were known. [10] The great church painter Parvu Mutu went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the beginning of the 18th century. After coming back, he decided to retire together with his youngest son to Margineni Monastery, and then to Robaia Skete. [11] Many Russians and Ukrainians passed through Moldova and Wallachia on their way to Constantinople and Jerusalem. During his stop in Bucharest, hieromonk Ipolit Visenski from Cernigov attended the consecration of Saint George church founded by Prince Constantin Brancoveanu. The documents mention among the participants in the consecration patriarch Hrisant Nottara of Jerusalem and venerable Gherasim Palada of Alexandria. The event was changed into a true pilgrimage due to a large number of

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faithful who had come to pray at the holy place of worship. Special pilgrimages were organised when the relics of some saints were brought to Wallachia, such as those of Saints Mihail of the Councils brought from Mount Athos for driving away the locusts and cessation of the drought. A pilgrimage to Mount Sinai was done by Bishop Antim of Buzau (1753 – 1756), obliged to retire because of his abuses and to go back to Saint Catherine Monastery where he had become a monk. It was from this monastery that he had left for Wallachia, in 1742, becoming abbot of Margineni Monastery in 1742, which he renovated. He was elected bishop of Buzau after his predecessor Filaret Mihailitzis, former abbot of Saint Catherine Monastery of Bucharest, and metropolitan later on. The two Greek hierarchs have been monks at Sinai. [12] In 1812, monks Gherontie and Grigori, the future metropolitan of Wallachia started out to Mount Athos. We have an account of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem from monk Chiriac from Secu Monastery, who stopped over at Mount Sinai, as well as at Mount Athos and Constantinople. The same monk went on two pilgrimages through Russia and Ukraine, described in a manuscript of Andronic from Chitcani Monastery from 1851 – 1864 [13]. A very interesting note on a pilgrimage to Athos, Jerusalem and Alexandria was written down by a hieromonk from Ciolanu Monastery from 1860-1861 [14]. Hagi Nicolau from Craiova went on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos in 1835, where he stayed for almost two months. He left from Vatoped Monastery to Jerusalem by a ship, where he visited the main holy places. After travelling to Palestine he went to Mount Sinai. He was accompanied on his pilgrimage, which lasted for more than a year, by Hagi Ivanciu. [15] Hieromonk Dionisie from Wallachia has also succeeded in going to Mount Sinai, staying at Saint Catherine Monastery for several months. In

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1868, hieromonk Anania Melega went on a pilgrimage which included Constantinople, Holy Land, Mount Sinai, Rait and Cairo. Very impressed by his journey, he presented it in a book published in Bucharest the following year. We also have beautiful pages on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem written by Nicolae Sas from Gales. [16] A special position among the pilgrims was held by Gheorghe Lazar (1846 -1916) who lived in the desert of Jordan and close to Sinai from 1884 – 1885. He left from Mount Sinai going to Mount Athos where he stayed for one year and a half. Very fond of spiritual journeys, the famous pilgrim spent the last years of his life at the monasteries of Moldova. [17] Archimandrite Nifon, Abbot of Sinaia Monastery (county of Prahova) went on a pilgrimage to Saint Catherine Monastery in 1896, accompanied by abbot of Ghighiu Monastery (county of Prahova). Once back from pilgrimage he published the book entitled “Journey from the West to Egypt, Mount Sinai, and Jerusalem”, printed on the expense of Rev Archimandrite Juvenalie, abbot of the Holy Ghighiu Monastery, Ploiesti, 1896. [18] A special position among pilgrims was held by Teodor Burada, well-known folklorist, who wrote a few notes on his pilgrimage to Mount Athos in 1882, mentioning the monasteries he stopped over and the support the Athonite monks benefited of from the Romanian ruling princes. He also mentions in his travel notes the Romanian sketes of Lacu and Prodromu. [19] Bishop Timus has also travelled to Mount Athos, accompanied by priest Alexandru Mironescu, liturgics professor at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Bucharest, who has become primate metropolitan, and by professor Constantin Erbiceanu. Very interesting are the descriptions of the journey made by Alexandru Mironescu, presenting the most extensive account of a pilgrimage in the Romanian literature till that

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time. [20] Bishop Gherasim Timus travelled to Jerusalem too, where he participated in the celebration of the Resurrection service at the church of the Holy Sepulchre. [21] In 1901, metropolitan primate Ghenadie Petrescu visited Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Mount Athos and Jerusalem, met everywhere with the respect due to a great hierarch. [22] But the first Romanian who visited Jerusalem was Bishop Neofit Scriban, in 1874. Poet Dimitrie Bolintineanu has also arrived at the Holy Places and wrote a few notes. [23] Theologian Badea Ciresanu, priest Nicolau from Brebu commune, as well as priest V. Nicolau and archimandrite Dionisie Simionescu, abbot of Sinaia Monastery went on pilgrimages to Athos and Jerusalem. The last one went on the pilgrimage wishing to found a Romanian church in Jerusalem. Latinist Axinte Frunza, a lay person with no serious religious education went on a pilgrimage to Athos - wishing to cultivate and inform himself – where he visited the cells and caves of the hermits. [24] In 1921, on the occasion of the marriage of Carol II to princess Elena of Greece, Queen Maria visited Athens and the monasteries of Meteora. Bishop Calist of Arges went on a pilgrimage to Palestine soon before the war broke out: “In March 1914, following a pious inspiration to see the Holy Places, he went to Jerusalem and, after kissing the ground where Christ, our Lord, walked, he came back to Mount Athos. After a three months journey he came back home and described everything about his journey in a beautiful writing entitled “In the footsteps of the Lord”, sold for the benefit of the orphanage (his orphanage located in Arges).” [25] Calist wanted to make this journey because he was sick and he knew he would not live long. He died in Bucharest, in 1917, during the German occupation. Prof G. Rascu, from the Theological Seminary of Chisinau has also described a pilgrimage and climbing to

Mount Sinai in the book entitled “Journey to Sinai Monastery”, Official Bulletin and State Printing Office, Chisinau, 1937. For the inter-war period, we know about the pilgrimages to Jerusalem of Metropolitan Nicolae Balan heading 160 faithful, most of them from Transylvania, and of Metropolitan Nectarie Cotlarciuc of Bucovina, accompanying 118 pilgrims [26]. In 1927, patriarch Miron Cristea visited Jerusalem. In 1926, famous priest Gala Galaction went to Jerusalem, where he attended the Palm Sunday procession at the church of the Holy Sepulchre. [27] After the Romanian Patriarchate bought a plot of land on the bank of the River Jordan, in 1935, bishop Lucian of Roman, accompanied by 150 pilgrims, laid the foundation stone of the church. The construction of the Romanian church and hostel of Jerusalem began at the feast of the Falling Asleep of the Mother of God, the Romanian consul of Romania, historian Marcu Beza attending. One of the many pilgrims to the Holy Land who held a special position among them was the Aromanian historian Marcu Beza (1882 – 1949), who succeeded in studying important documents at the famous archives of Saint Catherine Monastery. [28] Marcu Beza travelled to the Balkan Peninsula, continental and insular Greece, Asia Minor, Near East, and especially to Mount Athos, Egypt and Holy Places. After going to these pilgrimages he wrote some precious works: “Monastic Libraries at Mount Athos”, Bucharest, 1934, „Lands of Many Religions: Palestine, Syria, Cyprus and Mount Sinai”, London, 1934, and “Romanian Traces in the Orthodox East”, Bucharest, 1935, the best known of his books, at whose launching all the priests of Bucharest were invited. Al. A. Botez has also written a few pages on a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai: “At Mount Sinai Monastery”, in Metropolitanate of Oltenia magazine,

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1978, issue 4-6, pp. 394-399. [29] In 1974, the well-known father confessors Ilie Cleopa and Ioanichie Balan went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Mount Sinai, accompanied by a group of pilgrims. These ones have also travelled to Mount Athos. After going on this pilgrimage they published the well-known book “Romanian Impressions on the Holy Places”. The pilgrimage of these famous monks was designed to consolidate the spiritual life, but the pilgrimage of the great people of culture Virgil Candea and C. Simionescu generated very precious scientific writings: “Romanian Cultural Presence: Istanbul, Patmos, Sinaia, Alep”, Bucharest, 1982. Andrei PopescuBelis has also written interesting notes on such a pilgrimage. [30] A very important role in sustaining the Romanians’ pilgrimages to Israel was played by the Romanian Settlements of Jerusalem, headed by priests sent by the Patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and during the last few years by the Romanian Settlement of Jericho, specially built for supporting the spiritual journeys. Not very many Romanians went to the Holy Places, but lots of pilgrims went to the monasteries of Moldova and Wallachia. Bringing the relics of Saint Filofteia to Curtea de Arges, those of Saint Gregory the Decapolite to Bistrita Monastery, as well as getting the relics of Saint Pious Parascheva of Iasi by prince Vasile Lupu, and those of Saint Pious Dimitrie Basarabov by Hagi Dimitrie, in 1774, brought about the intensification of the pilgrimages in the 17th and 18th centuries. Processions of these relics were made at times of great trials, such drought, locusts’ invasion, and pestilential epidemic always gathering crowds of prayerful people. In 1765 a procession of the relics of Saint Gregory the Decapolite was organised for driving the locusts out of Bucharest, and in 1795, for doing away with the pestilence in Craiova. The relics of Saint Pious Dimitrios

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Basarabov, protector of Bucharest were also taken out in procession during the pestilential epidemic from 1812-1813, and in 1831, when cholera invaded the outskirts of Bucharest. A special procession took place in 1918, when the relics of the saint were brought back to Bucharest after a group of Bulgarian militaries had tried to steal them. During the same period the relics of Saint Filofteia were brought to Antim Monastery of Bucharest, lest they should be lost. We can also mention among the pilgrimages’ dates the year 1783, when the relics of Saint John the New were brought back to Suceava, met with a large joy by large crowds of people after one hundred years. We can also mention among such pilgrimages the missionary visit from 1746-1747 paid by metropolitan Neofit the Cretan of Wallachia to his eparchy. The metropolitan mentioned in the Greek language impressions of his journey and important information on the churches and monasteries visited, the document having been considered the first pilgrimage diary of our literature. The diary called “Home chronicle of Saint Neofit, Metropolitan of Ungsketaro-Wallachia” was translated into the Romanian language and published by Bishop Ghenadie Enaceanu in the 19th century. [31] Today too, pilgrimage is a way of manifesting the piety of the Romanian Orthodox faithful willing to go to the most important places of Christianity, Mount Athos and Jerusalem, as well as to the relics of the saints. The greatest pilgrimage is the one organised on 14 October to the relics of Saint Pious Parascheva of Iasi. The modern pilgrimages also include the journey to the grave of archimandrite Arsenie Boca at Prislop Monastery, whose canonisation is required by more and more Romanians. Today’s pilgrimages are organised by “Basilica” Tourism Agency of the Romanian Patriarchate, so that thousands of Romanian

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pilgrims went to Mount Athos and Jerusalem during the last few years. Is the action of the Romanian Patriarchate beneficial to the pilgrims who want to go to the holy places of Christianity? Is today’s pilgrim different from the one of the past or is he looking for the same “miracles”? References [1]

[2]

[3]

[4] [5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Adrian Marinescu, “Aspects of the relations of Metropolitan Antim of Ivir with Sinai “(„Aspecte ale legăturilor mitropolitului Antim Ivireanul cu Sinaiul”). Anuarul Facultăţii de Teologie Ortodoxă, University of Bucharest, 2001, p. 293. Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages to the Holy Places in the 18th – 20th centuries (Pelerini şi pelerinaje româneşti la Locurile Sfinte în secolele XVIIIXX) (doctorate thesis), Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, 2010, p. 134. Adrian Marinescu, A few pages of religious tourism history: Romanian pilgrims at Mount Sinai (10th – 20th centuries). Reiteration of the patristic type spirituality („Câteva momente din istoria turismului religios: pelerini români la Muntele Sinai (sec. X-XX). Reiterarea unei spiritualităţi de tip patristic”). Revista Ecumenică, Sibiu, 1/2009, p. 115. Ibidem, p. 116. Holy Chronicle of the Metropolitanate of Ungro-Wallachia (Condica Sfântă a Mitropoliei Ungro-vlahiei), published by Ghenadie Enăceanu, Bucharest, 1886, p. 35. Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages to the Holy Places in the 18th – 20th centuries (Pelerini şi pelerinaje româneşti la Locurile Sfinte în secolele XVIII-XX), p. 88. E. Hurmuzaki, N. Iorga, Greek documents on the history of the Romanians („Documente greceşti privitoare la istoria românilor”), vol XIV/1, Bucharest, p. 315. Wallachian chroniclers (Cronicari munteni), vol. I, Mihai Gregorian Publishing House, Publishing House for Literature, 1961, p. 210 N. Măgureanu, Sinaia Monastery („Mănăstirea Sinaia”), Athena Publishing

House, Bucharest, 2000, p. 136. Violeta Barbu, Purgatory of the Missionaries. Counter-reformation in the Romanian Principalities in the 17th century (Purgatoriul misionarilor. Contrareforma în Ţările Române în secolul al XVII-lea), Bucharest, Academy Publishing House 2008, p. 529; Mariana Lazăr, Romanian Pilgrims to Holy Places. Historical Yearbook, vol. I, Bucharest, 2004, pp. 200-201. [11] Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages to the Holy Places in the 18th – 20th centuries (Pelerini şi pelerinaje româneşti la Locurile Sfinte în secolele XVIII-XX), p. 82. [12] Adrian Marinescu, A few pages of religious tourism history: Romanian pilgrims at Mount Sinai (10th – 20th centuries). Reiteration of the patristic type spirituality, p. 125. [13] Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages to the Holy Places in the 18th – 20th centuries (Pelerini şi pelerinaje româneşti la Locurile Sfinte în secolele XVIIIXX), p. 103. [14] D. Bălaşa, Notes of a Journey from Ciolanu Monastery to Constantinople, Mount Athos, Jerusalem, Alexandria (1860-1861) („Însemnări dintr-o călătorie de la Mănăstirea Ciolanu la Constantinopol, Muntele Athos, Ierusalim, Alexandria (1860-1861)”). Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XCVI (1978), issue 7-8, pp. 854-880. [15] Adrian Marinescu, A few pages of religious tourism history: Romanian pilgrims at Mount Sinai (10th – 20th centuries). Reiteration of the patristic type spirituality, p. 126. [16] Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages to the Holy Places in the 18th – 20th centuries (Pelerini şi pelerinaje româneşti la Locurile Sfinte în secolele XVIIIXX), p. 215. [17] Adrian Marinescu, A few pages of religious tourism history, p. 127. [18] Ibidem, p. 128. [19] Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages ..., p. 143; Teodor Burada, Journey to Mount Athos (O călătorie la Muntele Athos). Românii şi Muntele Athos, vol. II, Bucharest, Paralela 45 Publishing [10]

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House, 2002. Alexandru Mironescu, “Journey to the Orient” (O călătorie în Orient). Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XII (1889), issue 7-9, pp. 601621 and Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XIII (1890), issue 10-13, pp. 703-729. [21] See Gherasim Timuş, Journey to the Holy Places (Călătoria la Locurile Sfinte), Bucharest, Institute of Graphic Arts of Carol Gobel, 1896. [22] Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages, p. 154 [23] See D. Bolintineanu, Journeys (Călătorii), Bucharest, Youth publishing House, 1956. [24] See Axinte Frunză, A Modern Man at Athos (Un modern în Athos), Bucharest, Anastasia Publishing House, 2001. [25] Archives of the Holy Synod no 144/1917 – Report of the President of the “Help” Committee of the Romanian Clergy Society, registered at no 368 of 7/20 June 1917, on the passing away and funerals of His Grace Calist, Bishop of Arges, f. 29, f. v.; f. 30 [26] I. Puiul, “A Romanian Pilgrimage to Jerusalem” („Un pelerinaj român la Ierusalim”). Candela, Year XLI (1930), issue 3-4, pp. 197-226 [27] Gala Galaction, Works (Opere), vol. III, Bucharest, Minerva Publishing House, 1997. [28] Adrian Marinescu, A few pages of religious tourism history, p. 132. [29] Ibidem, p. 132. [30] Ibidem, p. 133. [31] Cristinel Trandafir, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages, p. 91. [20]

BIBLIOGRAPHY: a) Sources:

Archives of the Holy Synod no 144/1917 – Report of the President of the “Help” Committee of the Romanian Clergy Society, registered at no 368 of 7/20 June 1917, on the passing away and funerals of His Grace Calist, Bishop of Arges, f. 29, f. v.; f. 30 E. Hurmuzaki, N. Iorga, Greek documents on the history of the Romanians („Documente

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greceşti privitoare la istoria românilor”), vol XIV/1, Bucharest. Holy Chronicle of the Metropolitanate of Ungro-Wallachia (Condica Sfântă a Mitropoliei Ungro-vlahiei), published by Ghenadie Enăceanu, Bucharest, 1886. Wallachian chroniclers (Cronicari munteni), vol. I, Mihai Gregorian Publishing House, Publishing House for Literature, 1961. b) Works of speciality:

Barbu, Violeta, Purgatory of the Missionaries. Counter-reformation in the Romanian Principalities in the 17th century (Purgatoriul misionarilor. Contrareforma în Ţările Române în secolul al XVII-lea), Bucharest, Academy Publishing House 2008. Bălaşa, D., “Notes of a Journey from Ciolanu Monastery to Constantinople, Mount Athos, Jerusalem, Alexandria (18601861)” („Însemnări dintr-o călătorie de la Mănăstirea Ciolanu la Constantinopol, Muntele Athos, Ierusalim, Alexandria (18601861)”), in Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XCVI (1978), issue 7-8, pp. 854-880. Bolintineanu, D., Journeys (Călătorii), Bucharest, Youth Publishing House, 1956. Burada, Teodor, Journey to Mount Athos (O călătorie la Muntele Athos). Românii şi Muntele Athos, vol. II, Bucharest, Paralela 45 Publishing House, 2002. Frunză, Axinte, A Modern Man at Athos (Un modern în Athos), Bucharest, Anastasia Publishing House, 2001. Galaction, Gala, Works (Opere), vol. III, Bucharest, Minerva Publishing House, 1997. Lazăr, Mariana, Romanian Pilgrims to Holy Places. Historical Yearbook, vol. I, Bucharest, 2004, pp. 200-201. Marinescu, Adrian, “Aspects of the relations of Metropolitan Antim of Ivir with Sinai” („Aspecte ale legăturilor mitropolitului Antim Ivireanul cu Sinaiul”), in Anuarul Facultăţii de Teologie Ortodoxă, University of Bucharest, 2001, pp. 289-303.

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Marinescu, Adrian, “A few pages of religious tourism history: Romanian pilgrims at Mount Sinai (10th – 20th centuries). Reiteration of the patristic type spirituality” („Câteva momente din istoria turismului religios: pelerini români la Muntele Sinai (sec. X-XX). Reiterarea unei spiritualităţi de tip patristic”), in Revista Ecumenică, Sibiu, 1/2009, pp. 80-140. Măgureanu, N., Sinaia Monastery („Mănăstirea Sinaia”), Athena Publishing House, Bucharest, 2000. Mironescu, Alexandru, “Journey to the Orient” (O călătorie în Orient). Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XII (1889), issue 7-9, pp. 601-621 and Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XIII (1890), issue 10-13, pp. 703-729. Puiul, I., “A Romanian Pilgrimage to Jerusalem” („Un pelerinaj român la Ierusalim”). Candela, Year XLI (1930), issue 3-4, pp. 197-226. Timuş, Gherasim, Journey to the Holy Places (Călătoria la Locurile Sfinte), Bucharest, Institute of Graphic Arts of Carol Gobel, 1896. Trandafir, Cristinel, Romanian Pilgrims and Pilgrimages to the Holy Places in the 18th – 20th centuries (Pelerini şi pelerinaje româneşti la Locurile Sfinte în secolele XVIIIXX) (doctorate thesis), Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, 2010.

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The Dependence of Average Multiplicity of Produced Charged Particles on Interacting Projectile Nucleons in Nuclear Collisions (Astro-Particle Physics)

Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad

Jalal Hasan Baker

Physics Department, Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 741, University of Tabuk, 71491 Saudi Arabia

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 31 August 2016 Received in revised form 6 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.20

In the present articles an attempt has been made for the determination of multiplicity distributions of the secondary charged particles produced in the central region of relativistic heavy ion collisions. Due to sophisticated measurement in the nuclear emulsion experiment only some particles having special criteria could be selected as central collision events with consenting accuracy.

Keywords: multiplicity distribution; heavy ion collisions; quark gluon plasma (QGP) formation;

I. INTRODUCTION

The main concern of high-energy heavyion collisions, particularly in the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) and the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), is to provide substantial information for understanding the dynamics of multiparticle production. The study of these collisions has witnessed a fast increase of interest in recent years. It does not only throw light on the nature of hadronic interactions at very short time/distance, but also on the internal structure of hadrons and the deconfining phase transition from hadronic gas to Quark

Gluon Plasma (QGP) [1-4]. In contrast, the formation and space-time evolution of a dynamical hadronic/ nucleonic systems are commonly unclear for hadronic and QGP ensembles, experimental tests are vital not only to find clues of new states of matter, but also to understand dynamical aspects of high-density hadronization processes. An efficient study with the experiments of high-energy heavy-ion collisions provides information in favor of nuclear matter under extreme conditions, i.e. high temperature (200-220 MeV), high density (> 0.5 fm3). [5]

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The Universe, the ‘body’ of God. About the vibration of matter to God’s command or The theory of divine leverages into matter Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, PhD Faculty of Orthodox Theology, Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 10 August 2016 Received in revised form 14 September Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.21

Keywords: creation ex nihilo; unifying ‘spirit’; Deus odiosus; rationes seminales; God’s Particle; preexisting matter; omnipresence;

ABSTRACT

The link between seen and unseen, matter and spirit, flesh and soul was always presumed, but never clarified enough, leaving room for debates and mostly controversies between the scientific domains and theologies of a different type; how could God, who is immaterial, have created the material world? Therefore, the logic of obtaining a result on this concern (would be) is first to see how religions have always seen the ratio between divinity and matter/universe. In this part, the idea of a world personality is implied by many, so that nature itself was transformed into a person ; others have seen within the universe/the world a Spirit ruling all, connecting all and bending all to God’s commands. In a way or another, every culture has gifted the universe/nature with the capability of ruling all, seeing everything and controlling, even determining facts by connecting all together with a Great Spirit. What is this Great Spirit of all and where it resides? With the analogy of human body in relation to his Spirit we will try to figure out a place or vehicle for the Spirit to dwell the body, and the Great Spirit the matter. The Christianity names this linkage between God and matter as ‘the (un)created grace of God’, which indwells matter and helps the Creator move and transform things. Is there any scientific argument to sustain such assertion? Can we argue somehow that God’s voice makes matter vibrate from within the way it can recombine primer elements into giant stars to the human body? If so, what should be the ratio between theology and science on this issue and with these assertions? How could God command to matter to bring things and beings out of it and what were the material leverages that was supposed to be operated to accomplish His will? However, if we can assume that God resides in the universe – as a whole, His body, or as in its very fabric – can we also figure out how is this even possible, without transforming our explanation into a pantheistic and immanent exclusive one? Through these ‘divine leverages within matter’ theory, there is no need for questioning evolutionism, creationism, pantheism, deism and many other cosmological hypotheses any longer. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

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I. INTRODUCTION “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD (Isaiah 66:2)

Some have viewed the motion of the world coming from within, others from an external cause. Anaxagoras said that the soul is the motric force of the world, while Democritus asserted that “the intellect moves the Universe”; the latter has considered that the soul and the intellect are all the same[1]. Everybody – in religion or philosophy – link in a way or another the internal movement of matter with a certain, external cause, while science strives to find this cause within the universe or its matter. This article asserts, there are internal leverages to be pulled in the fabric of the universe in order to obey the Creator’s command. His voice when says ‘Let there be…[light, a vault, lights in the vault of heaven]’ is not a magical illusion that makes things and beings appear out of thin air, without the use of any preexisting materials. There is, of course, a great theological teaching saying just the opposite that things were made ex nihilo, from nothing at all, but let see first what this ex nihilo theory has in fact to say. II. Clarifications about the ex nihilo

creation

A. The Creation out of nothing or out of a

fundamental fabric?

‘God creating the spiritual and material worlds from nothing (ex nihilo)’ has been a distinctive Christian claim almost from the beginning even if this does not stand as a literary teaching in the Bible. In the debate with evolution (mostly of science, but also possible from other religious theologies) many creationist theologians bring into discussion this idea, which – we have to say –

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it was contrived only to praise the Creator’s mighty power capable to do whatever He wants without having necessarily a purpose, a proper tool or aid to do what he pleases. Moreover, “at times, an effort has been made to derive from the Hebrew verb ‫( אָרָּב‬bara’ = to shape, fashion, or create) this truth that creation occurred without the use of previously existent materials.”[2] The mosaic tell about creation found in Genesys 1 – 2 was obviously directed against the politheistic world that had surrounded their monotheistic island, so it was for sure a tool to purpatrate their misunderstanding of what a Creator has to be. “According to these words[3], the universe is neither eternal, nor formed out of pre – existing things, nor sprung from necessity, but due to the immediate creative act of God. It was created ex nihilo, that is, out of nothing.”[4] As some theologians have apointed, it is not always used the Hebrew word bara and the Greek word ktizein; for they are at times used interchangeably with the words asuh and poiein. Thus, God is said both to have “created” and “made” the world (Gen. 1: 1; Neh. 9: 6; Col. 1: 16f). But the creation ex nihilo is always God’s work, never man’s, for God can create “the wind” (Amos 4: 13), “a clean heart” (Ps. 51: lo), and “new heavens and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17), while man only do things given by his Creator. And all these distinctions had a single purpose only: to emphasys God’s sovereignity[5], about the all – powerful God who created the heavens and the earth from nothing, but in reality it brings no clue on how He did it, because it was never the issue of these ‘creation stories’. Ex nihilo “is the Latin for ‘from nothing’ and is commonly used in discussions of creation myths to categorize a type of creation in which a lone deity creates from nothing, using only his own mind and will“[6]. However, the ‘ex nihilo’ phrase was accepted long ago as a shorthand way of saying: ‘from no prior materials’[7].This doctrine was

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formulated later by the church fathers[8] to defend theism against an ultimate dualism or a monistic pantheism.[9] However, the main reason for ever considering this option of interpreting the creation was to prove the alterity and inferiority of creation, either material or spiritual, related to their Creator since they are not made out of His nature (St. Augustin). “Because the origin from out of nothing determines the otherness, the “non – consubstantiality” of the world and God.”[10] Under Plotinus influences, St. Augustin used the doctrine of creation ex nihilo as the warrant for considering everything good being God’s products and for that “there is nothing that could serve as material for it”[11] since God is the highest source of every good and perfection. This concept, highly used by creationists, still raises lots of questions, e.g. is the world made inside or outside God, or has divinity need to be a personal being or not? Is there a distance between God and His creation, and moreover is this a distance of natures or positions? God is thought remote or distant, or does He stay omnipresent inside His creation even if He has nothing in common with it? All these issues are due to the misunderstanding of what the creation ex nihilo should be regarded in the first place and to what part of the creation is it referring at. That is why, before going further with explaining the premises of LVD theory, I should give a preliminary clarification on this story of creation and place it into the system of LVD thinking. B. Different perspectives – different

significance of ‘the beginning.’

For me the whole content of the Bible is the same story retold three times in a row, each one from another perspective and thus using proper descriptive tools. The whole story is about ‘God creating all’: a) Genesys 1:1; b) Gen 1:2 – 31; c) Genesys 2 – Revelation 21. Each part a), b), c) tells the same story, but

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a) does it from God’s angle, where He does all according to His eternal plan in an instant – compared to His eternity. It is the extra time ‘moment’ when He has no one aside while doing all, heavens and earth, all the universes for His beings. It is instantaneous, as so many other actions are described from the perspective of God, even if, for us, those actions would take a lot more than a lifetime. In the same situation, we find the parish of the offsprings of Core (Num 16:21), the social and psychological destruction of a man (Job 32:22; Prov 6:15). The birth of Israel people and its rising as a nation was done by Jahwe in an instant (Isa 66:8); the rise and fall of a kingdom have the same ‘period’ (Jer 18:7). The cleansing of Israel’s enemies done from the historical point of view during centuries or millennium is still regarded as being done “at an instant suddenly” (Isa 29:5). The persistence of sin will not last more than a moment, even if it still last from the beginning of time until the Judgement day (Isa 30:13). Every body that has ever died and had rotted will be changed into a new, eternal one in an instant, “with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 17), even if the resurrection of dead will take a ‘thousand years to be completed’ (Revelation 20:5 – 6). But, from God’s revelated perspective, the whole humanity that has ever lived shall pass this entire transformation “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor 15:52). Everything is done within the same period – ‘in an instant’ –, but this declaration is never done from c) perspective, man’s, but from God’s only (a). That is why I’ve said that, from this point of view, of God’s eternity, the creation of the universe is also done ‘in an instant,’ compressing everything into a concise sentence. The second vision, b), explains the same story with more information for man from

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an angelic perspective, as those that were witnesses to God’s creation of the material universe; while c) retells the story in the man’s historical perspective with even more details, from his creation to his judgment, from the state of ‘image’ towards that of ‘resemblance/ likeness’ – an ongoing creation in its unfolding. This assumption of mine lies on the biblical fact that, while in the beginning of the creation act, Genesys 1:1 encompasses everything God has ever created, heavens and earth, from the beginning, without nothing behind, nothing pre – existent, and God is not the protagonist of this story (as in A or B), but a subject of adulation for His sovereignty, the rest of the first chapter of Genesys brings Him forward as the protagonist of His activity. Thus, in the witnesses version (b) we see Him unveiling His eternal plan; we hear Him speaking [as with another individual] what is next to be done, or even listen Him talking with the creation itself telling what is that He wants from it / what it has to give Him from within. In other words, “according to the Hebrew syntax of Genesis 1:1 – 3, Genesis 1:1 (“when God began to create…”) was NOT the first creative act of God. Rather, Genesis 1:3 was His first creative act — and it was the initial act of re – creating or re – ordering the material described in Genesis 1:1 – 2.”[12] The ‘days’ spoke of in the b) and c) perspectives, yom (day), have nothing to do one with the other, not semantically and mostly not historically, temporal. The subjective, religious ritualic involvement made by the Jewish and Babylonian[13] tradition, when associated with a number or the words “evening” or “morning”[14], make the appearance of the seven days from b) perspective looks like that of the days from the historical perspective, only that they are not referring to the same period of time. That is why, for me, the only possibility of relating world’s creation with an ex nihilo

action is “In the beginning [when] God [has] created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Because either we see the creation as a whole (pleroma, St. Gregory of Nyssa), the important fact is here that only the first moment can be related to ex nihilo, only just its beginning [as if it would refer to the first thing], while the rest is just after something. Therefore, we can say either that the ‘world’ – from A to Z, from creation to judgment – came out of nothing, or that – historically speaking – the first thing ever created from the category of ‘earth’ was created from nothing, as from nothing pre – existent. It is but logical to assume that once the matter has been created, everything else was made out of it. The word of God, His command ‘to made’, ‘to give’, ‘to appear’, or ‘to produce’, is all – powerful only if spoken over something, i.e. “the earth formless, and void [unformed and desolate]” (Gen 1:2). There are of course some fathers of Christianity who push the creation ex nihilo further, beyond the first moment and say that every thing and body was called by God from nothing to come into being. This confusion is still logical to be made since they were fighting against dualism – G – d and matter co – eternal – existences – and moreover with the idea that G – d is merely ordering his creation, as in the image of a potter working his clay into an ordered structure (e.g. Isaiah 29:16; Jer 18:1 – 6). “Early Church Fathers such as Theophilus, Justin Martyr, and Origen believed that matter was pre – existent with God. Borrowed from the platonic thought, these Church’s fathers believed that God has “ordered” this chaotic matter and gave it its shape and form, thus resulting in the creation of the world.”[15] It is evident that they have needed to make a connection between the absolute power of God and his wisdom of shaping and structuring all. For them and others, God was regarded only as the divine architect, so that is why most theologians from the fourth century and beyond rejected this view for it

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was bringing a shadow over God’s creation power and sovereignty. For them, God has simply created every and each thing without the use of some material support, since this idea would make God linked and dependent on something outside himself, and that was unacceptable [at that time]. In time that was the only explanation seen as ‘orthodox’ and outside it, every other theory was just heretical. The problem with this stubborn conclusion is that they could not accept a dialogue and the fact that even those earlier fathers speaking about ‘bringing all things from non – being into being’[16] were not actually considering the technical action of creation as ex nihilo, but just the ontological coming – into – existence of things. In this regard St. John Chrysostom addresses same ontological ex nihilo divine action as referring to all mankind: [God has] ‘called us from nonbeing into being’[17], and we can clearly understand from this that, for him, the process of coming into being from nonbeing is not the same thing as the creation ex nihilo. The latter refers only to ‘the foundation of the world’ (i.e. the matter, the fabric of the universe), while the former is his metaphysical conception of things and living beings coming into existence along with the time. The closest to an explicit reference to the cosmic creation’s ex nihilo comes in 2 Maccabees, a late work (second century bc), where we receive the same ontological coming to existence performed: ‘Observe heaven and earth, consider all that is in them, and acknowledge that Yahweh made them out of what did not exist’ (7:28). The temporal relation of creation is more to be understood if we relate Gen 1:1 with John 1:1, first telling about the initiation of the process of calling things into existence, in the beginning, while the latter, “from eternity,” speaks about the existence before the beginning, when nothing else but God had existed. This positioning of God before

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the beginning of time/existence is proved by Christ when saying “they may behold My glory that You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24, 5). As St. Gregory of Nyssa says, “The very subsistence of creation owed its beginning to change,”[18] “the very transition from non – entity to existence is a change, non – existence being changed by the Divine power into being.”[19] We start counting the time once the existence of a thing/creature starts; and this idea has to do with the relation between eternal paradigms of things and their ontological beginning – as we will see in the last chapter. The mystical essence of time is to be a witness of accomplishing things that are to happen. That because, before time, things were only existent in the divine paradigm, ontological and material non – existent, not happening. In this regard, we can also contradict the ex nihilo action as it is widely understood, over all and each thing, since the temporal things actually came from the atemporal ones (as in Platonism) – but this idea will also be made clearer when approaching the significance of logoi. C. The creation is not yet finished!

The problem of interpreting the biblical story of creation is that it mostly limits the creation’s time to the past tense, “God created all things…the universe was created by the word of God” (Ephes 3:9; Hebrews 11:3; Revel 4:11; Matt 18:31, etc.). Few are speaking in the present tense, “all things are from God” (1 Corinthians 11:12), and almost none about a future time of creation (Matt 19:28). In this case, it is normal that the creation be regarded as closed, and thus the action of God, as related to the world, also closed. It is a theological habit to speak about this ad extra work of God at past tense and to leave other activities, like salvation or providence, for the present tense. That is why everybody has the tendency to

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consider the creation related only to ‘in the beginning’ time. But, the fact is that the creation has never stopped, as we are still in the sixth day of creation of the b) story, since ‘man’ as pleroma is not yet finished, Adam, Moses, Jesus, me, and everyone else being the protagonists of this ‘man made in Gen 1:28’. From the c) perspective we are somewhere in between of the human history, but from the b)’s, we are still one day behind everything created stops being created, we are still before the dawn of the seventh day of creation, waiting for the Creator to stop creating things and enjoy the fulness of the creation. The creation of the first historical man, Adam, his companion – Eva, their temptation, the flood, the second world war, or any future not – yet – happen events are all together compressed into the ‘sixth day’ of the b) perspective. Thus, if we are still in the ‘middle’ [during] of creation, how can we still consider that everything is created ex nihilo since we can see lots of [new] things appearing from others, the old ones? “While recognizing God’s creatio ex nihilo, special providence constitutes creatio continua, a “continuing creation” that is always bringing new things into being rather than simply preserving the past.”[20] And then, the ongoing creation is possible under certain circumstances, some of which are acceptable from the LVD theory, e.g. the unity of consciousness of all humankind, or of the consciousness of the universe. I know that the general opinion is that the time of the biblical story of creation is very closed linked to that ‘in the beginning’ starting point and that the rest of Genesys continues that beginning from where it has left, the rest and admiration of the Creator (Gen 1:31). However, the premise of my theory leans on a different perspective, showed before, that the point of Gen 2:1 – 7 is not actually giving us a continuation of those ‘seven days’, but a detailed re – tell of the sixth day. I am aware that there are not many traditional writers that would

give credit to this assertion, but there is still room for debating it. However, explaining what ‘the seventh day of creation’ might mean, we will find St. Apostle Paul making a suggestive analogy. While most theologians imply that ‘God has been resting since the establishment of the world’, that God is no longer creating, but either enjoying His creation while resting, or making a post – resting supervision over it, being still active by sustaining this closed creation (Colossians 1:17). No wonder that there are many theologians implying God’s self-distancing from this finished creation (deism). The objections of this ongoing creation are weak and thus not taken into account at all. Some may object that God indeed is still creating in the miracles He performs[21], but the miracles, seen as local exceptions to the general rule, cannot be the only acts God makes as exceptional intervention while being resting (the seventh day) or post – resting. This is entirely wrong, since “My Father works until now, and I also work”; hence the work of creation is ongoing, not yet finished. That is why we should take a look at Paul’s suggestion. He says: “for somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day God rested from all His works. Again, in that passage [He says], They will never enter My rest.” (Hebrews 4:4 – 5) “Hebrews never says that the seventh day of Creation Week is continuing to the present (in fact they say the opposite), it merely says that God’s rest is continuing.”[22] If we continue the line of literal interpreting the story of Genesys 1 from Jewish perspective – and they had a religious reason to do that, in order to support the covenant seal, the Sabbath – along with many Christian writers, we have to assume also that God has rested for a 24 – hour day and then continued to rest up until the present day, or take His work on other ‘place’. But this implication is more absurd that any other one, theological or scientific.

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Therefore, the seventh day can only be understood as beginning with the final step of fulfilling this world – the resurrection and the Judgement day – which are the last step of the sixth day and the starting point of the seventh. Either we conceive God’s rest in front of all other historical ‘days’ – the eighth, ninth day and so on – as following His work from the sixth day, after which He should take it over (with the creation of Eva at least), or we place it at the same time with ours – we are still misconceiving the whole point of revealing ‘the entire creation story’ to the mankind[23]. Therefore, the promise ‘entering God’s rest’ made to the elected people will be fulfilled in the time of Christ’s Kingdom, the seventh day. In conclusion, the theory here would be that God has started creating this world from nothing, not using a pre-existing matter, but He had created first the matter, as the core fabric of all, before creating everything. God is not only a potter modeling a preexistent matter, but “rather one who makes both the clay and the pot”[24]. And accepting this theory does not make God’s sovereignty smaller, or His implication into the world’s appearance worthless. On the contrary, we can have a mutual and logical dialogue with the scientific hypothesis now on the mutual ground. Now we have to figure out how to cut the Gordian knot of the relation between the omnipresence and the interconnection body – spirit. The conception of ‘ex nihilo’ creation, as we saw, was entirely directed against the dualism of any kind of a second principle, material or evil, co–eternal to the mighty God, and not as a scientific explanation of cosmology as underlined here. “Relying primarily on those Scriptures, they [the theologians of the early Church] formulated a doctrine of the Creator as all – powerful and, in consequence, rejected the view that over against Him there had been from the beginning an ungenerated principle, matter, that was not fully under His sway or lesser beings that were Session 11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology

responsible for the multiple imperfections of the world.”[25] If God has created everything from nothing else but a fabric made prior of all [in the beginning], the period of creation confined to only ‘seven days’ is still acceptable, or this statement has to be changed? In other words, should we imply that God has created ‘the world’ in an instant or ages? Moreover, do we even need to search for proponents of concordism over the day – ages view[26]? What is the answer of this rather new explanation to what ‘ex nihilo divine action’ means to these questions? I think we can solve entirely the situation of considering the biblical version of creation both as an allegorical myth, as well as a non-scientific theory of world’s appearance, and more than that we can elude this ‘necessity’ through this subsequent hypothesis. The conciliation between Theology and Science would be more valuable then, as the proponents of concordism might say, “Bible describes ‘a successive creation of plants and animals, ending with man,’ and that geology ‘proves this history to be true’”, because “the focus of these chapters is clearly theological, not historical, and certainly not cosmological”[27]. This is possible in LVD moreover since we are guided to regard ‘Genesys 1’ not as a historical description of the creation act, and furthermore as a scientific one, but merely a short story encompassing everything the Creator ever did, done and future do, in order to give man a wide, whole perspective and place him in this story somewhere, ‘in the sixth day, towards evening’. The making of the world from a matter created in the beginning is conceivable in the line of mankind, ‘all made from the same leaven/ dough’, and regarded then after, from (c) perspective, in its unfolding. In the same way we can relate the creation/appearance of all things and beings from a single dough, made prior of all, in the beginning, ex nihilo, and used

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thereafter the divine leverage to organize it in so many and perfect ways. III. The Great Spirit of all

It is notorious the belief that divinity is deeply implicated into nature. In a way or another, every culture had this belief; either pantheist, panentheist, polytheist or animist, the universe/nature was always given by those creeds with the capability of ruling all, seeing and controlling everything, or even determining facts by connecting altogether. That capability within the nature of the universe was implied in all religions one way or another. One is talking about Wakan Tanka (among the Sioux)[28], another about Gitche Manitou (in Algonquian), or the Nat (in Burma), Temaukel (South America, Selknam tribe)[29], or the Holy Ghost walking above the waters (Gen 1:2). But all these names and conceptions refer to same reality: that behind the matter of nature there is a ‘spirit’ ruling all and giving forms and life to everything. To be known that these notions mark almost always a different reality that the one that indwells in each creature, often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality, as the individual spirit or soul (psykhē, ψυχή), nafs (Arabic ‫)سفن‬, neshama (Hebrew ‫הָמָׁשְנ‬ nəšâmâh), or animus. The former notions are closely to the Logos[30] philosophical concept, and the spirituality of all these religious manifestations are inclined towards it and not on the individual spirits, even if there are also many cases in which the worship cases is either combined with or derived from them (e.g. the cult of ancestors once they have died and rejoice with the Great Spirit). This unifing ‘spirit’ is an evident mark of materialistic monism but the specifications that follow look always a litle diverse and strange. It is constantly needed to come with additional note, as if this Logos or Great Spirit is not the Creator itself, although not independent of the

Creator (as in Isaiah 55:11 or Psalm 147:15). It is important to draw some points on the understanding over these two type of concepts to see where are they aiming to. A. Attributes of the Spirit within the

universe. Deus otiosus vs. The great Spirit

In all the religious view about the Spirit that indwells nature the most present attribute is omniseeing – besides the creationist characteristic that mostly is also understood as Ghost’s, due to the overlapping the Creator with his omnipotent Spirit. As the Creator itself sees all, knows all, so does his helper in controlling the nature, as every highest Being. In most cases the characteristic is due to this more elevated position, making him located up in the sky (heaven), thus above, as in an empirical thinking who is higher sees more and clearer. Therefore, positioning G – d above all it is logical to have this ‘good sight’ over everything. The position grants him this characteristic, but sometimes it costs him the real contact with the matter, the creation itself. Temaukel, the creator of heaven and earth in the animistic myth of Amerindians, have never come down to earth, nor is the other Supreme Being that has sent him to do it – Kenosh – “they stood far, beyond the stars: there he lives and stays forever”[31]. Manitou, the Great Spirit, also made everything, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars, and stays between the veil of stars. Even the God of Bible, Jahowa of Jews, inheriting the space positioning from the Mesopotamian religion, and also in the attempt to contradict and overcome all idolatrous understanding of a god from Egypt and lands near Canaan (Exodus 15:11), is positioned “[I live] in a high and holy place” (Isaiah 57:15) for He is nothing like things from universe, in the heavens above, the earth below, or the waters under the earth... Yahweh can be assimilated to nothing in the universe. He is “wholly other,” to use the

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phrase of Rudolf Otto.[32] For that reason, most ‘creators’ are not the object of religious worship; they do not possess a cult, don’t receive prayers or offers, because they are ‘too far’, retreated from their creation, and thus they have been transformed by man into deus otiosus[33]. Earging for a closer god, involved into surveilling and controlling the nature, mostly for favoring man, people have attached to the Creator’s Son or successor; e.g. the peers Kenosh – Temaukel, Anu – Marduk, Amon Ra – Pharaoh, Osiris – Horus – Seth, Atum – Shu[34] (Egypt), Brahma/ Sonja – Vishvakarman[35] (Hinduism), Vivasvat – Mânu (India), ^hang – ti – The Emperor (China)[36], Uranus – Cronos – Zeus (Greece), Jehova – Jesus. This was the first act to be more attracted to a god or Supreme Spirit that can inhabit the creation, to be closer to man and his needs, to help him be saved and go through the life experiences. In this regard man has considered that God, even if he is above, otiosus and far distanced, he still should be in control of things since he sees all and knows all. But, in order to give him these two powers, omniseeing and omnicontrol, theologians invested creation with spirit(s) with whom you can talk, discuss and pray to everywhere since there are no created boundaries to forbid God being anywhere at the same time, for everyone and to every need – omnipresence. “Religion is,” says James Frazer “a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and human life”[37]. B. Where, in the body, lies its spirit? 1) Envisioned in breath

As I was already mentioned before[38] the Spirit of God was always positioned within creation, as a God that indwells his

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creation. In order to find him everywhere and at all times it is important to know how religions conceive the relation between a spirit and a body, where they positioned the spirit of a body, either of individual, or of the universe. The later comes out definitely from the former one. The relation between a spirit and its possessed body was always seen very tight in all religions since the removal of it from the body leads to the death of the latter. It was supposed to lay in heart, in breath, or mostly in blood. The first supposition is not supported by this theory because it only had one explanation: life ends with heart cease beating. Instead, the analogies made with the breath are aiming towards the observation that the air is taken into the body, and then it was supposed to fill the lungs and whole body. But the strongest analogy was with blood since it fills the entire body and no part of it is without blood. Both these two analogies are present into most religious phenomenon. In the Bible we see that the man made out of clay [adhamah] receives his spirit from the breath of Yahweh who breathes into his mouth and became man [adham] (Gen 2:7), as Tirawa did in the myths of Pawnea Amerindians, Viracocha for the Incas[39], or the three Spirits Asa (Honir, Odhinn, and Loki) that granted breath – spirit to Askr and Embla[40]. In the same way, the Spirit that grants power of life also has the power of ending it; e.g. Marduk kills Tiamat with his breath blown into her mouth. The power of healing the body was invariably linked with the illness of the spirit, therefore in those traditions recounting about the analogy spirit – breath the shamans (witch doctors) used smoke blown into mouth, anus, and all over the body, as a ‘blessed breath’ that should replace the ill/bad/evil spirit within. ‘The body without breath’ or ‘the last breathe’ were always the figures of speech for a dead individual, spiritless, and this is accompanied with one of the primary, universal ritualic acts used in

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religious worship is incense, the use of vegetal incense to create a thick smoke that ascended to heaven, as the spirit does after death. Therefore, as the individual soul does for its body, so does the Great Spirit for the universe itself, e.g. “the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Gen 1:2). There are so many tells about evil spirits that possess the bodies of man or animals that show procedures to exorcise them with smoke, breathe or yawning. All these religious beliefs are a profound proof that it is notoriously believed that spirits, individuals or universal, are tied with their body until they are forced to leave them leading to the body’s death. 2) Alternatively, in the circulatory system

Considering many empirical observations on body parts which have dried due to the lack of blood, and due to other comments relating the body health and life with blood, a stronger doctrine was build on that: that more than breath blood is the essential element through which the spirit inhabits the body, since there is no live existence that doesn’t have blood and moreover, it drains out when an individual dies. This has encouraged many religious manifestations to take blood as the spirit conveyance into any type of body, vegetal, animal or human, a vehicle that helps the spirit travel all over the body and also to be present in it at all times. The religious stories give us important clues about the relation thought between blood and soul/spirit. For example, in the Babylonian Genesis, man’s soul was made out of Kingu’s blood by Marduk and thus it is considered to be divine. There are also stories in which, from the blood of someone spilled on the ground, a new form of life grew, e.g. a plant [as in the Ancient Egyptian religion, the myth of Geb who bleed onto earth from nose], a powerful amulet [from the blood of Isis], or for making someone younger by taking the spirit of another being

by bathing in its blood, etc. In the Bible, from the beginning, it was believed that the blood bears not only the life of an individual, but also its spiritual entity; e.g. “the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground” (Gen 4:10), or “you shall not eat flesh with the life of it… For the life of every creature is the blood of it” (Gen 9:4; Leviticus 17:14). Another important characteristic of blood is that it carries the features of a person or the traits of the tribe: mostly the ‘spirit’ of someone as in ‘the bloodline’, “you are my own flesh and blood” (Gen 29:14). Many cultures strengthened this belief on blood – spirit bond and gave an important role of it in various domains of life, especially those related to dominance, or social relating. People wanting closer ties became ‘blood brothers’ by mixing their blood (a ceremony known as a blood oath, “Blood Covenant”), and that was deemed to have become a ‘spirit.’ In other culture people with mutual interests and aims share their blood from a cup and drink it[41], or drink the blood of the first hunting kill. On the other hand, it is notorious that Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to accept blood transfusions[42]. People, considering the modernity and the ‘evolution’ of human society, incriminate them for this refusal, but it is based on Bible commands, the earliest of which says: “Only flesh with its soul—its blood—you must not eat.” First – century Christians were told simply: “Keep abstaining . . . from blood”, and the command had no exception, “You shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwellings”— Genesis 9:4; Acts 15:29; Leviticus 7:26. They simply cannot update this view, since it is a theological dogma that in blood lies the soul of an individual. Same notoriety has the story of vampires, mystical evil creatures that can transform/possess anyone into their own kind only by dropping some of their blood into the inflicted wound of someone.

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The blood was always seen sealed within the religious landscape as the supreme seal of man – God’s covenant. Therefore one of them must have ended that covenant in blood, either man [with endless sacrifices 1 Kings 3:4], or divinity [some how, e.g. Marduk, Kingu, Jesus]. The analogy of the relations blood – spirit – life (on man and other living creatures) with that of God’s Spirit – Universe was easily made, for it was the divine commandment prohibiting the bloodshed, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in His image” (Gen 9:6). There are lots of religious rituals involving the use of blood for the same reason, the analogy between blood and life/spirit. Blood rituals often involve a symbolic death and rebirth, as literal bodily birth involves bleeding.[43] That is why most sacrifices were bloody, as offerings soul for a soul, life for a life – a man was to be forgiven by divinity for a certain sin if he would offer another life for his, his own blood or of an animal. The Aztecs believed the gods sacrificed their own blood to create the universe, so in turn, the Aztecs offered blood to the Gods as a sort of exchange and gift for their creations (Pendragon 2)[44]. The analysis of these rituals – e.g. circumcision, sacrifices, voodoo – gives the same impression as the ‘blood covenant’ we have talked about earlier: persons exchanging blood become ‘brothers’, with same rights and privileges. That happens to the people that have sinned and after that offer bloody sacrifices in order “to make atonement for souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life” (Lv 17: 11). Same happens with Christians that share blood with Christ through His offering, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” who “died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him” (Hebrews 10:19; 2 Corinth 5:15). “To intimate the ratification of God’s

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covenant with his people, as at Horeb, the blood of sacrifice by the priesthood was sometimes sprinkled; and, consequently, the priesthood, under the law, kept up the remembrance of the covenant, and pointed forward to its final confirmation.”[45] Always Absolution was assured by the spills of blood, and with more certainty if it is yours offered, because the forgiveness of sins is not “linked in mechanical fashion to the presentation of blood”[46] (Genesis 22:1 – 19), but in the life that is offered along with blood, ‘Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins’ (Heb. 9:22). The bottom line is that blood, the most common element in a body, one that fills it and run throughout every part of it, was always considered to be the vehicle of the spirit in every culture and for all religions. As the universe was also seen as a body, either a body of divinity, or only an organism, it was also seen with same characteristics as a micro – body, i.e. inhabited by a Spirit. From these analogies, we have analyzed it is also important to see what is ‘the blood’ of the universe in which conveys the Spirit of divinity. In every ritual involving blood, a thing is the most important to know: nobody else’s blood will be as effective as the blood of the person who is performing the magic![47] The most important belief that in blood rests somehow the spirit of the body lies in the ritualic key element, the consumption of the blood. On the one hand, there are divinities that drink man’s blood with the effect of consuming their souls. On the contrary, there are people in so many religions and occult that are asking for blood – spirits so that, by its consumption, they end up rejuvenating their spirit and also their body. It is well known the vampire rejuvenation as well as the ‘black rituals’ with blood consumption for the purpose of rejuvenation and/or possessing another body and replacing its soul. But the climax of all is probably the Christian ritual of Eucharist, and more than

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that its foundation in Christ’s words “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in yourselves” (John 6:53). The result of drinking his blood – of course symbolic/ liturgic, not the real bodily blood – is, for the Christian theology, the union between the spirit of the believer with the Spirit of Christ, and by this, the indwelling of God – the tri-union God, Father-Son-Spirit – in the believer’s whole body. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me, and I in him… For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed…and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make a dwelling with him” (John 6:56,55; 14:23). Besides this liturgic and rather nonviolent act, there are of course the gnostic tells about the Holy Grail in which can be found the ‘fountain of youth’ and the ‘everlasting life’ for one who drinks from the cup of the Last Super, for “this chalice holds great power because within it can be found the blood of the Redeemer of the World.”[48] And then there are also the scientific practices of using blood as the vehicle of rejuvenation, either by transfusion[49], plasma therapy[50], or stem cell[51], most of them ‘treated with healthy skepticism’ by many scholars due to the mystical implications these stories involve. Through one of the 700 proteins and other substances blood carries throughout our bodies, Wyss – Coray suspects that among them are factors that orchestrate the aging process[52]. Either way, taken as religious beliefs, occult rituals, liturgic practices, or scientific treatments, Blood is considered to be the repository of life and the vehicle of spirit within the body. C. Force equals control

Let’s bring now our assertion into a physical problem. If you have a bulk of bricks, and you want to move them what would you do? Of course, you will need a significant force, as a piler, to do it. But

what if you require to do it with brick by brick and have a construction worked out at the same distance would be in the same time? Well, the math solution always works the same: depending on how detailed is the project and how quick do you want it to be done, you have two options: either a) you multiply the time of movements with the number of bricks => the speed conserves but the time expands exponentially. Or b), you multiply the moving speed by the number of bricks => the speed increase exponential, but the time is conserved. In order to get this result, you take the same massive force that you need to do it in bulk and split it into tiny pieces distributed on every brick at the same time. And so you will have a whole construction built with the same energy at the same time you need only for moving it, but the difference is that you have split the force infinitely, behind every piece of construction, f1+f2+…fn= ∆F. Also, if you can break that massive power into tiny pieces and put them all together into work you will have all done in an instant according to the Formula: Time = Distance ÷ Speed. Now the time will not expand for building a macro universe (dimension) if the speed of construction is fast, and it is almost an instant if the power of getting all done is Quanticaly split, in particles of each atom within the universe. If we want a comparison to make it more acceptable for our mind comfort, then we can compare it with the relation Magneto has (the character in the “X – Men” serial) with things with or without metal inside: he can impose his will to everything that has metal inside and makes it do whatever he wants to, even with conscious beings (as Wolverine) that has to obey his ‘voice’. That is because he is not talking with the conscious of the person or of any macro structure, but with the web of the Quantic pieces of matter that follows other rules and listens to other call than of the structure. If we can picture that we can then understand

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how God speaks with the creation as it would be a conscious being commanding it to do whatever HE pleases. This understanding brings us closer both to Buddhism as well as to science. The former talks about a universal spirit that goes through everything and connects everything like pieces of a giant puzzle, “Everything in the universe is connected by energy, and that energy is consciousness”[53]. That inhabitation of grace within whole creation not only connects with the creative force of the universe, the unified field, or ‘the matrix of all matter’ as physicist Max Planck called it, but he was in fact that creative force beyond the shell of matter. How is that possible? To answer that we have to take the controversy of the nature of divine grace between Catholicism and Orthodoxy all over again, and it is not the place here, but each variant of explanation – created grace or uncreated – give us a clue on the implication of ‘God’ in the quantum reality of creation. This is how God, leaving everything to have its own rules and regulation as its ‘natural’ laws, still is in charge of everything, “you are ruling over them all. You control power and in your hand is power and strength” (1 Chronicles 29:12); this is God’s sovereignty. Thus, there is nothing, no creation in the universe, nor an atom of it that has not the particle of God’s influence inside. So, His presence is inevitable and ensured in everything; that is how I conceive His omnipresence working inside this universe or another. Also, this theory explains how His omnipower works, how he omnisees as immanent while being transcendent at the same time, etc. Through these particles that constitute the skeleton of the world, the invisible yet the most of it, the bulk of everything, the Creator resides within the universe as whole and in everything in particular, but not as a personal presence, instead as a force, an energy that connects, builds, reconfigures and makes everything as their possessor pleases.

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If someone would say that this is an incontestable proof of panentheism (divinity being all), then he doesn’t know the traditional Christian understanding of icons or holy relics, through which God’s grace works, and for that matter Orthodox believers worship them as if God’s indwells them. “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9) because “God indwells in all and is all in all… to strengthen you mightily through his Spirit in your inner nature” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28; Ephesians 3:16). So, now it comes to the question raised by Buddhism, can we control everything as well, as part of God? No, of course not, because as ‘part’ we are in relation to all other parts, but not in control of them, as we are not in control of our part also, but only as we are allowed to. The answer some experienced saints might tell about would be that we can get to control everything only by ‘controlling’ God and telling Him what is that we would like Him to command to the Quantic leverages to do for us (John 14:13; 16:23). That leave us with an uncontrolled desire of getting even closer to God, stronger related with Him and his will than we have ever been before since this is the only way of making creation obey our voice too as if it was God’s. By attaining the state of ‘God’s households’ we receive such ‘powers’ as Christ – God has, not as being ours, but by working with God for the good of all, “I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord” (Matt 25:21, as in John 9:31). Named sometimes God’s Spirit (Proverbs 1:23), His hand (Ps 139:5; Job 1:11; 12:9), his right hand (Ps 20:8), his eyes (2 Chron 16:9; Zech 4:10), his power (Rom 1:16), light (Gen 1:3; John 5:35), or dominion (Ps 145:13), his Kingdom (Ps 102:19; Mat 13:44), a fact is certain: it rules over all, it touches all, and nothing can escape it; this indwelling in everything and anything has to be the power of God

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influencing, leading and keeping all into being and order, his sovereignty. D. Love concurs all

How is this idea even possible and acceptable for theologians? The first argument lies in the role man was given at creation, to be the ‘spirit’ of them all, to rule them all as a spiritual guidance towards its Creator. By empowering man with the ability to control everything was intended for the principal purpose only. We know what is the source of disrupture between man and his ability to control everything; according to most theologies, his sin was at fault, followed by the disobedience of nature. “For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it” (Rom 8:20) because “Cursed is the ground [‫‘ המדא‬adamah = land, earth, ground] because of you” (Genesis 3:17 – 19) since “We know that all creation has been groaning in agony together until now.” (Rom 8:22). But this control will be possible again when the ‘Kingdom of God’ will be reestablished; then “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6 et.all.). Along with this eschatological view of order and harmony restoration comes the key of understanding how all will come under command. First of all Isaiah speaks about a silent command, not one that resides in the mighty of the ruler, but in the linkage he has with everything; his mighty power will be broken into tiny pieces that moves all, so he doesn’t have to be strong or all – powerful since “a little child [‫ רענ‬Na`ar, young child, babe] will lead them” or “The nursing child [‫ קני‬Yanaq, sucking child] will play by the hole of the cobra” (Isa 11:6,8). It is evident that the intention is to bring forward the idea that the power of control over all should not be conceived as bulk, as

a mega – power, but it lies in the connection with the capacity to control everything already installed into the matter. This idea does not change the soteriology of any religious thinking because, in order to do it, to gain the physical control over matter, it is required to know what is the proper mean of controlling it, or if this even exists, or, moreover, if it is attainable by man through any worldly resource. Do we have any tool of controlling either directly the matter or indirectly through God? I cannot find another answer to that but in ‘love.’ We know what New Testament says about Love (I Cor 13) that it conquers all, it encompasses all, it never dies or ends [as the power over everything], and it covers all sins [as the inability to control] (1 Peter 4:8). Apostles of Christ have received this command to love all and infinitely with the result of receiving the power over everything (Marc 16:16 – 18; Luk 10:19). Related to our previous understanding of who runs throughout the organism of the universe and keep them all connected, the Great Spirit, there are many other biblical sentences linking love with this universal Spirit, for “the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal 5:22), “[you] are united in spirit, having the same love” (Phil 2:2). The power of ruling all and controlling everything is giving to all Christ’s followers if ‘they remain in His love’, ‘stay united with God – Father in the same love of the Son’, “because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom 5:5). From the accomplished mission of Christ to “redeem all man that believe in Him” (John 3:16) and the relation with the Judgement Day we also see that due to His double infinite love – proved to Father and showed to all mankind – He is empowered with “All authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Until ‘the end’ everything and everybody seem free to do whatever

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they please, according to God’s eternal paradigms or against it, but at Judgement Day no one will be able to stand against God’s will, no matter how strong his or her desire or inclination will be. It also seems that whatever shape things in the universe have they will all shapeshift according to a new plan and command regardless everybody’s expectations and will. Thus, the power to do all these changes is always related to the Bible with supreme, divine Love. The repayment to this? “Full authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Me… by My Father” (Mat 28:18; 11:27; 1 Peter 3:22). But this empowerment is not only a reward but also the prove that Christ – God has everything under His control, and this is only due to His eternal and infinite love, one that made Him create all than redeem all and sustain all in close connection to His life – sustaining power. If until Christ’s sacrifice seemed that everything went away from His control, that was only spoken from a soteriological point of view. In reality, God [Father] never had loose power over the creation, no matter how deep into sin was taken. But then again, for the sake of soteriology which is the main issue of God’s revelation, the cosmological reality of God’s control was not relevant. Anyways, it is proven in the Scripture so many times, because, due to His sacrifice made to regain man from his damnation [not from God’s control, but from embracing God’s plan willingly], God – Father has returned the control and government of everything under His Son, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand” (John 3:35, cf. Luke 1:32 – 33; Hebrews 1:2; Isaiah 9:6 – 7). How can we be sure that this is 100% right? Well, we can start from what is the aim of soteriology: man’s redemption; so, the crucifixion is definitely done exclusively for humanity, “I am the door: if any man goes in through me he will have salvation” (John 10:9). Moreover, since the fruits of crucifixion (Rom 5:9; 8:23; Hebrews 9:12)

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can be obtained only by believing (Rom 1:16), hope (Rom 8:24), and good deeds (James 2:20) as acts of love to Christ, our Redemption (John 15:9), now we know that soteriology speaks only about man – God relationship. But all other references of (re – )gaining control or getting it from God [Father] is always in relation to all things, as the cosmological branch (Luke 10:22; John 13:3; Matt 11:27). E. God’s particle

Is this possible other than a simple theological theory? Scientists would rather say Yes because due to Higgs boson we can construct now this theological hypothesis on new ground and with a little bit more mental projection of it. Discovered in LHC (Large Hadron Collider) particle accelerator, near Geneva, Swiss, four years ago (July 2012), this boson – ‘God’s particle’ – it was not a revelation for bringing unequivocally science and religion together in a mutual understanding beyond any doubt, but it was a hope nonetheless. This epiphany – as some of the team scientists call it[54] – brought so many answers, from Thales who wondered if the universe is not leaning on a simple, basic substance – principle, coined by Democritus who ‘saw’ in a – toms this basic fabric of all, to “Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Murray Gell – Mann, Sheldon Glashow, T. D. Lee, Steven Weinberg, C. N. Yang, and many other heroes of particle physics”[55]. It was not a hope of finding God inside matter, as the name would imply, and even so, many of religious persons considered it as a denigration to what God really means – for them. It was also a questionable theory for many scientists and thus, in the end, it was considered not to serve anyone. Nevertheless, looking for other sources of energy while the universe is expanding and it does it quicker no slower as it was considered until very recently, scientists quickly moved back around ‘God’s

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particle,’ a.k.a. the Higgs boson, and expect to understand the skeleton of the universe, because “The Higgs boson, which scientists have been hunting for at least five decades, is a theoretical sub – atomic particle that many believe to be the reason everything has mass. The particle is considered to be a critical building block to everything we know, since without it – without mass – there would be no structure, and no weight, to anything.”[56] Beyond the doubts that followed Higgs[57] the idea it assumes is still in place for the theory of everything: that the universe leans on a structure, invisible for us, but forming the majority of its fabric. We do not know if this bosom is the ultimate structure a-tom, but we are aware for sure that giving aside the carcass of matter, we have a structure that supports and keeps everything together, and this is also our theological assertion hereinbefore.

IV. The divine leverages working from

within the matter

Beyond those metastories about creation and how the influencing divine energies dwell inside matter making it grow into different forms of beings (stars, vegetals, man), the cosmogonic tells and the scientific research are also talking about the possible development of the matter due to its internal structure: recombination. It is already notorious that every chemical element – more or less reactive – can be transformed into another one in the periodic table of elements Mendeleev, either by losing an electron (Redox), by disintegration/ beta decay (β – decay), by binding energy of two or more atomic nuclei came close enough to react (nuclear fusion), or by the combination of two or more elements (as alloy or cluster). We know that

the isomers are chemical compounds with the same composition but with different shapes, or that quarks combine to form particles such as protons and neutrons. It is also known that, while transforming into various elements or isotops, a huge amount of energy is necessary and/or released, as in radioactivity. In case of beta decay (β – decay) for many nuclides the decay times can be thousands of years, and there is no average period of decaying, “Radioactive decay is a stochastic (i.e. random) process at the level of single atoms, in that, according to quantum theory, it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay” so “The half – lives of radioactive atoms have no known lower or upper limit, spanning a time range of over 55 orders of magnitude, from nearly instantaneous to far longer than the age of the universe.”[58] But what is important for us to know in this exposition is the fact that the time of fusion or decay is possible on different levels, either natural or ‘artificial.’ Even the natural period can differ in circumstantial conditions (e.g. how big or old is a star, how ordered is the movement of the gas’ particles, the speed of a particle, etc.). The artificial or controlled fusion can obtain same results but within a period of thousandfold time time shortened. The energy needed to do it is enormous, but none the less that is required on the stars; the only difference is the period, shortened. So, as we can conclude here, with special requirements and a huge amount of energy, it is possible to obtain almost everything that naturally takes a lot more, ages or billion years. But if we can do this artificially with proper technology and we know that it is possible for many other elements, can’t we accept that it would also be possible to do it quicker by someone else that has the right capacity to use a higher amount of energy, or distributed in a better way? I suppose that, at least for the sake of scientific assumption, we can admit this possibility after all.

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Another premise of the material leverages used by divinity to ‘move’ things by recombining the fundamental fabric of all is that the energy is not stored into large objects or corps, but into the smallest parts of matter. “Size is related to energy. Nuclear energy is to chemical energy as atomic dimensions (10−10 m) are to nuclear dimensions (10−15 m). Nuclear reactions have energies on the order of 100,000 times the energy of chemical reactions.”[59] In the report of Sir Arthur Eddington (1920) about F. W. Aston’s discovery of hydrogen fusion into helium proved that this simple fusion releases 0,7% of the mass equivalent of the energy of the sun, allowing the sun to shine for about a 100 billion years[60]. The material leverages used by divinity from within the fabric of all things grants Him the power to control it as a ‘clay in the potter’s hands’ and also the full capability to create, combine, and recombine that fabric in infinite ways. Episodes like banning demons (Matt 8:16), walking on waters, Christ or Peter (Matt 14:25 – 28), rising deeds from death (Luk 7:14), healing the eyes of the blind people (John 9: 1 – 41) and paralytic (Matt 9: 1 – 8), or pouring water from a dry stone in desert (Num 20:11), bringing quail from nowhere (Exo 16:13) – all have in common the same explanation: all their substances, material or spiritual, obey God’s command or Christ’s word. These episodes of clear influence over everything made the witnesses wondering about the power of penetration into matter and spirits of Christ’s word: ‘What is this word, that with authority and power he doth commands the unclean spirits, and they come forth?’ (Luk 4:36). The connection between Christ – God and the elements of things was so obvious for everyone, believer or not, that made them afraid that His power is beyond the will of beings, and thus He could make them do things that are not willing to, for his command have some properties or a proper tool beneath the seeing surface of objects Session 11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology

and beings to move them as He pleases. ‘Who, then, is this, that even the winds he doth command, and the water, and they obey him?’ (Luk 8:25). It is thus obvious that everything ever created vibrates at the word – command of God, creating and recombining everything after His will. All things follow not only an intelligent design and their natural attraction to the completion of it[61], but they are doing all transformations demanded by the Creator, by bending under His will (Luke 3:5; Isaiah 45:2, 23 – 25; Philippians 2:10) on the way, as an ongoing creation. This way, we can also leave a certain legerity to ‘the world’ and the conscious beings to act at their own will, without being predestined to act that way, while God acts in the world ‘on the way’ as recalibrating and rebalancing all after the eschatological plan He has and the detailed historical book He pre – knew. As for the omnipresence of God into the world the LVD prove that divinity is not present at all within the universe since it has a different nature, but God is still present all over, in this universe or another, since He has spread his energy/grace/ divine material leverages into the fabric of all things, material or spiritual. Due to that determination, God remains transcendent to all things and universes by nature while being profoundly immanent into all through LVDs. “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven, and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). Here, there is no conflict of nature/ substance between a God omnipresent and the universes of different beings, material or spiritual. A. Logos or logoi?

The Greek term Logos had a beautiful, yet deep route of use, both in philosophy and theology, mostly Christian. The antic philosophical term of Logos was close to

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personalization and transformation into a real person, one that creates everything and has the power over all as the Heraclitic principle of order. From this to the Stoic term of logoi, it was always implied into the world’s destiny as the logical and causal starting point. Naming the Son of God with the Neoplatonic content of Logos, Christianity made the statement through St. Apostle John that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1), and by that they have enhanced the person of Christ with same powers and capabilities as the God of OT, Yahwe. But the sentence “Everything came into being through this Word” (John 1:3) was a real doubt between theologians if they should consider Logos or logoi to answer to: what is that God’s word used for creation? If it would be for Logos, then God’s Son would be rather a tool into the Father’s hand then a consubstantial and equal being with Him. Thus, it leave us to the other use, the primary meaning, with the whole philosophical implication that comes through this. And this brings us back to our central question in this paper: how could God command to matter to bring things and beings out of it and what were the material leverages that was supposed to be operated to accomplish His will? Stoics (301 BC – 150 AD) have seen the world/universe as a giant body and all its parts connected by something in a way that it behaves like an organism, obeying thus to his Creator’s demands. The fire within, that stimulates and also links everything, for them was the “divine reason (logos) – a visible influence from Heraclitus of Ephesus’ ideas.”[62] A poor yet strong concept, these “seminal logos” (gr. λογοι σπερματικοι, logoi spermatikoi) where in fact the only philosophical concept to answer our initial question, in spite of the lack of substance this concept has. Even if it doesn’t bring a clue what are the material leverages pulled out by ‘the word of God’ within the fabric

of the universe in creation, this concept clarifies at least that the nature is full of God’s conscience that has also a material substrate[63], that divinity and matter are not overlayed, yet they share something that connects them, and that the creation has at least one internal resort to ‘listen’ [resonate] its Creator’s voice which is, at the same time, its capability to ‘obey’ [to fulfil] His demands. Of course, there were some Church fathers rejecting this material substrate of God’s involvement into the world’s creation, but this opponency was only due to the contemporary visualisation of a material creator. “Those who were too ignorant to rise to a knowledge of a God, could not allow that an intelligent cause presided at the birth of the Universe; a primary error that involved them in sad consequences. Some had recourse to material principles and attributed the origin of the Universe to the elements of the world. Others imagined that atoms, and indivisible bodies, molecules, and ducts, form, by their union, the nature of the visible world. Atoms reuniting or separating, produce births and deaths and the most durable bodies only owe their consistency to the strength of their mutual adhesion: a true spider’s web woven by these writers who give to heaven, to earth, and to sea so weak an origin and so little consistency”[64]. So, a thought over a theory as such has been given, but never considered as an option since one of the main Saints rejected the very premise of it; now it is time to reconsider it from a different, open – minded perspective. In this alternative, between the term logos and logoi, we will find them described both as premises[65] of the things that are about to be done, and also as paradigms of the same things, but existing in the eternal mind of the Creator. Both are referring to the real things [not only to their matter] but in different relations with them: the former lays in the actual thing as its natural law, according to whom it comes to the

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programmed being – as the oak coming from a specific seed –, while the latter is the eternal divine models, a hypothetical and essence – creating plan residing in the divine mind. Both premises, both latent, but the existence of them is consequent, one belonging to this temporal plan of existence, while the other stands preexistent in the original plan. There is no evidence that they are not equally fulfilling, that the seed – premise is not becoming the thing thought as in its eternal paradigm. Yet, the religious belief is that the divine plan/paradigm is fulfilling exactly, in spite of the problems arising from this, e.g. the paradox of free will, the existence of evil. It seems that St. Maximian placed these two options of Logos/logoi together, in a logical ratio. He has placed the Logos as a metaphysical center of the logoi, and also made Him [the Logos, Son of God] present in each of them.[66] His possible inspirator, Dionysius the Areopagite, gave an even more accurate interaction between the processions and logoi with God. He speaks, as a matter of fact, of an unconfused union. [67] This idea is in accordance with the teachings of the Bible who says that Christ/ the Logos “upholds all things by the word [ῥῆμα, Rhema = word, action of saying] of His power” (Hebrews 1:3) and that He is the power which sustains all things all together [Upholding all things] (Col. 1:17). This is the genuine relation between the Logos and Logoi, One being the Subject of action, while the other one the action itself. By this view we can now assume that the Word is in all things, involved and inherent in all things created, through the seminal principle, that are vehicle of expression of the Logos, “the very Word being God himself (John 1:1), Who while different from things that are made, and from all Creation, is the One own Word of the good Father, Who by His own providence ordered and illumines this Universe.”[68]

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V. How this theory works

Relating LVD with evolution, we can say that the ‘curse’ over the snake to be condemned to crawl on the face of the earth without legs is the first sign of ‘evolution,’ a transformation consent in the kingdom of animals. The creation has to be consent to every moment of world’s history because things and beings are created all the time. A creation ex nihilo has to be assimilated with the first moment of creation, the making of world’s fabric, while every moment consecutive is only ontological ex nihilo, since things that previously did not exist come to being from not – being. Therefore, the ongoing creation of LVD has many advantages, both for science and for several theological systems. A continuum relation between divinity and the universe has always been presumed or directly implied by diverse theological systems. More or less involved in the existence and the function of the world, divinity was either presumed to be too immanent – until its confusion with the world/nature, pantheism –, or too transcendent – to the cruel indifference of deus otiosus. A medium involvement of ‘God’ was significantly assert by Christianity, which, through the complex theo – loghy of a God trifold existent – Nature, Persons and Grace – can be conceived both as omnipresent into the created world, as well as totally different from it – one through His grace, the other by His nature. A good help to this theory can provide LVD too. Imagining the inflatable house we were playing in from childhood, I know that we were amazed how a flat, indistinct and unfunctional skin can become an entire building, with rooms, toboggans, stairs and other things with the help of ‘nothing,’ from thin air (literally). For those who are movie lovers we can also relate this continued creation with some movie scenes – for the sake of our imagination and for giving

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extra understanding. For example, in the Avatar (2002) when the body of avatars used to transfer a human conscious from their original, human body, has received this conscious, it rise firm and acted as being full of life; when the plug of the transferring machine was turned off, the avatar body became flat, soft and limpness. In the same way LVD shows the fabric of the universe: it is only the ‘skin’ of an organism that needs a Spirit to inflate and animate it. A force that controls every particle of an avatar body can raise it to its life fulness, and it is also its living unity. As the soul is for the man’s body, man for the nature, the same involvement and role has the Great Spirit for the universe’s organism. All the elements within these bodies, of course, can be regarded separately, working each in its own tempo and duty, but they “exist only together, in a concrete and indivisible correlation / Into the “body” the matter is “formed” by the soul, and the soul realizes itself only in its body.”[69] This comparison does not suppress the individuality, but it has its genuine and full role only as part of the whole, imprinted both with an individual purpose, as well as with a holistic aim. A. Can LVD explain the source of evil?

The LVD does not need any specification to explain why an organ or another acts the way it does, as other philosophical theories explain, e.g. εντελέχεια “the first actuality of a natural body”[70], or the universal ‘Anima mundi’[71], or the predestination. Can LVD answer to the issue of illness and diseases and general evil? While religion declares them un-natural and unfitting to the world’s essential aim – to live and enjoy the life-giving by the Creator –, science has declared otherwise – the natural process of ending a course of actions, philosophy share both explanations. The LVD says that all is a matter of subjective statement: boiling is a natural process of or bad if we place the goal

in a wrong way. “A fever is simply a natural process of rapid combustion—the ‘’burning up” of this material—unduly retained within the organism.”[72] Since there is a single will acting in all things and actions inside the world and through each particle of the universe, we cannot conceive that it would act in a bad way as against things or beings within. In this regard, we have to agree “that all disease is itself a curing process or method of elimination, and, as such, cannot possibly be cured!”[73] Thus, as Buddhism says, “every so – called disease can be shown to be a friendly, curative effort on the part of the bodily organism”[74] and not a destructive force came from outside the world to corrupt what is inside. That because life “does not result from an organism when it has been built up, but the vital principle builds up the organism of its own body”[75] and this vital principle cannot act against the organism that has built. In this context a highly important issue in understanding how LVD considers the world’s moving is the old question if God is or not the author of evil/bad? Because, since we say that He is the one that moves all and nothing of existence, material of spiritual, does not move by itself, not exclusively by virtue of an internal, ruling and determinant law, this means that either things move through the will of One who moves them (sola gratia), or that they are predestined to move the way they do. However, neither one of these alternatives grant us a response to the problem of Evil existence since, in both options, the Creator is responsible for ‘wanting’. LVD says that, by anchoring within the seen and unseen creation, the divine agency animates things and moves them according to the plan thought before and destined for our worlds. Until here things seems more determinist than in any other theory, but we should take into account of a single aspect that changes everything in our favor. Moving thing and beings from within the very fabric that makes them up, God has

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access for sure to all, at the same time and with the same unlimited force of change. Only one thing is beyond LVD’s capacity of movement. Beyond the fabric from which things and beings – spiritual and material – are made of, God founded an aspect transcendent to any fabric, something that does not belong to matter, nor the spirit. It escapes from their grasp or of any other existence that requires a fabric to consist of, and still, it governs both without being confused with them, something that leads and move things and both worlds altogether, like Him, from within, being both immanent as well as transcendent, by their alterity. This something else and the fabricless thing are the consciousness, and this is the true ‘image’ of God, one used for making men, angels, or any other selfconscious being God would have made in this or other universes. Without substance, ethereal and intangible, the consciousness is that which, once anchored in one of the two materials, changes them according to its own plan and pattern. It can follow the divine pattern and ‘stay in the God’s love’, or it can chase a selfish plan, outside the divine conception and disagreeing with this, becoming thus the opposite of the Supreme Good – absolute Evil. Therefore, evil does not consist of things and does not reside in their fabric, but in their selfish use, one inconsistent with the plan – revealed or inferred – divine. In this case, the consciousness – the divine image – is determined by the ‘free’ will, being outside the divine leverages that are only in the material of things and beings, and not in their will or conscious. While the divine action can pass ‘over’ the intentionality of consciousness and free will, and create a movement of the fabric – spiritual or material – even unwanted by the consciousness: [e.g. “What do you want of us, you Son of God? Have you come here before the appointed time to torture us?”, Mat 8:29] because it has the full capacity Session 11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology

to move things through the anchor within the fabric. Still it cannot constrain the consciousness by any means to want to act according to the divine plan, nevertheless implemented exactly, mostly against the conscious will of beings. We know that religion asserts that the free will is the only spiritual instance God does not restrain and censor, and the best explanation for it cannot do that is because of its kindness. However, here it is not about a respect brought by the divinity to the free will [human, angelic, or other] because it is not the case for this. We have understood that things and beings move after the will of God entirely, respecting the plan completely, regardless of what the conscious beings might want. The Tower of Babel, the flood, the life of Job, of Jonah’s or [the humanity of] Jesus Christ’s opposition, or of Saul of Tarsus are only a few notorious examples of the fact that the divine leverages act the fabric from which all are made from, even if their conscious will may be headed in an opposite way. In all these cases – in which the conscious that masters the fabric could not also control it – those beings get to ‘fulfill’ the plan without necessarily wanting this, and their reluctance proves clearly that they are not ‘in charge’ of their own being. Christ is the only one who, being aware of the fact that there is no other way but to submit his conscious will to the divine plan that would be fulfilled anyway unequivocally, acquiesces to become partaker entirely, body, soul, and spirit (free conscious) to that plan and its fruits. In this reasoning lies the ‘punishment of Hell’ as well. Because the beings who have systematically resisted the cooperation with the divine plan and submitted their body, spiritual or material, to some actions against this scheme imposed on world through its internal leverages, will wake all of a sudden trapped in a body that no longer listens to their will and that is “carry where you do not wish to go” (John

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21:18). “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 22:13; 8:12; cf. Psalm 112:10). For how have succeeded some to attain the level of sanctity? Is there a single way that leads to this state? Of course not, because each one has left in his own way and lived a life different from other saints. The denominator common to all was ‘the surrender of will’ to God’s or ‘the cutting off the will’. Only when a person become aware that the plan of God fulfills anyways and that no matter what it would be he must surrender to that because that is the true and the only-lasting reality, only by doing so they were made partakers of the divine promise, “They shall not enter My rest” (Hebrews 4:3). Moreover, what other rest Christ promises to His followers but the inner one, the peace “of God that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). What another climax of existence foresees many other religious or philosophical system of thought, integralist, such as Buddhism, then the ‘inner peace,’ self-reconciliation? From the perspective of the oriental religious systems, it is obvious that things appear even clearer than in others because the climax of spiritual transformation is the total reconciliation with the inevitable, the acceptance of the implacable and the embrace of the conditions/circumstances imposed by the universal plan/design. “Really, is it hurting you to keep on kicking against the cattle prods?” (Acts 26:14). The conscious and deliberate systematic reluctance brings the status of ‘evil’, and this belongs neither to divinity, nor to the plan imposed to things for the proper operation of the creature, but resides only in the [bad] leadership of the body or soul against this plan. This leadership is made through the conscious operating of the body[76] found in possession of the volitional conscious in the wrong direction. When things degenerate, and the being is diverted from the original plan closed to the limit, the material divine leverages remake the balance by forcing

things to step back on the right track. This is perceived by the diverted as being a source of ‘evil/bad,’ as against their will, even if this circumstantial bad is nothing else but the projection of their will against the natural course of the world. For example, one who intends to kill several persons and is forced to stop by drastic measures, maybe even painful, he will perceive these ‘normal’ measures as being a bad, a privation of liberty, and a mutilation of his physical integrity as well. In reality, things should stay that way, and he should only accept them for at least consciously to escape the ‘pain’ of the reluctance against the normality. Why does divinity not intervene all the time to correct wrong behavior and put it back on the right track? Maybe it does, because the plan is immutable, and its completion through LVD relentless. That is why no one can escape it physically, but conscious, volitional[77] alone. However, the ‘dreaming’, typical to lost consciousnesses in their own plan, ends always painfully, because of the accentuated degradation of the will – that stage of scoundrel, deuced, demonic possession, defined by a visible and quickening state of “anti-” (against). B. Other applications:

There are numerous events and stories within the Bible that come to my mind in a new appearance once I had this theory figure it out, and I look upon them with a new recognition of their possibility of accomplishment. Many episodes of material use that were somehow taboo and shrouded in mystery became now possible to be understood without losing their religious value at all. For example, the moment of receiving by Moses of ‘The Two Stone Tablets’ “written with the finger [‫עּבצא‬, ‘etsba` = means especially the index – finger][78] of God” (Exod 31.18) was so taboo and unspeakable of since there was no actual possibility of considering an actual

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‘finger of God’, as a part of the God’s body. But correlating the LVD with many other mentioning of ‘etsba` it is so obvious that this is not about a bodily finger, but about the bending of matter under God’s mighty touch, one that makes the whole Egypt bend upon God’s touch of His finger on the fourth plague (Exod 8:19), while another mention of same God’s finger (Luke 11:20) prove it is also powerful over the other type of material, the spiritual one, since it has ‘the authority to cast out demons’ (Matt. 1O:l), since its presence is the proof that “the kingdom of God has come upon you”. None of these three episodes would be possible unless this so – called material ‘finger’ would not be somehow linked to the fabric of the things it tounches and bends under God’s will. It also denots power, direction, or immediate agency. “Thy heavens, the works of thy fingers [of thy power],” says the Psalmist (Ps. viii. 3). So, by the explanation given by LVD we can consider now that the ‘two tables of testimony, tables of stone’ are actually writen, carved in stone by this finger, and the letters were really there, done not by Moses hand and then santified by a spiritual act of consecration, but by the bending of matter thorugh the action of LVD. Therefore, this ‘finger of God’ is not a figure of speech, not an analogy, but a real tool [as in John 20:27] that touches both kinds of materials, spiritual and matter. Another example that came to my mind when trying to connect LVD with the Biblical teachings is the ‘Christ’s transfiguration’ [μεταμορφόω, metamorphoo = to transfigure, transform, change], when His bodily ‘face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light’ (Matt 17:2). It is only a prefiguration act of His ethernal appeareance, taken after His resurection (Matt 28:3) and it touches not only His body – as many theologians imply – but His clothes as well, white as snow. The LVD help us see that the resurection, the transfiguration and any other change made Session 11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology

in flesh is actually possible since the “flesh trembles for fear of You” (Psalm 119:120). “We can conclude that consciousness is a quantum mechanical entity that can have an independent existence.”[85]

Conclusion To sum up: I have to underline here that this ancient and patristic idea of seminal notions (rationes seminales) that gradually ‘e – volves,’ ‘un – folds,’ or ‘en – velops’ in time[79] are nothing but another possible reference for the theory of God’s body and not the theory of it. Therefore, the world union [henosis] has various fundaments starting from as many possible meanings as we have considered here, all asserting that there is a union between the spirit and the flesh, an attraction force that keeps altogether transforming the whole universe into a giant body, reasoning and obeying its Spirit. “For in the mystery of Christ the synthetical union not only preserves those natures wich are united in an unconfused manner, but also allows for no separation between them.”[80] This theory saves us from pantheism, as well as from deism, in the same time being more than a mere theistic evolution that is “the process of evolution as the primary term, and makes the Creator secondary as merely a qualifying adjective.”[81] It proves that God is present into nature through a material link used as a hook to anchor the spirit into the body of the universe. It also proves that, while being immanent into the universe, God is not confused with it since He is not the nature itself or overlapping it as a block, but He is represented into each and every piece of the matter by proxy. We have seen that a theory of compromise for connecting science and theology was evolutionary creation. It was almost a success if would not have been so criticized by both scientists and theologians equally. The lobby for creationist ideas such

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as “intelligent design” was considerable and aimed to serve as a “wedge” for reopening science classrooms to discussions of God[82]. It mostly fights against the unscientific character of evolutionary theory based on some undiscovered links between species, while the proponents of evolutionism blame the other part for same things. Accepting almost everything science already proved, Theistic evolution has added ‘God’ variable above all, but this version of a god “is not the omnipotent Lord of all things, whose Word has to be taken seriously by all men, but He is integrated into the evolutionary philosophy”[83]. The important fact of the divine leverages theory (LVD) is that neither evolution, nor another compromising theological idea have to forget to concorde science and theology over cosmogony. Evolution of things, deistic or atheistic, is no longer needed if we accept that there are no discontinuities in the relationship between the creation and its Creator, since He makes everything step by step according to a thoroughly made plan. While through evolution everything has a genetic code that tries to achieve its fulfillment, and, with the intervention of accidental circumstances, became other recombination codes, through LVD nothing is autonomous in any degree, but stays dependent to God’s permanent intervention and caring. This way if, by scientific perspective, the nature looks like it follows its genetic program and sometimes any rerouting also appears as ‘accident’, by LVD perspective the universe has no program that involves accidents, a random reprogramming of genes, or a fickle Spirit that runs all at his whimsy will. In LVD the universe has neither gaps, errors, nor intentional ‘evil’ actions, since everything is conducting, step by step, by the Great Spirit through the divine leverages anchored in all fundamental fabric. There is no ‘natural’, nor ‘supranatural’ since the nature of the universe does not follow any natural pattern and thus it doesn’t neither receive

supra – natural actions. There is nothing ‘wrong’ going on per se since everything is smoothly adjusting ongoing with the time passing, not randomly, since the Spirit that runs through all matter interconnecting all – as the quantum theory asserts – has both a precise plan and also an eschatological aim, so that He has to rebalance things after the interventions of the conscious beings. This way the ‘intelligent design‘ resides not only in the mind of God while it leaves for the world to accomplish it as it can; that is why God is not only a and w, but everything in between as well. On the other hand, LVD underlines that God did not placed seminal reasons into things in order to accomplish a purpose mentioned and designated from the beginning. This idea would probably look like God has no need to be present around any longer since everything seems to run by themselves towards the eternal paradigms they have imprinted into their nature (essence). Now, the theory of divine leverages tells that God has more active influence to things than that, because He have not left seeds to grow into grown up plants if they find proper conditions. In that theory, things can go wrong all the time, since, by accident, only a little part of seeds comes to get into their final pre – assigned stage (Luke 8:5 – 15). Here, God never leaves the reins of the universe aside, being plugged into the very fabric of all things and beings at all times, and making everything moving [as perpetuum movens], living, transforming and interconnecting as a net. Of course, it is not exhaustive in explaining how the world runs, but it certainly helps a lot. For example, it says nothing about the role of free will, but it definitely explains why are miracles (extra – natural actions) happening when necessary. However, is this theory applicable to the material universe only, or it is possible to apply it even to other, spiritual universes

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as well? Alternatively, how all beings and universes have a certain bodyness, involving a created fabric as fundament? Because even if God is spiritual ‘like angels’ are, their spirituality remains still created. Thus, obvious it cannot be but different from God’s. Now, the difference between these two spiritualities is that angels’ is corporeal, while we cannot assign but incorporeity to God. “It is clear that every created spirit needs corporeal substance.”[84] “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16 – 19). The theory saying that everything that has been ever created vibrates at the word, command, and will of God, makes us also understand how all things that have not obeyed Him due to their free will until the Judgement Day, will follow then all transformations demanded by the Creator, bending under His will (Luke 3:5; Isaiah 45:2, 23 – 25; Philippians 2:10). Moreover, the LVD theory helps us understand that every created thing and universe, material or spiritual, is bound to the fabric made in the beginning out of nothing and that is why there is no necessity of considering another eternal existence before creation or the world, no void, or matter, or something else. Before the LVD God was all that there was, while the whole creation is therefore bond not primarily to the beginning of time, but with the bringing into existence of raw materials – so, we solve the problem of when, leaving us only to the intentional why. As an ultimate light brought by this theory I should say that, if we would took into account, instead of his theory, the ‘seminal reasons’ assumed to reside in the nature of things helping them to fulfil God’s paradigms accordingly, then it would be incomprehensible why the Judgement Day would not be only for mankind and fallen angels, but for all things and their Session 11. Astronomy, Astro-Physics & Theology

restoration to fit their new use, Matt 17:11, 18:16. It does not answer to some problems such as why is the lifespan determined the way it is, the role of telomere shortening in cell senescence, or …Instead it proves that miracles are a basic kind of acts in the universe, almost as regular as the ‘natural laws’, since they are happening regularly (I cannot say anything about the frequency of them since there is no relation between the miracles and the natural law except that the former completes the latter when it is not efficient or it needs corrections). The LVD explanation about miracles is that they are not at all supra – natural, since there is no such thing as natural/supranatural, since all actions, both natural – physical laws – and supernatural – miracles – are conducted within the nature of things [not outside of them] by the same power and will, God’s. It is thus impossible for a single conscious being to do two different things, one according to its presumed nature and another as opposed to it. Both with same aim, use, and target, both using same substance to accomplish their task, sharing same conscious will, and made by the same powerful being over the same things – cannot be declared one as being natural, while the other supra – natural. What would be then the element that can characterize the ‘supra’? We know that for the philosophers those actions declared as ‘supra’ (Latin suprā ‎“above”) was due to the belief in the alterity of the Supreme Being that intervenes from time to time inside the self – sustaining world to correct its irregularities or flaws. With this explanation we can understand now why LVD has no need for this distinction, nature – supernature, since every action is made inside the nature/fabric of the world and always by the same powerful Word/will; no self – sustaining or alter nature involved, only the Spirit connected/ hardwired to the network of matter’s particles doing all kind of acts within.

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The worlds are created by God directly, personally and moreover, ‘by hand’. The expression ‘by hand’ is implied in many passages in the Bible to underline the personal implication of the Creator into the making of the worlds. This direct involvement has opened the possibility of working with a material as in comparison with the potter and the clay. “I look up at the heavens, made by your fingers, at the moon and stars you set in place” (Ps 1), “The heavens declare the glory of God, the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). And others: ‘The voice of Yahweh over the waters’ (Psalm 29:3); ‘The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours’ (Psalm 89:11); ‘You stretch out the heavens like a tent’ (Psalm 104:3). References [1] [2]

[3] [4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Aristotel, De anima. Parva naturalia, 404a 25. Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, vl.1 1990, 368. “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth” (Gen.1: 1). Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures In Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989, 112. Gerhard May, Creatio ex Nihilo: The Doctrine of ‘Creation out of Nothing’ in Early Christian Thought, trans. A. S. Worrall. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994, p. viii. David Adams Leeming, Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia, Volumul 1, second Edition, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC Clio, 2010, 411. David B. Burrell, Carlo Cogliati, Janet M. Soskice, and William R. Stoeger (edit.), Creation and the God of Abraham, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, 11. Gerhard May sugests that it is to Basilides in the mid-second century that we owe the first quite explicit formulation of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo that has come down to

us. Later on St. Theophilus of Antioch who in his Ad Autolycum was the first, so far as we know, to have proclaimed creation ex nihilo in the full sense within the Christian tradition, arguing for it in some detail. May, Creatio ex Nihilo, pp. 83–84, 160–161. [9] I. Barbour, Religion in an age of science, The Gifford Lectures 1989-1991, vol. 1; San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990, 14. [10] Georges Florovsky, Creation And Redemption, Vol 3 in “the Collected Works”, Belmont, Massachusetts: Nordland Publishing Company, 1976, 46. [11] Burrell, Creation and the God of Abraham, 21. [12] Michael S. Heiser, “God as Creator of All Things — Including the Material Already Present at Genesis 1:1”, in The Naked Bible, August 21, 2010. Accessed 27.07.2016, http:// michaelsheiser.com/TheNakedBible/2010/08/ god-as-creator-of-all-things-including-thematerial-already-present-at-genesis-11/#utm_ source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_ campaign=god-as-creator-of-all-thingsincluding-the-material-already-present-atgenesis-11. [13] The Babylonian Atrahasis epic. [14] James Stambaugh, The Days of Creation: A Semantic Approach, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal, 5(1):70–78, 1991. [15] “Creation out of nothing”, in Theopedia, accessed 15.7.2016, http://www.theopedia. com/creation-ex-nihilo. [16] The obstinent doctrinal prayer in the Eastern Christian liturgy, ‘Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom’, e.g. the silent prayer after ‘Our Father’. [17] Ibidem. [18] St. Gregory of Nyssa, “Or. cath. m.”, с. 6, PG xlv, c. 28; cf. St. John Damascene, De fide orth. I, 3, PG xciv, 796: “for things whose being originated with a change [απω τροπης] are definitely subject to change, whether it be by corruption or by voluntary alteration.” [19] Gregory of Nyssa “De opif. hom.”, c. XVI, PG xliv, 184; rf. “Or. cath. m.”, c. 21, PG xlv, c. 57: [“The very transition from nonentity to existence is a change, non-existence being changed by the Divine power in being”]

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(Srawley’s translation). Since the origin of man comes about “through change,” he necessarily has a changeable nature. [20] Stephen H. Webb, American Providence: A Nation with a Mission, New York: Continuum, 2004, 7. [21] Is the Seventh Day an Eternal Day? | Answers in Genesis, https://answersingenesis.org/ days-of-creation/is-the-seventh-day-aneternal-day/ (accessed July 31, 2016). [22] “Is the Seventh Day an Eternal Day?”, in Answers in Genesys, June 1, 1999. Accessed 30.07.2016, https://answersingenesis.org/ days-of-creation/is-the-seventh-day-aneternal-day/. [23] See more in Andrew S. Kulikovsky, “God’s Rest in Hebrews 4:1–11”, in Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal, 13.2 (1999): 61-62. Retrieve at http://hermeneutics. kulikovskyonline.net/hermeneutics/heb4.pdf. [24] Colin Ewart Gunton, The Christian Faith: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine, WileyBlackwell, 2001, 17. [25] Ernan McMullin, “Creation ex nihilo: early history”, op. cit., 20. [26] For example, Bernard Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture, Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954. Christopher M. Rios, After the Monkey Trial: Evangelical Scientists and a New Creationism, USA: Fordham university Press, 2014. [27] Ernan McMullin, “Creation ex nihilo: early history”, in David B. Burrell (edit.), Creation and the God of Abraham, 12. [28] Jeffry Ostler, The Plains Sioux and U.S. Colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee. Cambridge University Press, Jul 5, 2004. ISBN 0521605903, pg 26. [29] Victor Kernbach, Miturile Esenţiale [engl. Esential Myths], translate in Romanian, Bucharest: Editura ştiinţifică şi enciclopedică, 1978, 110. [30] Heraclitus, regarded by St. Justin (Apol. I, 46) as a Christian before Christ, coined this metaphisical concept as the universal principle which animates and rules the world. But the development of the concept was due to Stoics. God, according to them, “did not

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make the world as an artisan does his work, but it is by wholly penetrating all matter that He is the demiurge of the universe” (Galen, “De qual. incorp.” in “Fr. Stoic.”, ed. von Arnim, II, 6); He penetrates the world “as honey does the honeycomb” (Tertullian, “Adv. Hermogenem”, 44), this God so intimately mingled with the world is fire or ignited air; inasmuch as He is the principle controlling the universe, He is called Logos; and inasmuch as He is the germ from which all else develops, He is called the seminal Logos (logos spermatikos). “The Logos”, in The New Advent Encyclopedia, accessed 17.07.2016, http://www.newadvent.org/ cathen/09328a.htm. [31] Kernbach, Miturile Esenţiale, 110. [32] Ben C. Ollenburger (edit.), Old Testament Theology: Flowering and Future, vl. 1. USA: Eisenbrauns, 2004, 148. [33] Mircea Eliade, Traite d’Histoire des Religions, 53. [34] Ştefan Maşu, Marele Arhitect Al Universului. Tratat de cosmologie şi antropologie (eng. The Great Architect of the universe. Tratise of cosmology and anthropology), Bucharest: RAO, 2012, 34, 42. [35] Ibidem, 50. [36] Ibidem, 61. [37] James G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, New York: Macmillan, 1958, 58-9. Definitions of Religion - Portland State University, http://web.pdx.edu/~tothm/ religion/Definitions.htm (accessed July 31, 2016). [38] Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, “God’s immanency in Abraham’s response to revelation: from providence to omnipresence”, in Dialogo, 2:2 (2015), 176 et.all., doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2015.2.2.15. [39] Masu, Marele Arhitect Al Universului, 104, 112. [40] Kernbach, Miturile Esenţiale, 88. [41] Caspar Meyer, Greco-Scythian Art and the Birth of Eurasia: From Classical Antiquity to Russian Modernity, OUP (2013), 246 (fig. 98b) [42] “Why won’t Jehovah’s Witnesses accept blood transfusions, even when their lives are

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in jeopardy?”, in Catholic Answers, accessed 19.07.2016, http://www.catholic.com/ quickquestions/why-won39t-jehovah39switnesses-accept-blood-transfusions-evenwhen-their-lives-are-i. [43] Blood Rituals - The Evil Wiki - Wikia, http:// evil.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_Rituals (accessed July 31, 2016). [44] “Blood ritual”, in Wikipedia, accessed 13.07.2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Blood_ritual. [45] “Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals”, in Bible Hub Library, accessed 22.07.2016, http://biblehub. com/library/cunningham/the_ordinance_ of_covenanting/chapter_xi_covenanting_ enforced_by.htm. [46] Elmer A. Martens, God’s design. A focus on Old Testament Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981, 54. [47] Kris Aaron, “Blood Sacrifices - Blood Spells - Blood Charms”, in An exploration of Dark Paganism, accessed 20.07.2016, http://www. waningmoon.com/darkpagan/lib/lib0003. shtml. [48] Samael Aun Weor, The Great Rebellion: The State of Our World and How to Change It Through Practical Spirituality, Glorian Publishing, 2010, ch. 29. [49] One of the first physicians to propose blood transfusions to rejuvenate older people was Andreas Libavius, a German doctor and alchemist. In 1615 he proposed connecting the arteries of an old man to those of a young man. “Can we reverse the ageing process by putting young blood into older people?”, in TheGuardian, august 2015, accessed 23.07.2016, https://www.theguardian.com/ science/2015/aug/04/can-we-reverse-ageingprocess-young-blood-older-people. [50] The Platelet Rich Plasma, also known as the vampire facelift, is so called because your own blood is taken and after separation of different constituents, the plasma with the platelets is reinjected into the skin. The PRP treatment has been used to treat elite athlete’s injuries for some time, but has only recently been recognised as an anti-ageing treatment, and is now in high demand at cosmetic clinics around the world. Dr Jaishree Sharad, “Would

you inject your own blood into your face to fight ageing?”, in The HealthSite, January 2014, accessed 23.07.2016, http://www. thehealthsite.com/beauty/vampire-facelift-orplatelet-rich-plasma-therapy-anti-ageing/. [51] See, for example, Hartmut Geiger, Heinrich Jasper, Maria Carolina Florian (editors), Stem Cell Aging: Mechanisms, Consequences, Rejuvenation,Vienna: Springer, 2015. [52] Ibidem. [53] Brandon West, “You Are God: The True Teachings of Jesus”, in Walking Times, November 14, 2014, accessed 13.07.2016, http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/11/14/ god-true-teachings-jesus/. [54] Leon M. Lederman și Dick Teresi, The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?, New York: Mariner Books, 2015, 7. [55] Ibidem, 8. [56] Sharon Gaudin, “Scientists raise doubts over discovery of elusive God particle”, in ComputerWorld, Nov 10, 2014 5:44 PM PT, accessed 14.07.2016, http://www. computerworld.com/article/2845897/ scientists-raise-doubts-over-discovery-ofelusive-god-particle.html. [57] Christoph Paus, an MIT physics professor who organized the search for the Higgs in 2012, said it’s clear that the collider found a new particle. “The new particle”, said Paus, “appears to match the Higgs from all sides, but our vision at the moment is not perfect, or even close to perfect. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be the Higgs, but there’s no reason why it couldn’t be something else either.” [58] “Radioactive decay”, in Wikipedia, accessed 17.07.2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Radioactive_decay. [59] “Fusion”, in The Physics Hypertextbook, accessed 29.07.2016, http://physics.info/ fusion/. [60] Ibidem. [61] Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, “God, the Creator of the multiverse. The theory of concomitance” în volumul The 1st International Virtual Conference on Advanced Scientific Results (SCIECONF-2013), conferinţă pe 10-14 iunie 2013 Slovakia,

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Zilina: EDIS - Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, pp. 295-300, ISBN: 97880-554-0726-5. Online: SSRN: http://ssrn. com/abstract=2374468; [62] Fr. Lect. Cosmin Tudor CIOCAN, “The philosophic paradigm as basis for early Christian doctrine of God’s immanence”, in Dialogo 2:2 (2015), 141, doi: 10.18638/ dialogo.2015.2.2.12. [63] Ibidem. [64] St. Basil the Great, The Hexaemeron, Aeterna Press, 2016, 5. [65] Jeanne Fahnestock, “The Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos”. Retrieved 20 October 2014. http://members.tripod.com/butler_s/ f2002-1002/appeals.html. [66] Torstein Tollefsen, The Christocentric Cosmology of St Maximus the Confessor, 68. [67] Dionysius the Areopagite, The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite: Volumes I & 2, Section II, Aeterna Press: “the self-existent Peace, both the general and the particular; and that It mingles all things with each other within their unconfused union, as beseems which, united indivisibly, and at the same time they severally continuously unmingled stand, as regards their own proper kind, not muddled through their mingling with the opposite, nor blunting any of their unifying distinctness and purity.” [68] Saint Athanasius (Patriarch of Alexandria], Against the Heathen, tom. 41. Trad. by pr. prof. D. Stăniloae, in the colection „Părinţi şi scriitori bisericeşti”, Bucuresti: Editura IBMBOR, 1987, vol. 15, p. 78. [69] Florovsky, Creation And Redemption, 115. [70] Aristotel, De anima. Parva naturalia, 412a 27. [71] See Tommaso Campanella, for whom nature is a complex of living realities, each animated and tending to its end, but then all unified and harmoniously directed toward a common goal by the same universal ‘Anima mundi’. [72] Hereward Carrington, Vitality, Fasting and Nutrition. A physiological study of the curative power of fasting, together with a new theory of the relation of food to human vittality, New York: Redman Company, 1908, 12.

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Ibidem. Ibidem. [75] Charles George Herbermann, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Christian Classics Ethernal Library, 131. [76] There is a material body and also a spiritual body; both are subject of this theory. [77] By the reluctance of will, but the trout swimming against the water current does not equals the change of the flow direction. Moreover, many times not even this will against the planed normality is nothing else but merely a fruit of imagination. [78] ‘FINGER’, in Jewish Encyclopedia, accessed 06.08.2016, http://jewishencyclopedia.com/ articles/6120-finger. [79] Mariusz Tabaczek, “An Aristotelian Account of Evolution and the Contemporary Philosophy of Biology”, in Dialogo, 1:1 (2014), Zilina (Slovakia): EDIS, 61. [80] John Anthony McGuckin (editor), The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 2 Volume Set, 668. [81] Denis O. Lamoureux, “Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution” (PDF), in The BioLogos, University of Alberta. Retrieved 25 April 2012. [82] John Rennie, “15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense”, in Scientific American, July 1, 2002. Accessed 29.07.2016, http://www. scientificamerican.com/article/15-answersto-creationist/. [83] Werner Gitt, “10 dangers of theistic evolution”, in Creation Ministries International, accessed 29.07.2016, http://creation.com/10-dangersof-theistic-evolution. [84] St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “Homilies on the Gospel ‘Missus est’“ (1120), vi. [85] Bryan Borich, “THE AWAKENING – Quantum Mechanics of the Human Brain and Consciousness”, in END GAME TIMES, accessed 09.08.2016, https://endgametime. wordpress.com/the-awakening-quantummechanics-of-the-human-brain-andconsciousness/. [73] [74]

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Some Aspects of Multi-Particle Productions in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions (Astro-Particle Physics) Mohammad Ayaz Ahmad

Physics Department, Faculty of Science, P.O. Box 741, University of Tabuk, 71491 Saudi Arabia ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 22 October 2016 Received in revised form 24 October Accepted 26 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.22

An attempt has been made for the study of multiparticle production due to the collisions of 28Si and 12C projectiles with nuclear emulsion nuclei (target) at an energy of 4.5A GeV/c. Here we have studied the integral multiplicity distribution; total multiplicity charged distributions and our findings had been found in good agreement with the other works in the field of experimental high energy physics. Moreover, finally, we discussed the multiplicity correlations in terms of on Charge/Projectile (Q/Zbeam).

Keywords: multiplicity distribution; heavy ion collisions; quark gluon plasma (QGP) formation;

I. INTRODUCTION

During the last decade, the acceleration of heavy ion beams at CERN, BNL (Brookhaven National Laboratory) and Bevatron LBL has offered an opportunity to explore new avenues in the field of High Energy Physics. With the availability of heavy ion beams at high energies, it has become possible to detect the existence of phase transition from hadronic matter to QuarkGluon Plasma (QGP) in the laboratory. So far there are no clear experimental indications for the creation of Quark-Matter. The excitement in reaching these conditions is

also favored by the recent developments in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) [1], which predicts that at sufficiently large baryon densities and high temperatures, nuclear matter is therefore expected to undergo a phase transition to a state called the QuarkGluon Plasma (QGP) [2-4]. In this state, the quarks are not confined to the hadrons. Quarks and gluons constituents of nuclear matter become deconfined and form a QGP. Besides this deconfinement, chiral symmetry is expected to be restored in a QGP, which means that the quark masses will approach zero. The quark-gluon plasma state is believed

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to have existed in the early Universe [5-10], which must have passed through a regime of extreme temperature and density and this is important in Big-Bang scenario. A few microseconds after Big - Bang the hot and dense Universe was in a state of free moving quarks and gluons. As the Universe expanded and cooled, the quarks and gluons become confined to hadrons and hadronic matter was formed. By the further expansion and cooling of the system, stars and galaxies were formed. It is believed that QGP may today exist in the core of the neutron stars [5], which have extreme baryon densities or temperatures or both. The only possible method to create and study the existence of very hot and dense nuclear matter in laboratory is the study of nucleus-nucleus collisions at ultra-relativistic energies. Here a modest attempt has been made to find some aspects of multiparticle productions in the nuclear collisions at the ultra-relativistic energies i.e. in the data of 28Si and 12C (projectiles) interacts with emulsion nuclei (target) at 4.5A GeV/c. II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The process of breaking up of the nucleus by the collision of an energetic particle in a number of charged and uncharged particles is known as the nuclear disintegration. This nuclear disintegration can be explained as a two-step process a fast and slow one. In the fast process, energetic particles are produced including the incident particles and some light stable fragments such as H2, H3, He3 and He4 are also emitted. The slow process consists of the de-excitation of the excited nucleus by the evaporation process. Most of the evaporated particles are neutrons, protons, and alpha particles, etc. The study of the emitted particles may give information about the structure of the target nucleus and the mechanism of interactions. The process of nuclear collisions at extremely high energies can

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provide us to understand about nuclear forces as well as the structure of hadronic matter in hadronic interactions. The first clear evidence for nuclear disintegrations by cosmic rays was provided by the observations in the photographic plates of emulsion by Blau and Wambacher in 1937 [11]. Then this phenomenon was studied with the help of improved nuclear emulsions by Occhialini and Powell in 1947 [11]. But the experimental knowledge from these studies is limited due to low-intensity cosmic rays since the flux of the primary cosmic rays falls rapidly with increasing energy. Hence cosmic ray studies could not provide much information on interaction phenomena because neither the identity nor the energy of the particles taking part in the interactions were accurately known. The interest in nuclear disintegration studies revived with the development of particle accelerators because accelerators can provide a beam of any desired particle with controlled energies and fluxes. The hydrogen bubble chamber experiments which provide a lot of experimental information about hadron-hadron interaction were meant for understanding the hadron-hadron collision process. However, in hadron-nucleus collisions at high energies have generally been carried out either by employing counter or emulsion techniques. The counter technique has been used to study the multiparticle production in hadron-nucleus collisions. In counter experiments, target nuclei are unique, and mass number dependence of various parameters can be studied carefully. However, in counter experiment large angle secondaries cannot be recorded. While, in emulsion a most complete picture of the interaction is recorded which can provide maximum information of various kind about interactions. But the emulsion studies suffer from the defect that the exact separation of nucleon-nucleon collisions from hadronnucleus interactions is not possible. The various kinds of nuclei present in emulsion

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cannot be clearly separated out and nuclear interaction with some particular kind of nuclei cannot be made with its help. In spite of its limitation the nuclear emulsion is still an excellent technique for the study of the high-energy nuclear interactions due to the following reasons: (i) Nuclear emulsion has wide range of sensitivity. (ii) Nuclear emulsion has high angular resolution and having 4p solid angle coverage. (iii) Number of heavy tracks produced in emulsion provides information about the number of encounters made by incident particle inside the nucleus, which is very important information in the study of multiparticle production phenomena. This type of information is not possible by other techniques. Experimental investigation of the heavy ion collisions at high energies became possible only after the discovery of heavy nuclei (Z ≥ 2) in the primary cosmic radiation by Freier [11-14] in 1948. This discovery provided an opportunity to discuss the nucleus- nucleus collisions in detail. The interest in the study of nucleusnucleus collisions was revived with the development of high-energy particle accelerators at high energies such as Synchrophasotron at Dubna (Russia) with energies upto 4.5A GeV, Alternating Gradient Synchro-phasotron (AGS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in USA with energies up to 14.5A GeV and Super Proton Synchro-phasotron (SPS) at CERN in Geneva with energies up to 200A GeV. The improvements in the field of particle accelerators at relativistic energies made it possible to explore the various new possibilities including some exotic phenomena [14, 15 and references therein].

III. RELEVANCE OF HIGH ENERGY HEAVY

ION COLLISIONS

It has been stated that a novel state of matter could be reached in heavy ion collisions provided the beam energy is high enough. Ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions provide a system in which the properties of hot, dense strongly interacting matter can be experimentally investigated [16, 17]. It has been suggested that the strongly interacting matter at the energy densities ~ 2 GeV/fm3 produced in these collisions may undergo a phase transition to quarkgluon plasma (QGP) [11, 18,19]. Such a phase transition could produce large fluctuations in phase-space. Most energetic collisions of nucleus-nucleus interactions give an indication that the energy density over few GeV/fm3 in comparison to normal nuclear matter ~ 0.16 GeV/fm3 can be achieved which is the necessary condition for the formation of QGP. There have been numerous experimental results, which indicate that these collisions cannot be completely understood in term of superposition of nucleon-nucleon scattering [11, 20-25]. Measured phenomena, such as strangeness enhancement and J/Y suppression show that extremely dense strongly interacting matter has been found. It may be noted that the recent lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations [5,11] predict a critical temperature of 200 MeV corresponding to an energy density of the order of 3 GeV/ fm3 and/or high baryon density (> 0.5 /fm3), which is essential for the formation of QGP. IV. DATA COLLECTIONS AND

EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS

Two stacks of BR-2 emulsion exposed to 4.5 A GeV/c Silicon and Carbon beams at Synchrophasotron of Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna, Russia, have been used to collect the data. The dimensions of pellicles, incident flux of

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the beams, etc. are given in our earlier publications.14) Along the track, scanning method was adopted to pick up events of interest, which was carried out using Japan made NIKON (LABOPHOT and Tc-BIOPHOT) microscopes with 40 objectives and ten eyepieces. Some other relevant details about the present experiment may be seen elsewhere [26-31 and references therein].

grain density measurement, which is initially much larger than the grain density of a single charged pions or proton track. It may also be mentioned that the tracks of an electron and positron when followed downstream in nuclear emulsion showed considerable amount of Coulomb scattering as compared to the energetic charged pions. Such e+ e-pairs were eliminated from the data.

A. Black track producing particles (Nb)

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The tracks with specific ionization g* >10 ( g* = g/g0, where g0 is the Plateau ionization of a relativistic singly charged particle and g is the ionization of the charged secondary) have been taken as black tracks. These correspond to protons of relative velocity b < 0.3 and range in emulsion L < 3.0 mm [11]. B. Grey track producing particles (Ng)

The tracks with specific ionization 1.4 < g* < 10 corresponding to protons with velocity in the interval 0.3 < b < 0.7 and range L > 3.0 mm in nuclear emulsion are called grey tracks [11]. C. Shower track producing particles (NS)

The tracks with specific ionization g* < 1.4 corresponding to protons with relative velocity b > 0.7 are classified as shower tracks. These tracks are mostly due to relativistic pions with a small admixture of charged K-mesons and fast protons. In order to eliminate all the possible backgrounds due to g overlap (where a g from a p0 decay converts into e+ e-- pair) close to shower tracks near vertex, special care was taken to exclude such e+ e-- pairs from the primary shower tracks while performing angular measurements. Usually, all shower tracks in the forward direction were followed more than 100 - 200mm from the interaction vertex for angular measurement. The tracks due to e+ e-- pair can be easily recognized from the

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A. Integral Multiplicity Distributions

Exhibited in Fig. 1(a) and 1(b) are integral frequency F (N > Nh) distributions of heavily ionizing particles in the interactions of 28SiEm and 12C-Em at 4.5A GeV/c. It appears from the figures that the integral frequency distributions in both the interactions are denoted by four distinct straight lines. In which the first line segment represents the interactions with light nuclei (H, C, N, O) in addition to peripheral collisions with AgBr nuclei. The second and third lines correspond to the superposition between the peripheral and central collisions with heavy nuclei. The last line is due to the central collisions of 28 Si and 12C projectiles with heavier nuclei. Similar results have also been reported by other workers [18, 18,24]. On the basis of these divisions, it may be concluded that the integral multiplicity distribution of heavily ionizing particles are used to represent the interactions with different emulsion groups as well as different types of interactions.

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Figure 2. Total charged multiplicity distributions of the secondary charged particles produced in interactions of 28SiEm and 12C-Em at 4.5A GeV/c.

C. Multiplicity Correlations in Term of

Charge/Projectile Q/Zbeam

Figure 1. Integral multiplicity distributions of heavily ionizing particles produced in the interactions of (a) 28Si-Em and (b) 12C-Em at 4.5A GeV/c.

B. Total Charged Particles Multiplicity

Distribution

The multiplicity distribution of total charged secondary particles Nch (Nch = Nb + Ng + NS) is displayed in Fig. 2 for Silicon as well as Carbon beams. Both the distributions are broader than proton-nucleus collisions. The tails of the distributions are found to extend upto high multiplicities of Nch = 267 and 112 respectively for 28Si and 12C projectiles. The long tail of the distributions may arise from the interactions of all the nucleons present in the projectiles with the target nucleus which is ultimately due to possible transfer of projectile energy to the total nuclei. The conclusion of this figure is that total charged particles <Nch> increases, as mass number of the projectiles increases in such nuclear collisions.

A study of correlation of the type <Nj (Q)>, where j indicates, black, grey, heavy and shower particles may be of considerable importance for understanding the mechanisms of multiparticle production involved in nucleus-nucleus collisions at relativistic energies. We have also presented the values of <Nb>, <Ng>, <Nh> and <NS> as a function of Q/Zbeam in Fig. 3 (a-d). The values of <Nb>, <Ng> and <Nh> increases with decreasing Q/Zbeam (i.e. increasing centrality of the collision). It may be observed from Fig. 3(a-d) that the average multiplicities of secondary particles show a scaling property for 28Si and 12C-projectiles, whereas no such feature is observed in case of shower particle multiplicity. Admovich et al [17] have also reported that <Ng> and <Nb> scales as a function of Q/Zbeam at 14.6 and 200A GeV.

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Figure 3. Dependence of (a) <Nb>, (b) <Ng>, (c) <Nh> and (d) <NS> as a function of Q/ZP for 28Si and 12C respectively at 4.5A GeV/c.

The increase of <NS> with the number of interacting projectile nucleons indicates the possibility of describing the nucleus-nucleus collisions as a superposition of nucleonnucleon collisions. Conclusions With an outlook to study the dynamics of multiparticle production in nucleus-nucleus collisions, we have studied “Some Aspects of Multi-Particle Productions in Relativistic Nuclear Collisions” in the present article. The present analysis is based on 701 events of 28 Si-emulsion and 835 events of 12C-emulsion interactions at 4.5A GeV/c.Based on the above said study one can draw the following conclusions: The Integral multiplicity distribution of heavily ionizing particles is found to consist of four line segments, which represents various types of interaction processes in nuclear emulsion, i.e., peripheral, central and total disintegration of nuclei. The long tail of the total charged particle multiplicity distributions may arise from the interactions of all the nucleons present in the projectiles with the target nucleus, which is ultimately possible due to the transfer of projectile energy to the total nuclei. The average multiplicities of secondary particles (<Nb>, <Ng> & <Nh>) show a scaling property for 28Si and 12C – projectiles, whereas no such feature is observed in case of shower particle multiplicity. Acknowledgement The authors would like to acknowledge the keen support for this work of the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

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References [1] Miklos Gyulassy. “Signatures of new phenomena in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions.” Nuclear Physics A418 (1984): 59-85. [2] M. Stephanov, K. Rajagopal and E. Shuryak. “Event-by-Event fluctuations in heavy ion collisions and the QCD crititical point.” - art. No. 114028. Physical Review D60 (11) (1999): 4028. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.60.114028 [3] Shafiq Ahmad and M. Ayaz Ahmad. “A comparative study of multifractal moments in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.” Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics 32(9) (2006):1279-1293. [4] S. A. Bass et. al., “Microscopic Models for Ultrarelativistic Heavy Ion Collisions.” Progress Part. Nuclear Physics 41 (1998): 255-369 arXiv:nucl-th/9803035v2 [5] J. D. Bjorken. “Highly relativistic nucleusnucleus collisions: The central rapidity region.” Physical Review D27 (1983): 140-151. [6] Shafiq Ahmad, M. Ayaz Ahmad, M. Irfan and M. Zafar. “Study of non-statistical fluctuations in relativistic nuclear collisions.” Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, Vol. 75(6) (2006): 064604(1-9). [7] M. Tariq, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Shafiq Ahmad and M. Zafar. “Analysis of high NS-multiplicity events produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions at 4.5A GeV/c.” Romanian Reports in Physics Vol. 59(3) (2007): 773-790. [8] Shafiq Ahmad and M. Ayaz Ahmad. “Some observations related to intermittency and multifractality in 28Si and 12C-nucleus collisiond at 4.5A GeV.” Nuclear Physics A780 (2006): 206221. [9] Mir. Hashim Rasool, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Muzamil Ahmad Bhat and Shafiq Ahmad. “Study of compound particle production in 28Si and 32S-emulsion collisions at 14.6 and 200 A GeV.” World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology 5 (2015): 208-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/wjnst.2015.53021 [10] L. M. Barbier et. al., “Central collisions of 14.6, 60 and 200 GeV/nucleon 16O-nuclei in nuclear emulsion.” Physics Review Letters 60 (1988): 405-412. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/ PhysRevLett.60.405

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[11] M. Ayaz Ahmad. “A Study of Intermittency and Multifractality in 28Si-emulsion Collisions at 14.6A GeV.” [Ph.D. thesis], Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Indiat, 2010. [12] Fu–Hu Liu. “Target fragmentation in Oxygenemulsion collisions at Dubna and SPS energies.” Chinese Journal of Physics 40 (2002); 159-167. [13] A. Abd El-Daiem. “Study Some Features of the Total Disintegration Events of heavy emulsion target from 28Si at 4.5A GeV/c.” Journal of Nuclear and Particle Physics 5(1) (2015): 1-9. [14] M. Tariq, S. Ahmad, A. Tufail and M. Zafar. “Angular distribution of slow and relativistic charged particles produced in silicon and carbon emulsion interactions at 4.5A GeV/c IL Nuovo Cimento A107 (194):2687-2699. [15] G. F. Chew and A. Pignotti. “Multiperipheral Bootstrap Model.” Physics Review 176 (1969): 2112-2117 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.176.2112 [16] G. M. Chernov et al., “Central collisions produced by relativistic heavy ions in nuclear emulsion.” Nuclear Physics A 280, (1977): 478490. [17] EMU01 Collaboration; M. I. Adamovich et al., “Slow target associated particles producved in ultrarelativistic heavy ion interactions.” Physics Letters B, 262, (1991): 369-374. [18] A. A. El-Daiem, “Target fragmentation at 4.5 a GeV/c in 24Mg and 28Si with emulsion interaction.” American Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol. 6(4) (2009): 608–615. [19] A. Abd El-Daiem, “Characteristics of compound multiplicity in 24Mg with emulsion at 4.5 A GeV/c.” Physics International, Vol. 1(1) (2010): 31–37. [20] M. Mohery and N. N. Abd-Allah. “Systematic comparison of the experimental data with the Fritiof model in nucleus-nucleus interactions with light and heavy target nuclei in nuclear emulsion at 4.5A gev/c.” International Journal of Mod. Physics. E 11(2) (2002): 161-175. [21] M. Mohery. “Characteristics of the total disintegration events of emulsion heavy target nuclei caused by 16Oand 28Si nuclei at high energies.” Canadian Journal of Physics, 90(12) (2012): 1267-1278 DOI: 10.1139/p2012-104 [22] M. El-Nadi, A. Abdelsalam, A. Hussein, E. Shaat, N. Ali-Mousa, Z. Abou-Mousa and E. El-

Falaky. “Multiplicities of charged particles in 3.7A geV 32S emulsion interactions.” IL. Nuovo. Cimento A108 (1995): 831-842. [23] H. Khushnood, A . Shakeel, A. Ahmad and M. Z. Ahsan. “A study of high energy hadronnucleus interactions.” Candian Journal of Physics 61 (1983): 1120-1131. [24] M. A. Jilany. “Nuclear fragmentation in interactions of 3.7A GeV 24Mg projectiles with emulsion targets.” Physical Review C70(1) (2004): Article ID 014901. [25] Mir Hashim Rasool, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Omver Singh and Shafiq Ahmad. “Some inportant features of relativistic charged particles produced in 32S-Emulsion interactions at 200A GeV/c.” Journal of Modern Physics 6 (2015): 1498-1509 DOI:10.4236/jmp.2015.611154 [26] M. . Ayaz Ahmad, Mir Hashim Rasool, Shafiq Ahmad, Jamal H. Madani and Rachid Ayad. “Study of Deconfinement Phase Transition in Heavy Ion Collisions at BNL Energies.” International Journal of Applied Physics and Mathematics, (IJAPM) 4 (2013): 289-292. DOI: 10.7763/IJAPM.2013. V3.223 [27] M. Ayaz Ahmad, Mir Hashim Rasool and Shafiq Ahmad. “Scaling nature of target fragments in the interactions of 28Siemulsion at energy 14.6A GeV.” Ukrainian Journal of Physics. 58(10) (2013): 944-955. [28] M. Ayaz Ahmad and Shafiq Ahmad. “Study of Angular Distribution and KNO Scaling in the Collisions of 28Si with Emulsion Nuclei at 14.6A GeV.” Ukrainian Journal of Physics. 57(12) (2012): 1205-1213. [29] Mir H. Rasool, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Shafiq Ahmad. “Multifractal study and multifractal specific heat of singly charged particles produced in 32S-Em interactions at 200A GeV.” Chaos Solitons & Fractal Vol. 81 (2015): 197-202. DOI:10.1016/j.chaos.2015.08.027 [30] Mir Hashim Rasool, M. Ayaz Ahmad, Omveer Singh, Shafiq Ahmad. “Multiplicities of Forward -Backward Relativistic Charged Particles Produced in 32S-Emulsion Interactions at 200 A GeV/c.” Chinese Journal of Physics- Taipei- 53(5) (2015): 100302-1-11 [31] Mir Hashim Rasool, M. Ayaz Ahmad and Shafiq Ahmad. “Signal of Unusual Large Fluctuations in 32S-Em Interactions at SPS

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Energies.” Journal of Korean Physical Society 67 (2015): 448-457.

Biography M. Ayaz Ahmad completed Ph.D. in experimental high energy physics in 2010 and M. Phil. (physics) in 2005 from the Physics Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, under the supervision of Prof. Shafiq Ahmad. He worked as a guest lecturer for B. Sc. Laboratory Classes in the same Department, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh w.e.f. 10th Oct. 2002 to 10th Oct. 2008 and also as a Lecturer at Senior Secondary College (Boy’s) of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh w.e.f. 11th Oct. 2008 to 15th Dec. 2010. Presently, He is working as an assistant professor at Physics Department, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia w.e.f. 16th Dec. 2010. He is involved in teaching and research more than ten years. Besides the undergraduate courses He is teaching/taught courses of Nuclear Physics, Particle Physics and Electrodynamics to graduate / postgraduate students. For the past several years, He is working in the field of Experimental High Energy Heavy Ion Collisions Physics and has published research papers in various refereed journals, like Journal of Physics G (IOP Journal), Nuclear Physics A (Journal of Science Direct/ Elsevier Journals), Journal of Physical Society Japan, Internal National Journal of Mod. Physics E, Ukrainian Journal of Physics, e.t.c.

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SECTION 12

History, Demography, Archaeology & Religion

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Romanian Orthodox Priests on the World War I Fronts Assoc. Prof. Claudiu Cotan, PhD. Faculty of Theology Ovidius University of Constanţa Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 29 August 2016 Received in revised form 6 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.23

Unlike the World War II which brought a series of ideologies, such as Nazism and communism as reasons of outbreak, the World War I used religious themes in its propagandistic message, namely the idea to defend the homeland and faith. Religion was present in the propaganda promoted on the fronts of the Great War, and the military clergy – Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox – supported it. The military clergy have morally supported the soldiers in the trenches, most of them coming from the peasantry and labour still attached to the Christian values. This study is trying to present the efforts of the Romanian military priests enrolled in the Austro-Hungarian and Romanian armies for spiritually helping the Romanian militaries. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

Keywords: war; priests; front; Romanians; army; trenches; propaganda;

I. INTRODUCTION

Many books dedicated to the World War I have been written during the last few years, especially because it was 100 years since its outbreak. What seemed to be a simple military conflict turned into a war that seized the entire world in one way or another. This war preserved, to a certain extent, some of the characteristics of the old military conflicts in which the war propaganda used in its discourse the idea to defend various national values and the religious faith. Historian Philip Jenkins argued in one of his works dedicated to the

history of Christianity that the World War I was, to a great extent, a modern crusade. He affirmed that: “... religion is essential for understanding war, for understanding why people went to war, what they hoped to get through war, and why they continued to be at war”. Jenkins argues that the Great War re-lighted the religious experience at world level. [1] The hope in God has spiritually strengthened those present in battles, as well as those who remained at home, who started attending the religious services hoping that their prayers would save from death their dear ones who were fighting on the front.

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An important role in this war was played by Vatican. Pope Pius X (1835 -1914) died in the opening phase of the war, in the autumn of 1914. His successor, Pope Benedict XV (1854 – 1922) had to face various diplomatic actions, as well as thousands of individual requests of help coming from the fronts. As he had priests both in the Central Powers and in the Entente, nobody trusted Pope Benedict XV. This thing contributed to the neutrality of the Catholic Church which has become a huge humanitarian institution during the war and which made efforts to help all those who suffered no matter the camp they belonged to. Pope Benedict XV did denounce the war which he called a “catastrophe” for a Europe of civilisation. The war has almost bankrupted the treasury of Vatican, which made serious efforts to ensure aids for the war prisoners and refugees. Given his desire to put an end to the war, in August 1917, the Pope issued a call to peace, starting from the idea to establish a status quo present before the outbreak of the war. The Pope’s initiative was not successful because the peoples involved in the conflict had already made too many sacrifices. This attitude caused the exclusion of the Catholic Church from the peace negotiations after war. The presence of the military priests near the soldiers was due to the alliance between Church and State. The priests (chaplains) were appointed at the division level, and sometimes at the regiment level. The chaplains have usually activated at the division headquarters, behind the front, or in hospitals. Hence, they paid visits to the front to distribute parcels of aids and say prayers, to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, and communicate the soldiers before offensives. Given the ethnic-religious structure of the Austrian-Hungarian Army, Catholic, Orthodox, Jews and even Muslims activated. The Muslim chaplains served the Bosnian units after Austria – Hungary enclosed Bosnia-Hertzegovina in 1878. A change Session 12. History, Demography, Archaeology & Religion

occurred at the level of understanding the confessional differences, so that the soldiers wounded or dying accepted the prayers of a chaplain of another confession. Thus, a Catholic soldier wounded or dying received the prayers of a Protestant priest and the other way round. A special situation emerged in France, where after 1905, the separation between the State and Church was strictly imposed. This is why when the French Army was mobilised Catholic monks and priests have also been enrolled as simple combatants. On the French fronts there were a few thousand Catholic monks and priests from various monastic orders. A few hundred of them died on the front. They have been enrolled in their native places and fought in various regiments in the French territory, some of them taking part in the great battles. Although the French monks were in exile in Spain or Belgium because of the French legislation, the moment they were convened to join the army, they accepted. The correspondence preserved shows that many of them were glad to fight for their country. [2] The Catholic nuns from France have also contributed to the war efforts. The nunneries were allowed to operate in the French territory, and have been turned into military hospitals during the war. After war, the French authorities changed their attitude towards the Catholic Church. In October 1919, the French Catholics consecrated Sacre Coeur basilica of Montmartre, a symbol of the sacrifices made in the years 1870 – 1871 and 1914 – 1918. The French State re-established the diplomatic relations with Vatican, symbolised through the canonisation of Jeanne d’Arc, who was declared saint on 16 May 1920. Transylvania had a special situation in Austro – Hungary, as the Romanian population was in majority, and the Orthodox Church well represented. The idea of political unity of all Romanians was already

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represented among the great political desiderata. This is why the Transylvanian Romanians had great expectations when Romania joined the war in August 1916. The enthusiasm of war was also present among the Saxons of Transylvania who, according to their own estimations, on 31 December 1910, their number amounted to 230,697 persons. Loyal to Vienna, they were confident in the invincibility of Germany, “their country of origin”. We have some information on the participation of the Saxons of Transylvania in the war effort of Austro-Hungary and on the impact of the conflagration over the small German community of Transylvania provided by bishop Friedrich Teutsch, who made a brief presentation of the human sacrifice, requisitions, social, economical, and human contributions of the Saxons of Transylvania suffered during the war. 37,533 Saxon soldiers were sent to the front, representing 16% of the entire Saxon population. Out of all the Saxons enrolled, 3532 died on the front, 1318 were unaccounted for, 4779 injured, 1449 came back home disabled, and 4840 were taken prisoners. Thus, there were 1865 Saxon widows, and 4346 orphans, [3] and a few thousands took refuge. The memoirs of the Lutheran pastor Engel Misch entitled Experience of a Saxon priest in the Romanian civil captivity, mention the situation of Transylvania during the war and the captivity suffered during the short time when the Romanian authorities were present in the territories conquered in Transylvania. [4] The moment Romania joined the war the Hungarian authorities unleashed a true persecution against the Romanian priests. Almost 150 Romanian priests were accused of treason and espionage and imprisoned in Cluj, Târgu Mureş, Odorhei, Oradea, Timişoara, Caransebeş and Seghedin. Very edifying is the case of priest Ioan Gavrilescu from Tantari-Brasov, who was arrested,

together with 115 other refugees, during the retreat with the Romanian army, and imprisoned at Fagaras, Targu Mures and Cluj. Later on he said: “In prison we were treated like the worst brigands, and addressed dirty epithets like pigs, boors, smelling shoes, thieves, and traitors of the country....” [5]. More than 400,000 Romanians, namely 6% of the total number of the imperial militaries, were recruited in the Austro – Hungarian army. A part of them died on the fronts of Italy and Galicia or were victims of the traumas of the trenches, and of various epidemics. Many of the Romanian teachers were mobilised, and the schools located in the so called “cultural zone”, namely close to the frontiers with Romania, were nationalised by the Hungarian authorities who imposed strict control. II. Romanian military priests in the

Austro – Hungarian Army

The Romanian Orthodox priests served the Austro – Hungarian army both on the front, at the divisions’, regiments’, and battalions’ level, and behind the front, in hospitals and even in the prisoners’ camps, where they took spiritual care of the Orthodox prisoners of the Romanian and Russian armies. The military priests were present in the great garrisons. About 30 – 40 Romanian priests seem to have acted in Bucovina and about 60 - 70 in Hungary, Transylvania and Banat (about 90 – 110 Orthodox priests seem to have been in the Hungarian military service in the summer of 1916). One of these priests was Virgil Nistor (1886 – 1963), chief of the Orthodox religious service in the 7th Austro – Hungarian Army, which operated in Maramures and GaliciaBucovina (1915). After Romania joined the war, he passed as military priest to Huszt Reserve Hospital no 1 (1916-1917), then to the hospital of Kolomeea (1917), to Battalion 28 Hunters, to the front of Bucovina (1917 – 1918), and to Rahova Repatriation camp

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(1918). In fact, due to his meritorious activity he was elected Bishop of Caransebes after war, where he stayed till his eparchy was dissolved by communists in 1949. [6] As chief of the religious service in the AustroHungarian Army he tried to draft an album of all the military priests, an initiative which he failed to fulfil because of the war conditions. One of the duties of the Orthodox Church of Transylvania was to send priests for the active military service. They had to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and communicate the Romanian soldiers. The military service had to be a place of education and spiritual edification for soldiers. Any soldier felt in time of danger that the only help he could get was from God who could save him. [7] The soldiers needed the words of the priest, the person whom they were attached to and who reminded them of the villages they had left to fight in a war that was alien to them. The Orthodox Bishops had to send to the Ministry of War the lists of the priests recommended to serve in the army. The religious service in the Austro – Hungarian army had been regulated through a series of military laws. [8] Yet, when the war broke out it was very hard to mobilise the military priests, so that only a few were active on the front. All the war long the number of Orthodox priests in the Austro – Hungarian Army was rather low in comparison with the large number of the Romanian soldiers. The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Sibiu tried to improve this state of things convening several priests, but the results were modest. The fear of death determined several priests to refuse enrolling. Yet, there were poor priests with large families who applied to be military priests for the financial advantages. That was the case of priest Ioan Stangu from Almasul – Mare Joseni who asked metropolitan Vasile Mangra to approve his enrolling as military priest. [9] Some Romanian priests preferred to join the army than be deported or imprisoned.

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The Romanian Orthodox priests of the Austro – Hungarian Army were assimilated to the officers, having been under the command of archpriest Pavel Boldea, who had a colonel rank. From 1918 – 1914, Pavel Boldea was a military archpriest, with major rank, in Sibiu garrison, and from 19141918, during the World War I, he served as chief of the military clergy attached to the Headquarters of the troops on the Italian front, seated in Laibach-Liubliana city, in former Yugoslavia. The military priest had to be a symbol representative of his confession. This is why military priest Ioan Dancila published a few short articles in “Telegraful Roman” magazine on the activity and behaviour of the military priests. The military priest represented his Church, confession and nation, he had to speak three foreign languages, and at the military festivities and parades he had to pay special attention to his soldiers who were called to do their duty to the country and emperor. The military priest had the duty to explain the soldiers the orders received, to take good care of the spiritual needs of everyone of them, to get and distribute books of prayers, to take care of the wounded in hospitals, and cultivate their confidence in the military hierarchy. [10] The military priests had the duty to distribute presents to the soldiers and wounded persons on the occasion of various feasts, to bless them, and be by their side in hard times. An essential role for sustaining the soldiers’ moral was played by the books of prayer distributed to the soldiers in the trenches. Thus, thousands of such books were sent to the front. [11] Priest Iosif Coriolan applied to ASTRA to provide him with such books of prayer. [12] The great demand of religious books in the Romanian language made some Romanian militaries accept Baptist religious readings, a phenomenon mentioned by military priest Gheorghe Alexei in a report sent to the Metropolitanate of Sibiu. As a result of

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this report 500 religious books were sent to the front. The military priests succeeded in creating some libraries of various books in the Romanian language, among which religious books too, in various hospitals and for the marching units. The Romanian military priests set up hostels and even lecture rooms for soldiers. Military priest Petru Debu applied asked to ASTRA to provide him with books in the Romanian language for the Romanian soldiers on the Russian front. [13] In various military units, the priests started organising a true programme for liquidating the illiteracy of the soldiers. This is why the military priests applied to ASTRA to send primers and school books to the front. On the front such courses were organised especially in the summer months, and for those hospitalised or behind the front all the year. Besides these actions, the military priests never forgot to celebrate the religious services, especially the Divine Liturgy. Sometimes these priests celebrated in the tranches as well. The celebration of the Christmas and Epiphany services in the trenches by priest Ilie Haciota was mentioned in “Gazeta Transilvaniei” magazine, for military propaganda. The same event was presented in “Telegraful Roman” magazine too. [14] The same “Telegraful Roman” magazine also wrote about the Pentecost religious service celebrated by military priest Andrei Moldovan. [15] Yet, there were cases in which the lack of military priests was obvious, especially during the first part of the war. Military priest Nicolae Peicu, father confessor of Regiment 37, mentioned that till January 1915, no religious service had been celebrated for the soldiers in the Romanian language, although the priest was well received everywhere by soldiers who always asked him to give them books of prayers. Unfortunately, priest Nicolae Peicu died in December 1916, in an avalanche in South Tyrol, while he was trying, together with other soldiers, to take some comrades

out of the snow. [16] The unfortunate event was mentioned by Gheorghe Comsa in “Telegraful Roman”, the same publication specifying later on that the late priest was post mortem decorated for his heroism. [17] Whenever the Romanian Orthodox military priests were missing the religious services happened many times to be celebrated by Serb of Slovak Orthodox military priests. [18] The activity of the Orthodox military priests in the military hospitals was a quite remarkable one, contributing to the spiritual alleviation of the wounded. Many of the military priests were decorated by the Red Cross for their activity in the hospitals for wounded or contagious. A special event occurred at the end of the war in the Austro – Hungarian Army, when the Romanian Orthodox priests were celebrating religious services for releasing the soldiers from the oath to the emperor. Once released from the oath to the emperor, the Transylvanian Romanians were swearing to King Ferdinand of Romania. During the war, an important role for the Romanians from Vienna was played by protosingel Virgil Ciobanu (1876 – 1965), who succeeded, together with an outstanding group of Romanian intellectuals, to set up the Romanian Chapel of Vienna, in 1906. [19] A chorus conducted by Gheorghe Dima participated in the religious services celebrated in the chapel. [20] He activated as military priest for the Romanian regiments of Prague. Orthodox priest Laurentiu Curea from Deva was mobilised as captain (1915 – 1918) and served the Romanian army corps of Prague. While there, on 7 March 1916, he applied to ASTRA Central Committee of Sibiu to send 100 primers and several books of prayer and literature wanted by the wounded soldiers hospitalised in Prague. 200 primers and 4 boxes of books have been sent from Sibiu. This priest played an important role in the autumn of 1918, in the

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formation of “Horea Volunteers’ Corps” of the Romanian League of Prague, involved in the Czech revolution of 28 October. Sebastian Rusan from Vulcan, Silviu Andrica from Serbi (interned in a prisoners’ camp), Serafim Berariu from Vetel, Avram Botici from Hartagani, Alexandru Stoica from Fizes, Ioan Ignaton from Orminda, as well as the Greek Catholic priests George Fireza from Uricani, and Ioan Bejan from Mintia activated as military priests. Priest Ioan Felea activated on the front of Italy, contributing to the organisation of the Romanian Volunteers’ League of Italy, consisting of former Transylvanian prisoners willing to fight for the union of all Romanians. Felea remained in Italy (1919 – 1923) and activated in Rome as representative of the Red Cross of Romania. The Romanian Government asked him to bring the remains of the Romanian soldiers in the country and arrange cemeteries for them. After coming back to the country he was appointed president of the Transylvanian Volunteers’ Association of the World War I. [21] In 1918, priest Gheorghe Oprean, who would become archpriest of Tarnaveni later on, was general secretary of the Central Senate of the Romanian officers and soldiers, seated in Vienna. [22] We mention the fact that during the war hundreds of teachers from the confessional schools or students from the pedagogical sections of these schools were sent to the front in the Austro – Hungarian Army to fight for a cause alien to the Romanians’ interests. During the war, 41,739 Romanians died for Austro – Hungary, while 11,272 other ones died in hospitals, prisons and labour camps. At the end of the war there were 24,406 disabled, as well as tens of thousands widows and war orphans. The Transylvanian soldiers of Alba Iulia Regiment 50, Caransebes Regiment 43, and Timisoara Regiment 60 distinguished themselves in the battlefields, regiments almost destroyed in the fights on the Italian front.

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III. Military clergy on the front of

Moldova

The Romanian Orthodox clergy were well represented by about 250 military priests, monks and nuns who worked as nurses with great devotion in the military hospitals for wounded or in those organised in the monasteries of Moldova. The statute of the Romanian military clergy was established through the decisions of the Holy Synod and agreements of the Ministry of War in 1915. The military priests were headed by archpriest Costantin Nazarie, professor at the Faculty of Theology of Bucharest. Archpriest Constantin Nazarie worked as chief of the Religious Department of the Army as colonel assimilated, and his assistant, priest Vasile Pocitan (1870 – 1955; hierarch Veniamin Pocitani from 1929), as major assimilated. The Romanian military priests were assimilated to the officers with lieutenant rank through the circular order no 19001 of 9 March 1917, and they could be promoted as captains for special merits. They were near the soldiers during the offensive in Transylvania and after retreat, on the front of Moldova. Priest Aristide Popescu has also taken part in the fights of Marasesti, having been decorated several times for his devotion. The Romanian State has also appreciated the devotion of priests Paduraru Petre, Dem Ionescu, and Ion Soicescu. [23] Protosingel Justin Serbanescu, father confessor of Ilfov Infantry Regiment 21, was awarded the highest Romanian military distinction, “Michael the Brave” Order class III, for bravery. We find interesting notes on the fights waged in Moldova in the “Front Diary” of priest Constantin P. Buzescu from Corbu locality, county of Olt, father confessor of Arges Regiment 4. [24] The notes of this military priest show us the image of the battle of Marasesti: “27 July 1917. Day of Saint Pantelimon, the miracle worker. It was a miracle for us too. The Germans had

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advanced up to Marasesti, beyond the River Siret, but our army made a wise surrounding, it was an unprecedented massacre, taking 700 prisoners and canons. They were really chased away. Let them know what Romanians can do! They wanted to cut our retreat, but they were trapped. Tarnita is also said to have fallen in our hands. It was great joy for all of us. Relieved and revived spirits...”. [25] The priests had remarkable behaviour during the fights on the front of Moldova. One such was priest N. Oniceanu from Heci, county of Iasi, father confessor of Mircea Regiment 32 who, “...gathered and encouraged, cross in hand, the stray groups of various units, in the great battles of Marasesti, sending them again into the fire of fight, where from he has never been absent”. So was the behaviour of priest Petre Pieptu from Tacuta, county of Vaslui, father confessor of Vanatori Regiment 3, who “... has always been present during the hard fights either among the fighters or among wounded... at the hardest times in the thick of the battle”. Priest Gheorghe Tomescu from Ratesti, county of Arges, father confessor of Artillery Brigade 6, took part in all the battles of Pralea, Marasti, Soveja, and Oituz. Iordache Tudorache, priest in Gologanu locality, county of Vrancea, father confessor of Hunters Regiment 10 “... left the regiment not for a moment; although rather old, he has always been tireless, taking good care of the sick; he took part in the fights of Marasesti, always present among soldiers”. [26] The Religious Service of the Romanian Army distributed many books of prayer, Bibles, and books of spiritual writings to the soldiers on the front or in hospitals. IV. Romanian military clergy of

Bessarabia

The Orthodox military clergy were also present in the Romanian troops who passed

to Bessarabia. The state of things present in Bessarabia is presented in a memorial submitted to the General Headquarters, Religious Department, by priest Petru E. Pieptu, father confessor of Hunters Regiment 3. The memorial presents the activity of this priest from 24 January 1918 till 10 May 1918, when the regiment this priest belonged to operated together with Division XIII in various zones of Bessarabia. Very interesting is the attitude of the people of Bessarabia at the entrance of the Romanian troops into the territories beyond the River Prut. [27] A similar image can be seen in the report of 2 May 1918, drafted by priest N. Ciapa, father confessor of Hunters Regiment 10: “On the occasion of the raids through communes, I gathered the troop, and the inhabitants, as much as possible, and celebrated a Te Deum or Holy Water blessing followed by short encouragement of the troop. I showed them the great role we had to play in Bessarabia referring to the bravery of the regiment; I asked them punctuality, strength in doing good deeds, honesty, and love for our brothers from Bessarabia. Here I reminded them the attitude of His Majesty, our King, who rewarded the peasants sharing plots of land to the defenders of the country and nation. During the second part of these speeches I had words designed to make them aware of the true purposes of our coming to Bessarabia, telling them how we were called by the Country’s Council to defend the North against the Bolsheviks, who stole both one’s wealth and life; how the shout of help was heard beyond the River Prut, and how we heard it and came to defend the life and land of our brothers of Moldova... I used school as means of propaganda... I asked the regiment, by report no 4 dated 27 February 1918, to transfer all the officers, teachers at the schools of the regiment’s district; besides the fact that

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they could speak the language and had good pedagogic culture, the presence of a Romanian officer in the school will make the children respect school, and the parents send their children to school, which thing we cannot do by force... As a result of this report, the regiment assigned 9 teachers from the schools of the regiment’s district, one of them from Orhei”. [28] The activity of the military priests contributed to the consolidation of the union of Bessarabia with Romania. One can also mention among the Romanian military priests those from Bessarabia who activated in the tsarist Army. Russia mobilised on the front almost 300,000 inhabitants of Bessarabia who were called to fight for saving the Russian Empire. At the end of the war, the territory of Bessarabia was exempted from military operations, but the following year the war extended to certain territories of Bessarabia. As for the Romanian priests from the tsarist army we can remark poet Alexei Mateevici, who enrolled as volunteer on 16 September 1915. He accompanied the Russian army on the front of Galicia and Moldova, where he had asked to be sent, accompanying the Russian artillery brigade 71. At the end of December 1916, Mateevici was in Iasi: “While visiting the Metropolitanate of Iasi, where Russian singing is heard now too for the satisfaction of the soldiers who overcrowded the dedication day celebration, I feel enthusiasm and creative force...”. [29] He fell ill with typhus on the front of Moldova and was sent to Chisinau where he died on 13 August 1917. In Russia, after the success of the Bolshevik revolution in the autumn of 1917, many military priests joined the White Army. 2000 military priests activated in the troops of Kolceak, about 1000 priests in those of Denikin, and more than 500 in those of Vranghel. After defeat, many of the military priests emigrated. [30]

Unlike the World War II dominated by anti-Semitism, eugenics, by the idea of racial superiority and cultivation of some religious conceptions from the Germanic pagan tradition, the World War I preserved the old nationalist discourse full of Christian religious elements, of calls to defending the Christian values. The invocation of the help of God and of the great princes canonised was present in the majority of the war discourses. The blessing of the soldiers, as well as of the armies was present in the practice of all the military priests. To a certain extent, this war was a crusade, although both belligerent camps were Christian. References [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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Conclusions

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Philip Jenkins, The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade, New York, 2014, pp. 4-5. Iuliu-Marius Morariu, French Catholic Monasticism during the World War I („Monahismul catolic francez în timpul Primului Război Mondial”). Astra Sabesiensis, Year I, no. 1, 2015, pp. 139-146. Mircea-Gheorghe Abrudan, World War I in the Memoirs of the Saxons of Transylvania („Primul Război Mondial în memorialistica saşilor din Transilvania”). Astra Salvensis, Year III, no. 5, 2015, p. 91-92. Mircea-Gheorghe Abrudan, World War I in the Memoirs of the Saxons of Transylvania, p. 102. Mircea Păcurariu, Politics of the Hungarian State towards the Romanian Church in Transylvania during the Dualism Period („Politica statului ungar faţă de Biserica românească din Transilvania în perioada dualismului 1867-1918)”, Sibiu, 1986, pp. 180-181. Mircea Păcurariu, History of the Romanian Orthodox Church (Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Române), vol. III, Trinitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2003, p. 387. Gheorghe Negustor, To Fight, Die, Save –

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Promise of the Eternal Life and Soldiers’ Faith (,,A lupta, a muri, a te mântui - promisiunea vieţii veşnice şi credinţa soldaţilor: 19141918”). Lucrările Sesiunii Naţionale a Doctoranzilor în Istorie, coordonators Mihai D. Drecin, Ioan Horga, Barbu Ştefănescu, Oradea, University of Oradea Publishing House, 2009, p. 375. [8] Toader Nicoară, “Cloi in the Third Millennium Ken”, in vol. II: New Exploration in the Contemporary Historiography („Clio în orizontul mileniului trei, în volum II: Noi explorări în istoriografia contemporană”), Cluj-Napoca, Accent Publishing House, 2009, pp. 141-154 [9] Mihai-Octavian Groza, On the Activity of the Romanian Transylvanian Military Priests during the World War I („Despre activitatea preoţilor militari români transilvăneni în perioada Primului Război Mondial (19141919). Administraţie românească arădeană. Studii şi comunicări din Banat – Crişana 95 de ani, vol. VIII, coordonators Doru Sinaci and Emil Arbonie, Arad, University Press, 2014, p. 524. [10] Mihai-Octavian Groza, On the Activity of the Romanian Transylvanian Military Priests during the World War I, p. 530. [11] Mihai-Octavian Groza, Romanian Transylvanian Priests on the Fronts of the Great War („Preoţii români transilvăneni pe fronturile Marelui Război”). Scrieri pe alese. Lucrările Conferinţei Naţionale: “O filă de istorie: om, societate, cultură în secolele XVII -XXI”, coordonated by Ana-Maria Macavei, Roxana Dorina Pop, Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2012, pp. 375-376. [12] Mihai-Octavian Groza, On the Activity of the Romanian Transylvanian Military Priests during the World War I (1914 – 1919), p. 532. [13] Rodica Groza, ASTRA and the Romanian Soldiers on the Front in the World War I („ASTRA şi soldaţii români de pe front în Primul Război Mondial”). Anuarul Institutului de Istorie şi Arheologie, Cluj-Napoca, issue XXVIII, 1987-1988, pp. 351-361. [14] Telegraful Român, no. 13, 6/19 February 1916. [15] Telegraful Român, no. 46, 26 June/3 July 1917.

Telegraful Român, no. 1, 4/17 January 1917. Mihai-Octavian Groza, On the Activity of the Romanian Transylvanian Priests during the World War I (1914-1919), p. 534; MihaiOctavian Groza, Pages of the Cultural History of the World War I: Religion of War. Case of Study: Romanian Orthodox in the Austro – Hungarian Army (,,Din istoria culturală a Primului Război Mondial: ,,Religia Războiului”. Studiu de caz: românii ortodocşi din armata austro-ungară”). Tineri istorici şi cercetările lor, (coord.) Nicolae Dumbrăvescu Cluj-Napoc, Argonaut Publishing House, 2014, pp. 196-197. [18] Dan Mihai, History We Passed Through During the Terrible War (“Istoria ce am petrecut în crâncenul război”), Satu Mare, Publishing House of Sătmărean Museum, 2008, p. 12. [19] Virgil Ciobanu, Setting Up of the Romanian Orthodox Chapel of Vienna („Înfiinţarea capelei ortodoxe române din Viena”). Almanahul Parohiei ortodoxe din Viena, 1962, pp. 67-73. [20] Pantelimon Miloşescu, Clergy and Theological Physicians in the History of the Romanian People („Clerici şi teologi medici în istoria poporului roman”), Olteniţa, Tridona Publishing House, 2008, pp. 93-94. [21] Florin Dobrei, History of the Church Life of the Romanians of Hunedoara City („Istoria vieţii bisericeşti a românilor hunedoreni”), Reşiţa, Eftimie Murgu Publishing House, 2010, p. 573. [22] Antonie Plămădeală, A Romanian Military Senate of Vienna One Month Before the Union of 1 December 1918 („Un senat militar român la Viena, cu o lună înainte de Unirea de la 1 decembrie 1918”). Telegraful Român, no. 2528/1987, p. 3, 5. [23] Tudor Popescu, Priests Participating in the War of 1916-1918 („Preoţi participanţi la războiul de la 1916-1918”). Mitropolia Olteniei, Year XXX, no. 10-12, 1978, p. 774. [24] Nicolae C. Buzescu, Pages of the ‘Front Diary’ by captain priest Constantin P. Buzescu from Corbu-Olt („Spicuiri din „Jurnalul de front” al preotului-căpitan, Constantin P. Buzescu, din Corbu-Olt”). Mitropolia Olteniei, Year XXX (1978), no. 10-12, p. 810. [16] [17]

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Nicolae C. Buzescu, Pages of the ‘Front Diary’ by captain priest Constantin P. Buzescu from Corbu-Olt, p. 812. [26] Mircea Păcurariu, Contribution of the Church to the Achievement of the Union of 1 December 1918 („Contribuţia Bisericii la realizarea actului unirii de la 1 decembrie 1918”). Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XCVI, no. 11-12, p. 1252. [27] AMR, Military Clergy Inspectorate, File no. 23, f. 29-30. [28] AMR, Military Clergy Inspectorate, File no. 23, f. 21, 22, 23, 35. [29] Georghe Baciu, Alexe Mateevici (18881917) military priest, poet, and patriot („Alexe Mateevici (1888-1917), preot militar, poet şi patriot”). Revista militară, no. 2 (12), Chişinău, 2014, p. 138. (137-145). [30] Mihai Vitalievici Şkarovski, Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th Century („Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă în secolul al XXlea”). Biserica Ortodoxă din Europa de Est în secolul XX, coordinated by Christine Chaillot, translated by Liliana Donose Samuelsson, Humanitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011, p. 407. [25]

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sources: [1] [2]

AMR, Military Clergy Inspectorate, File no. 23, f. 29-30. AMR, Military Clergy Inspectorate, File no. 23, f. 21, 22, 23, 35.

Press: [3] [4] [5]

Telegraful Român, no. 13, 6/19 February 1916. Telegraful Român, no. 46, 26 June/3 July 1917. Telegraful Român, no. 1, 4/17 January 1917.

Works of speciality: [6]

Abrudan, Mircea-Gheorghe, World War I in the Memoirs of the Saxons of Transylvania („Primul Război Mondial în memorialistica

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saşilor din Transilvania”). Astra Salvensis, Year III, no. 5, 2015, p. 91-92. [7] Baciu, Georghe, Alexe Mateevici (18881917) military priest, poet, and patriot („Alexe Mateevici (1888-1917), preot militar, poet şi patriot”). Revista militară, no. 2 (12), Chişinău, 2014, pp. 137-145. [8] Buzescu, C. Nicolae, Pages of the ‘Front Diary’ by captain priest Constantin P. Buzescu from Corbu-Olt („Spicuiri din „Jurnalul de front” al preotului-căpitan, Constantin P. Buzescu, din Corbu-Olt”). Mitropolia Olteniei, Year XXX (1978), no. 10-12, pp. 801-820. [9] Ciobanu, Virgil, Setting Up of the Romanian Orthodox Chapel of Vienna („Înfiinţarea capelei ortodoxe române din Viena”). Almanahul Parohiei ortodoxe din Viena, 1962, pp. 67-73. [10] Dobrei, Florin, History of the Church Life of the Romanians of Hunedoara City (Istoria vieţii bisericeşti a românilor hunedoreni), Reşiţa, Eftimie Murgu Publishing House, 2010. [11] Groza, Mihai-Octavian, Pages of the Cultural History of the World War I: Religion of War. Case of Study: Romanian Orthodox in the Austro – Hungarian Army (,,Din istoria culturală a Primului Război Mondial: ,,Religia Războiului”. Studiu de caz: românii ortodocşi din armata austro-ungară”). Tineri istorici şi cercetările lor, (coord.) Nicolae Dumbrăvescu Cluj-Napoc, Argonaut Publishing House, 2014, pp. 195-212. [12] Groza, Mihai-Octavian, On the Activity of the Romanian Transylvanian Military Priests during the World War I („Despre activitatea preoţilor militari români transilvăneni în perioada Primului Război Mondial (19141919). Administraţie românească arădeană. Studii şi comunicări din Banat – Crişana 95 de ani, vol. VIII, coordonators Doru Sinaci and Emil Arbonie, Arad, University Press, 2014, pp. 532-545. [13] Groza, Mihai-Octavian, Romanian Transylvanian Priests on the Fronts of the Great War („Preoţii români transilvăneni pe fronturile Marelui Război”). Scrieri pe alese. Lucrările Conferinţei Naţionale: “O filă de istorie: om, societate, cultură în secolele XVII -XXI”, coordonated by Ana-Maria Macavei,

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Roxana Dorina Pop, Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2012, pp. 369-382. [14] Groza, Rodica, ASTRA and the Romanian Soldiers on the Front in the World War I („ASTRA şi soldaţii români de pe front în Primul Război Mondial”). Anuarul Institutului de Istorie şi Arheologie, Cluj-Napoca, issue XXVIII, 1987-1988, pp. 351-361. [15] Morariu, Iuliu-Marius, French Catholic Monasticism during the World War I („Monahismul catolic francez în timpul Primului Război Mondial”). Astra Sabesiensis, Year I, no. 1, 2015, pp. 139-146. [16] Jenkins, Philip, The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade, New York, 2014. [17] Mihai, Dan, History We Passed Through During the Terrible War (Istoria ce am petrecut în crâncenul război), Satu Mare, Publishing House of Sătmărean Museum, 2008. [18] Miloşescu, Pantelimon, Clergy and Theological Physicians in the History of the Romanian People (Clerici şi teologi medici în istoria poporului roman), Olteniţa, Tridona Publishing House, 2008. [19] Negustor, Gheorghe, To Fight, Die, Save – Promise of the Eternal Life and Soldiers’ Faith (,,A lupta, a muri, a te mântui - promisiunea vieţii veşnice şi credinţa soldaţilor: 19141918”). Lucrările Sesiunii Naţionale a Doctoranzilor în Istorie, coordonators Mihai D. Drecin, Ioan Horga, Barbu Ştefănescu, Oradea, University of Oradea Publishing House, 2009, p. 375. [20] Nicoară, Toader, Cloi in the Third Millennium Ken, in vol. II: New Exploration in the Contemporary Historiography („Clio în orizontul mileniului trei, în volum II: Noi explorări în istoriografia contemporană”), Cluj-Napoca, Accent Publishing House, 2009, pp. 141-154. [21] Păcurariu, Mircea, Politics of the Hungarian State towards the Romanian Church in Transylvania during the Dualism Period („Politica statului ungar faţă de Biserica românească din Transilvania în perioada dualismului 1867-1918)”, Sibiu, 1986 [22] Păcurariu, Mircea, Contribution of the Church to the Achievement of the Union of

1 December 1918 („Contribuţia Bisericii la realizarea actului unirii de la 1 decembrie 1918”). Biserica Ortodoxă Română, Year XCVI, no. 11-12, p. 1250-1263. [23] Păcurariu, Mircea, History of the Romanian Orthodox Church (Istoria Bisericii Ortodoxe Române), vol. III, Trinitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2003. [24] Plămădeală, Antonie, A Romanian Military Senate of Vienna One Month Before the Union of 1 December 1918 („Un senat militar român la Viena, cu o lună înainte de Unirea de la 1 decembrie 1918”). Telegraful Român, no. 2528/1987, p. 3, 5. [25] Popescu, Tudor, Priests Participating in the War of 1916-1918 („Preoţi participanţi la războiul de la 1916-1918”). Mitropolia Olteniei, Year XXX, no. 10-12, 1978, pp. 773-774. [26] Vitalievici Şkarovski, Mihai, Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th Century („Biserica Ortodoxă Rusă în secolul al XXlea”). Biserica Ortodoxă din Europa de Est în secolul XX, coordinated by Christine Chaillot, translated by Liliana Donose Samuelsson, Humanitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011.

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The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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Funerary marking, expression of the religious and social dogmas Oana-Diana-Eliana Popescu-Coliban, PhD [Assist. Lecturer PhD. Sculptor and Architect] “Spiru Haret” University, Faculty of Architecture Bucharest, Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 1 October 2016 Received in revised form 20 October Accepted 24 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.24

Religion and society are landmarks for the human existence, the culture from an anthropological perspective and the history as we know it. With its monuments, the funerary space plays the role of reflecting the identity of the interred people, an identity that cannot deny a certain type of relation with religion and society. From the state of belonging to repudiation or to reinterpretations and laicization, the cemetery is a witness of our existence. The cemetery is an architectural space that is born and never dies, a timeless space, a space of the overlays and memory.

Keywords: funerary monument; funerary marking; dogmas; social indicator; identity; cemetery; necropolis;

I. INTRODUCTION

Society and religion are absolute benchmarks that can be examined and perceived through the other traces of the existence. The identity, in all its forms, is an outcome of the intergrowth, overlapping or rejection between a certain society and the religion/religions to come into contact with. The individual or group identity finds a real, physical expression within the funerary space, in the shape of monuments or mere markings, which embody the theological and also social dogmas [1].

The funerary space is the second architectural program to be known, but it features the oldest mementoes. The necropolis or the graveyard pertains to the dwelling for eternity, since it is an architectural and fully functional space that does not take any voluntary changes [2]. Here is why this last resting place is a historic, social and religious spectator, a place of fusion and delineating of a cultural landscape related to identity [3]. The history of humanity substantiates its data on material and tangible evidence. For researchers, the relation between objects

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matters a great deal, the justification of gestures and of the choices having been made. The same inventory of objects can tell a story in totally different realms. The cultural landscape, particular for a space and time, is only possible by the overlapping and articulation of all these exegeses and objects. Starting from the boundary of the history as we know it until today, the funerary space – cemetery or the simple inhumation site – designates that overflowing source of information and evidence of the individual existence in the cultural context of origin. The society is indissolubly coupled with both dogmas officialized under the name of laws and also with the religious dogmas. The turmoil of the contemporary society, the abandonment or return to the traditional values, to religion and identity, are concerns of the contemporaneity but they seemed diminutive versus the social, cultural and political movements of the beginning of modern times. The contemporary phenomenon is faded away by the awareness or the fear of not crossing the border of what is politically correct. The world of today, under the slogan of freedom, observes an unsettling form of censorship. It may be the reinterpretation of ‘this is how it is supposed to be.’ Despite the fact that the theories mentioned below find arguments and interpretations in different cultures and ages, they all share features and exert their influence upon the Romanian funerary space while looked at from a contemporary perspective. II. THE FUNERARY SPACE IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH STUDIES

In most cases, archaeology and anthropology (both cultural and anatomic) entrust their conclusions on the materials linked to funerary spaces, embellished

tombs or isolated relics. All these are contextualized and examined from a pluridiscipline perspective. Why is the past looked into? It may be that the answers are leading to the shaping of certain identity portraits but this would be the only way of being able to forecast the evolution of society, the future. The funerary space is an undeniable social indicator, irrespective of the historic times it belongs to. The monuments and traces of the funerary space do not share the fate of the constructions affiliated with other architectural programs, do not change their intention, they are neither abandoned nor purposefully bulldozed. The space of the dead is a space that maintains a live dialogue with the researchers or its contemplators. The funerary monuments are the proof of life, the awareness about an existence, hence a significant platform for understanding the data of a presence.

Figure 1. Funerary stela of Alexander and Domma, limestone, 5th century, Ulmetum

The funerary stela found in Ulmetum has been reused for the fortress inside wall

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[4]. The fragmentary volume makes up a geometrical decoration, a Byzantine cross and an inscription with a Greek text: ‘Here lie two single Christian persons: Alexander, the son of Appas and Domna, who lived for … years, and Alexandria, his relative, the daughter of Asclepiade and Ammiada, who lived for 17 years, leaving behind her fiance. They passed away together, in a death at the same strike of the clock. The tomb stela was laid here by their parents, in the remembrance of the children honored by God.’ [1]. This inscription and the attention paid to the stela decoration are both arguments for a gradated social life, with seemingly strange norms as we know them today, mainly due to the scant knowledge of the social customs. The Roman castrum in Ulmetum exposes cultural overlaps, as the presence of the Goth Federations is proven (the end of the 4th century). Arta Creștină în România (The Christian Art in Romania) of I. Barnea [1], brings to light a wide variety of funerary inscriptions where most of them provide significant details in the life of the deceased, besides their name, profession and years of life as recent inscriptions are featuring. The beginnings of Christianity in the same geographical space are true indicators in terms of the lingua francas or the representation, the alphabet, the honorable professions – death in the line of military duty (heroic death), the importance of reaching a certain age (the older, the better) or the fulfillment in life through love (fig. 3). The anguish over losing a dear person remains the same during years, unlike the plastic, artistic or verbal expressions that are molding themselves in an attempt to match these social and religious norms. A. The Beginnings of the Known History

The reason why the term of known history shows here is that the ‘fixed’ limits for history are relative, they extend

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in proportion with their discovery of acceptance of older evidence for the existence. This evidence is the relics, along with the entire repertoire of objects and the traditions decoded in the articulation of the development. 1) How to define society through religion

The older societies are defined by their beliefs in use, are led by priests or shamans. The faith, doubled by fear or not, was not the only ultimate landmark, both for live (survival) and for death. The primitive art is deeply linked to the beliefs and the food and huntin-based survival is only possible by calling on the divinity. The ceramic decoration, the objects used for rituals or for daily activities, makes reference to the primordial forms, to the solar or telluric symbol, to the forms allowing procreation, namely life. The soil gives birth as the womb does and it is hence incantanted and praised. Everything related to life and survival comes from divinity, i.e. the society will intermingle with the unanimously accepted religion. 2) The first architectural programs of dwelling at the last resting place

Without a doubt, we can state that dwelling is the first architectural program of humakind. It is the rupestral, lacustrine shelter, hiding in the tree branches, half buried then lied on the ground and protected by soil waves or other methods. The dwelling can be also associated with the sacred or sacralized space, either as a shrine, a room or a place for inhumation. The Neolithic tell in Catal Hüyük [5] is an important landmark for the cult of dead people. The deceased people were buried under the floor of the house they have lived in, so they could continue their existence along with living. The inhumation site, the care for dead people is as old as life, irrespective of its form. The sacred space can be defined as an architectural program of itself, either if we

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are talking about a temple, a prayer room or an altar. The different times in history can be identified by the space and volumetric relation established between the house and the place for worship. An example for the fluctuating ratio of their density is that the same Tell in Catal Hüyük features certain settled layers of the dwelling has a one-toone proportion – at the level X (cca. 5.750 B.C.), there was a sanctuary of 4 x 5 meter in size, in each house. For other levels of the Tell, the spaces meant for the worship did not take more than 10% of the number of the houses [2]. This closeness of the last resting place to the house, to the place of the vineyard is also visible at a different level for the parochial cemeteries located in the center of the community, of the slums (prior to the Law of cemetery organization, ratified by Alexandru I. Cuza in 1862 [6]). The graves around or inside the chapels of the nobiliary or princely demesnes follow the same principles. Among numerous examples, there is the small cemetery (emptied of bones, at the present time) of the Chapel of Ghica Palace in Bucharest [7]. Nobility graves could be found, as well, in the parochial churches, mainly when they were founded by certain families. Such examples can be seen in Razvani Church [8] (a grave of a presumed donor was discovered in the axis of the narthex, in a burial chamber built with an arch and dated back to the 17th century – the unidentified body of a man clothed in a pompous red period costume [9]), Radu Voda Church [10] (the tomb of the founder, voivode Alexander Mircea II is in the right niche between the pronaos and nave, with a stone placed by his son), Lucaci Church- Saint Stelian [11] (with Anton Pann’s tomb). The data disclosed by Bezviconi[12] [3] invalidate the opinions of the most authors, according to whom it was only after 1831 – via the Organic Regulations – the location of the cemeteries was imposed to be outside the city limits. As a matter

of fact, this mention was only included in the Organic Regulation for Moldavia, whereas the Wallachian Regulation did not anything to this purpose. For Bucharest, a possible Regulation Appendix is specified, a document called the Regulation for Health Condition and Vigilance for Good Order in the Police of Bucharest [4] containing an entire section regarding the cemeteries, under the name of ‘For the Cleaning and other acts for the health of the city dwellers’. The nobility residences had a simple organization, with access “[…] from an ample plaza, of a relatively square shape. The yard is placed in the south part of the residence, on the brink of a plateau, and divided into three distinct parts meant for the church (toward the east), the boyar house (in the middle) and for the guest houses (towards the west). The three enclosures overlook the village square; in the church yard, reclused from the road – where the cemetery was – there was a large size house.’[5] The impressive spread and density of the nobility residences in the territory of Wallachia is dealt with in Bogdan Stanciu’s PhD thesis. For instance, at the end of the 16th century, there were 51 in Mehedinti county and 61 in Gorj, 34 in Dolj, 33 in Olt and a number of 37 of such houses in Valcea county. [6]. Another architectural program, vanished or changed to the point of being identified with other functional areas is linked to hunting. Elaborate constructions that were using the natural land or were modifying the landscape prove remarkable abilities in the space perception and modeling at a very large scale. The traps were in the form of long walls that were merging behind a hill or a mud bank [13]. Such major transformations of the natural landscape are also the tells, hills and necropoleis. A certain type of social relation with the people who passed away is being highlighted. 3) The reserve of the objects in the necropoleis

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For archaeologists, the existence of the relics (graveyards of inhumation and some graveyards of incineration) also confirms a significant repository of ritualistic objects. Peter Ucko [14] believes as preconceived ideas the theories according to which the objects placed in the tombs have a connection with a belief in an after-death life [7]. Nevertheless, all the material forms are a proof of life, of being anchored in the society and of the cultural reference to religion and beliefs. The stock of the objects accompanying the dead can be simply classified into ‘clothing’, ‘furniture’, ‘weaponry’ and ‘jewellery’, all relating with the entire representation of the appearance [8]. In reality, all these objects are carefully selected, where some are specially made for the inhumation ceremony and others had belonged to the deceased. But they all have precise meanings, expressing a large spectrum of values and nuances of the existence. These objects facilitate the separation, the soul transition to the other side but they are elements obstructing the connection with the world of the living, as well. Traditions such as Calusarii (a group of people performing a Romanian folk dance, n.tr.) are losing their origins in time but they are still preserved until today [9]. The territory of our country is not singular in terms of the inhumation graveyards accompanied by ceramic pots or for the cases where the bodies were placed in these pots and covered in shards or ceramic fragments `[15]. Some tombs of inhumation contain pots placed in other pots [16], a fact with a magic significance. The deceased could have has a particular religious status, namely being a pregnant woman, a child or a shaman [10]. The pots also make reference to the funeral banquet, to the dinner that the living people have prepared to remember the dead person (pots, bowls, trays and plates). They can still hold food

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leftovers but they can have a metaphorical association within the funeral services, as serving as recipients for the soul, as well [17] [11]. Among the oldest objects in the tombs are the shells, little rocks, the semi-precious stones, seeds, animal bones (full skeletons or fragments) or fish scales. During history, more statues, figurines and ornamented jewels or fabrics are emerging and all refer to the social status of the deceased person, left to the other side [12]. The coins placed on the eyes, in the hand, on the chest or in the mouth of the dead person [18] are still a current practice in some cultures (local, too), representing the amount that the soul has to pay to be allowed to cross through the heaven gates. The cemeteries that are associated with the modernization of the state continue to group a narrower repertoire of objects accompanying the dead in the grave. From the type of clothing, to icons and crosses and money, objects with a symbolical and ritual value can be found. A strange action, still present in Banat, is the marking of the age of the dead person on the coffin lid, where the living people in the attendance cannot see it. B. Individualization of the monuments –

The social status

The social status has always commanded the rules of a social behavior, even though in relation with death and funeral rituals. The mourning and the symbolical gestures of the relatives certify the social connections between these people as a form of resistance or consolidation of the political power opposite to the fear, fascination and repulsion coming from the sight of a corpse [19]. More recent theories have developed sophisticated notions of the relations between the funeral rituals and the social structure where the arena of the funeral rituals are making up a conflict point and

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fight for power [13]. The social status found its validation both during the funerals, including the entire stock of objects – from clothing, jewels, pots and statues to the type of food served during the funeral banquet, as well as by the manner of marking the inhumation site. The emergence of the funerary monument is a social gesture of searching immortality via memory. The attention paid to that last resting place is visible in the oldest remains that were discovered, either in collective or individual graves. The proportion of a funeral monument was dictated by the monetary aspect to a small scale. The selection of immense monumens was a gesture compelled by the village say-so, by the acceptance of the community and the inclusion of the respective marking among that ‘this is how it was supposed to be done.’

decorated with a vegetal register – flowers of tulip, lily-of-the-valley and barberry [14]. Each element of this decoration is an identity manifesto that addresses to a small extent to the people who do not share the same system of values. During that time, the average man could appreciate the artistic value or the refinement of the manpower but, in the absence of the knowledge of the entire significance, he knew how to limit his repertoire of his own monuments to what was allowed to.

Figure 3. The tomb stela of Șerban Cantacuzino

Figure 2. Cross in fragmentary marble, 6th – 7th centuries, Lazu

The funerary slabs, similar with Serban Cantacuzino’s [20] in marble at Cotroceni Monastery (he was the founder) feature a coat of arms carved in high relief with a twoheaded eagle with the crown and armory of Wallachia, placed on a shield with the edges slightly rolled, traceried and pierced by vines. Under the coat of arms, there was the funerary inscription, while the slab edges are

The social status has become a good that can be purchased in cultures closer to our time and space. The contemporary cemeteries, even with a clear structure at the time of their emergence, with areas meant for different social, cultural, age and class categories, will reach a space homogeneity and lose the organizational rules of their beginnings. The phenomenon is natural, considering that this space of the dead is a living organism, with evolution, extension, densification and abandonment of some resting places. The cemetery can be perceived as an urban (space) replica and not only as a social and religious reflection. This action of singling out of the funerary

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monuments can also be looked at from the perspective of the juxtaposition or separation according to confessional criteria. There are hence three types of cemeteries: 1) The confessional cemetery The most cemeteries are confessional, since they represent a requirement at the time of their emergence. In the meantime, the very rigorous initial selection has gone milder, allowing other denominational tombs be included. Should the Evangelical Bellu Cemetery lost its characteristic meaning in its name, there are cemeteries that still maintain their preference for the same confession of the people who will be rested in peace therein. This category includes the Orthodox cemeteries (that permit the exclusive inhumation of the Christians) and the Jewish cemeteries. 2) The multiconfessional cemetery The publication of the Law for Cemeteries in 1864 in the Official Gazette issue number 71 on 27 March /8 April 1864, brings a number of stipulations affecting the internal functioning of the cemeteries, allowing burials for other confessions in the Orthodox cemeteries where those denominations are lacking a cemetery for their own parishioners in that area. The above-mentioned Evangelical Cemetery can be here included as the number of the Orthodox tombs exceeded the number of the old evangelical monuments, due to successive inheritances, marital relations and even the selling of the resting places. For Romania, the best example of multi-confessionalism is found in Maritime Cemetery in Sulina, the place ‚of a mixture between religions, nations, languages written on the crosses, customs and professions […]”[15]. Nevertheless, the confessions join together within that large enclosure, maintaining a space order, a rigorous zonification. The western space is more permissive in terms of the confessional mixtures.

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Monument cemeteries, as Père Lachaise, feature a confessional zonification for the older monuments but it allows today an interlacing of the markings, thus reflecting the social phenomenon of multiculturalism.

Figure 4. Bellu Evangelical Cemetery, overview of funerary monuments of different confessions

3) The laic cemetery

The emergence of this new type of cemetery has been argued by the cultural changes that are more visible within society. It is a response to the newest requirements connected with the globalization process, without eliminating the signs and obvious markings of belonging to ‘a confession.’ A particular situation seen in Sfânta Vineri Cemetery is the alley where communists have changed that the individual identity with the one of their group (Fig. 5). The rest of the cemetery consists in Christian markings, naturally placed.

Figure 5. Sfânta Vineri Cemetery, Bucharest, the communists alley

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III. IDENTITY MARKINGS

The highlight of the social status is only one of the very intricat aspects of the identity, expressed by the funerary monument. This marking needs to align to certain norms of reprensentation accepted by the community, has to meet the formal and symbolical criteria of the Church [21], and also to mark a certain last resting place, to be identifiable. The mere marking of the name is an identity gesture. All the additional inscriptions facilitate the location, discovery, the knowledge of whereabouts of the one being watched over. The selection of one of the pre-Christian, then Christianized forms [22] of marking the tomb is again an identity gesture. The funeral pillars are either male or female, where the antropomorph forms have a frequent use and also taking the shape of crosses. The twined crosses also tell the story of the dead people, similar with the burial triptychs with crosses within a circle [16].

Figure 7. Stylized anthropomorphic anthropomorphic pair cross

columns

and

A. The emergence of customized monuments or the first signs of laicization

In a world led by customes, devotion and fear, the need to assert the identity, to state the affiliation to the modern times and hope in immortality by the remembrance of an image, we will have photos of the deceased applied on the crosses or slabs. The tridimensional image, accepted in the Western space, is not allowed in Orthodoxism, as it appears as a spectacular form of identification with the otherness. The portraits and the busts making way in the Romanian funerary space are becoming a trend, and the elite sculptors will turn it into series [23]. More and more people identify themselves with the signs of modernity and deny what they see as an ‘Eastern obsolete origin.’

Figure 6. Celto-ligur column in stone and grave columns with bird-soul

Figure 8. Pogonatu. A slab – a cross with three photographic tarsias.

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B. Affiliation to a group

The manifestation of the identity has a significant component of affiliation to various categories. Even when an individual rejects the traditional values, religion or customs, he will identify himself with the ones sharing the same mentality, to a certain extent. On the other hand, the funerary space will group the monuments of the academicians or artists [24], thus facilitating a type of stylistical affinity of the monuments. For the middle class, the use of the funerary monuments in a series was the most convenient from a financial perspective. They were the safest, accepted by the priests and also by the neighbors’ say so. The customization of such monuments was possible by inscriptioning, the letters of choice, photographic images and the manner of delineating the last resting place. A special category is the heroes’, who are buried in special cemeteries or in clearly demarcated lots. For these people, the heroic death, a good death otherwise, will brand their existence. All the other social and cultural data are void, all their sins are forgiven. The identical monuments can have the insignias of the state, the flag or markings of the military rank of that person. The inscriptions, though, will limit themselves to name and years of birth and death (the best case scenario).

IV. PATRONS OF THE FUNERARY

MONUMENTS

The image of this dialogue between society and religion is also visible in the choices made by the patrons of some funerary monuments. Wherever money rules, there will be a true war being won by the extravagant shapes promoted by the intended modernity of the society. The small monastic cemeteries are an odd land amidst this dispute; even here, the traditional forms are losing ground in front of the need to assert of some abbots. The answer to the question ‘Who initiates these monuments, after all?’ has to be searched for. A. The relatives of the dead people

C. Otherness

The perception of the otherness will undergo changes in time. At first, it will stir fear or even repulsion for what is not known, for what is foreign… in other words, totally wrong. The adoption of an insignia or an otherness-like element is translated as treason. The acceptance of otherness only comes when the local models (leaders, political

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people, culture people) turn to space and decorative forms what belong to someone else. The state modernization has relied on sending the rich lads to studies in the western countries, then on granting scholarships in the same space, followed by the obligativity to implement the knowledge in the country of origin. The imports are a natural outcome and have triggered a trendy phenomenon, including in the funerary space. Architectural styles from neoclassical to eclectic and art nouveau have hallmarked the chapels and burial chambers and the Romantic sculpture has entered the landscape of the representative cemeteries of the Old Kingdom (the name given to Romania prior to 1918, n.tr.) [25].

Most of the funerary monuments are ordered by the descendants of the first people interred in that site and these monuments will also serve the same purpose to these progenies. The decision to have such a monument of identity erected will pose deontological problems and of identification with the deceased. Oftentimes, the family of a person holding totally different views than

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the society wil be attempting to ‘sweeten the pill’ in the message conveyed via the funerary monument, as there will be an identification with the dead person and an apology, as well… where it is not needed. The decisions of the relatives are impacted by the society, since they are immersed in it to a larger extent. B. The deceased people, by testamentary

decisions

In some cases, the dead people will decide, while still alive, on what type of a funerary monument want. They will have a mental projection of this construction and they can order certain representatives markings. Here, the honesty of selection is absolute, at first hand. The funerary monument of Iulia Hașdeu in Bellu Cemetery, the ‘poem tomb’ complies with the post-mortem instructions that she gave to her father during their spiritism séances. It is a rare yet illustrative example for this identity dialogue, where Iulia’s beliefs were going towards a realm that is not accepted by the church. A high class member, Iulia Hașdeu will shape a symbolical monument for herself, difficult to decode, stirring controversies but finally concurred to (in spite of its later desecration).

Figure 9. Iulia Hașdeu’s funeral monument, Bellu cemetery

The State and its Ministeries, Associations of a legal personality The State can assume the role of a patron for certain funerary monuments. When a front rank person does not have offsprings, the State will have to get involved in honoring and recognizing a national symbol. It will also have to intercede with the associations that are developing activities of honoring the heroes, when monuments such as mausolea or military cemeteries are erected for these heroes. In this context, public contests will be launched, for both the central monument of representation and also for the monuments in series, customized as a function of the military ranks or the nationality of the soldiers [26]. CONCLUSIONS The funerary space is a close image of the society with all its components and it has a very important particularity – atemporality. The funerary space is not confined, like in a painting composition, genre scene or war coverage pictorial, to a single moment in time. Conclusions about the entire existence of the deceased can be deduced from the selection of the funerary marking, the inscription of the identification data and the placement of the relics in a certain space context. The cultural level, the linkage with tradition and ancestors, the assertion of the individual identity, the economic condition and the social status are only a few decodable data. The beliefs of the dead person are visible in both the choice of the marking style for the eternity and in how the grave is visited and taken care of. The monuments of modernity do not reject the traditional values but they turn the laicized forms into official standards. As for these contemporary funerary monuments, the same question for all

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times remains: What is traditional, what is dogmatically correct and what is going beyond the correctness jurisdiction? In terms of funeral, there are no wrong choices… All the monuments are identity expressions, deeply anchored in the social realities of the times they are associated with. Yes, they are under the influence of the prevailing taste but also of the identity of their predecessors. ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to thank Elisabeta Negrău for her support. REFERENCES [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

The syntagm social dogmas is used to point out at similarities in the perception of the unwritten rules that are pertinent to tradition or to ‘this is what people usually do’. In history, certain North European cultures have had the habit of a ritualic recomposition of the bones, while orthodoxy alows the reinterment of the bones after 7 years following the decease of a person. Herein, the term of cultural will be used with an anthropological meaning, emboding all the material, moral data and unwritten laws of a society in a restricted space and time. The citadel – the Roman castrum Ulmetum, Pantelimon village, Constanta county, was erected between the 2nd and 4th centuries and the 4th and the 6th centuries. The Neolithic Tell in Catal Hüyük, the south of Anatolia of today, existed between 7500 B.C and 5700 B.C. and it is defined by those 18 successive layers of buildings. Law for Cemeteries in 1864 is published in the Official Gazette issue number 71 on 27 March/8 April 1864, during the reign of Cuza, which was regulating the obligation of each religious denomination to establish cemeteries in both the cities and in the villages. The current Teiul Doamnei Ghica Church, erected in 1833 by the Wallachian Prince Grigore Dumitrie Ghika IV, the first local lord

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after the Fanariot regime in Wallachia (1822). Răzvani Church in Bucharest was 278 years old, as shown in 1875, as shown in ‘Calendaru Anticu’. It was ‘[…] built by Stefan II, voivode Razvan, the prince of Moldova as a sign of the twinning of the Romanian in the sister provinces’. One of the datings goes around 1597. In the 18th century, the church was called a monastery and it became Metoc of the Holy Tomb in Jerusalem, namely under the tow of the Holy Tomb. In 1863, the impropriation decree given by Cuza Voda turned monastery Razvan into a minster. Along the years, the church was renewed in the 17th and 18th centuries by the great logothete Barca Cojescu and his mother Vladaia and by High Stewart Ianache Vacarescu. [9] The discoveries made during the archaeological diggings between September and October 1969, under the supervision of researcher Panait I. Panait; these diggings were commanded to the History Museum of the Municipality of Bucharest by the parochy. [10] The titular saint of Radu Voda Monastery in Bucharest is the Holy Trinity and Saint Hierach Nectarie of Eghina, and it is founded by voivode Alexander Mircea II (1568-1577) and his mistress Ecaterina. [11] Lucaci Church - Saint Stelian in Bucharest was founded in 1736 by Metropolitan Stefan of Wallachia. To rehabilitate the church after the fire, Anton Pann, a parishioner and a honorary singer in the church choir, brought his contribution. At his death, in November 1854, he was buried against the window of the church proscomidiar, as his wife – Ecaterina Pann – was one of the benefactors of the church. She endowed the church with the houses and the large yard where the printing house was located. . [12] Bezviconi (14 April 1910 –30 April 1966), a Roman historian, genealogist and heraldry expert, correspondent member of the Romanian Academy and of other history institutes in France and Belgium, a honorary member of the ‘Society of foreign publicists and writers’ in Bulgaria, and also the first historian who dug the first information and real data regarding Bellu Cemetery’. [13] The chevied animal could no longer leave the [8]

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ravine. Peter John Ucko (27 July 1938 – 14 June 2007) was an influential English archaeologist, also a controversial and divisive figure within archaeology. He served as Director of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London (UCL), and was a Fellow of both the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries. [15] Child bodies were inhumated by covering them with ceramic fragments; one explanation was that the parents were trying to find a as rigid as possible shelter, a protection for a tender infant body. The traditions are usual for Dacian cultures and in some Samatic communities. [16] The discoveries in Târgşor. [17] One of the interpretations of the pot is an extension of the body as the recipient for the soul [18] Monetary subdivisions, ‘ortul’ (a quarter of an older leu or of a taler) or the oblation were present in Europe during the Middle Ages, including Romania. These terms are part of usual syntagms about death. [19] There are functionalist interpretations of the funeral rituals, present in the studies of anthropologists such as Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown and Evans-Pintchard. [20] Serban Cantacuzino, b. 1640 – d. 29 October/8 November 1688) was the Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688 [21] This term refers to the institutional form of all the beliefs, without isolating a cultural space. [22] The entire set of pre-Christian markings is taken over and christianized by the marking of the cross. [23] The list of the scuptors in this class includes Auguste Préault, Wladimir Hegel, Ion Georgescu, Constantin Bălăcescu, Karl Storck and sons Frederic and Carol Storck, Dimitrie Paciurea, Oscar Späthe, Milița Pătrașcu, Constantin Baraschi, and also Ion Jalea, Corneliu Medrea or Teodor Burcă. [24] Bellu Cemetery (Șerban Vodă) in Bucharest and others, such as Père Lachaise and Cimitero Monumentale di Milano feature a similar division [25] Among the cemeteries of the Old Kingdom [14]

that have a western appearance are Bellu, Sfânta Vineri, Capra, Reînvierea in Bucharest, Eternitatea Cemetery in Iași, Ungureni and Sineasca in Craiova, Cemetery in Sulina, Pacea in Suceava, Cemetery in Caracal, Viișoara in Ploiești; representative monuments will be found in Bacău, Focșani, Brăila, Piatra Neamț, Vaslui, Târgu Jiu, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Buzău, Giurgiu, Botoșani, Bârlad, Pașcani, or Roman. [26] An example is the Military Cemetery in Poplaca, erected in 1919 – 1920. Here are gathered the relics of the Romanian, Austrian and German soldiers fallen during the battles of 13 – 15 September 1916 in the south-west of Sibiu. The Cemetery has been taken care of by the „Mormintele eroilor” Association, along with the local authorities.

Bibliography [1] Barnea, I. Arta Creștină în România, volume 1, 120. Bucharest: Publishing House of the Bible and Mission Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, 1979. [2] Reinhardt, Michael, Religiozitatea Orientului Apropiat în epocă pre-mozaică – O abordare din perspectivă biblică, October, 20, 2012, in http://www.slideshare.net/ messianicrestorer/religiozitatea-orientuluiapropiat-n-epoca-premozaic-religiozitateaorientului-apropiat-n-epoca-premozaic [3] Gheorghe Bezviconi, Necropola Capitalei, „Nicolae Iorga” Institute of History, Bucharest, 1972, pp. 3 – 14. [4] This document is published in Emil Vârtosu, Ion Vârtosu and Horia Oprescu, Începuturi edilitare, 1830 – 1832,Documente pentru istoria Bucureștilor, Bucharest, 1936, p. 29, apud Pop, Andreea, Arhitectură funerară creștină în spațiul românesc extracarpatic, de la Regulamentul Organic până la al Doilea Război Mondial, PhD thesis in manuscript, pp. 53-54. [5] Stanciu, Constantin Bogdan, Evoluția și Funcțiunile Ansamblurilor nobiliare rurale din Oltenia medievală Secolele XV – XVIII,

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PhD thesis in manuscript, coordinator Prof. PhD Antal Lukacs, 2013, 138 [6] Stanciu, Constantin Bogdan, Evoluția și Funcțiunile Ansamblurilor nobiliare rurale din Oltenia medievală Secolele XV – XVIII, PhD thesis in manuscript, coordinator Prof. PhD Antal Lukacs, 2013, Anexa 2, 219 – 227 [7] In Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, edited by John D. Kelly, Beatrice Jauregui, Sean T. Mitchell, and Jeremy Walton, 67–83. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. [8] Comșa, Eugen, Neoliticul pe teritoriul României: considerații, Academiei RS România Publishing House, 1987 [9] Giurchescu, Anca, “Căluşul în zona de tensiune între cercetare şi salvgardare”, Conferințele de la Șosea, Published on 06/02/2009, in http://www. muzeultaranuluiroman.ro/conferinte/?p=6 [10] Sonoc, Alexandru Gh., O Tradiție funerară străveche: înhumarea în vase sau sub fragmente de vase in Relaţii interetnice în spaţiul românesc. Populaţii şi grupuri etnice (sec II î. Hr. - V d. Hr.),volum edeted by Ţiplic, Ioan Marian and Purece, Silviu Istrate, Alba Iulia, Altip Publishing House, 2006. [11] Pr. Dr Picioruș, Dorin Octavian, “Reîntoarcere la Nichita”, Teologie pentru azi, 9 martie, 2016, in http:// www.teologiepentruazi.ro/2016/03/09/ reintoarcere-la-nichita-17/ [12] Cosma, Călin. “Necropole, morminte izolate și descoperiri funerare cu caracter incert din secolele al IX-lea și al X-lea din vestul și nord-vestul României”, http://www.institutarheologie-istoriaarteicj. ro/Articole/eph-XI-11.pdf [13] Rit și ritual funerar în pre și în proto istorie, in https://ro.scribd.com/ doc/149373842/Rit-Si-Ritual-Funerar-in-PreSi-Proto-Istorie [14] Şerban Cantacuzino- ‘the prince with a tiger roar voice’, according to his

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contemporaries, in Istorie pe scurt, October 28, 2014, http://www.istorie-pe-scurt.ro/ serban-cantacuzino-domnitorul-care-i-ainselat-pe-turci/ [15] Covacef, Petre, „Cimitirul viu de la Sulina, preface, EX Ponto Publishing House, 2003 [16] Oprișan, I., Troițe românești O tipologie, Bucharest, Vestala Publishing House, 2003 List of Images Fig. 1 Ulmetum: Stela from the tombs of Alexander and Domna, image from Barnea, I. Arta Creștină în România, volume 1, Bucharest: Publishing House of the Bible and Mission Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, 1979, p.120 Fig. 2 Lazu, Cross with Latin inscription, image from Barnea, I. Arta Creștină în România, volume1, Bucharest: Publishing House of the Bible and Mission Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, 1979, p.94 Fig. 3 The tomb stela of Șerban Cantacuzino (National Museum Cotroceni), image from Pătrășcanu, Lucreția, Sculptura brâncovenească și sculptura cantacuzină/Brancoveanu style sculpture and Cantacuzino style sculpture, in Ctitorii brâncovenești Elemente de artă eclesială medievală/Brancoveanu style Churches. Elements of medieval ecclesial art, Bucharest, Cuvântul Vieții Publishing House, 2014, p190 Fig. 4 Bellu Evangelical Cemetery, overview of funerary monuments of different confessions. Photo taken by the author in 2006. Fig.5 Sfânta Vineri Cemetery, Bucharest, the communists alley. Photo taken by the author in 2006. Fig. 6 a. The celto-ligur sanctuary column in stone in Entremont (Aix-en-Provence), with twelve heads, cut and sculpted. The length of the column is 160 cm, width 34 – 38 cm; the height of the heads 15 – 17 cm and 23 – 25 cm. The late stage Latène (2nd century B.C.). this column in the sanctuary portico has had the function of a doorstep for a building, after the Romans had destroyed the sanctuary. Image from Berciu,

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Dumitru, Lumea celților, Bucharest, Științifică Publishing House, 1970. b. Grave Column for young men who did not live long enough to know the world. Loman graveyard, Alba country. 26.07.2003. Image from Oprișan, I., Troițe românești O tipologie, Bucharest, Vestala Publishing House, 2003, p.12 Fig. 7 a. Anthropomorphic pair of Sky Columns, representing man and woman, 1804 (date of the inscription). Solid oak wood. In all probability, the monument is much older. Pătârlagele, Buzău country. 24.08.2003. Image from Oprișan, I., Troițe românești O tipologie, Bucharest, Vestala Publishing House, 2003, p. 24. b. A pair of antropomorphic crosses (singular monument) in Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest. Photo taken by the author in 2004. Fig. 8 A cross-shaped slab with photographic tarsias of The Pogonatus, Bellu cemetery, Bucharest. Photo taken by the author in 2004. Fig. 9 The funerary monument of Iulia Hașdeu, full image, lot 25, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest. Photo taken by the author in 2004.

Biography

Oana-Diana-Eliana Popescu-Coliban Born in Bucharest, in 1980. The educational background includes (1994 – 1998) “Nicolae Tonitza” Beaux Arts High School, (section of Painting); (1998 – 2002) University of Arts Bucharest, section of Sculpture; (2002 – 2004) Master in Beaux and Decorative Arts, University of Arts, Bucharest; (2002 – 2008) Faculty of Architecture at “Spiru Haret“University; (2004 – 2006) Master in Vernacular Architecture and Sacred Space at “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest; (2010 – 2014) PhD degree at University of Arts, Bucharest; In January 2015, the title of PhD in Visual

Arts, thesis Romanian Modern Funerary Architecture in the Old Kingdom The major fields of study are architecture and sculpture. She has been involved in the following: (1994) summer job – Workshop for Icons Painting; (1997) – Scholarship through Principesa Margareta Foundation in Chaltenham &Glaucester Art Colledge, England; (2003 & 2004) Member of the inventory team for the sortable monuments in “Șerban Vodă” (Bellu) Cemetery in Bucharest; (2004) – summer architecture practicum at “Super Build”, Paris, France; (2005) – summer architecture practicum at “Studios”, Paris, France; (August – Sept 2007) Practicum for the senior year at “SOA Workshop”, Paris, France. As for the articles published, the list is as such: Funerary Space, an Indicator of Economic Fluctuations, on REASER: Volume 11, ISSUE 1 /2016; Bucurestii de dincolo de timp in MMI no. 30/2016, pending publication and Skeleteon, semantics of representation in Annals of Spiru Haret University - Architecture Series 1/2016, pending publication. The current position is of Assistant Lecturer (2009 – present) at the Faculty or Architecture of “Spiru Haret” University. Assist. Lect. PhD. Sculpt. Arh. PopescuColiban is member in the UAP (Union of the Artists), OAR (Romanian Order of Architects) and UAR (Union of Romanian Architects). Besides numerous awards from the national and international Beaux Arts olympiads for Painting, the Third Prize was received in November 2002 at the School of Arts Bucharest in the Spontaineity of Fiction section.

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Human Immanent Cognition in the Pre - Christian Slavic Culture 1. Emanuel George OPREA, PhD

2. Cristiana OPREA, PhD

Faculty of History, Moscow Pedagogical State Institute 11572 Moscow, Russian Federation

Frank Laboratory for Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research 141980 Dubna, Russia

3. Alexandru OPREA, PhD

Frank Laboratory for Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research 141980 Dubna, Russia

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 20 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 30 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.25

Slavic Pre-Christian paganisms have a pretty good mythology, strong traditions and an extensive culture founded on solid immanent conceptions about Universe and Life. Why? This is the result of thousands of years melting process of specific geographical conditions and natural phenomena with unseen regulatory influences of something Higher. Any religion that was created has the main purpose to give to the mankind some clear answers of how our World has appeared in correlation with fundamental moral precepts. This is possible through inner self-knowledge of natural philosophy and was possible also in Pre-Christian Slavic culture in spite of the fact that many notions and necessary ideas were not so developed like in Ancient Greek Civilization. The present work is trying to open some Immanence aspects of traditional PreChristian Slavic culture in relation with Mankind. The discussions, argues and controversies in Philosophy around the origins of the basics ideas of World View and their influences on the People’s Life during the History until our days are well known.

Keywords: Pre-Christian Slavic culture; religion and traditions; immanent cognition; transcendental in paganism;

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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I. INTRODUCTION

The notion of “paganism” is difficult to define accurate enough because it includes several concepts, not just one. Today, paganism is understood not only as a religion but as a set of religious and cultural beliefs. Paganism is the belief in many gods and in many cases is related to “totemism 1“, “polytheism2 “ or “ethnic religion3 “ [1, 2, 3]. The paganism of the ancient Slavs – is a set of terms used to denote the complex of religious and cultural beliefs that influenced the life of ancient Slavic tribes, before they were converted to Christianity and moved to the new faith. There is an opinion that the ancient religious and ceremonial culture of the Slavs are not originated from the concept of polytheism (many deities), but from the fact that the ancient tribes, although they lived separately, they were based on a single language. So Nestor the Chronicler4, in his writings (“The Story of Bygone Times”) describes these tribes as pagans, having one language and common roots. Later the term of “Slavic Paganism” gradually began to be referred to the Slavic 1 Totemism – Once upon a time a very widespread social religious system based on the cult of a Totem. From scientific point of view Totem is defined as a class of objects or natural phenomena to which some social groups (family, brotherhood, and tribe) demonstrate a kind of special worship (adoration) and consider being kinship related and bearing its name. For the first time the notion of Totem was used by John Long in his book “Voyages and Travels” (London, 1791). J. Long brought the term of Totem from North American Indians talking in the Ojibway Language, a dialect of Algonquins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem 2 Polytheism – belief in many deities (gods or goddess) wherein each deity has his own rituals. Usually every deity is a representation of a Force of Nature or ancestral principal. The deities are understood as a transcendental emanation of a Creator manifested itself immanently in the Nature. http://www.polytheism.net/ 3 Ethnic religion – This notion is trying to define manifestation of religion at different ethnic groups. There are also alternative terms like: “tribal”, “primitive”, “indigenous” instead of “ethnic”. http://www. conservapedia.com/Ethnic_religion 4 Nestor the Chronicler (Нестор Летописец) (? 1056 - 1114) – ancient Russian chronicler, hagiographer of XI-XII centuries, monk of KievPechersky Monastery. He is considered the author of the Chronicle “The Story of Bygone Times” “(Повести временных Лет” – in Russian). This Chronicle, together with others writings, is of fundamental importance for Slavic Culture. Nestor was canonized by Russian Orthodox Church as Venerable. http://ruvera.ru/articles/marina_voloskova_nazvannyiy_ otcom_istorii_drevneiy_rusi (in Russian)

religious and beliefs and generally used to mean the religion 5.

Figure 1. Nestor The Chronicler. Forensic Facial Reconstruction by Sergey A. Nikitin (1985) (Wikipedia user: Shakko) https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nestor_03.jpg

II. ANCIENT SLAVS AND OTHER

CULTURES

Slavic paganism began to form around the second part of the first Millennium BC, under the influence of Indo-European culture, when the Slavs began to stand out in separate tribes [4]. Moving and occupying new territories, the Slavs were acquainted with the culture of their neighbors and adopted certain features and characteristics from them. Related with this issue, the Slavs as part of the Indo - European culture brought in their mythology the images of the God of Storms, God of Cattle and Mother Earth [5]. A considerable influence on the Slavic tribes have the Celts6, who have also enriched the Slavic Pantheon from whom the Slavs brought the concept 5 http://historynotes.ru/yazychestvo-slavyan/ - Pre-Christian religions in ancient Russia 6 The Ancient Celts – Various population groups living in several parts of Europe of North of Mediterranean See, in time starting from Bronze Age. The Celts tribes have been migrated in Western Europe to Portugal, in North to Britain and in the East to Turkey. They had a great influence to European Civilizations including the Ancients Slavs.

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of “God”, not previously used by Slavs [6]. Slavic paganism has much in common with Norse7 culture [7]. The Slavs took from the Norse culture the image of the World Tree8, dragons and many other gods, which later have been transformed depending on the conditions and features of life beyond the Slavic culture.

Figure 2. World Tree. Russian folk ornaments. Note: Symbols of World Tree can be found in other cultures . https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dolmatov_World_tree.png User: Lobachev Vladimir

After the Slavic tribes were formed and began to colonize new areas actively, they have separated to each other and step by step they had transformed their preChristians traditions and religions. Each tribe had their own special rituals, their own names for the gods and the deity. So in the sixth and seven century the religion of the Eastern Slavs is quite significantly different

7 Norse Culture – Culture and religious traditions of Norsemen before the Christianity in Scandinavia specific to the Viking Age. Norseman, in translation means “The man from the North” and it was referred to the people from Scandinavia. The Norse Language is belonging to the North – Germanic branch of Indoeuropean Languages and from which were developed the modern Scandinavian Languages. http://www.pantheon. org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/ 8 The World Tree – universal archetype of many ancient cultures, religions and mythologies. This motif can be found in Indo-European, Siberian and American Pre - Columbian religions. The World Tree is represented as a colossal tree supporting the Heaven, connecting the Heaven with our World on the Earth and the Under World through the roots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_tree

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from the religion of the Western Slavs [6]. Slavic paganism has a well-developed mythology with strong traditions and an extensive culture grounded and impregnated by Immanence. This is due to a complex combination and interrelation of combinations of natural phenomena, common day by day life and traditions with something higher and not seen and understood by everyone [8]. In the beginning all religions that were created in any period of time, nowadays or in the ancient times, have as one of the objectives the attempt to answer to the main question of “how all around us, The World, The Universe exist.” To give one of the clear answers, it was necessary to understand that in this world all their yield, all is near. Moreover, what is near? For example, there are parallels: Heaven and Earth. The Heaven and Earth were the Gods at the ancient Scythians9. Later the Slavs bring in their religions these deities from Scythians, Sarmatians10 and Chimericals11 [9]. At Scythians, the God of the sky or lightning was Targitaus. The Slavic God12 of lightning and the sky is Perun, and the Earth goddess Mokosh [10]. In the Pre - Christian religions it is supposed that each God is responsible in his place, on his “area.” One God should be responsible for water, the second for land, the third one for the sky. The unseen principle of Universal Balance cannot allow the over concentration of powers in one, even supernatural being. 9 Scythians – Ancient Indo – European people with Iranian Languages origins who lived from VII century BC until IV century AD. Scythians had populated the steppes of Northern region of Black Sea from Danube to Don. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians 10 Sarmatians – People of nomadic tribes with Iranian Language origins who lived from VI century BC until the first century AD. They had populated the steppe regions of confluence between Tisa and Danube in the West and the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan in the East. https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatians 11 Cimmerians – Ancient nomadic people first mentioned by Assyrian sources in the VIII century BC when they had invaded regions of Caucasus. They are considered a prior Scythians people of Black Sea region and Asia Minor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimmerians 12 List of Ancient Slavs Deities - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ Slavic_mythological_figures

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This is a common feature of all Pre - Christian pagan religions. The main function was in maintaining the balance between earth and sky otherwise the sky will fall to earth and can mix. For this reason, immanence is considered the feature and in the same time, the ability of humans not to go beyond of experience in order to maintain and to not destroy the Universal Balance of Nature [11]. The main characters of the Universe such as the Earth and the Heaven are in a permanent struggle or help each other, or they both can destroy peoples. Common peoples have understood these always, and that is why there is fear of the unknown. It is an open path into the transcendental. What if suddenly nature is alive and able to revenge? What if she can sweep away everything in its path? For this reason, the humans must give to Nature what Nature asked without any conditions. Moreover, Nature had received the sacrifices, in different more or less bloody forms. Perhaps after God of Heaven and Earth, later, there were other deities that help the Slavic people13. In terms of natural phenomena there is a correspondence between them and different kinds of spirits, beings, who also are, helping, disturbing or they can just simply destroying [12]. The Cult of Fire, in various forms, survived until the beginning of XX century. The fire was considered “God.” One of his assistant, at Slavic peoples, was “Ognevyi Svarozhitso” with a pray called after the name of the spirit, of the assistant [13]. “Holy fire” was considered when fire heave read prayers. The fire moved from the old home to the new one. In certain cases the fire was obtained by rubbing and the new fire was considered as “live fire”. “We worship to fire as God said the inhabitants of Podolia14. Anyway you need to 13 http://psylib.org.ua/books/eliad04/txt01.htm#250 14 Podolia – Historic region in Eastern Europe located in the West – central and South – Eastern part of Ukraine. The name is derived from Old Slavic Language where “po” means “by/next/to/along” and “dol”

respect and venerate the Fire in all aspects in the same way as God. We are respecting and venerating the Fire because the Fire can burn,” – said in Polesie [14]. The sacredness of fire has its roots from the Balto-Slavs in ancient times. And it has survived to the present day. If you bathe in the bath, this has roots in the customs of the Slavs since ancient times15. III. SLAVS GODS AND GODDESS

The next thing people see in terms of immanent experience is death. Since ancient times, if someone dies it should be buried. In the ancient cultures there are various traditions of burial, offering sacrifices, and of using amulets to defend alive from dead people. From the point of view of mythology, the owl is one of the symbols of death in the mythology. From here you can see a connection in mythology with vampires, and spirits of the dead who can come to you or to a stranger to take a life [16]. Another interesting question is the indeterminate status of women in Slavic paganism [15]. On the one hand, she is the one who supports the family and children. The entire Russian North – from Pskov16 in the West to the vast Arkhangelsk17 edges in the East – abounds of towels with a ritual scene: in the center with a large female figure (often with raised hands), and on the sides of it with two riders, as well often with raised hands.

which means “”valley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podolia 15 http://www.rodon.org/rba/yads.htm#a4 (in Russian) 16 Pskov – city in North – West of Russia founded in 903. A. D. Pskov is administrative center of Pskov region and is located at the confluence of the rivers Velikaya and Pskov. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pskov 17 Arhangelsk – The biggest region in the European North part of Russian Federation with a surface of 589 913 km2 (larger than surface of France and Spain). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Arkhangelsk_Oblast

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Figure 3. Folk Towel from North of Russia representing a woman

The female figure is usually with birds in the hands, which are the symbol of heaven. Sometimes the composition is changing: instead of the riders on the sides of the female are depicted two huge birds, but the figure of a female deity was kept as the main in its Central place in the composition. Often the goddess’s head size was represented as a solar (sun) disk with short rays radiating in all directions. Sometimes a huge solar sign covers almost the entire middle of the female figure. In Olonets18 embroidery composition with the two riders is a special option: the Central female figure is huge; it is three times higher than the horses. On the head she has a horn and is surrounded by goddess and riders, by stars and some kind of sky firmament. This is the manner of how is represented the goddess Moksha, which is the goddess of fertility [15]. But on the other hand, the woman can be depicted as the one who brings death. This is the case of Morena19. The image of Morena, in the original etymological kinship or by secondary sound analogy, is associated with death and the seasonal agricultural rites of the dying and rising from the dead of nature. Polish chronicler of the XV century, Jan Dlugosz20, in his work (Annals of Chronicles of Famous Kingdom of Poland), identifies 18 Olonets (in Finnish Aunus)– one of the oldest city in the European North of Russia in Republic of Karelia, administrative center of Olonets, the national Region of Republic of Karelia. https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Olonets 19 Slavs Goddess of Death - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzanna 20 Jan Dlugosz (1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480) – Polish priest, diplomat, soldier, canon of Krakow, archbishop of Lwow https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_D%C5%82ugosz

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the Marjane with the Roman goddess Ceres21. Czech Morana (also Morana in old Czech language) in the false gloss of “Mater Verborum22“ is identified with Hecate, and Proserpina-Persephone (see footnote 21). Some Russian authors like V. V. Ivanov and V. N. Toporov relate the name of Marena with the Mars (see footnote 21), the God of War at Romans [17]. In the beginning, the God Mars had agricultural functions as well. Therefore by analyzing the origin of the name *Mŏr - while allowing that later, perhaps, there was a mixture, in the spirit of folk etymology, roots: *Mŏr - and *mer -, “death”, causing the deity of fertility to be associated with death. In many publications dedicated to Slavic neo Pre - Christian religions and cultures, the Goddess Morena is described only as the goddess of death [17]. One of the earliest forms of religion was fetishism23, based on the idea that physical objects as natural elements possess supernatural powers, which people with special magical rituals are able to use in order to prevent the catastrophic effects of the environment [18]. We can separate an analog trend named animism24. In this belief, it is supposed the independent existence of the human soul, from time to time leaving his body, as well as the spirits of certain forces of nature, plants, animals, dead ancestors. The oldest form of religion is Totemism (see footnote 1) and here the main idea consists of mystical connection between the human race and the particular animals or plants where the mighty ancestors, require special veneration and respect. 21 Roman Gods and Goddess - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ Roman_deities 22 Mater Verborum – Encyclopedic dictionary from Middle Age created in the XI century AD in Switzerland. This writing is known also due to Czech glosses introduced (fasificated) in the dictionary much later in 1827 by national activist Vaclav Hanka. https://ru.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Mater_Verborum (in Russian) 23 Fetishism: The Catholic Encyclopedia - http://www.newadvent.org/ cathen/06052b.htm 24 Animism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animism

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Conclusion The Pre - Christian World was relatively well organized. The Life was intimately related with Immanence, creating in this way a regulatory approach which did not allow to pass the limit of experience. But there is something in the life of the Slavs that is not well enough described. The Slavs did not know well what is under the ground like ancient Greeks or like many other ancient religions. They believed that the inside of Earth is cold and dark. From here begins the transcendental in paganism of Slavs. Transcendent and immanent must go hand in hand in order to give the opportunity to understand how the processes in our world are working, to give the possibility to understand what is deeper under the Earth and how all these are related with the under World, the world of dead. Because of the fear of the unknown man comes out of Immanence and increasingly trying to move into the Transcendental. He wants to explore the “other worlds.” He is trying to build a world where in the middle is a struggle for balance. In the upper world there is a permanent struggle to maintain the average balance of the middle (our) world. In the upper world, all is well but the lower world is trying to devour or to destroy the balance. This is the frame in which Slavic paganism was built similarly as in other religions. Still, the later paganism had faced new challenges, induced by the development of the society, requiring new answers which have not been given yet. Nowadays there is a tendency to return the “real truths” of ancient (not only Slavic) Paganism to many members of modern society. Partly this can be understood because now, from the distance of thousands of years, peoples see only the “romantic” part of paganism (principles, morality, organization, gods and goddess keep watching to the order, etc). We must not forget that then there were very hard

times. Now in the modern, dynamical, competitive, rapidly changing, modern mostly laic society, the man can easy lose himself and Pre - Christian traditions seem to be a solution. However, at a deeper analysis, we easy understand that it is not. However to study the Pre - Christian traditions, religions and culture, it is of course necessary in order to understand in a better way, how our ancestors lived. However, the most important fact is that we realize that the Christianity have replaced in a natural way the Pre - Christian pagan traditions corresponding to the logical development of the Society. Objectively the return is not possible. It would be a regression. Even John the Revelator had not rejected the Pagans. He just considered him blinds. They just wandered millenniums by searching the Truth. Therefore is in our powers and possibilities to make efforts to receive Our Lord between us with His Teachings. References 1. I. Yu. Semenov, Totemism an ancient mythology and religion, Skepsis, No. 3/4, Vesna, 2005, p. 74-78 (in Russian) http://scepsis.net/library/id_393.html 2. Ulrich Libbrecht, Within the Four Seas. Introduction to Comparative Philosophy, Peeters Publishers (2007) ISBN 9042918128 3. Joseph B. Ruane, Jennifer Todd, Ethnicity and Religion. Intersections and Comparisons, Routledge Ed., London (2011) ISBN `978-1-138-88037-5 4. Nikita Ilich Tolstoy, Essays on Slavic Paganism, Indrik Publishing House, Moscow (2003) (in Russian) http://indrik.ru/collection/all/product/ tolstoj-n-i-ocherki-slavyanskogoyazychestva 5. Igor Vadimovich Kondakov, Introduction in the History of Russian Culture, Aspekt Press Publishing House,

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Moscow (1997) (in Russian) 6. Valentin Vasilievich Sedov, Slavs in Ancient Times, Edited by “Scientific and Production Charity Society – Foundation of Archeology”, Moscow (1994) ISBN 5-87059003-5 (in Russian) 7. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Safronov, Indoeuropean Ancestral Homelands, Volgo – Viatsky Publishing House (1989) (in Russian) http://www.istorya.ru/book/safronov/ index.php 8. Valeria Nikolaevna Sokolchik, Esthetical Attitudes of Ancient Slavs: Monography, Republican Institute of Superior School, Minsk (2007) 9. Dorin Sarbu, A controversial archaeological phenomenon of the early Iron Age between the mouths of the Danube and the Volga: the Cimmerian Culture, Romanian Journal of Archaeology, 1, (2000) (in Romanian) 10. Olga Vladislavovna Belova, Ludmila Nikolaevna Vinogradovna, Andrey Lvovich Toporkov, Earth / Slavic Ancient Times: Ethnic and Linguistic Dictionary, Redacted by Nikita Ilich Tolstoy, Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, International Relations Publishing House, Moscow (1999) (in Russian) 11. Gus DiZerega, Pagans and Christians. Personal Spiritual Experience, Llewellyn Publication, St. Paul – Minnesota, 551640383 U.S.A (2004) 12. Mircea Eliade, The History of Beliefs and Religious Ideas: From Mohammed up to Reforms Epoch, 3, Polirom Publishing House, Bucharest (2015) (in Romanian) 13. Aleksandr Sergeevich Famintsyn, Deities of Ancient Slavs, E. Arnhold Typography, Sankt Peterburg (1884) (in Russian) 14. Aleksandr Serzhputovsky, Essays of Belorussia . The Getting of Fire. – Old

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Live Customs, 1909, book. 69, p. 40 – 41 (in Russian) 15. Boris Aleksandrovich Rybakov, Paganism of Ancient Slavs, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow (1980) (in Russian) 16. Kazimiers. Moszynski, Folk Culture of Slavs, Kracovia, 1929 – 1939, § 555, s. 682 (in Polish) 17 Vyacheslav Vasilievich Ivanov, Vladimir Nikolaevich Toporov, Mith of the People of the World: Slavic Mythology, Soviet Encyclopedia Publishing House, Moscow (1980) (in Russian) 18. Andrew Lang, Fetishism and Spiritualism: The Making of Religion (Chapter VIII), Longmans, Green and C, London, New-York and Bombay (1900)

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 3 : 1 (2016) 297 - 304

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The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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Prophetic symbols in the book of prophet Daniel Assoc. Prof. Ioan-Gheorghe ROTARU, PhD. ‘Timotheus’ Brethren Theological Institute of Bucharest Head of Academic Research Center Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 20 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 27 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.26

The prophet Daniel, like many compatriots, was taken prisoner of war in Babylon after the military expedition of the year 605 BC Jerusalem, military campaign led by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The prophet Daniel wrote his prophetic book, the book that bears his name, written in a symbolic language, in the manner of military strategists who conveyed the messages in a symbolically encoded.

Keywords: prophet Daniel; prophetic book; symbols; Old Testament;

I. INTRODUCTION

Prophet Daniel, like many of his compatriots, was taken prisoner of war in Babylon following the 605 BC [1] military campaign led by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon himself. This is how Daniel and all the other prisoners of war were strapped of their simple life in Judaea and were taken into the biggest and brightest metropolis of the ancient world, Babylon. After arriving in Babylon, Daniel and several young Hebrews were selected to learn in the Babylonian schools in order to serve in various areas of the imperial administration. After

completing a three years study program, the Emperor himself attended their final examination, and he found them more capable than all the other young people who completed the study program. II. SYMBOLYC ELEMENTS IN KING

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM

1. The term Babylon. The Scripture uses a play on words to connect the term babel with the root bll, which means “to confuse.” From this perspective, the term Babel, the Hebrew word for Babylon, is the biblical symbol for the world below that tries to

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conquer the power belonging to the one above. [2] 2. The captivity of the Jews also symbolized a way of correcting the spiritual ways of God’s people in those times. Following the 605 BC military campaign, a large number of Hebrews were to become slaves of the Babylonian conquerors. Without any doubt, slavery was not pleasant, but slavery of was a symbol for God’s way of warning and admonishing His people for their disobedience to Him, for their moral decay and for mixing worship and religious practices with pagan practices.[3] The strategy underneath their deportation consisted in exiling the inhabitants of an area in order to subjugate them more easily. The torment experienced by the Jewish exiles meant more than the personal inconvenience of changing their place of residence, namely the disappearance of their country and that of their position as witnesses of the true God. In these circumstances, Babylon takes the place of Jerusalem and the religious implications of this usurpation are not easy to report. [4] Nebuchadnezzar took the utensils in God’s temple and took them to Babylon in order to be used in the Babylonian deities’ temple: “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.” [5] When the exiles arrived in Babylon, the Babylonian officials took them over and evaluated them, choosing several noble young people with a pleasant appearance and high intellectual capacities in order to be trained in Babylonian schools and then to be useful in various administrative positions in the Babylonian empire. Among the young captives selected to be trained was also Daniel, a possible descendant of the last king of Judah, Zedekiah. As their recruitment

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was coordinated by Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, it is possible that the young Hebrew passed through a painful operation and castration practice very common in the Middle East. It is highly possible that when he went through this painful procedure, he remembered the words of Prophet Isaiah who prophesied saying [6]: “And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” [7] “Among the children of Israel who were carried captive to Babylon at the beginning of the seventy years’ captivity were Christian patriots, men who were as true as steel to principle, who would not be corrupted by selfishness, but who would honour God at the loss of all things. In the land of their captivity these men were to carry out God’s purpose by giving to heathen nations the blessings that come through the knowledge of Jehovah. They were to be His representatives. Never were they to compromise with idolaters; their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God they were to bear as a high honour. And this they did. In prosperity and adversity they honoured God, and God honoured them.” [8] “Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.” Seeing in these youth the promise of remarkable ability, Nebuchadnezzar determined that they should be trained to fill important positions in his kingdom. That they might be fully qualified for their lifework, he arranged for them to learn the language of the Chaldeans and for three years to be granted the unusual educational advantages afforded princess of the realm.” [9] 3. Changing the name of Daniel and his three companions were symbols of their anointment to Babylonian deities: The names of Daniel and his three companions represented characteristics of their service to God and changing their names symbolized giving up on characters

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giving glory to God and taking over different names and different religious beliefs and practices: “The names of Daniel and his companions were changed to names representing Chaldean deities. Great significance was attached to the names given by Hebrew parents to their children. Often these stood for traits of character that the parent desired to see developed in the child. The prince in whose charge the captive youth were placed “gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.” [10] The name Daniel meant “God is my judge” or “God is Judge”. Daniel’s name was changed into Belteshazzar, or “Bel-SarUsur”, name which meant “may Bel preserve the life of the emperor” [11] or for “Balatusuusur”, which meant “preserve life”. The name Hananiah meant “Jehovah is (was) benevolent”, “Jehovah favoured” or “Jehovah showed mercy”. In the Old Testament, we find the name Hananiah more than 14 times, being a familiar name, especially among Hebrews. But the name can also be found in the Akkadian culture as Hananyama, meaning “the one belonging to God”. We also find the name in the Scriptures [12] in the period before and after the Babylonian slavery. The name Hananiah was changed in Shadrach. While some specialists claim that it doesn’t mean anything in Akkadian, others say that it is an alteration of the name of the Babylonian god Marduk, [13] others think that it means “decree of Aku” (the Sumerian god of the moon) [14] or “servant of god Sin”. [15] The name Mishael means “who is like God”, while the Babylonian name that replaced it, Meshach, means “who is like Aku” [16] the king’s guest” or “ram”, the name of the Sun god, [17] “the shelter of the prince”. [18] The name Azariah means “God helps”,

while the name Abednego, that replaced it, means “servant of Nego (a form of Nebo, the god Mercury).” [19] ,,The king did not compel the Hebrew youth to renounce their faith in favour of idolatry, but he hoped to bring this about gradually. By giving them names significant of idolatry, by bringing them daily into close association with idolatrous customs, and under the influence of the seductive rites of heathen worship, he hoped to induce them to renounce the religion of their nation and to unite with the worship of the Babylonians.” [20] Prophet Daniel wrote his prophetic book, book which bears his name, in a symbolic language, the way a military strategist would convey his messages, in a symbolic, coded manner. In his book, Daniel depicts Nebuchadnezzar as a king who, unlike other monarchs of the time, is concerned about the present, but also about the future, struggling about future events that could come await his world. To a presumptuous monarch concerned greatly about the future, the God of heavens answers through a dream that none of his men of wisdom and counsellors could make known or disentangle. Arrived in front of kind Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel doesn’t arrogates the merits for interpreting the dream, but he directs the attention of the king towards the One who is the Absolut Source of any knowledge, the Good Lord: „Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” [21] Through his attitude, Daniel directed the mind of the kind and those of his servants towards the One who is above all gods of Babylon, the One who holds the future in His hands

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and who governs and directs it. [22] Before having Daniel report and interpret the king’s dream, the flock of men of wisdom, among whom there were magicians and wizards, also tried to reproduce and interpret the dream, but to no avail. The king’s dream was about a time in the distant future, going beyond his time or kingdom, stretching from his time until the end of Earth history. In the Eastern culture, a statue representing a human being often represented the destiny of humanity [23] and maybe this is why the king was very curious about the dream and its meaning. In the dream we meet number 4 as the habitants of the antic world considered the number to be a symbol of the terrestrial dimension. The king’s dream suggests two periods, or two administrative establishments, the firts period or establishment symbolized by different metals, and the second period or establishment, symbolized by the rock. [24] 4. Metals presented in the dream in a certain succession: gold, silver, brass, iron: „This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.” [25] The four metals represent four great world empires, starting with the one existing during prophet Daniel’s life. The explanation regarding the four metals and the rock that smashes the statue and fills the face of the Earth is also interesting. One should also notice that the testimony of the prophet regarding the succession of “kingdoms” or empires can be confronted with the historic reality. [26] 4.1. Head of gold: Daniel interprets the dream in front of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and tells him that he represents the head of gold, identifying him with the entire Babylonian empire, empire that reached its greatest glory, reaching the climax of his power during the life of this great king. „Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a

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kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.” [27] If he knew the dream, even the king could have thought about the fact that he and his kingdom should represent the head of gold. The historians of the time, and especially Herodotus, said that in Babylon there was a prodigality of gold in erecting important buildings, temples, palaces, walls, statues, cult objects etc. Describing Babylon, prophet Jeremiah wrote: “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken.” [28] Through inspired words, Daniel tells the king the dream and its interpretation: „Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” [29]The head of gold or the first kingdom from the

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king’s dream represents the Babylonian Empire, spanning from 605 BC, or from the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, until the fall of the empire in 539 BC. [30] 4.2. Breast and arms of silver. In a chronological succession, after the Babylonian Empire followed another empire, one less great, as silver is less valuable than gold. The next kingdom was the Medo-Persian Empire, and even though it ruled over a wider territory than the Babylonians, their culture was inferior to the Babylonian one, which they adopted. Even though the vision doesn’t exclusively speak about Persia, which did not succeed the Babylonian Empire but existed in the same time as the later, if we take into account the historical context, we can understand why the Scripture refers to the MedoPersian Empire as the one who succeeds the Babylonian one.[31] While describing the empire following the Babylonian one, prophet Daniel tell Belshazzar: „And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” [32] In other occasions, prophet Daniel describes the Medes and the Persians as follows: „Now, O king, establish the decree,

and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.” [33]„And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.” [34] The silver of the breast and arms of the statue dreamed by the king was a clear referral to a characteristic of the following empire, as the Persians used silver in their fiscal system. At the time, silver was the standard monetary value of the Persians. The Medo-Persian Empire lasted from the fall of Babylon in 539 BC until 331 BC, when Darius III, the last Persian king, was defeated by the Greek-Macedonian armies. [35] 4.3. Belly and thighs of brass. The next empire, Greece, was symbolized by brass (copper), and even prophet Ezekiel presents brass as tender for Greeks: „Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.” [36] Brass was used by the Greek armies for their armours, shields, helmets etc. The Greek Empire lasted from the victory of Alexander the Great over the Persians in 331 BC until 168 BC, when Rome conquered Macedonia, which it attached in 142 BC. [37] 3.4. Legs of iron. In the sequence of metals in the statue dreamed by the emperor, the legs were made of iron. Iron was for Romans what brass was for Greeks. Prophet Daniel describes the fourth kingdom as one made of iron: “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” [38] Iron was also a symbol of strenght, a strength that smashes and tears up everything that comes its way. The Roman Empire showed its strength not only through its military victories, but also through its government which maintained

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the unity and longevity of an empire that lasted for almost 500 years, lasting more than any of the empires before it. Roman hegemony lasted from 168 BC, when Rome conquered Macedonia, until 476 AD, when the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, was dethroned by Odoacer. [39] ”Hundreds of years before certain nations came upon the stage of action, the Omniscient One looked down the ages and predicted the rise and fall of the universal kingdoms. God declared to Nebuchadnezzar that the kingdom of Babylon should fall, and a second kingdom would arise, which also would have its period of trial. Failing to exalt the true God, its glory would fade, and a third kingdom would occupy its place. This also would pass away; and a fourth, strong as iron, would subdue the nations of the world. ” [40] 4.5. Feet partly of iron and partly of molded clay. Prophet Daniel describes the next political period as follows: “His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay... And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.” [41] After the strength and unity of the Roman Empire, followed another long historical period, characterized through connections similar to those between iron and clay [42], a period that generated ample debates and that still hasn’t found its unity, period that will last in these circumstances until the final enthronement of God’s Kingdom. [43] 5. The rock cut out without hands. „Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” [44] „And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the

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kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” [45] The first part of the dream shows that God is the one who gives people the kingdoms: „...for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory” [46], while towards the end of the dream, Daniel reveals to the king that after the historical sequence of all the kingdoms of the world, towards the end of the history of the Earth, the God of heavens will establish a kingdom that will destroy any human kingdom, establishing God’s Kingdom [47]: „And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” [48] The kingdom of the rock has nothing to do with the previous ones; it is not one that continues them, but it destroys them, showing a confrontation of two systems, one is Earthly, while the other is divine. For any Christian, this final part of the dream represents a true revelation showing that after the man’s governance over the Earth ends, the long-awaited and wanted kingdom of God will finally be established. The dream concludes with a happy ending, where the war between good and evil is won by good, which will destroy all Earthly kingdoms filled with injustice and oppression. This kingdom shall never be conquered or dominated by another people. This kingdom belongs to the One who governs all in all, the True God. None of the other kingdoms presented in the dream, regardless of its greatness,

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represents the most important part of the dream, but all Earthly kingdoms serve as historical landmarks that lead to the climax of Earth history – God’s kingdom. [49] As a conclusion, the American writer Ellen G. White wrote: „In the history of nations the student of God’s word may behold the literal fulfillment of divine prophecy. Babylon, shattered and broken at last, passed away because in prosperity its rulers had regarded themselves as independent of God, and had ascribed the glory of their kingdom to human achievement. The Medo-Persian realm was visited by the wrath of Heaven because in it God’s law had been trampled underfoot. The fear of the Lord had found no place in the hearts of the vast majority of the people. Wickedness, blasphemy, and corruption prevailed. The kingdoms that followed were even more base and corrupt; and these sank lower and still lower in the scale of moral worth.” [50] Just like Nabuchadnezzar did, as human beings, we base our belief on events that we’ve already confirmed through history. An attitude that tries to discover and understand historic realities strenghtens our trust in the future and in the God who governs the future and who can reveal it when He, in His omniscience, finds it appropriate. [51] „In the word of God only is this clearly set forth. Here it is shown that the strength of nations, as of individuals, is not found in the opportunities or facilities that appear to make them invincible; it is not found in their boasted greatness. It is measured by the fidelity with which they fulfill God’s purpose.” [52] References [1] In 605 BC the Babylonian armies led by Nebuchadnezzar, son of Nabopolassar, defeat the Egyptian armies in the Carchemish battle. They then conquer Jerusalem and subjugates Jehoiakim. The news of his father’s death precipitates Nebuchadnezzar’s return to Babylon with an army of trusted soldiers

using a shortcut across the desert, in order to secure the throne. The rest of the Babylonian army and all the war prisoners march towards Babylon following the trade route. Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel…, trad. Christian Sălcianu, București, Casa de Editură Viață și Sănătate, 2013, p. 19. [2] Jacques B. Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel…, p. 17. [3] https://crestin20.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/ babilonul-modern/, accesed on 26.10.2016. [4] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel…, pp. 19-20. [5] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 1: 2. [6] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel…, p. 20. [7] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Isaiah 39: 7. [8] Ellen G.White, Profeți și regi, trans. Nelu Dumitrescu, 5th ed., București, Casa de Editură Viață și Sănătate, 2011, p. 331. [9] Ibidem. [10] Ibidem, p. 332. [11] Bel – name of a Babylonian deity. The name of this deity is also found in other people, especially at the Canaanite people. [12] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Exodus 6: 22; Nehemiah 8: 4. [13] D. Popa, Daniel, vol. I, București, 1991, p. 45. [14]http://literatura.societatealumiinoi.ro/reviste/ Reviste%20Romana/1934/Nr.%2019-1934%20-%20 CUPTORUL%20DE%20TOPIT%20I%20(Daniel%20 3:17,18)/files/basic-html/page4.html, accesed on 26.10.2016. [15] https://crestin20.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/ babilonul-modern/, accesed on 26.10.2016. [16] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., p. 22. [17] Ibidem. [18]https://crestin20.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/ babilonul-modern/, accesed on 26.10.2016. [19] Ibidem. See also D. POPA, Daniel, vol. I, București, 1991, p. 45. [20] Ellen G.White, Profeți și regi..., p.332. [21] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 2, 27-28.

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[22] D. Popa, Daniel,vol. I, București, 1991, pp. 72-73. [23] The Egyptian astrologs were particulary fond of this symbolical method: André J: Festugière; Louis Massignon, La révélation d’Herès Trismégiste, Paris, J. Gabalda et Cie, 1950, vol. I, pp. 92-93. [24] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel...,p. 34. [25] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 2, 32-33, p. [26] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel...,p. 34. [27] Ibidem, Daniel 2, 37-38. [28]The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Jeremiah 51:7. [29]The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 2, 37-43. [30]Jacques B. Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., pp. 34-35. [31] Ibidem, pp. 34-35. [32]The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 5: 22-18. [33]The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 6: 8. [34]The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 8: 19-20. [35] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., pp. 35-36. [36] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Ezekiel 27,13. [37] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel... , pp. 36-37. [38] The Holy Bible. King James Version, Cambridge, Cambridge University, Daniel 2: 40. [39] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., pp. 37-38. [40] Ellen G.White, Profeți și regi..., p.345. [41] ]Ibidem, Daniel 2: 33,41,42. [42] D. Popa, Daniel,vol. I, București, 1991, pp. 87. [43] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., pp. 38-39. [44] Ibidem, Daniel 2: 34. [45] Ibidem, Daniel 2: 44-45. [46] Ibidem, Daniel 2: 37. [47] D. Popa, Daniel,vol. I, București, 1991, pp. 88-89. [48] Ibidem, Daniel 2: 44.

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[49] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., pp. 42-46. [50] Ellen G.White, Profeți și regi..., p. 346. [51] Jacques B.Doukhan, Enigmele Bibliei – Cartea profetului Daniel..., p. 46. [52] Ellen G.White, Profeți și regi..., p. 347.

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Some Aspects of Hesychasm and Society 1. Emanuel George OPREA, PhD Faculty of History, Moscow Pedagogical State Institute 11572 Moscow, Russian Federation

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 20 October 2016 Received in revised form 25 October Accepted 27 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.27

The Hesychasm has a unique doctrine which combines many Eastern concepts and connects to a world of the West and the East. This belief practiced a kind of prayer, which is repeated “Lord, have mercy” and it repeats so often that even resembles rather a kind of mantra which appeals to the inner world that unites the human spirit with reality for a conscious perception of their actions with full awareness and sobriety to evaluate absolutely everything. This practice of awareness is practiced in many faiths of the East. One of the closest to realization is the Buddhism. Some researchers even consider Sufism.

Keywords: Christianism; Orthodoxy; ascetism; prayer; monarchism; spirituality;

I. INTRODUCTION

The modern researches of Hesychasm are very extensive and well developed in many directions. The Hesychasm1 is considered as a mystical Christian worldview, an ancient tradition of spiritual practice, which has his roots in the thoughts of Orthodox Asceticism2 [1,2]. People, in particular, 1 Hesychasm – “Esychasmos” in Greek. Many specialists consider that the word Hesychasm is coming from old Greek word ”esychia” which means “rest”, “quiet”, “silence”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesychasm 2 Asceticism – from the Greek word “askesis” which means “exercise”. Asceticism is a deliberate self restraint, self – sacrifice or the execution of difficult precepts and sometimes

and society have manifesting a growing interest to Heysychasm and Asceticism in our modern society and at the first sight this could be quite strange. Looking deeper it is easy to understand that the actual consumer competitive society on which the moral principles were replaced already by the size of bank account determine many people to effectuate a self analysis of their life and search for moral support in the teaching and religious doctrines and traditions of the past. One of the choices is the Asceticism, including self – torture. The main purpose of Asceticism is to reach certain spiritual goals. Asceticism can be found in all religions, traditions and cultures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asceticism

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eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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total or partial, when the man, as a member of society or on a self-isolation, cancels from his life a part of modern civilization. An interesting article on the influence of media and digital technologies on one side and the rejecting of these from common life, in an ascetic environment as a way of the restoring of the Sense of the Life, can be found in [3]. Historiography of Hesychasm starts from the beginning of the 20th century. One of the most important researchers of Hesychasm was John Meyendorff (1926-1992)3. He have distinguished several meanings of this term: 1) solitary anchorites monk - Trappist; 2) a special school and technology (“smart doing”), the core of which is constantly created in the mind of the Jesus prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”, and the goal is the likeness to Christ, in view of the light of Tabor and deification (see Figure 14); 3) the founders of the ideology of Hesychast practice and their followers are based on the dogmatic teaching of St. Gregory Palamas5, which is considered to wide the energy of induced by Orthodox Church (initiated by Palamas movement or palamism). Although John Meyendorff notes that the palamites, who led the Byzantine Church, can be called the 3

John Meyendorf (Ioann Feofilovich Meyendorf) (17 February 1926 – 22 July 1992) – Protopresbyter of Orthodox Church in Northern America, theologian, patrologist, Byzantinist and historian of Church. He was born in France and his parents were noble Russian emigrants of German origins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Meyendorff 4 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transfiguration_ (Annunciation_Cathedral,_Kremlin).jpg

5 St. Gregory of Palamas (1296 Constantinople – 14 November Thessaloniki) – Archbishop of Thessaloniki, Christian mystic, Byzantine theologian, philosopher and creator of Hesychasm practice, Father and Teacher of the Church. Sanctified by Orthodox Church, St. Gregory of Palamas is celebrated by Orthodox Church on 14 November and on the second week, on Sunday, of the Great Lent (passing memory).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Palamas

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Hesychasts only with reservations; 4) the phenomenon in the religious life of Russia of the XIV—XVI centuries [4].

Figure 1. Transfiguration of The Lord. Icon of Andrey Rubliov (1405)

Russian religious scientist E. A. Torchinov6 defines Hesychasm as follows [5]: “In the Eastern Christian tradition called Hesychasm a system of ascetic and monastic practices was developed, aimed to the knowledge of God and His divinization. Sometimes by mistake, the initiator of Hesychasm is considered only St. Gregory Palamas (XIV C.). St. Gregory has the merit that he theologically comprehended, justified, and systematized the practices for spiritual growth, which was in vogue at the monks-anchorites from antiquity. The well known monks from the beginning of the first millennium, Evagrius Ponticus7 and Macarius 6 Evgeny Alekseevich Torchinov (22 August 1956 – 12 July 2003) – Russian scientist, Theologian, Sinologist, Buddhist, historian of Philosophy and Culture of China. Doctor of Philosophical Sciences and Professor at Saint Petersburg State University, Faculty of Philosophy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evgeny_Torchinov 7 Evagrius Ponticus, Christian monk and Ascetic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evagrius_Ponticus

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of Egypt8, in the IV century AD already know the practice of “inner prayer”, the main constituent and the essence of Hesychasm. These practices were in their finished form with long time before Palamas”. The main task before us is to show how the modern society looks from inside and how is understood. Nowadays the peoples in religion are searching the more unusual and interesting concepts and as result they don’t understand the sacred of the Christian Faith. This is the direct result of the crisis of Christianity in the modern society. Torchinov in his work [5] has evidenced that the Christian Religion has lost part of his anthropologic characteristics and that has led to the step by step removal of the peoples from the Church.

Gospel [6]. Dialogs with St. Elder Porphyrius can be listened in [7] and interesting facts, about his life, his teachings and miracles are in [8], the Russian language Internet source of Orthodox Life.

II. BASICS ON HESYCHASM

To understand Hesychasm from the outside not being a practitioner or representative of this religious trend it is necessary to have a dialog with the priests for a clearer and better understanding of this Faith. For a short analysis the teaching of the Elder Porphyrios Kapsokalyvite9 will be further considered. The words of Elder Porphyrius struck are very profound and clear in terms of understanding the religious education of the people who live in solitude. He understands that to become a Priest, only praying every day and respect the Christian traditions, as habitude, it is not enough to find the Kingdom of Heaven and the Truth. For this it is necessary to realize the real sense of the Life in the Spirit of Holy 8 Macarius the Great of Egypt, Christian monk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macarius_of_ Egypt

9 Saint Elder Porphyrios (7 February 1906 – 2 December 1991) - Greek priest of Orthodox Church, Elder, sanctified in 2013. His real laic, name Evangelos Bayraktaris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Porphyrios_(Bairaktaris)_of_Kafsokalivia

Figure 2. St. Gregory Palamas (XV century – Pushkin Museum - Moscow)

Looking deeper into the very essence of Christianity, the isolation from the peoples and society is not the way to save him and find the Kingdom of Heaven. In absolute selfishness nobody will not be save and nobody will not gain the Kingdom of Heaven. Loving ourselves, we should love others as ourselves. This is the Sacred Sense of the Pray, “have Mercy on me.” It’s not like have mercy on me but is like as you have mercy on others and on the whole world. And the words and voice should be full of prayers to reach the Throne of God according to the teaching of the Elder [7]. The Elder, explaining his concept, considered that the whole world is one, and we all are one. God can’t see one person in this space. He sees all of us as one. Judging by the sayings of St. Porphyrius, he intended to

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give an enigma - answer and in the same way an answer – enigma because this remains in one piece and cannot be separated without loosing its Holy sense [7,8]. The mystery of Christ has a special property that is intimately connected with the certain strength of the Love that everybody must to share with everyone (see the book of Solomon Chapter 1 verse 10 “Because the zealous ear hears all.”). So the Elder wanted to demonstrate that God knows everything and where is a separation of itself from others there is in fact a struggle with personal ego versus other peoples [7,8]. From the beginning the man who has always the consciousness of the child can learn everything [9]. Children’s consciousness is always open and this fact is of great help to understand the Truth and Faith [10]. The present work takes into discussion the central ideas of Hesychasm hidden in the words of the pray “Lord, have mercy on me”. Most often, the Hesychasts just use this saying. The essence of these words may refer to the unification of everything into one. They are like a mantra, which brings together inside the Absolute.

Figure 3. St. Elder Porphyrius

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III. HESYCHASM AND SOCIETY

All the major faiths have something in common: 1. The recognition of a unique God or multiple gods 2. The recognition of the immortality of the soul 3. The recognition of the necessity of tending for Holiness virtue and aversion from sin 4. The recognition of Divine Revelation. The fourth clause includes all cognitive elements. It is something in common to all religions and this tells us that for a religious person the maximal importance is that the clause represents for him the objective significance. In our religious system, religious people are participating with all components including their souls. But this religious system is different from construction induced by the soul of non religious and atheist person and the difference is given by the acceptance of the four clauses from the beginning of the paragraph. The atheist denies these statements or in the best case just ignore them. And for the rest religious and non-religious man all are the same, the soul of the atheist and of believer “works” equally. The presence of theoretical statements (making the difference between a believer and an atheist) based on the faith of the believer as well as the atheist denies them too on the basis of some faith, because it is impossible to prove that God does not exist. In conclusion the soul of the religious person asserts the necessity of the above four statements for the life and soul of the atheist denies them. These differences define two style of life which opposite in essence even if that at the first sight cannot be seen. An atheist is typically a materialist (he has no way). But the fact is that a believer and

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an atheist are not completely consistent people. In the case of an atheist the sign is the presence of its desperation and despondency. In this sense, we can say that Nietzsche’s was the most consistent atheist. The human life has a hierarchical nature. For it of the first importance are: 1. The cognitive elements. 2. Strong-willed side, and closely related to theoretical side (presence or absence of the four statements), like morality is coming from dogma. 3. Feelings, although they occupy an important place in our religious life, but they do not define it, only express and accompany religious life. The question arises: the knowledge of the religious person, these four statements, from where they are coming? Philosophers say that it is inherent, inside of the humans. We are borning with them. Descartes said that “the Concept of God is inborn”. Locke reacted: “Then we are dealing with a concept - a notion because is accessible even to a child. Still a compromise was found: Humans predisposed to embrace such concepts: 1. Easy to be accepted even by children. 2. Bring peace of mind and soul. It is about temperament and the external expression of emotions, it is about the inner peace of the soul. These demonstrate the predispositions of a person’s to religious concepts [7]. Hesychasm, as religion, is a more interesting way of understanding as current Orthodoxy. Many are considering Hesychasm similar in its style with Zen and Sufism. This idea now is developed or even supplemented. There is no doubt that Buddhism also speaks of the oneness of all. Sufism also tells about the oneness of all. But nowadays society is trying to identify

in Eastern Religion, by taking ideas of other faiths and traditions in order to show that all people in the World are the same. This can be done as a good attempt to identify itself with other faiths, but if you look at the detail it is very difficult to attempt identification, but it also gives the first step to finding the Absolute or God. Conclusions Hesychasm has his origins in the Teachings of Saints Apostles, developed by the Eastern ascetic Orthodox monks during the centuries; it has passed a long way from the hermitage of monks to its gateway in the society in the XIV century. Obviously it was generated by some external historical conditions like expansion of Ottomans on the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire as well as by intrinsic power of the ideas and principles of the Hesychasm. These ideas stated and concentrated in the teaching of St. Gregory of Palamas have transformed simple peoples, who were not monks or priests, in spiritual people in the way of Orthodox faith and Hesychasm. This is the true power of Hesychasm. The Faith is not only a collection of theoretical precepts, notions and concepts. The Faith must be practiced, as a way of deification of the peoples as the final goal, through a personal dialog with Divinity and God. In the light of the aforesaid it is now clear why Hesychasm is making more followers in time in the present modern society. The common life of the peoples based on the material precepts of competition and concurrence just drive them away from the Faith and Religion, leaving an empty space in the spiritual inner world of everyone. Many are trying to cover these spiritual needs by searching miracle, sense and in the last instance support in other religions, faiths and traditions. It is not necessary. We have already all necessary in the Christian and Orthodox Faith. It is necessary only to

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act in consequence and to turn our souls to Lord - to our God. References [1]. Ken Parry, The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity, Malden., MA, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 0-631-23203-9 (1999) [2] Sergey Sergeevich Horuzyi, “Hesychasm”, New Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy – Russian Academy of Scieinces, National, Social and Scientific Foundation, Edited by V.S. Stepin, Moscow, Mysl’ Publishing House, ISBN 978-5-244-01115-9 (2010) (in Russian) http://iphlib.ru/greenstone3/library/collection/ newphilenc/page/about [3] Dmitry Nikolaevich Soloviev, Polina Belous, Media Asceticism as a Phenomenon of the Digital Culture, Philosophycal Problems of Information Technologies and Cyber Spaces, Published by Russian Federal State Agency for High Education – Linguistic State University of Pyatigorsk, No. 2, 78, ISSN 2305-3673 (2014) http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/mediynayaasketika-kak-fenomen-tsifrovoy-kultury [4] John Meyendorf, The Life and Works of St. Gregory of Palamas: Introduction in the Research – The Second Edition with Supplements for Russian Translations, Translated by G.N. Nachinkin, Edited by I.P. Medvedev and V.M. Lurie, Published by Subsidia Byzantinorossika,ISBN 5-7684-0436-8, Sankt Peterburg (1997) http://byzantinorossica.org.ru/ser_sbr_v2.html [5] Evgeny Alekseevich Torchinov, The Religions of the World: The Experience of the Transcendent. Dogmatic Revealed Religion, Published by Sankt Peterburg Center of Oriental Studies (1998) http://psylib.org.ua/books/torch01/index.htm [6] Klitos Ioanidis, Elder Porphyrius: Testimonies and Experiences, Published by The Holy Convent of Transfiguration of the Savior, Athens ISBN 9789608538238 (2005) [7] http://xmusik.me/s/11365135-Starec_Porfirij_ Kavsokalivit_-_Gospodi_Iisuse_Hriste_pomiluj_ mya/ - Dialogs with Elder Porphyrius on the issue “My Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me” (in Russian) [8] http://www.pravoslavie.ru/66252.html - Life,

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Teachings and Miracles of Elder Porphyrius (in Russian) [9] Boris Eremonko, Articles about Religion and Church, School of the Great Books Publishing House, 41-44 Moscow ISBN 978-5-7396-0353-1 (2016) (In Russian) [10] http://idoorway.mirtesen.ru/ blog/43333442911/Sootnoshenie-veryi-i-znaniya - Interrelation between Faith and Knowledge – Blog (in Russian)

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General Topic: Science and Theology in dialogue

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How Science and Scripture Fuse: A Concrete, Chronological, Connection between the Biblical Six “Days” of Creation and the “Evolution” Timelines from Scriptural and Secular Parallels Eloise T. Choice, M.S. Yucaipa United States of America

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 14 July 2016 Received in revised form 28 August Accepted 12 September 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.28

A Debilitating Conflict Resolved. The account of Creation (as chronicled in the Biblical book of Genesis, King James Version 1611, in Tankah: The Holy Scriptures, in The Holy Quran, and in extra-Biblical texts) and the scientifically determined pre-geologic, geologic, and “evolution” timelines regarding the development of the universe, the Earth and life upon it, fuse. What Scriptures say happened on each of the six “days” of Creation precisely parallels that which scientists have determined to have occurred during the universe’s 13.7-billionyears of existence and Earth’s 4.7-billion-year development. The concrete connection between the two serves the religious interest as it validates the Intelligent Design belief. It serves the secular interest of helping Biblical Literalists to advance in their attainment of scientific knowledge as it provides evidence that the universe, the earth, and life upon it, were not created less than 10,000 years ago in six literal 24-hour periods.

Keywords: Creation; Theory of Evolution; Intelligent Design; Pre- and PostGeologic Timelines; Astronomy; Geology; Archaeology;

I. OUTLINE: How Scripture and Science Fuse I. The First “Day” of Creation: 13.7 to 3.9 Billion Earth Years Ago: A. Genesis 1:1 and The Three Books of Enoch 1. The Big Bang 2. The Dark Age of the Universe B. Genesis 1:2 and The Sibylline Oracle, Book 1 1. God, the Self-Begotten 2. The Dark Age Continues 3. Pre-Geologic Earth

C. 1. 2. 3. D. 1. 2. 3. a. b.

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Genesis 1:3-4 The Age of Light and Creation The Hadean Eon: 4.5-3.9 BYA Pre-Cambrian Time Genesis 1:5 The Universe’s Development Our Primitive Solar System Post-Geologic Earth Earth’s Moon Stabilized Dry Land Formed on Earth

eISSN: 2393-1744, cdISSN: 2392-9928 printISSN: 2457-9297, ISSN-L 2392-9928 ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6

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c. Copper, Gold, Iron, Nickel and Silver Formed II. The Second “Day” of Creation: 3.9 Billion to 540 Million Earth Years Ago: Genesis 1: 6-8 A. Archeozoic and Proterozoic Eons and the Vendian Period of Pre-Cambrian Time 1. The First Plants and Animals 2. Corals 3. Two Major Ice Ages III. The Third “Day” of Creation: 540 -248 MYA: Genesis 1: 9-10 and Enoch, Book 2 A. The “Dry Land” – Lifeless Rodinia 1. Gondwanaland 2. Laurasia B. 10,000 Complex Species of Life Existed in “the Waters” C. The Ordovician Period 1. Vegetation, Plants, and Fungi Grow on the “Dry Land” 2. The First Mass Extinction D. Upper Silurian Period – Devonian Period 1. A Third Ice Age 2. Primitive Forests 3. Giant Insects 4. The “Age of Fishes” 5. The First Terrestrial Vertebrate E. The Second Mass Extinction F. Mississippian, Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous), and Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era 1. A Fourth Ice Age 2. The Age of Amphibians 3. Grasses and Seed Plants 4. The Permian Extinction 5. Continental Drift Began IV. The Fourth “Day” of Creation: 248 to 65 MYA: Genesis 1:14-17 A. The Mesozoic Era 1. Light Reaches and Emanates from the Surface of the Sun 2. A Fully-Formed Solar System 3. Dinosaur Prototypes B. Triassic Period 1. Fourth Mass Extinction C. Jurassic Period D. Cretaceous Period 1. Continents Formed

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2. Fifth Mass Extinction a. Dinosaurs Eliminated b. New Ecosystem V. The Fifth “Day” of Creation: 65 to 1.75 MYA: Genesis 1:20-23 A. The Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era 1. Continents Shaped the Same as Today 2. Re-foliation of the “Dry Land” 3. Mammals 4. Birds 5. Rainforests 6. Whales 7. Smaller Insects 8. Smaller Reptiles VI. The Sixth “Day” of Creation: 1.75 Million to 130,000 YA: Genesis 1:24-31 A. The Pleistocene Epoch 1. A Fifth Ice Age 2. Saber-toothed cat, Giant ground sloth, Wooly mammoth, Wooly rhino eliminated from most areas of Earth B. Revisit the Miocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period 1. Primitive Apes C. Revisit the End of the Miocene and the Early Pliocene Epochs of the Tertiary Period 1. 50 Species of Apes Existed 2. Pre-Humans Created 7 MYA a. Genetic Manipulation of Apes b. First Experiments with Upright Walking c. Selection of the Fittest d. Phyletic Transformations: Re-creations of Mankind D. Revisit the Upper Pliocene Epoch and on into the Lower Pleistocene Epoch 1. A New Ice Age 2. Proboscideans a. Elephants b. Mastodons c. Mammoths 3. Phyletic Transformations: Re-creations of Mankind VII. The 7th “Day”: The Upper Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs: Genesis 2:1 A. The Upper Pleistocene Epoch:130,000 to 12,000 YA

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1. H. neadertalensis co-existed with H. sapiens 2. H. neandertalensis Eliminated B. The Holocene Epoch (12,000 YA to Present) 1. The Last Ice Age Ended 2. The Earth Achieved Homeostasis 3. H. sapiens co-existed with Adam and Eve VIII. The 7th “Day”: The Anthropocene Mankind’s Innovations A. Art B. Academics C. Industry D. Technology

II. INTRODUCTION: The Need for a

Reconciliation

One important step to advancing in the achievement of scientific knowledge around the globe, is to alleviate the Creationversus-Evolution War. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) statistics shows that the majority of America’s school children consistently score below proficient in all fields of science. Data compiled by its affiliate organization -- the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) -- support this bleak picture.1 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) statistics show that America’s best and brightest eighth-grade students ranked 11th in scientific knowledge among the 49 participating nations.2 The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests 15-year-olds around the world every three years. 2009 test scores show that in math, science and reading, America’s 15-year-olds ranked 30th, 20th, and 17th, respectively.3 “As of 2011, U.S. students placed 31st in math and 25th in science rankings out of 31 countries. As of 2012, 46 percent of Americans identify as Young Earth Creationists and reject Evolution.” (Grassie 2012) Moreover, students the world over will stand a better chance of acquiring greater knowledge of science once relieved of the 157-year-old creation-versus-evolution

(with “evolution” sometimes referred to as “natural selection”) conflict about how the universe, the earth and life upon it, came into existence and developed. The rift between the two schools of thought can be traced back to the publication in 1859 of Darwin’s On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) proposed that all life on Earth evolved – gradually developed and changed over a period of millions of years – and that since the beginning of life on earth, nature has selected only the fittest species to survive. Since heretofore, the scientific and the fundamentally religious camps have refused to reason together, the ongoing bitterness has resulted in extreme and unnecessary disdain, one for the other. On June 30, 1860, a searing “evolution debate” took place at the Oxford Museum of Natural History between evolutionist Thomas Henry Huxley and Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. In America, the Creation vs. Evolution rift expanded during the infamous “Scopes Monkey Trial” (Dayton, Tennessee 1925) that came about because a high-school science teacher, John Scopes, espoused Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in his publicschool classroom. The conflict was further underscored by the most recent federal trial of 2005 -- Kitzmiller vs. the Dover Area School District -- that once again, put the belief in “intelligent design” versus the Theory of Evolution to the test. The decision of District Judge John E. Jones was that there was not enough conclusive evidence to support “intelligent design.” A 2005 CBS News poll revealed that 51% of Americans reject the Theory of Evolution (Alfano 2005). Moreover, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is urging the American public to reject any notion of “intelligent design.” It is clear that the need for the following discussion is dire.

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Presented here is a concrete, chronological, and credible nexus between the Biblical account of Creation and the Theory of Evolution. If taken into consideration, this connection may further serve to alleviate the ongoing Church versus State battle applicable to the teaching of “Creation Science/Creationism/Intelligent Design” v. the teaching of the Theory of Evolution in public-school classrooms; this is important, too, because America’s schoolchildren are being pulled back and forth between the two camps in this debilitating tug-of-war. A. The Fallacy of Genesis Literalism

Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) and Edward Sapir (1884-1939) formulated a hypothesis referred to as “linguistic determinism” which postulates that some concepts in one language cannot be understood in a different language because the speakers of the respective languages and their world views are bound by different sets of rules. (Whorf-Sapir) Therefore, the original concept, as is written in one language, may be lost in the translation to another language. When it comes to Creation versus Evolution, the main factor that corroborates Biblical literalism is the mistranslation of the Hebrew word youm, into the English word “day” (denoting a 24-hour period) as it appears beginning in Genesis 1:1 and continues through Genesis 2:3. According to The Bible Library: Strong’s Hebrew Old Testament Dictionary, one definition for youm is “to be hot.” This may explain how it was translated as meaning the time when Earth’s sun is shining upon it, further meaning one literal 24-hour period. However, “to be hot” connotes a period of activity, which suggests in this case, an Age of Creation. Concomitantly, its original meaning extends to “an age” or “a space of time” (Bible Library: Reference # 3117). Furthermore, the word “Day” (in Genesis

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2:4: “in the Day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens”) is understood by all who read the Bible, to mean an Age. So why is it that some readers extrapolate 24-hours for each of the six “days” of Creation, then automatically infer a much longer period of time for “Day” as it is written in Genesis 2:4? What further contributes to BiblicalCreation literalism is this refrain: “And the evening and the morning were the …day.” It appears that the sun is setting and then rising on the earth, and that connects to the Hebrew definition of “day” as being from sunset to sunrise. The postulation here is that “the evening” signifies the end of one period (Age) of Creation, and “the morning” means the beginning of a successive stage of Earth’s development, or a New Age. For those who yet hold to the literal 24-hour interpretation, when discussing the sun going down on the earth and then rising as the earth revolves on its axis, according to the same Creation account in Genesis, it is important to note that the Bible says that God did not make “the greater light to rule the day” -- the sun – until the fourth “day.” Earth’s sun was not fully formed and functional until the fourth Age of Earth’s development, which was between 248 and 65 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era. Additional information regarding Creation is found in The Holy Qur’an. Chapter 7 (Al-A’Raf) reads: Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and Earth in six periods. Then He settled Himself firmly on the Throne. He makes the night cover the day, which it pursues swiftly. And He created the sun and the moon and the stars -- all made subservient by His command. Verily, His is the Creation and the Command. Blessed is Allah, and the Lord of the worlds.

A commentary by esteemed scholar and editor, Malik Ghulam Farid explains the concept of “six periods” of The Creation: Ayyam is the plural of yaum, which denotes time absolutely, or it may signify an indefinite period, or a stage in the development

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of a thing. It is not possible to surmise and define the length of this period. It may be a thousand years or fifty thousand years. But the word yaum definitely does not refer here or in any other verse of the Qur’an as the period of time determined by the rotation of Earth on its axis...we [scholars] cannot definitely determine the length of the ‘six days’ during which the creation of the heavens and Earth was completed. God brings about different changes in different periods, some taking a thousand years, and others fifty thousand years, and yet others even a longer period. All that we can say is that the creation of the heavens and Earth took six long cycles to become perfect and complete (336).

Those “six long cycles,” or the six “days” of creation, precisely parallel the following periods of the development of the universe and the earth: the Age of Darkness, the Age of Light and Creation, pre-Cambrian (Earth) Time; the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras; the five major extinctions and the one minor extinction (the Biblical Flood) of life on Earth. Colonel James Churchward, author of The Lost Continent of Mu (2001), studied and interpreted the account of The Creation from the ancient Naacal tablets of India, the writings of which he believes pre-date those “civilizations of the early Greeks, the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Egyptians, and the Hindus” by tens of thousands of years. Based on his extensive study and research into the matter of The Creation accounted for in these tablets, he refers to each “day” of this process of development and change as an “intellectual command.” He explains it this way: The seven commands are without doubt, also indicative of seven periods of time. A period of time is not measured by any particular number of years. It may mean a day, a year, or millions of years. Thus these tablets do not assign any particular length of time to Creation. It may have taken millions, or tens of millions of years to accomplish what was recorded in the tablets. It is merely stated that Earth was created in seven periods of time, not in seven [literal] days, as recorded in the Biblical legend (15).

God “created the heavens and the earth,” but He did not accomplish that in six literal 24-hour periods. The account written in Genesis was not intended to represent a detailed account of how the universe, visible matter and life within it came into existence. Therefore, we must look beyond the Biblical account, particularly to the three surviving extra-Biblical books of Enoch for detailed information. The Biblical Old Testament contains very little about Enoch, who lived an estimated 622-987 years after Adam. Genesis 5: 21-24 read: And Enoch lived sixty and five years and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: And Enoch was not: for God took him.

However, there are three known extraBiblical account of Enoch’s encounters with God and His angels and of his ascensions into “heaven.” The oldest -- 1 Enoch -- is categorized as the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch (“Henok”) and was written sometime between the 2nd century B.C.E. and the 1st century B.C.E. The second version -- 2 Enoch, or the Slavonic Apocalypse of Enoch -- was recorded in the late 1st century A.D. Finally, Rabbi Ishmael wrote the Hebrew Apocalypse of Enoch, or 3 Enoch, circa the 5th and 6th centuries A.D.4 These books and their translations are included in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, edited by James H. Charlesworth (1983) but Enoch 2 is included also in Lost Books of the Bible. The books of Enoch tell us that he was transformed into the angel Metatron and thus became God’s scribe; God then dictated to him the details of The Creation. They further tell us that he wrote 366 books, but the editor of the Enoch books tells us that, to date only the three have been discovered. The hope is that the

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following exegesis will obviate the Creation vs. Evolution conflict so that Creationists may advance in their attainment of scientific knowledge. Moreover, it should serve as a platform for conciliatory dialogue between the Creation and Evolution camps. The Six Main Ages of the Universe and of the Earth and Its Life Forms 1) The First “Day” of Creation: 13.7 to 3.9 Billion Earth Years Ago

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and Earth,” but that “beginning” is an estimated 13.7 billion years ago for “the heaven” and an estimated 4.7 billion years ago for the sun, and the earth and its moon, as is currently measured by Earth time. “In the beginning” before time existed, God, “The Antecedent of Time” and “The Self-Begotten” (The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Sibylline Oracles, Book 1) “thought” to create the visible from the invisible as He revealed it to Enoch: And the Lord spoke to me: ‘Enoch, beloved, all you see, all things that are standing finished, I tell to you even before the very beginning, all that I created from non-being, and visible things from invisible. For before all things were visible, I alone used to go about in the invisible things...while I found no peace, because I was creating all things, and I conceived the thought of placing foundations, and of creating visible creations.’ (2 Enoch 24:2)

“Ego cogito, ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I Am.”). Rene Descartes (15961650), from Discourses on Method In his article, “Guth’s Grand Guess,” Lemley (2002) wrote about the “Big Bang” or “singularity” theory, which posits “the universe began as a minuscule fireball of extreme density and temperature” and “it has been expanding and cooling ever since.” He described the work of cosmologist Alan Guth who, in 1979, developed a groundbreaking theory about the beginning of the universe:

[He] emerged as the first scientist to offer a plausible description of the universe when it was less than one-hundredth of

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a second old. During an unimaginably explosive period between 10-37 second and 10-34 second after its birth, Guth said, the universe expanded to a rate that kept doubling before beginning to settle down to the more sedate expansion originally described (34). God disclosed to Enoch how He launched the “Big Bang” (at point zero) with precision timing to within 1 billionth of a second: Before anything existed at all, from the very beginning, whatever is, I created from nonbeing into being, and from the invisible things into the visible...Before any visible things had come into existence, and the light had not yet opened up, I, in the midst of the light moved around in the invisible things, like one of them...yet I did not find rest, because everything was not yet created. And I thought up the idea of establishing a foundation, to create visible creation. I commanded the very lowest parts, that visible things should come down from invisible, and Adoil came down very great and I beheld him, and lo! He had a belly of great light. And I said to him: ‘Become undone, Adoil, and let the visible come out of thee.’ And he came undone, and a great light came out. And I was in the midst of the great light, and as there is born light from light, there came forth a Great Age, and showed all creations, which I had thought to create. And I saw that it was good. And I placed for myself a throne [command station/safety zone] and took my seat on it, and said to the light: ‘Go thou up higher and fix thyself high above the throne, and be a foundation to the highest things.’ And above the light there is nothing else, and then I bent up and looked up from my throne. And I summoned the very lowest a second time, and said: ‘Let Archas come forth hard.’ And he came forth hard from the invisible. And Archas came forth, very hard, heavy, and very red. And I said: ‘Be opened, Archas, and let there be born from thee.’ And he came undone, and an Age came forth, very great and very dark [the Dark Age of the Universe], bearing the creation of the lower things, and I saw that it was good and said to him: ‘Go thou down below, and make thyself firm [clump together], and be for a foundation for the lower things.’ And it happened, and he went down and fixed himself and became the foundation for the lower things, and below the darkness there is nothing else. (The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 Enoch: 24-26)

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“And the earth was without form and void [did not exist]; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2) Astronomers believe this Dark Age of the universe (that followed the Big Bang) produced an enormous amount of heat equal to the explosion of an atomic bomb. After about 400,000 years of being very hot, the universe cooled sufficiently to allow gravitational forces to prevail and then to cause dark matter to clump together. From there it took hundreds of millions of years more for the first stars and galaxies to form. During the Age of dark matter, energy was present as photons. Some photons became quarks and these in turn, formed neutrons and protons. These then formed the lighter elements known as hydrogen, helium, and lithium. After hydrogen came into existence, as God had so “thought” it, He caused clouds of hydrogen to form around the densest regions of dark matter. The force of gravity caused these clouds of hydrogen (potential water) to condense. The more condensed the clouds became, the hotter their centers became, as gravitational pull prevented heat and light from escaping. In time as they became hotter, hydrogen was converted into helium by means of nuclear reactions. This was the beginning of the end of the Dark Age of the universe when the first light appeared. And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. (Genesis 1:3) After the hydrogen clouds condensed and nuclear reactions took place at the core, they ignited, and hundreds of millions of years after the “Big Bang,” primordial suns and galaxies formed. The first suns were red giants – very big and hot. The larger stars burned out faster than did the smaller ones because they exhausted their source of hydrogen faster than did the smaller stars (Page1985). These first suns then exploded, or detonated, hurling the heavier elements – carbon, oxygen, silicon and iron

– throughout the universe, God’s “endless realm.” (2 Enoch). Astronomers marvel at the “fine-tuning” of the universe and wonder why it “…is so benevolent, providing conditions that are nearly perfect for human life” (Berman 29). This is how God “commanded” it. The incident of the exploding star (Supernova 1987A) that created the Crab Nebula roughly 170,000 light years from Earth and the benefit of such an explosion to life on Earth are detailed in “A Universe That Is Built for Life” in Discover magazine’s February 2003 edition: If Earth had been nearby when this supernova exploded, we all would have been toast. And yet such exploding stars created the oxygen, carbon, silicon, and iron that make up much of our world and our bodies. If earlier generations of detonating stars had not seeded interstellar space with those elements, we would not exist. Had the Big Bang been one part in a billion more powerful, it would have rushed outward too quickly to allow galaxies to form. Even more remarkable, the four forces that govern the interaction of matter and energy have just the right properties to allow atoms to bond together into compounds, clump together into planets, or crash together to generate nuclear energy inside stars (Berman 2003, 29).

Humans, and other life forms on Earth, as astronomer Carl Sagan phrased it, are made literally of “star stuff.” Albert Einstein (18791955) forever changed scientific thought with his revolutionary ideas of time, space, mass, motion, and gravitation. His special theory of relativity, E=mc2 or, energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, simply stated, dictates that an enormous amount of energy must be released from its source to transform “invisible” matter to “visible” matter. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:2-4)

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God continued his explanation to Enoch:

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And I commanded that there should be taken from light and darkness, and I said: ‘Be thick’ and it became thus, and I spread it out with the light and it became water, and I spread it out over the darkness, below the light, and then I made firm the waters. And I created seven circles from inside, and imaged it like crystal wet and dry, that is to say like glass, and the circumcession of the waters and the other elements, and I showed each one of them its road and the seven stars each one of them in its heaven [place in the universe], that they go thus, and I saw that it was good. (2 Enoch 27:1)

Around 4.7 billion years ago, Earth’s sun began to form when gravitational forces caused swirls of hot gases and dust to collect at its center. Nuclear fusion then caused the sun to begin to emit heat and light. The heavenly bodies that would move around it also formed when gravitational forces caused swirls of gases and dust to collect at the center of the whirlpools. The postulation here is that God selected the gases, dust, and debris left over from the sun’s formation that would coalesce and form each planet (Greek: “wanderer”). And God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters’. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.” (Genesis 1:6-7)

During this Age of Creation (the Hadean Eon: 4.5 – 3.9 BYA), when this planetary system was in its infancy, debris left over from the sun’s formation coalesced and formed planetesimals. God chose three locations for possible life development: the second, third, and fourth rocks from the source of energy, or the “light.” The life that was later to form in the waters of Earth would need energy from the sun to develop. From hydrogen and oxygen, God created liquid water (about 3.9 billion years ago), which fell on Venus, Earth, and Mars, borne of the primitive atmospheres that He had created on them. Lightning -- sparks caused by rapidly moving electrically charged

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particles -- was ever present. In time, substantial bodies of water formed on the surface of Earth (Greek: eraze, meaning, “to the ground”) and Mars, and there was volcanic activity on all three planets. About 3.9 billion years ago, God established circulation patterns to the waters that had fallen on Earth; this would serve to influence temperatures on the “dry land” (particularly during glacial periods) that were yet to “appear.” Archipelagos—giant islands— divided the primal waters. The Biblical book, 2 Peter, seems to support that the formation of Earth was the work of Almighty God from “the beginning”: For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and Earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: (3:5)

God created magnetic shields for all three planets which surrounded them and protected them from harmful solar winds. Volcanic activity on Mars, which had helped create its atmosphere, ceased. Moreover, because of its distance from the sun, its unstable magnetic shield and environment, its size (about half the size of Earth), and a comparatively low gravitational force, Mars became lifeless. At the same time, Venus succumbed to an unbridled greenhouse effect. National Air and Space Museum researchers have so far, verified the presence of water on Mars as far back as 3.5 billion years ago. From updated analyses of images sent back to Earth from spacecraft orbiting Mars, they state that liquid water may have covered as much as 40 percent of its surface, and may yet be present in its polar icecaps and its subterranean regions. In addition, based on magnetized bands detected by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, planetary scientists have determined that the primitive Mars and the primitive Earth were similar, and that

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bacteria may even have developed on Mars as well. Although the Phoenix robot recently discovered a miniscule amount of water ice in locations other than the polar region, life on Mars has yet to be found. Because Earth remained stable and promising as a result of God’s assessment, He then concentrated His efforts -- “intellectual commands” -- on planet Earth. During this earliest Era of Pre-Cambrian Time, rock crusts began to form from the hardened lava that had flowed from volcanoes situated beneath Earth’s surface. Meanwhile, volcanic activity raged on Earth’s satellite as well. After more time passed, parts of Earth cooled and melted repeatedly, the crusts grew thicker, larger, and harder, mountains rose, and the continents began to form and drift apart. In 1912, German meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) was the first to propose the idea that the continents -- “the dry land” -- were once one supercontinent that drifted apart over time; he called this process “continental displacement.” He named the supercontinent Pangaea – Greek for “all” and “earth.” Later during Earth’s development, the clouds slowly ascended into the atmosphere, and the rains stopped. During this transition from the pre- to the post-geologic period of Earth’s development, copper, gold, iron, nickel, and silver began forming in shale siltstones, lava, volcanic ash, and metamorphic rocks. Due to the waxing and waning of Earth’s internal heat, its crust, accordingly, melted and cooled repeatedly (Ellison 1985). “And God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night.” (Genesis 1:5)

God set Earth and the other planets and the moons of this solar system on courses around “the light” – the yet developing sun. During its early formation, Earth spun up to10 times faster on its axis than it does now, so its literal days were between two and five hours each in length. God formed Earth’s satellite at the same time as He

formed Earth (about 4.7 billion years ago) and the moon was then a lot closer to Earth (approximately 10,000 miles away). The satellite’s position and presence served to stabilize Earth’s rotation on its polar axis; this in turn, helped regulate Earth’s climate. More time passed and Earth’s satellite moved slowly away from its host planet and continues to do so to this very day, at approximately 1½ inch each solar year. Unlike the satellites of other planets in this and in other known solar systems, Earth’s moon was set at an angle above Earth. This precise positioning of the moon was critical to the formation and maintenance of life on Earth, as were the positions and paths of the other planets around the sun, just as Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) had speculated. The presence or absence of a moon does not necessarily render its host planet suitable for life formation, as is evidenced by the fact that seven of the ten planets so far discovered in this solar system have satellites. This is further testament to the fact that Earth is unique in this planetary system, and that intelligent entities were behind the formation of life here. God created life on Earth, but on no other planet in this solar system. The planets were set at pre-determined distances from the sun, and in specific orbits around the sun so that effectually, they would not perturb one another, as do planets in some other solar systems. To establish Cosmic Choreography, God orchestrated specific movements of the planets and their satellites. All the planets move in the same direction around the sun, that is, from west to east. As they orbit the sun, Venus, Uranus, and Pluto rotate clockwise, from east to west, in retrograde motion. On the other hand, the sun and the other planets, including Earth and its moon, rotate counterclockwise, or eastward toward the “rising” sun, which itself travels around the center of this galaxy. In addition, in order to create and preserve life

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on Earth, it was necessary for Mercury and Venus to have no satellites, for some moons to rotate in retrograde motion around their host planets, and for other moons that orbit around the same planet, to rotate in both directions. Moreover, four of the planets closest to the sun needed to be mainly terrestrial, and those farthest from the sun, mainly gaseous in composition, except Pluto. The sizes and rotational axes of the planets were also important in creating and preserving life on Earth (Uranus rotates on its side), as were their distances from the sun and from one another.5 God set the largest planet, now called Jupiter, in a particular position in this solar system and granted it such a strong gravitational pull, that it would protect Earth from undesired impacts of the larger asteroids and meteoroids; Earth’s moon would absorb the smaller ones. Scientists understand that the workings of the universe invariably obey the laws of physics, and that the universe is one of law and order. Yet, physicists, in particular, continue to raise the question of how the laws of physics came to be. If God is the selfcreated One (and He is), and If God created the universe of law and order (and He did), then, simple logic dictates that He also created the laws of physics that give order to His cosmos. “And the evening [the end] and the morning [the beginning of a new Age] were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5)

2) The Second “Day” of Creation: 3.9 Billion to 540 Million Earth Years Ago And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters, which were under the firmament from the waters, which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven [sky]. (Genesis 1:6-7)

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37100 A.D.) in his Antiquities wrote it this way:

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After this, on the second day, He placed the heaven [sky] over the whole world [Earth], and separated it from the other parts; and He determined it should stand by itself. He also placed a crystalline [firmament] round it, and put it together in a manner agreeable to the earth, and fitted it for giving moisture and rain, and for affording the advantage of the dews (Book 1, Chapter 1, v. 30, p. 29).

Solar energy forms in the sun’s core where nuclear fusion reactions occur. After a million years, this energy moves towards the outer surface of the sun. The final process that moves this energy to the surface is called convection. Light travels at just over 186,000 miles each second. Since Earth’s distance from the sun ranges between 94,500,000 and 91,400,000 miles, it takes, on average, 8.3 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth (Ellison 1985). After the clouds receded, the blue light from the sun made Earth’s previously red skies blue by day (Cameron 1985). This is the only known star in the galaxy that creates sub-atmospheric blue skies. Earth’s development was now moving into the Archeozoic and Proterozoic Eons of Pre-Cambrian Time. God then established forward moving time on Earth, and explained to Enoch the reason for that: And the Lord set everything forth for the sake of man, and he created the whole Creation for his sake. And He divided it into times: And from times He established years, and from the years, He settled months, and from the months He settled days; and from the days He settled 7; and in those He settled the hours and the hours He measures exactly, so a person might think about time, and so he might count the years and the months and the days and the hours and the perturbations and the beginnings and the endings, and that he might keep count of his own life from the beginning unto death. (2 Enoch 65: 1-8)

The single ocean that existed during that time has been named Panthalassa, and the “dry land” of the first Eons, Rodinia. During the successive Cambrian Period to come, God would establish the “dry land” near the South Pole (and to the northeast and

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northwest of there), and during Upper preCambrian Time, its landmasses will begin to drift northward. It is written in 2 Enoch that God disclosed to him how He had created what the Bible refers to as “angels” to assist Him in the further development of Earth during this second Age of Creation: And from the energy I created the ranks of the bodiless armies – ten myriad angels – and their instruments are fiery and their clothes are burning flames. And I gave orders that each should stand in his own rank. From the rock I cut off great fire, and from the fire I created all the armies of the bodiless ones, and all the armies of the stars and cherubim and seraphim and ophanim and all these from the fire I cut out (29:3.) In his article, “Guth’s Grand Guess” Lemley (2002) wrote that Alan Guth believes “an advanced race could harness the engines of inflation and create a whole cosmos from scratch. Indeed our universe could be such a creation” (33). The passage cited above and others from the books of Enoch suggest that, that is precisely what happened. After God created the angels (ironically conceptualized by present-day man as being “aliens” and “extraterrestrials”) those to whom God had given the knowledge of biochemistry then seeded Panthalassa with the chemicals necessary for life formation. Concomitantly, those scientists who believe that the first life that appeared on Earth was transplanted from “outer space” are, evidently correct. Case in Point: Those who believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life outside our solar system have established the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Among those believers and hopefuls are scientists, many of whom do not believe in angels because, as I have been informed, they have never seen one. Ironically, although they have neither seen “aliens” nor have to date, discovered intelligent extraterrestrial life,

they still believe in the possibility of their existence, just as Christians who have never seen “angels” believe in their existence. Evidence suggests that the Biblical angels, both the heavenly and the fallen, are the socalled “aliens”/“extraterrestrials,” and are the Earth gods of antiquity. 6 Approximately 3.7 billion years ago, aerobic bacteria and blue-green algae developed in the waters during preCambrian Time and released oxygen into the atmosphere. (Ellison 1985) And just as God had planned it, initially from alga, both simple and complex plants would develop: Without algae, it is doubtful that man could have evolved and survived. Indeed, many biologists believe that onecelled algae may have been the remote ancestors of all multicellular organisms. Perhaps as much as 90 percent of all photosynthesis is accomplished by algae. Algae-like cells were the first to change inorganic substances to living matter and release oxygen by the miracle of photosynthesis. And so they were the ultimate source of our oxygen, food, clothing, and shelter. Thus the fundamental link in the world’s food chain was forged, allowing for the development of all higher life. And algae even earlier had mastered a miracle called chlorophyll. It is perhaps the most remarkable of all chemicals, for it helps create… the nutrients upon which our lives depend. What mysterious forces managed to invent so complicated a molecule? (Zahl 1974, 360-363)

From the protozoan (Greek, “first animal”), both simple and complex animals would develop including mankind. During the Vendian Period – the final stage of pre-Cambrian Time – oxygen continued to build in the atmosphere as the first plants, seaweed and other tiny plants developed in the waters. Then the first animals (worms, jellyfish, sponges, and other invertebrates) came into being, and corals developed from those (Ellison 1985, 16h). God implemented two major Ice Ages during this “day” of Creation, to increase the amount of oxygen on Earth and to thereby advance the development of life on Earth.

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“And the evening and the morning were the second day.” (Genesis 1:8)

3) The Third “Day” of Creation: 540 to 248 Million Earth Years Ago And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear’: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He seas: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:9-10)

The third “day” of Creation began with the Cambrian Period, or the “Cambrian Explosion”, and continued through the Permian Period of the Paleozoic Era. Life forms that scientists believe came out of “nowhere” came indeed, from the administrations of the Creator. Having moved away from Earth and in effect slowing Earth’s rotation with the pull of its gravity, the moon was now at its approximate present distance from Earth and Earth’s literal days had increased to about 20 hours each. It is written in 2 Enoch that God described to him the very primitive, living, and violent Earth: And thus I made solid the heavenly circle [the sky above the earth]. And I said ‘Let the lower water, which is below heaven, collect itself into one collection, and let its waves become dry. And it happened like that. And from the waves I created rocks, solid and big. And from the rocks I assembled dry land; and I called the dry land Earth…and the sea I gathered into one place, and I bound it with a yoke; and I said to the sea: ‘Behold, I give you an everlasting boundary. And you will not break through from your own waters. And so I fixed the solid structure and established it above the waters.’ (28:1-3)

A similar 2 Enoch version of the account of this early Era of Creation (pre-Cambrian Time into the Cambrian Period) translates: From the waters I hardened big stones, and the clouds of the depths I commanded to dry themselves. And I did not name what fell to the lowest places. Gathering the ocean into one place, I bound it with a yoke. I gave to the sea boundary, which will not be broken through by the waters. The solid structure I fixed

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and established above the waters….And for all my own heavens [the universe], I shaped a shape from the fiery substance. My eye looked at the solid and very hard rock. And from the flash of my eye I took the substance of lightning, both fire in water and water in fire; neither does this one extinguish that one, nor does that one dry out this one. That is why lightning is sharper and brighter than the shining of the sun, and softer than water, more solid than the hardest rock.

The “dry land” – Rodinia – was centered at the South Pole and was still bare. Rodinia broke apart into Gondwanaland and Laurasia, and began drifting northward toward the equator The Burgess Shale (now situated in Canada) and the Soom Shale (now situated in South Africa) were still under the waters that were replete with life; over 10,000 complex species of life had developed from bacteria and alga. God’s creatures were so diverse in design that their appearances could be likened to even the most bizarre creations of presentday “science fiction” writers. The infamous trilobites, the first life forms on Earth with mineralized skeletons, lived in the warm waters during this Era some 540 million years ago. Some shelled animals, corals, and jawless fish were also present in the world’s single ocean called Panthelassa (Blakely 2004). Earth was, during that Time, a true water world. God may have dispatched robotic probes to monitor and collect the life forms that flourished in the waters. God indicates this in Job 38:16: “Have you penetrated the sources of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?”

2 Esdras 16:57 reads: “He searcheth the deep, and the treasures thereof; he hath measured the sea, and what it containeth.” “He [God] has the chariots of the creatures, as it is written, ‘The creatures [robots] ran and returned’. They run by permission and return by permission, for the Sekinah [power source] is above their heads” (Appendix to 3 Enoch 24:15).

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God created the process of evaporation

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so rain and (later) snow would fall upon Earth and provide freshwater lakes and rivers. At the end of a second Ice Age, and as the amount of oxygen increased upon Earth and was released into the atmosphere from previously oxidized melting rocks, conditions on Earth became favorable for primitive species of flora and fauna (plant and animal life) to develop. Meanwhile, owing to the absence of liquid surface water, the median temperature on Mars was very cold (-100 degrees F) and that rock was deemed unsuitable for sustaining life (Ellison 1985). God said ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon Earth’, and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind and the tree yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after its kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:11-12)

During the successive Ordovician Period (505-438 MYA), and during the third Ice Age; God developed then, transplanted rudimentary forms of vegetation, or plants and fungi, to the “dry land.” These were the first land-dwelling plants as they were engineered to weather a cool climate, manufacture their own food, and to not depend on life in the seas. This served to further increase the amount of oxygen and decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, paving the way for oxygenbreathing land animals such as eurypterids. These plants were the ancestors of all species of flora yet to come. They grew first near the seashores, had neither roots nor leaves, and lay prostrate as if terrified of their new, unfamiliar environment. In time these primitive plants would be engineered into mosses, rushes, ferns, and trees. (Ellison 1985) At the end of the Ordovician Period of the Paleozoic Era, God and His team of scientists and engineers agreed that it was time to make the transition to the next stage of Earth’s development. About 435 million

years ago, God re-evaluated his life forms then orchestrated the first mass extinction of Earth’s original life forms. After this cataclysmic event, He continued the process of terraforming as He explained it to Enoch: And on the third day I commanded Earth to make trees grow, large and fruit-bearing; and the mountains – all kinds of sweet grass and all kinds of sown seed, and I laid out Paradise as a Garden, and I enclosed it [as a domed greenhouse]; and I placed armed guards, angels aflame with fire. And thus I created the renewal of Earth (2 Enoch 30:1-2).

425 million years ago, during the Upper Silurian Period, God and his angels developed a greenhouse on Earth (the Biblical Garden of Eden) “enclosed it” and from there transplanted grasses and fruit trees to limited, pre-determined sectors of the “dry land.” After He transplanted spore-bearing land plants onto Earth, the way was paved for land animals that would need them for food, and for the eurypterids, the first oxygen-breathing animals. During the successive Devonian Period (407-360 MYA) Earth’s “first forests grew in swamps” (Ellison 1985, 16h). The first forests grew heartily in swamps, fern trees grew from seed-like bodies and the first seed plants –cone-bearing trees – were created. About 405 million years ago, God redesigned jawless fish into those with jaws, teeth, and backbones, and experimented with many different forms of fish; hence, the time period between 407 and 360 million years ago is called the “Age of Fishes.” It would take 20 million more Earth years and many additional transformations to affect the anatomically perfect fish designed to fit each ecosystem to come. The two groups of primitive bony fish (the chondrosteans and sarcopterygians) were created as such, simply because bones served to provide the much-needed calcium for the transition to freshwater existence, as freshwater does not contain essential minerals that are

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found in saltwater. 400 million years ago, a large freshwater lake covered an area of land that is now situated in Death Valley, California. God chose this location (then situated near the equator) in which to place Earth’s first freshwater fish. One fish in particular that speaks out strongly against Darwinism is the coelacanth. This fish has not changed anatomically since its kind came into existence approximately 400 hundred million years ago. This lobefinned fish, long thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in 1938 living in the waters off the coast of South Africa and is also found in the waters near Madagascar. Another fact that obviates the Theory of Evolution, or the ability for plants and animals to selfchange, is that humans of European descent have been living in Africa and other sundrenched regions for centuries now and have not “evolved” the short, curly hair, the dark-colored eyes, the melanin, the thicker skin and the mostly hairless bodies of the indigenous peoples – those traits that God bequeathed upon them to enable them to thrive in that environment. The fins of primitive fish were subsequently changed into appendages called legs, air bladders were installed and the first amphibians were created. 390 MYA, amphibious vertebrates and giant horseshoe crabs were formed to inhabit the waters. Giant scorpions (the first terrestrial invertebrates) were the first of the line of Protozoa to leave the water and live on land among the plants. In (forward moving) time, this species would branch off into dragonflies and spiders that were likewise, enormous in size, larger than the averagesized adult human male of today. 360 million years ago, the first true ferns were created. (Blakely 2004) God’s giant insects (spiders, myriopods, and scorpions) lived first among the gymnosperms, then later, among the giant ferns. About 350 million years ago, God engineered the first terrestrial

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vertebrate, a tetrapod called Pederpes finneyae, designed to live and thrive in the swamplands from which they took their food. The first ones were placed in the area of Earth now called Scotland. Massive blocks of land were now drifting northward and approaching the equator. Near the end of the Devonian Period, several landmasses had reassembled into one supercontinent – Pangaea—at the equator. (Blakely 2004). At the end of the Devonian Period God implemented the second mass extinction of life on Earth, and one-third of all animal life was eliminated. During the successive Mississippian, Pennsylvanian (Carboniferous), and Permian Periods, and an overlapping third Ice Age, primitive fishes and algae were abundant; small reptiles and amphibians flourished, and trees whose “seed was in itself,” or cone-bearing trees, remained on the land. 340 million years ago during the Upper Carboniferous Period (Pennsylvanian), God made the cotylosaur, or the “stem reptile”, as the prototype for both mammals and the archosaurs to come. As time passed, Earth’s atmosphere and environment became suitable for life to successfully exist to a much greater extent on land. Giant cockroaches, beetles, mayflies, dragonflies, and smaller horseshoe crabs were created to join the scorpions, spiders and other “creeping things” that had been retained from the second mass extinction. 300 million years ago, with an abundance of plants existing on the land, carbon dioxide levels were at their lowest. This contributed to a gradual cooling of Earth that led to a fourth Ice Age that God would implement mainly for the purpose of sculpting Earth, as ice sheets would retreat northward. The ichthyostega -- a tetrapod and God’s first amphibian to venture out of the water -- walked on the land beginning about 280 million years ago. Its internal

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skeletal structure, particularly its ribs, was painstakingly designed to protect its internal organs from being crushed by the effects of gravity. Experimentation with amphibians continued on throughout the Permian Period (280-248 MYA), or the “Age of Amphibians.” After the prototypes of fish, octopi, squid, amphibians, reptiles, and giant insects had existed on Earth for about 86 million years, God then destroyed nearly all sea life, and over 70% of the terrestrial life of that Period including the infamous trilobites and eurypterids to make way for the true “dinosaurs” which He would create from His prototype, the thecodont.7 This was the third mass extinction of land and sea life on Earth, and was the result of a massive volcanic eruption in the area of Earth now called South America. This volcanic eruption caused the “dry land” -- Pangaea -- to begin splitting apart ultimately forming the North and South American continents, and the African and European continents. Initially, the land mass above the equator included North America and Eurasia (Laurasia), and near and below the equator, Africa, South America, Arabia, India, Australia, and Antarctica (Gondwanaland) (Blakely 2004). What is now known as the Atlantic Ocean was created as a result of this continental separation that continues on until this very day. A fourth Ice Age that had occurred during the Carboniferous (Mississippian, Pennsylvanian) and Permian Periods, ended. This third mass extinction is called the “Permian Extinction.. “And the evening [the end of this Age] and the morning [the start of a New Age] were the third day.” (Genesis 1:13) And thus, approximately 248 million years ago, the Third Age of Earth ended.

4) The Fourth “Day” of Creation: 248 to 65 Million Earth Years Ago And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights

in the firmament of the heaven and to give light upon Earth’: and it was so. And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth. (Genesis 1:14-17)

It took 1 million years for first light to reach the surface of the sun. An estimated 10,000 years after the Permian Extinction, Earth was set on its present course around a fully developed and functional sun; the moon, likewise, was set on a particular orbit around Earth and the stars in the expanse of the universe shone upon Earth by night. It took the moon on average, 29.5 days to travel around Earth, and a solar year was about 365 days. During that time of Earth’s development, three of the months were called Casleu, Tsivan and Thevan as God had so named them. When Enoch visited God on His space station, the exact number of days for each “month” was revealed to him. Enoch wrote about the phases of the moon, and the lunar and solar years: It [moon] goes in at the first gate to the western places of the sun, by the first gate with 31 days exactly, by the second with 31 days…by the third with 30 days… by the fourth with 30 days…by the fifth with 31 days…by the sixth with 31…by the seventh with 30…by the eighth with 31…by the ninth with 31…by the tenth with 30…by the eleventh with 31…by the twelfth with 28 days exactly…and accomplishes 365 and a quarter days of the solar year, while the lunar year has 354, and there are wanting to it twelve days of the solar circle which are the lunar epacts of the whole years… the quarter of a day is omitted for three years, and the fourth fulfills it exactly… therefore they are taken outside of heaven for three years and are not added to the number of days, because they change the time of the years to two new months towards completion to two others towards dimunition. (2 Enoch 16:2-6) Although God had created time on

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Earth millions of year earlier, the angels gave this knowledge first to the Sumerians (predecessors to the ancient Babylonians) who then, became the first humans to further break down an Earth year and create the week (seven Earth days); the day (24 Earth hours); the hour (sixty Earth minutes); and the minute (sixty Earth seconds). Earth’s development now moved into the Mesozoic Era (248-65 MYA) and included the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods. During this Fourth Age of Creation, God and the heavenly hosts decided to make drastic atmospheric, environmental, geographic, and climactic changes on Earth, as Earth’s orbit around the sun, and the moon’s orbit around Earth (which had been altered previously) were re-stabilized. During this 4th Day of Creation, the land – Pangaea -was yet breaking apart, carrying upon the separating landmasses, the pre-determined species of flora and fauna. Meanwhile, God monitored and evaluated the progress of His creations: “And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:18)

The courses of the earth’s and the moon’s movements in the heavens were approximately the way they are now. God’s angels logged into His data banks, how the various weather systems and ecosystems functioned, and how the food chains worked, especially among the huge carnivorous and herbivorous reptiles called dinosaurs (“the beasts of Earth”), that God created to literally weather the then wetter and warmer environment of Earth and to be the stewards of all the earth. Swimmers in the Mesozoic waters included several versions of the ichthyosaur – the fish lizard. The dinosaurs ruled the waters, the land, and the air for over 180 million years and during the entire time did not evolve: God created numerous variations from one prototype or theme, the original “stem reptile”, the cotylosaur.

Session14. General Topic: Science and Theology in dialogue

God created flying reptiles, observed them for a time, reevaluated their design, then later changed the scales of these first airborne creatures into feathers, their front legs into wings, and created the first true birds. Meanwhile, by 200 million years ago, tiny warm-blooded, fur-bearing mammals existed among the rushes of this primitive Earth and were deemed well suited for the new ecosystems to come. Apokalypsis is Greek in origin, and means “a revealing.” Because the Biblical Abraham was loyal to God, he was privy to His knowledge and was allowed occasional access to His realm. In the Apocalypse of Abraham (in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha), it is written that Abraham visited God’s “heavenly throne” – apparently His space station — and saw a magnificent array of “many-eyed ones” – robotic earth probes – as strange in design as the life forms they were dispatched to monitor; they filled the air, land, and seas. They flew, crawled, rolled, and swam; they drilled, scooped, reaped, recorded, and photographed. Passages from other extra-Biblical books suggest that some robotic probes continuously monitored atmospheric gases, while submarine probes collected the smaller life forms from the sea. Terrestrial probes may have been equipped with on-board x-ray scanners and thermal imagers that were utilized in assessing the bodily functions of the larger creatures, as well as cameras and audio equipment that photographed their activities, and recorded their sounds. He [God] has the chariots of the creatures, as it is written, ‘The creatures [robots?] ran and returned’ --they run by permission and return by permission, for the Sekinah [power source] is above their heads. (Appendix to 3 Enoch 24:15)

From these and other observations, working from the Biblical “kingdom of heaven” – evidently His space station – God planned how His new ecosystems

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and creatures should be formed. Some 211 million years ago, near the end of the Triassic, God sent an asteroid, which He allowed to bypass Jupiter, to impact Earth and, as a result, destroy most living things that existed, including the last of the cotylosaurs -- stem reptiles. One-third of all land animals and all marine reptiles (except the ichthyosaur) were eliminated. This intense impact created a 60-mile-wide crater in Quebec that is now the Manicouagan Reservoir, and further caused worldwide volcanic eruptions that served to drastically transform the landscape. This was the fourth mass extinction. Its main purpose and effect, however, was the dispersal of tons of debris into the atmosphere and the resulting creation of a greenhouse effect on Earth as carbon dioxide levels rose sharply. By studying the pores on leaves of plants collected from Greenland in the 1920s, that grew before, during, and after the die-off of Triassic plants and animals, paleontologist Jennifer McElwain has discovered that global warming took place at this time. After studying changes in the number of tiny pores (stomata) on the ancient leaf surfaces, she found evidence of a rapid surge of seven times the normal amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere” (Ehleringer 2005). This radical atmospheric change resulted in the elimination of nearly half of all land animals and up to 95% of the extant flora. After the impact, this period of extinction and rebirth spanned between five and ten thousand years, a mere blink in the eye of the Almighty Alpha and Omega. The successive Jurassic Period (that lasted approximately 60 million years) hosted the re-creation, experimentation, and further development of those magnificent creatures called dinosaurs – the stewards of all Earth from its brightest, wettest, and warmest regions to its darkest, driest, and coldest – and they thrived on the

very low levels of oxygen on Earth. They were created in their various forms and sizes with varying attributes then, placed over all Earth “to till it and tend it” while the continents were yet drifting. So, in reality, the dinosaurs did not necessarily migrate in search of food, but went to where the work was, or to where their special abilities were needed, just as certain animals yet do today. The plant-eating dinosaurs, such as diplodocus, were designed to trim the trees and bushes, and their dung spread pollen and fertilized the soil. The jaw of the triceratops was perfectly engineered for the elimination of excessive and/or dead foliage, particularly small trees. The domeheaded pachycephalosaurs did not butt heads against other pachycephalosaurs nor against other dinosaurs, as was previously speculated (Botzer 2005). The nine-inch thick heads of those herbivores were utilized in butting down small dead trees; they then consumed them, roots and all. One bipedal allosaurus (dubbed “Big Al” by paleontologists) may have been particularly instrumental in helping to determine the integrity of the skeletal structure of all future carnivorous vertebrates. It is our belief that Big Al’s bones were intentionally broken numerous times and their healing processes meticulously noted. His reconstructed skeleton stands today as a monument of sacrifice for all subsequent life forms with internal skeletons. Fossil records from the Triassic, Jurassic, and the subsequent Cretaceous Periods can show no evidence that any of the dinosaurs, or any other living things for that matter, evolved, or self-changed physically, from their basic forms to higher or different forms even during their millions of years of existence. Instead, the various forms of a particular species (phyla) were engineered following that phyla’s one basic blueprint (phylum). The significant physical (visible)

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changes that have resulted in the many morphological characteristics of the countless life forms that have existed on Earth for the past 3.7 billion years have been dubbed “evolution.” Today there exists a belief that when insects for example, adapt to pesticides and become resistant to them, or when an animal is born with a different color than that of its parents, that this proves that evolution is yet taking place today. However, these are merely mutations that involve physiological changes, and are often important defense mechanisms that God put into place to assure the survival of a particular species for as long as they were needed. Moreover, some mutations have the following characteristics: (1) They can be harmful (such as sickle cell anemia8 and Down’s syndrome); (2) They do not always involve physical changes; and (3) They are not always visible. If the Theory of Evolution postulates the survival of the fittest, then this means that there is a major flaw in that Theory and that the science of mutation must therefore be divorced from the Theory of Evolution. Darwin admitted that he did not know how changes in life forms occurred. Although scientists today can explain the most complex details of what changes occurred and when, even with the most state-of-the-art equipment, they cannot explain the how. The climate and flora of Earth first began to diversify during the successive cooler and drier Cretaceous Period (145-65 MYA), creating a suitable climate for deciduous trees and flowers (Ellison 1985). The first ants, butterflies, bees, and snakes were created. Diverse forms of the dinosaur were created including the tyrannosaurus rex and the triceratops. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was mainly a scavenger that hunted only when there were no animal carcasses to consume. With its insatiable appetite for meat, it patrolled the landscape searching for dead animals and consumed those first. This helped to keep the numbers of Session14. General Topic: Science and Theology in dialogue

rotting carcasses littering the landscape to a minimum. So, contrary to popular belief, the Tyrannosaurus Rex (with its oddly tiny upper forelegs) did not habitually attack herbivorous dinosaurs or the triceratops, then kill and eat them, as popular fiction would have people believe; there was simply no need for that. Other carnivores were created to prevent the dinosaur population from growing beyond the numbers necessary to properly sustain Earth. Moreover, the carnivorous dinosaurs were given the amazing ability to sniff out animals that were sick, old, or somehow defective. These were the ones that were attacked (usually at the rump area) then, killed. This special ability occurs in present-day predatory animals, such as the lion, that only attacks the weakest animal of a particular herd. This way, God has assured that only the fittest survive. And while lions, for example, are able to consume the flesh of a defective animal with no harmful consequences, humans are not. Therefore, because predatory carnivores consume the weakest and the sick among animals, primitive humans were protected from eating flesh that was harmful to the body. In order to prevent certain species from dying out entirely before the end of the Cretaceous, God did give them certain defense mechanisms such as great speed or bony plates and spikes; therefore “the fittest” among them utilized those mechanisms and survived until their services were no longer needed. At the end of the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era the continents were similar in shape to their present-day forms. At the same time, many swamps dried up as a direct result of rising land and swifterrunning rivers. God then implemented the 5th mass extinction that killed off the ichthyosaur and all the dinosaurs (that had been the keepers of Earth for about 180 million years) and 75% of all other extant

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species. Earth’s orbit around the sun was changed from a round one to an elliptical one and it remained elliptical for a period of 160 million years; this shift in Earth’s orbit placed Earth farther away from the sun. The result of this was a gradual cooling down of Earth’s temperatures (that would climax in another Ice Age millions of years later during the Pleistocene Epoch) and in the annihilation of the dinosaurs. The dinosaurs were simply no longer needed and were thus determined to be unsuited for the new ecosystems and taxonomy of life to come as God had already designed them. However, from the beginning, God collected and preserved the blueprints of all His life forms aboard His “Noah’s Ark” in space. The only survivors of this extinction were the much smaller land-dwelling animals and some sea life. Long before each extinction was to take place, working from their bio-lab, God and his crew of scientists created the new species of air, land, and sea life that would be transplanted to the re-formed environment. Not one life form on Earth came about randomly; they were all the result of God’s deliberate master plan. One such reconfiguration of Earth’s landscape is recorded in 3 Enoch: Behold a Watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. At the top of his voice he shouted, ‘Cut the tree down, lop off its branches/strip off its leaves, throw away its fruit; let the animals flee from its shelter/and the birds from its branches (28: 9). “And the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1:19)

5) The Fifth “Day” of Creation: 65 to 1.75 Million Earth Years Ago And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and fowl that may fly above Earth in the open firmament of heaven [sky]. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind... And God blessed them saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the

seas, and let fowl multiply in Earth.’ And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. (Genesis 1:20-23)

In 2 Enoch, it is written that God disclosed to Enoch some of His creations of the 5th Day: And on the 5th Day I commanded the sea to engender fishes and [I created] feathered birds and many different kinds, and every kind of reptile that creeps on Earth, and that walks on Earth on four legs and that flies through the air – male sex and female – and every kind of soul that breathes the breath of all living things. (30:7)

This, following the course of time, describes the Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era that includes the successive Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene Epochs (64 million years), at the beginning of which God re-foliated Earth. Mammals and birds (and the grasses and seed plants necessary to feed them that were initially created during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras) were reintroduced and became more abundant upon Earth. Paleo-botanists have recently come to realize that the rainforests that developed on Earth after the extinction of the dinosaurs were not only lush, but were also very rich with diverse forms of plant life. One such rainforest existed at Castle Rock, Colorado and it alone contained over 100 species of plants. And God created the great whales [during the Eocene Epoch about 55 million years ago] and every living creature that moveth which the waters brought forth abundantly. (Genesis 1:21) This means that all life came originally from the sea. He created the modern bird species (“every winged fowl”), monkeys, anteaters, pigs, cats, dogs, deer, rodents, primitive apes and bats, horses, camels, small reptiles (“every beast of Earth”), and all insects, (“every thing that creepeth upon Earth after his kind.” Genesis 1:24) The internal and external designs of bats and anteaters (both created and perfected during the Eocene Epoch, and both

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designed to keep the insect population in check) remain the same to this very day. This is further evidence to support the postulation that no living thing on this planet has ever self-changed: Species were either deliberately changed or not, based upon factors of suitability. Meanwhile, beginning in the Pliocene Epoch and continuing on through the Pleistocene Epoch, God continued to experiment with various shapes and designs for each species of plant and animal life. For example, He changed the physical form of the proboscidean (elephants, mastodons, mammoths) approximately 350 times during a time span of 50 million years, finally settling upon the present-day African and Asiatic versions of elephants. Elephants, like dinosaurs, were created to be the stewards of their assigned sectors of Earth. At the end of this Age, and after the last Ice Age to come (12,000 YA), God would further change the environmentally beneficial African elephant into two separate species, one to tend the grasslands (the bush elephant) and the other to tend the forests. None of God’s creatures “evolved” their traits; God bequeathed certain traits/abilities upon them (e.g., that of camouflage), simply because those traits/abilities worked well within a particular ecosystem. During these Epochs, the Giza Plateau, destined to be the future site of God’s Great Pyramids, was completely underwater. During the Miocene Epoch, God made the primitive apes and placed them initially in the forests of Turkey and western and southern Europe. In time, however, as the temperatures of the northern regions fell, He moved them southward and placed the modern versions in the warmer climates of Asia and Africa. Flowering plants, trees, birds, and sea life were similar in design to the modern versions of the same. From just two simple, once-celled life forms, the alga (ex. Chlamydomonas) and the protozoa,

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God created all the life (the plant and animal kingdoms) that exists upon this Earth, “And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25) Although God had created an Earthly “paradise” – a greenhouse — on the third “day,” during this time when Earth reached equilibrium, more of the angels, or cosmonauts, literally came down to Earth and subsequently established sophisticated, technically advanced civilizations, or Earth colonies: The ministering angels used to muster and come down from heaven in companies, and in bands and cohorts [clones] from heaven, to execute His will in all Earth. (3 Enoch 5:2) Artifacts from ancient civilizations suggest they carved out landing corridors, and in addition, constructed laboratories and medical facilities on the plateaus of mountains; they transplanted seed plants from the space lab to a centralized botanic garden on the plateau of a mountainous region (the Biblical“Eden”), then further transplanted them to pre-determined locations on Earth’s other sectors, or continents. This was their world, and they are the original, intelligent inhabitants of Earth who are ironically called “aliens” and “extra-terrestrials.” They are dual-natured, or male/female, as was Adam before the essence of Eve was extracted from his being.9 When Enoch was taken up to the “third heaven” (where God’s space station was situated above Earth during Biblical times), he was shown a massive botanic garden and described the angels whose duty it was to “keep the garden”: They brought me up to the third heaven [mesosphere]. And they placed me in the midst of Paradise. And that place has an appearance of pleasantness that has never been seen. Every tree was in full flower. Every fruit was ripe, every food was in yield profusely; every fragrance was pleasant. And the four rivers were flowing past with gentle movement, with every kind of garden producing every kind of food. And the tree of life is

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in that place, under which the Lord takes a rest when the Lord takes a walk in Paradise. And that tree is indescribable for pleasantness and fragrance…these are three hundred angels very bright, who keep the garden, and with incessant sweet singing and never-silent voices serve the Lord throughout all days and hours. (2 Enoch: 8)

The phrase “every kind of garden producing every kind of food” is a clear indication that there were different landscapes present, and that a variety of plants were created to fit the many environments and ecosystems of Earth. Information in the Apocryphal book II Esdras 3:5, further suggests that God had developed plants before Earth had reached a period of homeostasis: “And thou led him [Adam] into Paradise, which thy right hand had planted before ever Earth came forward.” This means that a Paradise (the botanic garden) was developed in outer space before Earth reached homeostasis and was then later transplanted to Earth. “And the evening and the morning were the 5th day.” (Genesis 1:23)

6) The Sixth “Day” of Creation: 1.75 Million to 130,000 Earth Years Ago And God said, ‘Let Earth bring forth the living creature after his kind [sexual reproduction], cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of Earth after his kind:’ and it was so. (Genesis 1:24)

This new world would also include an animal of higher intelligence than all the previous ones, namely “man.” Before this Sixth “Day” of Creation, or during the Pliocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period, God said: Let Us [He and His bio-engineer angels] make man in our image after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all Earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon Earth. So God created man in his own image…male and female He created them. And God blessed them and God said unto them ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and master it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas, and

over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’ (Genesis 1:26-28)

The phrase “in our image” meant that the end product (Homo sapiens sapiens) would be highly intelligent, similar to the gods in appearance, physically symmetrical, and bipedal. On the other hand, man would be made from “dust,” inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, be able to tolerate direct exposure to sunlight, and for the next 7 million years, be ground bound. Enoch wrote: The Lord with his own two hands created mankind: in a facsimile of His own face, both small and great, the Lord created them. And whoever insults a person’s face, insults the face of a king, and treats the face of the Lord with repugnance…He who spits on a person’s face insultingly, will reap the same at the Lord’s great judgment. (2 Enoch 44:13, excerpts) During the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs (between 26 and 5 MYA), there existed a much greater diversity of apes than does now exist. 10 million years ago, there were no less than 50 varieties of apes (compared to only four today, excluding the human), and many more forests in which to house them. Earth, at that time, was indeed a planet of apes. That was when God first thought to create man, as it would require the passing of many millions of Earth years to perfect an articulate, intelligent Earth being that could exist and thrive in the flesh. During one of his visits to God’s space station, Enoch saw “the first human ancestors and the righteous ones of old dwelling in that place.” God told Enoch that “every kind of soul that breathes the breath of all living things” was created on the 5th Day; this must include primitive man. Between 8 and 7 million years ago, God eliminated most of the ape species from Earth. During the Upper Pliocene Epoch, God infused the eggs of the four remaining species of female apes with a miniscule

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percent of Divine DNA. Thus, about 7 million years ago He created primitive forms of mankind, with four variations of hybrids existing simultaneously; He did this in order to field-test them and try each for suitability factors. Early man did not have the power of articulate speech and therefore, did not have a spoken language. It is written in The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 76 (Al-Dahr) verse 3: “We have created man from a mingled sperm-drop that We might try him; so We made him hearing and seeing.”

Previous fossil evidence had suggested that the earliest form of man to walk upright habitually was australopithecus afarensis (AKA “Lucy”) created some 4 million years ago in Ethiopia. In February 2005, the bones of another bipedal hominid were discovered in the wooded grasslands of the Horn of Africa at a site called Mille. The fossilized remains of this hominid also date back to 4 million years. However, a skull was recently discovered in the desert of Chad (central Africa) that dates the earliest experiment with upright walking back to 7 million years. Some anthropologists have concluded that this was a pre-human skull while others believe that it was not, because the bone structure does not line up with an orderly progression of human “evolution.” This hominid would have lived during the Middle to Upper Pliocene Epoch. Although approximately 8 million years ago God changed many forests into grasslands, 7 million years ago Chad was yet a dense forest. Anthropologists and paleontologists have now come to realize that early mankind lived in a variety of environments, including dense forests (and not just on the grasslands as was previously believed), that early man branched off in many different directions, and therefore, that several species of humans existed simultaneously. God’s first pre-human creatures, who with subsequent genetic

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manipulations would become modern man 7 million years in the future, would be theoretically, at the top of the food chain10 and would be rendered more intelligent than any other life form on Earth. Over the course of millions of years, God selected the most desirable physical traits of this bipedal and increasingly hairless creature, whose origin was always on or near the African continent, the warmest of all Earth sectors. The African continent was the one continent with enough diverse landscapes upon which the various species of pre-humans could be tried and tested, and up until the creation of Adam, was always ground zero for human advancement. Over time, God gradually increased the amount of Divine DNA of all subsequent species of man (while retaining the more efficient traits of the earlier models) and at the same time restructured humankind’s physical self. There simply are no “missing links” between the ape and primitive man, or between the successive or the co-existing species of man that God created; therefore, the theory of self-willed, spontaneous physical evolution – physical evolution brought about by environmental changes – is null and void. If humans were able to bring about physical changes at will, those who desire to be, for example, taller and/or thinner would will their bodies to change. Humans would create for themselves the “perfect” bodies and live far beyond normal life expectancy, and far longer than God intends. About 2.7 million years ago during the Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene Epochs, God’s angels conducted many shipto-shore operations and showed primitive man how to make and use stone tools, how to sever meat from the bones of animals that were safe to eat, and then, how to use fire to cook the animal flesh, rendering it even safer for human consumption. Those classified as A. garhi were recipients of this instruction, for at Gona and Bouri, Ethiopa,

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teams of archaeologists have discovered a reservoir of stone tools (alongside humanoid remains) that date back to 2.6 million years. At that point in time, God allowed mankind to eat meat simply because it was necessary to determine early on, the effects that meat consumption would have on this humanlike body. However, it is generally accepted among anthropologists that mankind did not begin to consistently use fire to cook his meat until about 500,000 years ago. Anthropologists generally separate the main species of the Homo family into the following categories: Homo rudolfensis, Homo ergaster, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neaderthalensis, and Homo sapiens (“wise man” or, early-modern man). Moreover, the dating of habilis and erectus fossils discovered in 2000 near lake Turkana in Kenya, indicate that the existence of the two species overlapped: The erectus skull dated back to 1.55 MYA, and the habilis skull to 1.44 MYA, destroying the previously-held belief that man “evolved” in and orderly progression, “one after the other…Instead, they apparently lived side by side in Eastern Africa for almost half a million years” (Wilford 2007, A12). Beginning about 1.8 million years ago, as Homo erecti perfected the art of bi-pedalism, God then placed them in the sub-arctic areas of the Euro-Asian continent. As time passed, and the animal “man” continued to progress and develop, the angels taught the various hominid species about sexual reproduction by painting pictures of fetuses (as they appear in the womb) onto cave walls. They instructed man about hygiene, childcare, and the proper disposal of human corpses. As more time passed the various species of early man were evaluated for their intelligence, durability, adaptability, and effectiveness. The various species of man were never pitted against one another, as they were few in number; God

simply wanted to determine which species possessed the most desirable survival/ adaptive traits, or those traits that would move mankind closer to the culmination of His Divine plan. In July 2002, archaeologists digging in the Republic of Georgia unearthed skulls that are believed to be about 1.8 million years old. This would put those pre-humans in a family somewhere “between H. habilis and H. erectus.” What they found “most interesting” is that “the cranial capacity of these hominids is miniscule...a braincase of 37 cubic inches – less than half of what we’ve got” (Abrams 2003, 47). This would put the cranial capacity range from habilis to erectus at 509 cubic centimeters at the lower end, and 1251 cc at the highest end, with the average at about 988. The braincase and the brain size of presentday man ranges from 1,000-2,000 cc, with the average cranial capacity being about 1,400 cc (85 cubic inches). In comparison, the brain of apes is at about 400 cc. Furthermore, the tools found at the dig site were locally produced and made of stone. This means that, with such a tiny brain, early man possessed neither the intelligence nor the desire to initiate the move from Africa to Europe and elsewhere on his own. Beginning first with ergaster some 2 million years ago, primitive humans were transported from Africa to distant locations on Earth. Homo erectus was the next hominid to be placed on sectors other than that of Africa. The hominid superstar (H. erectus) has been falsely accused by some of cannibalism as anthropologists have discovered that, during his existence, the brains of deceased Homo erecti were extracted from their cases. There was no need for early man to do such a horrid thing, as his food, derived from both plant and animal sources, was plentiful. Besides, God would not have allowed it. The postulation here is that God and His team of bio-engineers extracted

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brain matter for the purpose of studying and improving the Homo species. It is further illogical to theorize that mankind’s brain grew spontaneously larger over time because of the simple fact that he began to ingest energy-packed protein in the form of meat. If this were the case, the brain of present-day man would have grown to such a tremendous size, that not only would the brain not fit inside the braincase, but the increasing pressure would cause the braincase to explode from within. God fashioned for mankind a bigger brain (along with the capacity to use it), a bigger braincase in which to house it, and a shorter intestine than that of his vegetarian predecessors. Moreover, in due time, God would restructure the upper respiratory tract of man and endow him with the potential for a primitive form of speech. The inhabitants of ancient civilizations, the Toltecs among them, believed that early man was created merely to be the servants of the gods. Early man was a rational creature capable of performing simple, repetitive tasks, but was initially without a language. These simple abilities were initiated at the Homo erectus stage and continued on throughout the line of the Homo species. Little by little, man’s breathing pattern was increasingly coordinated with sound utterances, so the articulate man to come would not suffocate while talking. Along with a bigger brain, God, in successive stages, gave this hominid a lower larynx and a longer, adjustable pharynx than that of his simian relatives. Furthermore, God, the perpetual Creator, provided man with an opposable thumb then, readjusted the balance of his head on his vertebral column. This served the purpose of rendering mankind with first, a hand capable of dozens of tasks; second, with a larger visual field; and third, with greater ease of utterance. God then reduced his jaw size further rendering him capable of a more sophisticated form of oral communication. However, full articulation Session14. General Topic: Science and Theology in dialogue

was not to come until the advent of Adam and Eve and their descendants, who were the “first articulate men” ( The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha,The Sibylline Oracles, Book 1). They advanced the Homo line of man about 300,000 years ago, and with the help of this more intelligent species, expanded their mining operations as Homo man was moved into Australia and Asia. By their very mention in Genesis 2:11 and 12, it is logical to speculate that gems and precious metals played a significant role in the Earthly scheme of events: “The name of the first is Pison [the Danube/ancient Greek “Ister”]: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.” Gold, especially, is a great insulator against damaging exposures to radiation and extreme temperatures. It is used today to protect space vehicles that venture above Earth’s atmosphere. The Ark of the Testimony, a combination communicator and conductor, was constructed with gold to protect those who came into contact with its exterior, from harmful exposure to radiation: And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it...And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold...And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold...And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold...and in the Ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel (Exodus 25:10-22, excerpts).

Furthermore, God’s priests were required to wear gold before they entered the innermost chamber of His tabernacle, or the “holy of holies” that was “pitched without the camp, afar off from the camp” away from the descendants of Israel. Both

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measures served to protect the people from harmful doses of radiation. Gold is both ductile (it can be drawn out into fine wires) and malleable (it can be hammered into thin sheets). They made clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron: as the Lord commanded Moses. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen. (Exodus 39:2-4)

Gold was included in every part of the priest’s garments from head to foot, and especially in the breastplate that was tied on securely so as to not come loose. The Ark was also effective in concentrating then intensifying sound waves so as to crumble the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6). At the beginning of this Day of Creation, another period of glaciation on the Northern Hemisphere of Earth began. There are several possible/plausible causes of Ice Ages: one could be a result of God’s changing Earth’s circular orbit around the sun to an elliptical one; another might be His tilting of Earth’s rotational axis; or of His changing the oceans’ currents. In addition, it is widely known that throughout recorded history, decreased solar activity combined with increased volcanic eruptions have served to create mini-Ice Ages (the Little Ice Age being the one most thoroughly documented). The eruption of Mt. Tambora (located on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa) in April 1815, resulted in the “year without a summer” (1816) on the Northern Hemisphere of Earth. This one eruption alone resulted in the deaths of nearly 10,000 people. In the ensuing years, because of crop failure and the dwindling supply of animal meat, an additional 82,000 people died from starvation and disease. The most recent major Ice Age began with the Pleistocene Epoch (1.75 MYA)

and ended with the advent of the current Holocene Epoch (12,000 YA). God developed special classes of animals, plants, fishes, and insects that would thrive in the arctic tundra and still other classes of animals, plants, and insects especially suited for the high altitude of the alpine tundra. He transplanted those that could thrive in warmer climates to areas near or below the equator. About 230,000 years ago, God created H. sapiens neandertalensis subspecies of man. The “Neandertal” (named for the Neander Gorge near Dusseldorf, Germany where its remains were first discovered) was a very intelligent and resilient creature, and it too, was without a language. The angels taught them how to make warm clothing, and to use fire for protection, additional warmth, and of course, for cooking. Although a few remains of this species have been unearthed in some areas of southwestern and central Asia, the main purpose of this being was to literally weather the frigid climate of Europe during the most recent Ice Age that ended approximately 12,000 years ago during this, the Holocene Epoch. About 130,000 years ago, God created then, placed His pre- Adamic (early- modern) man in specific locations in South and East Africa. Moving northeast, He next placed Homo sapiens in the Middle East some 20,000 years later. 100,000 years ago Homo erectus was still in Asia, only to be replaced by Homo sapiens about 70,000 years ago. Anthropologists have discovered the fossilized remains of two Homo sapiens in Australia whom they have named Mungo Lady and Mungo Man, after the lake near where the remains were found. These bones have been carefully dated to be about 62,000 years old. (D’Agnese 2002) These findings indicate that at that time, Homo sapiens were transported from Africa to Australia (and to other relatively warm climates such as Asia), but were not placed in Europe until between 40,000 and 32,000 years ago. As glaciers retreated northward,

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mankind was likewise finally transported northward, and the low places that the glaciers scoured out filled up with water, forming lakes such as the Great Lakes. Areas surrounding lakes and river valleys would become the future homes of the new man. Near the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, the saber-toothed cat, giant ground sloth, mastodon, wooly mammoth, wooly rhino, and other Ice Age animal species, were eliminated from most areas of Earth, as their kind would not integrate successfully with the warmer climate and the newer mankind to come. Along with them, an estimated 30 other animal species were eliminated from the North American continent. To create early-modern humans, God infused the most successful model of the Homo species with a greater percent of Divine DNA (about 1.7%) then made him taller, thinner, and handsomer. This process gives a new definition to the term phyletic transformation, a concept that scientists use to explain how an entire species of life was transformed (theoretically by natural processes) into a new species while the older species yet existed. This particular transformation resulted in the creation of Homo sapiens – early-modern humans – who replaced every species of man that existed on Earth at that time. It is not scientifically logical that a process as complicated and complex as human transformation could be accomplished by “natural selection”; all changes in every life form that has ever existed on Earth since the beginning of life are the result of Divine deliberation and design. It is fitting then, that those concerned should forget about bridging any gaps in the fossil records by searching for the “missing links” in human/animal/ plant “evolution”, or succession. Using biochemical markers as the determining factor, it has been concluded that mankind today is genetically, only about 2.4% removed from the apes (Campbell and Loy 1996, 31).

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Those who wish to scoff at mankind’s origins and refer to his predecessors, as “monkeys” are incorrect in doing so. In addition, many people mistakenly refer to chimpanzees as “monkeys.” Primates are classified into two categories: The prosimians include the lemur, the loris, the aye-aye, the galago, the potto and the tarsier; the anthropoids include the five genera of apes (the chimpanzee, the gorilla, the orangutan, the gibbon, the human) and the monkey. Monkeys -- the ones that usually have tails -- are primates, but they are not classified as apes. Besides, apes (especially gorillas) are far more intelligent than are monkeys. Fossil evidence shows that the brains of Neandertals were very large; yet, fossil evidence also indicates that their mental functions were inhibited. With earlymodern humans, God re-wired the cortex of his brain, and for the first time, freed up his ability for symbolic, analytical, abstract, and creative thought. Accordingly, in order to utilize his greater intelligence to create objects, mankind retained the muscular structure that allowed him to use his hands in a precise and delicate manner. After mankind was endowed with more brain than brawn, he moved into a totally new physical and mental realm of existence. With this new man, technological advances in tool making came about simultaneously on all five of the continents where Homo sapiens were placed. This is because the angels of God instructed all humankind equally, appropriately, and simultaneously. The Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon) that were placed in Europe between 40,000 and 32,000 years ago were beset with special environmental challenges. The ecosystem of that environment, very different from that of Africa and the Near East, necessitated the removal of melanin from the skin, which allowed more sunlight to penetrate the skin and manufacture much needed vitamin D. While Homo sapiens and

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H.s. neandertalensis co-existed for about 2,000 years, the older species silently taught the newcomer all he knew. This helped this far more intelligent and beautiful, but considerably weaker Homo sapiens to not just survive, but to thrive in the cold, subarctic environment of present-day Europe. Anthropologist Wesley Niewoehner, of the University of California at San Bernardino, recently discovered that the hand movements of the Neandertal were similar to, if not superior to, those of earlymodern man. Niewoehner created a 3-D computer model of their hand movements from fossilized hand bones that were discovered at La Feraissie in France. After re-creating their “range of motion”, he discovered that they were able to make both precision grips and precision tools: “The models show that the average Neandertal could form a fine tip-to-tip grip between the thumb and the index finger. In principle, a Neandertal should have been able to hold a pen, sew on a button, or play the violin” (Glausiusz 2003, 16). It is the postulation here that pre-Adam humans existed with a condition known today as aphasia which rendered them mute (“we made him hearing and seeing” The Holy Quran) and building on the evidence which suggests they were capable of sophisticated hand movements, they may have communicated using a sign language that God’s angels taught them. Even today, it is commonplace for post- Adam humans to gesture profusely while talking. Archaeologists have discovered some Neandertal bones that were scraped with a sharp tool for the purpose of extracting bone marrow, and have speculated that Neandertal must have done that in order to consume the flesh therein. That is highly unlikely. It is more likely that the marrow was removed by the angels for purposes of experimentation and the advancement of humankind, just as is done today when

humans are “abducted.” With the help of God’s beneficent angels, Neandertals were fully capable of sustaining themselves as they had done for hundreds of thousands of years before the placement of Homo sapiens in Europe. And, as is noted above, there was no need for competition, or clashes, between the two species, since living spaces and the resources that provided the basic necessities (food, shelter and clothing) were abundant; there is no evidence to suggest that Homo sapiens competed with then, killed off Neandertals. To the contrary, the most up-to-date archaeological research suggests that, although they lived side by side for millennia, they did not engage in tribal warfare of any kind as was previously believed. Logically speaking, there was simply no reason to do so, as there existed an abundance of space and resources and relatively few humanoids at that time. The idea that pre-historic man was a peaceful creature is further supported by a passage in the Sibylline Oracle: Book III that describes a dispute that arose among some of the gods of Earth – the fallen angels – who resided in ancient Greece. When the Sibyl stated that was the “beginning of war for mortals”, she meant that that was the beginning of organized, full-scale warfare among peoples of different tribes. There is some anthropological evidence that suggests that, prior to the above incident, infighting may have taken place among the inhabitants of some settlements. At one such site to the south in Sudan that dates back 14,000 years, archaeologist Fred Wendorf and his team discovered “a graveyard filled with bodies that had been speared or clubbed” (Gore 2000, 112). However, if primitive man did turn against his brother, those in whom “iniquity” was found, or those who lashed out against his fellow man, were surely eliminated. When the purpose of H. neandertalensis was

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fulfilled (between 30,000 and 25,000 years ago), God mercifully retired them from Europe and the Near East, and gave His entire planet, now kinder and warmer, over to Homo sapiens. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all Earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed: to you it shall be for meat. (Genesis 1:29)

The original Homo sapiens was an herbalist who not only understood the power of certain herbs to maintain his body at maximum proficiency, but also understood their power to heal. The observations of Jane Goodall (and more recent ones conducted on East African chimpanzees by Richard Wrangham and Toshida Nishida) point out the fact that the chimps (one of the great apes from which mankind was created) know which plants, such as the Aspilia, serve as medicines and they do consume those regularly. The way they consume certain herbs is particularly interesting because they “swallow them like a pill” rather than chew them the way they do their usual food. During the entire period of the European Mousterian culture (248,000 – 33,000 B.C.E.), Neandertals fashioned the same type of stone tools and those designs did not change for they were incapable of changing themselves and their preprogrammed mental and physical capacities. About 30,000 years ago, more of the gods literally came down to Earth and established additional Earth colonies. The ancient Sumerians called them the “Anunnaki”, or “Nefilim.” This time period coincides with the time when Cro-Magnon had already occupied areas of the Near East and had begun to colonize southwest Europe; it further coincides with the advent of the Aurignacian Culture (c. 32,000 – 12,000 B.C.E.). During the Aurignacian Period, CroMagnon constructed tools from stone and

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bone, and figurines from ivory and bone. However, the abrupt transition from the Aurignacian Culture to the Magdalenian one (c. 12,000 – 9,500 B.C.) likewise indicates an abrupt upgrade in the abilities of Homo sapiens, during the final stage of the most recent Ice Age and the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age. Several hundred years before the end of the Magdalenian Culture, Adam and Eve were created (c. 9,800 B.C.E.). Earth near the Mediterranean was geologically stable enough for full-scale colonization to begin. God and his angels taught mankind how to fashion tools, to hunt and gather food, build shelters, make clothing, and use fire for more than just cooking food. The musk ox (that yet exists), the bison, the wooly mammoth, the giant bear, the giant ground sloth and other large mammals were the keepers of Earth during the most recent Ice Age, just as the dinosaurs had been during their time. These animals would also “migrate”; when the ice sheets retreated northward, they also moved northward to where their skills were needed. And, as it was with the dinosaurs, they were removed from Earth when they were no longer needed. Humans utilized animal fur and the hide of the wooly mammoth to manufacture shelter (in some areas) and sewn clothing. Bone needles have been found in the Pavlov Hills of the northern steppes that date back 26,000 years. As the most recent period of glaciation peaked and then began its decline about 20,000 years ago, this area of Earth was at its coldest. Therefore, those Homo sapiens, who were relocated from Africa to the Middle East and then to the southernmost regions of Europe, had thousands of years of relatively milder weather during which to gradually adjust to colder northern temperatures. Adam, Eve and the descendants of Seth (Homo s.s.) would be farmers, following the pattern of life that would be first established for many Homo sapiens during the late Mesolithic and on into the early Neolithic.

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The angels, being sensitive to sunlight, held class in the darkest recesses of caves. They are most likely the ones who drew and painted the magnificent 20,000 yearold pictures of animals on the cave walls at Chauvet and Lascaux, France at Altamira, Spain and elsewhere. In addition, the paintings on the walls at Chauvet even include renderings of the animals that were off limits for human consumption. The angels taught man how to fashion tools, and which foods were beneficial for the human body and which were to be avoided. They made clay figures of the various animals that were safe to eat then, cut them into sections, thus demonstrating to mankind how the animals should be carved for cooking and eating. This instruction regarding edibles began with the creation of the first hominid, and continued on for millions of years, and most recently has been noted in the annals of Hebrew history. In Leviticus 11, beginning with these words, “These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on Earth,” God is very precise about which animals are safe to eat (the ones that are “clean”) and those that are not safe to eat (the ones that are “unclean”). The “unclean” foods were likely to cause illnesses in the human body, but those foods that were “an abomination” (those that contained “swarming things”, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures p. 162) would not only cause illnesses, but could bring about diseases that could kill. The word “abomination” as is used in the KJV of the Bible, is derived from the Hebrew word sherets which means “a mass of minute animals” (The Bible Library, Strong’s Hebrew Old Testament Dictionary, Reference # 8318) which further translates into germs, bacteria, viruses, tapeworms, etc. Out of reverence for their guardian angels, humans sketched simplistic, yet highly recognizable, images of their teachers and of their teachers’ space ships on those very same cave walls. Beginning 14,000

years ago, in order to receive instructions from their beneficent teachers, the people of the Aurignacian and Magdalenian Periods ventured deep into the Niaux cave in the French Pyrenees, for example. Interested parties have long speculated as to why early-modern man would choose to go into a cave then, venture through the lowest corridors and into the darkest and most remote recesses of those caves in order to draw pictures and commune with the spirits. This has been a great mystery only because present-day man usually considers things only from his point of view. In order to solve the mystery, it must be approached from the perspective of the true artists, who were God’s angels. They entered the caves from restricted areas deep inside the caves, and the locations of the cave paintings were as far as they dared to venture toward the outside. The peoples of a number of ancient societies have gratefully dedicated tree, rock, and cave art to their teachers. Among these millennia-old renderings of astronautlike deities (the angels) are depictions of suited cosmonauts called “Wondjina” by the Australian aborigines, who carved them into the barks of trees and painted them on the walls of caves. Other similar renderings are on the walls of the caves located above Capo di Ponte in Northern Italy, and at Navoy, in Uzbekistan, Russia. Yet another rock painting that is unmistakable in its likeness to present-day depictions of astronauts can be found on the Nazca Plains of Peru. ‘And to every beast of Earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon Earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat’ and it was so. (Genesis 1:30)

The food chains and the various ecosystems of Earth were working well. And God saw [analyzed, evaluated] everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)

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Ago and Up Until Now Thus the heavens and Earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the 7th Day [Pleistocene/Holocene Epochs] God ended His work, which He had made; and He rested [ceased creating] on the seventh day from all His work, which He had made. And God blessed the 7th day, and sanctified it because, that in it He had rested from all His work, which God created and made. (Genesis 2:1).

The earth had finally reached homeostasis. The time since the advent of early-modern man on Earth -- Homo sapiens (about 130,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch and up until present day) -- is the 7th Day. Scientists refer to this current lull (the Biblical Day of “rest”) as a stasis -a period of time during which purportedly, stabilizing natural selections occur. It is ironic that scientists should attribute this survival of the species to nature alone, when in fact the selections of the surviving species were effected by what they themselves have termed scientific design. Notes 1. Information on science performances of students in grades 4, 8, and 12 is available at http://nces.ed.gov/ programs/coe/2007/section2/indicator13. asp 2. Information on international science performance from American students is available at http://timss.bc.edu/timss2007/ sciencereport.html 3. Information on 2009 PISA performances of U.S. 15-year-old-students in reading, mathematics, and science literacy in an international context is available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011004.pdf. 4. The word apocalypse is Greek in origin and means an “unveiling”, a “revealing”, and a “lifting of the veil”, not a conflagration or an environmental holocaust. 5. For those who doubt this Theory of

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Cosmic Choreography, the challenge here then, is for them to do the math. 6. It is written in Exodus 20:3 that God said the following: “You shall have no other gods before me.” In Tanakh: the Holy Scriptures it reads: “You shall have no other gods besides me.” This is evidence of the existence of other gods, who were the Biblical angels. It is also written in Jeremiah 44 how the Israelites “burned incense unto other gods” and “unto the queen of heaven and poured out drink offering unto her” and made “cakes to worship her.” (Cf. Judges 2:13; I Samuel 7:3; 12:10; 31:10) This “queen of heaven” was known by many names: She was Astarte, Ashtoreth, Ashtareth, Ashtart, Isis, Ishtar, and Eostre (Easter) just to name a few. Several other gods and goddesses, including Baal, Bubastis and Diana, are specifically named in the Bible. A detailed discussion of this theory of the gods of antiquity being the Biblical angels is found in Chapters One and Two of SCRIPTURAL AND SECULAR PARALLELS. 7. The question of the “dinosaurs” and why they are not mentioned in the Bible has often been raised. Certainly we must all be reminded that “dinosaur” is the name given to those creatures by presentday paleontologists and paleo-zoologists. Except for the “whales” that are specifically named in the Bible, the generic translations “fish”, “fowl”, “creature”, “cattle”, “creeping thing”, and “beast” include all fauna. 8. Although sickle-cell anemia provides protection from malaria -- a sub-Saharan disease -- if left untreated, it can be deadly. 9. A full discussion of this theory is found in Chapter Three of Scriptural and Secular Parallels. 10. In reality, the elegant, intelligent virus is at the top of the food chain.

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References Abrams, M. (2003, January). “Early Humans had Tiny Brains.” Discover, 24 (1), 47. [2] Alfano, S. (2005, October 23). “Poll: Majority Reject Evolution: 51 percent Believe God Created Humans.” Retrieved November 2, 2005 from cbsnews.com. [3] Apocrypha: King James Version. (2001). Great Britain: University Press, Cambridge. [4] Berman, R. (2003, February). “A Universe that is Built for Life.” Discover, 24 (2), 29. [5] Botzer, A. (2005, March). “Heads up on Dinosaurs.” [Geographica]. National Geographic, (207) (3). [6] Blakely, R. (2004). Paleogeography Through Geologic Time. Retrieved December 4, 2006 from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/ [7] Cameron, A.G.W. “Sun.” In The World Book Encyclopedia. (Vol. 18, pp. 780-787). Chicago: World Book, Inc. Campbell, B.G., and J.D. Loy (1996). Humankind Emerging. New York: Harper Collins. [8] Charlesworth, J.H. (Ed.), The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments (Vol. 1). New York: Doubleday, 1983. [9] Churchward, J. (1972). The Sacred Symbols of Mu. New York: Paperback Library. [10] Churchward, J. (2001). The Lost Continent of Mu. Las Vegas: C.W. Daniel Company. [11] D’Agnese, J. (2002, August). “Not out of Africa.” Discover, 23(8), 52-57 [12] Ehleringer, J.R., T.E. Cerling, and M.D. Dearing, (2005). A History of Atmospheric CO2 and its Effects on Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems. New York: Springer. [13] Ellison, S. P. (1985). “Earth.” In The World Book Encyclopedia. (Vol. 6, pp. 10-18). Chicago: World Book, Inc. [14] Farid, M.G. (Ed.), The Holy Qur’an. (1994). United Kingdom: Islam International Publications, Limited. [15] Glausiusz, J. (2003, July). “Hand it to the Neandertals.” Discover, 24 (7), 16. [16] Gore, R. (2000, July). “People Like Us.” National Geographic, 198 (1), 91-117. [17] Grassie, William. Big history, big problems [1]

and big questions: A letter to Eloise T. Choice. The Metanexus Institute. (1 December 2012). http://www.metanexus.net [18] Josephus, F. (1987). The Works of Josephus. (W. Whiston, Trans.) Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. [19] Lemley, B. (2002, April). “Guth’s Grand Guess.” Discover, 23 (4), 32-39. [20] Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. (1927). Newfoundland: Alpha House Incorporated. [21] Page, T. (1985). “Star.” In The World Book Encyclopedia. (Vol. 18, pp. 660-668). Chicago: World Book, Inc. [22] Sagan, C. (1980). Cosmos. New York: Random House. [23] “Scientists Find Little to Support Classifications by Race.” (2000, August 27). The Press-Enterprise, p. A19. [24] Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (1985). Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society. [25] Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis. Retrieved March 30, 2008 from http://sociologyindex.com/ whorf_sapir_hypothesis.htm. [26] Wilford, J. N. (2007, August 8). “Man’s Evolutionary Line Blurred.” The PressEnterprise, p. A12. [27] Zahl, P.A. (1974, March). “Algae: The Life Givers.” National Geographic, 145 (3), 360363, 368-377.

Biography Veteran educator and author Eloise T. Choice M.S., a “preacher’s daughter,” has taught world, English, and American literature integrated with legend, myth, and American and world history for over 30 years. She earned a B.A. at UCLA, a California teacher credential in 1986, and a Master of Science in Education at National University in 1998, graduating summa cum laude. She has served as a faculty member at the University of Redlands in California and has published several articles related to the condition of grade-school education and human relations in America. She is the

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author of Scriptural and Secular Parallels. Her website is at www.creationevolved.net.

“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, Who is sending a love letter to the world.” Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

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A Short Note on the Scientific Attitude, the Religious Attitude and the Surrational Bruno Marchal

IRIDIA, Université Libre de Bruxelles Belgium

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 1 October 2016 Received in revised form18 October Accepted 25 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.29

We explain that the scientific attitude, with a “good understanding” of what is science, might be the most genuinely religious attitude, and that in fact, religion and science are much closer than what we are usually told. Nevertheless they cannot be identified effectively in any terrestrial applications without leading to inconsistency, but are truly, and thus non effectively, identical in the ever guessed true realm.

Keywords: science; theology; attitude; surrational; platonism; machine; self-reference;

I. Introduction When we oppose science and religion, we confine theology in the fairy tales and wishful thinking, or worst, we confine it into the province of the argument per authority and of other violent means. This destroys religion, and makes it into pseudo-religion. But this also transforms science into a pseudo-religion, usually by making some particular science into a pseudo-religion or a pseudo-science. A typical case is the widespread opinion that the existence of a *primary* (Aristotelian) physical universe is a scientific fact, when it is only an hypothesis (weak materialism: the belief in primary or ontologically prior physicalness) in metaphysics. Such metaphysical hypotheses are not part of the physical science which is ontologically agnostic. Physics does not commit itself in any ontological commitment, nor should do any other branches of science, or any domain approached with the scientific attitude.

Unfortunately, since the closure of Plato Academy, science and religion are often contrasted on their content, like if they were defending opposite content, leading to a desastrous opposition of two pseudoreligions or of two pseudo-sciences. Accepting the classical definition of the antic greeks (Plato’s Parmenides, Theaetetus, Plotinus) and modelling “believe” by “prove”, most of what is presented in this short paper is provably the opinion of the classical universal (Turing) machine, but we will not dig to much on this, as that supposes some background in mathematical logic. Some allusion to this will appear here and there with some relevant references.

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II. What are the religious attitude and

the scientific attitude?

The scientific attitude is modesty, notably through the absence of pretension of truth. It keeps silence the personal opinions. It provides theories, which are essentially list of hypotheses with means for deducing consequences together with ways of testing or evaluating the degrees of plausibility of those hypotheses or of their consequences. In fact, science does not exist as such. What exists is a human scientific attitude, and that attitude is the modest attitude of the one who search for the truth, without ever claiming having it as such. Science is born from the doubt, develops through doubts, and leads only to public doubts (Marchal 2015b). The scientific attitude does not depend on the domain studied. We can keep that attitude in plumbing, gardening, cooking as well as in metaphysics and in theology. The term “theology” has been introduced by Plato, and is born as a quasi-axiomatic science, involving people dialoguing and arguing. Theology was just the fundamental science *by definition*, and God exists, for Plato, by definition: as it means The Reality, or the Truth that we *search*, together with some understanding that such truth should or could not be publicly communicable above intimate experience sharing, like when we are comparing dreams and making possible sense of them. Even Aristotle’s metaphysics, despite it looks like a long mockery of Plato, concludes in rather Platonist similar terms. The religious attitude starts, in many human groups, from the religious experience, which, on the contrary to science, starts from some quasi-certainty: the feeling that we exist together with something bigger than us, if not transcendent, and the clear intuition, often occurring suddenly, that we might have some grip on it. That intuition is experiential, and typically rather private. We can mention them in science as reports of private experiences. Obviously we cannot interpret them literally, nor take such an experience as proving a statement. The experience occurs often in special circumstances, either through a very pleasant experience (with music, mathematics or drugs, etc.) or through a very unpleasant experience, like loosing a person we care about, or being oneself quite sick, near death, etc. Such an experience is usually felt, or at least described, as life changing, and is often reported

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with expressions like “meeting God”, or “awakening our Inner God”, etc. Today the internet provides a very large sample of such reports of experiences, and the interested reader might consult (google on) EROWID to have access to those related to the use of entheogen. Now, having presented the two attitudes (religious and scientific) in this way, they might seem already very opposed and yet quite similar. The opposition comes from our inability to doubt the Aristotelian frame which is the current paradigm, if not dogma, in both science and religion, with few exception at least in Occident. Nevertheless, this paradigm is shaken by new discoveries, and also by the recognition that it fails on important issues, like on the mind-body problem, as I apparent from various papers and books (see Penfield 1975, Ouzoulias 1989, McGinn 1991, Warner and Szubka (ed.) 1994, Tye 1995). The fact that this is not well known is an evidence more, a symptom, of the fact that science has became a pseudo-religion, making Aristotle’s physicalism into a dogma, at least for numerous (pseudo)-scientists who expense a lot of energy to hide scientific discoveries which might threaten their intimate and personal conviction. The institutionalization of religion has not only brought dogma in religion, but it has brought dogma in science, which is a way of destroying its main purpose. Yet, how can we identify the scientific attitude, which is based on modesty and doubt, and the religious attitude which seems to stem from a non doubtable personal experience? The answer is simple and appears already in people as diverse as Plato, Lao-Ze, the Mystic christians, Sufi muslims, Cabbala jews, the Neopythagoreans, the Neoplatonists,and many salvia divinorum (or other entheogen) consummers’ reports. The mystical experience is simply ineffable, and all benefits of it can only be taught through exemplar behaviors, and it can never be expressed by words, except in parabol, metaphor, jokes, etc. Lao-Ze said “the wise stays mute, the fool talks”.

III. But then, what are the possible

relations between science and theology? Assuming computationalism, it can be argued that the relation is quite similar, if not the same, as the relation between syntactical theories and proofs, and the semantic of such theories, which is driven by the available, at some meta-level, notion of truth. If the

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theories are reasonable enough, i.e. effective enough, this can be made more precise: no theories can handle its own semantics (Marchal 2004, 2015b). We recognize here the contribution of Tarski (also seen by Gödel) showing that the general notion of truth, or semantics, is not definable in the language of such theories. The amazing fact, made precise by Askanas (1975), is that, like for Gödel’s incompleteness, such result can be said to be obtained in, or by, the theory itself, and, if we restrict ourself to sound machines, this implies that such machines have some means to derive indirectly a part of their semantics, in conditional way. They intuit, in terms which can be made mathematically precise, that they have some semantics, and that such semantics transcends them and defy justification. So, we, and the machine must not separate science from religion, nor religion from science, in principle, but we still have to distinguish them on the effective terrestrial plane level. In the ideal case of the sound (arithmetically) machine, we have that science can be included in theology, but theology is not included in science (Marchal 2015b). There is thus a corona: the theology minus the science of the machine, which is the proper theology. That corona, which I like to call ‘the surrational’, makes the whole theology inconsistent if we tried to make it into science. Computationalism provides a mathematical meta-theology, which we can use for inspiration, but which cannot be asserted as true, not even as axioms or hypotheses, without making us inconsistent. That explains naturally why religion ‘lost its mind’ so often when it get institutionalized, and when it is taught as undoubtable truth, or normative dogma, that we have to conform with. We have something similar with love. We can spontaneously develop some love for someone or for some entity, but are on the risk of being unable to develop that love if the love is commanded like it was an obligation of some sort. We can only encourage faith and love by examples, not by words or sermons.

IV. How does all that make sense? Even for a believer on non-mechanism, it remains that digital mechanism in cognitive science, alias computationalism, provides a clear model of that notion of surrational. It is simply Truth minus Proof, or non proper theology minus effective science (Marchal 2015a, 2015b). The term “surrational” might be pedagogically useful. It breaks the obvious division “rational versus irrational” into “rational+surrational

versus irrational”. In the ideal case of self-referentially correct machine (a non constructive notion) the irrational is simply the false, and it can be modeled by the set of false propositions. The rational can be taken as the set of the true propositions (or of their syntactical description or Godel Number, etc.) that the machine can justify from its basic primary beliefs, and the surrational is the set of true propositions that the machine cannot derive from that set, but can still intuit and point to. Gödels and Tarski incompleteness/ undefinability results justify both the consistency and the necessity of the surrational for all “sufficiently rich” ideally sound (with respect to elementary arithmetical statements) introspective machine.

V. Does theology brought anything to

science?

A frequent critics of religion is that it never brought anything to science. That critics is made by (pseudo)-religious people and it is build on the dogma of materialism: the belief that physics is the fundamental science. Usually, this put one millenium of theological research under the rug. Indeed, physics, seen as a fundamental science, *is* mainly Aristotle doctrine. It was actually the doubting that physics and the natural science could explain everything which leads to Platonism, and Aristotle’s contribution can be seen as being a regression in that respect. So, occidental theology is at the origin of the physical (natural) science, and of the mathematical science. Firstly as alternate (to myth) candidates for a “theory of everything”, then for their own purpose. Once they become science, they lost the theological intent, which is important for keeping consistency, but unfortunately, they forget also the initial motivation, and so, through professionalization, the possible use of them in theoretical theology is lost in the process. Amazingly, a book by Daniel J. Cohen “Equations from God, Pure Mathematics and Victorian faith” (2007, John Hokins, Baltimore) illustrates that the modern science of Mathematical Logic was born itself from theological motivations, with the inquiries of Benjamin Peirce (the father of Charles Saunders Pearce), Augustus De Morgan, George Boole, and somehow also Charles Ludwig Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). Their goal was to introduced more rigor in theology, and incidentally, and ironically, to take some distance with the trinitarians. They do cite the neoplatonist though, which, throughout Saint

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Augustine, seems rather trinitarian, like the theology of the universal (Turing) machine which recover the three main Plotinian hypostases, together with the sensible and intelligible matter (also intuited by Moderatus of Gades two hundred years before, as an interpretation of the five affirmative hypotheses from the Parmenides of Plato). Alas, here too, in the process of the professionalization of mathematics, the original theological motivation of mathematical logic were lost, and well hidden. It looks like theology gave a lot to science, but then theology has to withdraw to give birth to a new independent science. That is actually a good thing for those science, but in that way, theology often missed its own possibility of non confessional professionalization. All religion share a solid theological core (Huxley 1945), between them, but also with the “theology” of the universal machine. Nobody needs to “believe” in this machine theology. It might still be helpful as an etalon-theory to compare them all.

VI. Is this Science? It is computationalist theology, and thus it can be presented as (doubtable) science, but to get *this* assertion right and “scientific”, the reader is supposed to be familiar with the preceding work in the field, which itself relies on mathematical logic in general and the theory of self-reference in particular. I suggest the reading of the papers below and the reference therein. An excellent introductory book is Boolos 1993. Machine’s theology has been shown to be science in the sense that the ideal machine’s discourse belongs to Plato-type theology, which means that it contains physics as a sub-branche, making it empirically falsified by comparing the physics “in the head of the universal (Turing) machine” with observation. Thanks to the quantum observable weirdness, which is predicted by the introspective machine, we can say that up to now, this machine’s theology is vindicated by the available empirical data. From this, it is a matter of accepting the classical analysis knowledge of Plato (mainly in the Parmenides and Theaetetus). It is this short paper, the goal was to communicate the human intuition we can have on the relation between science and theology, letting the reader dig more deeply into the mathematical justification if he/she is interested by consulting the technical papers. Now, let us repeat the important

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proviso explained in Marchal 2015b: the theology of the ideally (mathematically) sound machine belongs to science, but we cannot take for granted that it applies to us because we cannot take for granted that we are sound and/or that Mechanism is correct. mechanism asks for an act of faith, and this makes the theology of the machine non normative, and not directly usable, except as an etalon to study diverse spiritual experiences and intuition, together with keeping in mind that nature might refute that theology eventually. In that case the theory of the machine still provide a technical tool for measuring some human degree of non-mechanism. The reader knowing the logic of self-reference G and G* can guess that G* \ G axiomatizes the surrational, i.e. the (propositional) proper theology. He might be interested in recasting the content of this short presentation in the terms of those logics and their intensional variants. Note that the main axiom of G is already considered as a axiom of modesty by diverse author. The axiom is the Löb formula B(Bp -> p) -> Bp, and it expresses that the machine justifies the *truth* of what she asserts only for those proposition she actually justifies. The reader doing this task should extend what has been done previously in Marchal 2007a. I have to insist on the fact that being science does not entail that this is true, in virtue of what as just been explained, but only that this follows from the Mechanist postulate. As said above, it has been shown also that this is refutable, as the machine’s physics is derivable, actually in a way very close to Moderatus of Gades and Plotinus---see the book by Wallis for a good introduction to Neoplatonism (Wallis 1977). The derivability of physics makes obviously the theory refutable: derive physics and compare to observation (see Marchal 2004 for a readable introduction, see Smullyan 1987 for a recreative introduction to the selfreference logic G). It is important to keep in mind that science is the domain of modesty and doubt. Nowhere in science can we pretend to know the truth, and we remain eternally open to changing our mind, or changing our basic belief/theory/axioms/postulates.

Conclusion Let me put it in this way: to separate theology from science is a very deep confusion or error. That error is easy to illustrate in the computationalist theory: why to assume irrational things when the machine can intuit their surrational corona?

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By empirical observations of human behaviors, it seems already that such a separation only lead to a human collective schizophrenia. It forces both science and religion into the irrational, and misses entirely the surrational, which is the usual roots of all theories at their meta-level (again provably assuming computationalism). Separating religion and science makes both of them into senseless instruments of control, like we can see most clearly when a religion becomes politically obligatory, like it happened with inquisition or more recently with “radical islamism”. This serves only personal irreligious short term special interests. When separated, religion does not just become instrumental, it becomes a way to prevent progress in the religious field. It pushes away any alternate theories, and forbid to its followers to even consider different texts and theories or system of beliefs, preventing possible comparisons, when it does not just forbid the personal inquiry, or even its means of research, like the use of entheogen which was preponderant in most primitive religious social systems. The officialized religion becomes at such stage the worst enemy of the religious spiritual inquiring mind. Note that in tyrannies, usually other branches of science can “lost their soul” in the same way. A remarkable case is genetics in the ancient USSR (the Lyssenko affair), or the whole actual mundial politics of health, which should be as much separated from the state than religion. That might be the object of a follow-up paper: physical and mental health are also not effectively separable from what we might call spiritual health, and here too, no state, or collectivities of persons can think at the place of the individuals. To sum up, religion (ideal and “well understood”) seems to be as much the only goal of the fundamental inquiry: the search for the truth, as much as the only roots of the inquiry, through the personal experiences (with or without observations). Science provides the only public means, including its study of its own limitations, with respect to the hypotheses chosen, and that includes the study of the ways to overcome those limitations without falling in the trap of inconsistency or unsoundness by taking them as granted. Both science and theology asks us for humility/modesty, which in practice asks us for the “isn’t it?”, i.e. the interrogation marks at the end of any public assertions. To separate them makes them both stagnate in the instrumental human desire to control its fellow for individual special benefits, and

eventually, that harms or even kill them both. To oppose them does not make sense: only bad faith fears science, and only bad reasons fear faith.

Bibliography [1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

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Askanas, Malgorzata, Formalization of a semantic proof of Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, Doctoral dissertation, Graduate Faculty of Mathematics, The City University of New-York. Abstract in Journal of Symbolic Logic, vol. 42, p. 154, 1975. Boolos, George, The logic of provability, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993. Cohen J. Daniel, Equations from God, Pure Mathematics and Victorian Faith, John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 2007. Huxley, Aldous, The Perennial Philosophy, Harper and Row Publisher Inc, New-York, 1945. Marchal, B., The Origin of Physical Laws and Sensations. In 4th International System Administration and Network Engineering Conference, SANE 2004, Amsterdam, 2004. Marchal, B, “A Purely Arithmetical, yet Empirically Falsiﬁable, Interpretation of Plotinus’ Theory of Matter. “In Barry Cooper S. Löwe B., Kent T. F. and Sorbi A., editors, Computation and Logic in the Real World, Third Conference on Computability in Europe June 18-23, pages 263–273. Universita degli studi di Sienna, Dipartimento di Roberto Magari, 2007. Marchal, B, “The Universal Numbers. From Biology to Physics,” Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 2015, Vol. 119, Issue 3, 368-381, 2015. Marchal, Bruno,”NeoNeoPlatonism : Can Theology be Studied with the Scientific Attitude ?,” Proceedings DIALOGO (DIALOGO - The 2nd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology), DOI: 10.18638/ dialogo.2015.2.1.30, ISBN: 978-80-5541131-6, ISSN: 2393-1744, vol. 2,issue 1,pp. 271-283, 2015. McGinn, Colin, The problem of consciousness, Blackwell, Oxford, 1991.

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Ouzoulias A., La conscience, Editions Quintette, Paris, 1989. [11] Penfield W., The Mystery of the Mind, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1975. [12] Smullyan, R., Forever Undecided. Alfred A. Knopf Publication, New-York, 1987. [13] Tye, M., Ten problems of consciousness. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995. [14] Wallis, R.T., Neoplatonism, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1972 (second edition 1995). [15] Warner, R. and Szubka, T., editors. The MindBody Problem. Basil Blackwell, Cambridge, USA, 1994. [10]

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DIALOGO JOURNAL 3 : 1 (2016) 351 - 355

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The administration of the Holly Eucharist. The Eucharist: rarely or often? Archimandrite Associate Professor Vasile MIRON, PhD. Faculty of Orthodox Theology Ovidius University of Constanta Romania

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article history: Received 23 August 2016 Received in revised form1 September Accepted 05 October 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.30

The Holy Eucharist is the Secret of our union and bringing up in Christ until we resemble Him. The receiving of this Holy Eucharist is not conditioned by time or by certain holidays, but by the moral worthiness of the one who receives it, worthiness that is won through inner purification of thoughts and unclean desires, through the deliverance from lusts and meanness, through sincere confession and true repentance. The Church’s discipline connected to the Communion with the Holy Secrets imposes, thus, a cleaning of the heart and a limitless endeavourment for moral improvement, before and after the receiving of the Holy Eucharist, in order to make as fruitful as possible inside us the honest and precious gem of Christ. Thus, not the rare and not the frequent receiving of the Eucharist help us achieve salvation, but the preparation of the soul with which we welcome Christ, The One that comes down into the secret of our souls in order to clean the sin within us and to live forever with Him.

Keywords: science; theology; attitude; surrational; platonism; machine; self-reference;

I. Introduction

The Holy Eucharist is the Secret in which, under the form of the bread and the wine, blessed during the Holy Liturgy at the moment of the epiclesis, we, in fact, are blessed with the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins and the inheritance of eternal life. By receiving this Holy Secret, we assume the spiritual fruit of the rewarding sacrifice on the mountain of Golgotha, because we place, deep in our being, the Holder of the Divine Gifts Himself, who sacrificed

Himself and Resurrected for the salvation of our souls. “Behold, thus, what a rich treasure of bounties brings us this Secret: the forgiveness of our sins, the erasing of the lawless shame, the renewal of our old spiritual beauty, the connection to Christ with tighter ties than to the birth parents. In a word, like no other Secret of the Church, The Eucharist takes the believer closer to perfection more than any other Secret.” [1] But, the Eucharist with the Holy and Pure Secrets of Christ, keeps the thermometer of our spiritual lives high, but only as high as we try to receive, with worthiness, this Holy

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Secret, since “Christ, the One that blesses us, is not only a cleansing and fighting power, He is also a reward that we receive after having tried so hard.” [2] Our Lord, Christ, offers Himself to us under the shape of Eucharistic food, so that we can die to sin and our selfish desires and reborn again at the new and Godly life that He plants inside of us, but not independently of our effort. The receiving of the Holy Eucharist represents a coronation of our divine needs, thus, “only he who loves God to the death of his selfishness, by uniting with Him, receives His life and fills himself with His holiness.” [3] Taking into consideration these fundamental aspects, our Holy Orthodox Church has considered the Eucharist with The Holy Secrets to be one of the essential duties of a believer and has fixed, as deadlines, the four fasts over the year, commanding through the fourth commandment, that all believers should prepare themselves during these periods of time and, to communion . The ones that work the hardest for their salvation, especially the innocent children, widows, elders and all those who love purity and prayers, the ones that work themselves on the way of the spiritual ladder, “through the crushing of the heart and the humbleness of the soul”, can receive the Eucharist at each forty days, according to Saint Simeon of Thessalonica. [4] This proposal cannot be, under any circumstances, turned into a rule. The Holy Priest meant that the ones that have a clear conscience could receive the Eucharist more often. But, since the steps of religious piety are differentiated, because not all believers can go all the way at the same pace, because of the believers’ different living conditions and activity and, especially, due to diversity of the characters, spiritual abilities and spiritual moods, the administration of the Holy Eucharist has been changed, due to these criteria. The allowance to receive the Holy

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Eucharist is only given by the priest in the chair of the confession, after analyzing the moral-religious state of the believer and his spiritual evolution. This decision depends on the priest and on the believer’s conscience if he makes an honest, correct and complete confession. Important in the process of achieving the salvation, is not the frequency of the Eucharist, but the preparation of soul with which we present ourselves to taste from “the Heavenly bread and the glass of life”, and, through preparation, we understand the true belief, clean conscience, the innocence and the forwardness of the heart and the jewels of the Christian virtues. Only the ones that receive the Eucharist “with the clean heart, with the frightening thought, and with a humble soul, become alive and blessed,” says Saint Simeon, the New Theologian. [5] Saint John Golden Mouth is very definite regarding this issue. He does not render happy “the ones that receive the Eucharist once, the ones that get closer often, not even the ones that get closer few times, but the ones that do this with a clear conscience, with a pure heart and with a sinless life. The ones that are like this shall approach forever, while the ones that aren’t (ready), shall not approach, for they will receive judgment, punishment and torment.“ [6] The same holy priest says that “the time for Eucharist is not the holiday of the feast, but the purity of the conscience and the sinless life. Just as the one that has no sins to stop him from taking the Eucharist can receive It anytime, so is the one that is filled with sins and does not repent, can’t receive the Eucharist, not on a holiday, not ever, for this doesn’t relieve ourselves from sins, but even worse, it condemns us. For this I urge you not to come get The Holy Secrets because of the holidays, but, whenever you will feel like receiving the Eucharist, it is right to cleanse yourselves with many days before through repentance and charity and effort for the spiritual and, don’t go back to

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sins like the dog at his vomit, that this Meal of Lord is full of spirit fire and, just like the springs give water naturally, so does this one have a certain unspoken flame. So, if you shall keep to the reed, wood, grass, don’t come any closer so you won’t lit the fire more and burn the soul that takes the Eucharist.’’[7] Thus, the Eucharist is not conditioned by deadlines, but by the mood and the preparation of the soul we have when we receive It. “Only to the one that repents, only to the one who inside his heart kneels before the mercy of God, only to the one who, in holiness, bends his knee with fear and trembling in front of the divinity of the Secret, only to the one that trusts in God’s forgiveness, only to the one that knocks, searches and prayers and, to the one who, realizing his own unworthiness and still repents, trembling, but full of hope regarding God’s grace, only to some that say, not only with their lips, but from the depths of the heart:’’ «I believe Lord and, I confess that You are the Son of God, who came into the world to save the sinners, from which the first is me.» Only to those who touch this spiritual state of being, do the Holy Secrets bring the blessing, the salvation of the soul and of the body, the deliverance from the burden of many sins and the entrance into His eternal Kingdom [8]. Church has adopted a balanced position regarding discipline in administrating The Holy Eucharist. In Its permanent care for the blessing and salvation of souls, It didn’t allow Its spiritual sons to stay too much time away from the heavenly and life giver food of the Lord’s Supper, and be caught by the understanding wolf, but It didn’t allow the doors of hell to stay unlocked by throwing carelessly and randomly the Eucharistic jewel. As proof, there are the commands of the holy regulations of the Holy Priests who forbid, for a long time the Holy Eucharist for those who commit certain serious sins.

A general conclusion of these all regulations can be found formulated and noted in a lapidary manner in the liturgical guiding and prescriptions at the end of the Liturgical book. “Behold the unworthy of this secret, it is said in these Prescriptions, that are cursed by the Bishop, or are stopped by their spiritual father or by their parents for some kind of reason, they shall be sent away.” Further, there are enumerated those that do not fulfill the necessary conditions to receive the Holy Eucharist: “True sinners, rakes, men with mistresses and even the mistresses themselves, sodomites, charmers of any kind, thieves that steal holy things, cards and beads players, gossipers and those who are worth of shame and disgrace, until they will truly repent and will make fruit worthy of repentance, are not to receive the Godly Secrets”. [9] That is why, let no foe be part at this Holy Meal, no bad man, no kidnapper, no hater, no cheap, no drunk, no greedy, no whore, no envious, no thief, not even a man with meanness hidden inside his soul, so that he does not call the judgement upon himself. Behold, Juda has eaten from Lord’s Supper unworthily and, then, he went straight and sold Jesus Christ. This is where we can see that the devil masters those who, unworthily, take from this Holy Secret and those who throw themselves in a bigger punishment. I say this, not to frighten you of this holy meal, but to make you more careful. It means that, just like bodily food, going into a sick stomach, increases the illness, so does the food of the soul, when tasted without being worth it, increases the responsibility and punishment”, [10] says a holy priest. Church also took into consideration certain circumstances in which believers are hired to perform some missions and responsibilities in society. It has recommended, for instance, the receiving of the Eucharist around the important events of life such as: candidates for priesthood, women before birth, young people before

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marriage, soldiers before going to war, sick people before an operation, students before the beginning of the school year, etc. The fact that Church has cultivated a free spirit regarding the administration of the Lord’s Supper and did not make any strict regulations regarding the time for the believers’ receiving of the Eucharist, is due to the fact that It left this up to the will of Lord, Which, “works everything for the benefit of those who love Him” (Romans, VIII, 28), because God is the only One Who knows which is the best way for everyone’s salvation. After all, God is the One that Enlightens the conscience of the priest and the One that guides the steps of the believer on the road to repentance, providing that they do it out of conviction and humbleness. An important thing must be highlighted here and that is the fact that “not all those whom the priest give the Eucharist to are blessed, but only those whom Christ Himself give the Eucharist to. The priest gives the Eucharist to all those who come for the communion; Christ gives the Eucharist only to those who are worthy of It.” [11] To us, it is settled the fact that the frequent Eucharist with the Body and Blood of our Savior maintains, as lively and fruitful as possible, our communion with Him and maintains the tension of our spiritual life high, because “it is necessary for the Creator of the world to remain, all the time, in our clay, to right His Face within us, each time it seems to break”. [12] “Fully worthy of receiving the Eucharist is impossible to find says Saint Theophan the Recluse. They all find comfort in God’s mercy, because God loves the ones who receive the Eucharist and looks mercifully and willingly at the lacks from the proper state of the spirit. Then, the Eucharist Itself will right, slowly, these short comes [13]. Being an antidote against sin and a moral therapy and strengthening and improving the spiritual life, “the Holy Eucharist is not given only to those that have

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reached holiness as a reward of their virtues, but also to those that have started on the way of spiritual endeavourment, and, like a gun used to bring the enemy down, like a pill that heals sins, like a rain that is drunk and makes virtues grow [14], just like the text of the prayer says: “May this Eucharist be, for the healing of my soul and my body, for the settlement of my spiritual powers, for the chasing of the enemy, to brighten the eyes of my heart, for humble love, for the perfection of wisdom, for guarding Your commandments, for Your divine Spirit and for acquiring Your kingdom” [15]. For this, we must feed ourselves not only with the Body and Blood of our Savior, but with His repentance, submitting our whole life to his orders. At the Lord’s Sacrifice we must add our spiritual sacrifice, getting near the Saint Altar with honest and loving heart and with our soul protruded by the spirit of humbleness and deep repentance for the sins done. “Christ Himself makes me cleaner through my communion with Him, but I still have to try hard and prepare for this cleanliness before receiving the Eucharist” [16]. We must ease our conscience of the burden of our mistakes and always clean the coat of our soul spoiled by the dirt of sins before approaching the Holy Chalice, since “for those who receive the Eucharist with faith, worthily, the Eucharist is for the forgiveness of sins, for eternal life, for guarding the soul and the body but, for those who receive the Eucharist and have no faith, in an unworthy manner, shall be punished” [17]. Thus, Saint Apostle Paul’s words: let the man search inside himself and eat the bread and drink from the glass accordingly to what he finds, because, he who eats and drinks without deserving it, punishment shall receive for not considering our Lord’s Body’’ (I Corinthians, 11, 28-29), remain a general warning for all the categories of believers.

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References [1] Cabasila, Nicolae, Despre viaţa în Hristos, cartea a IV-a, trad. în rom. şi studiu introductiv de Pr. Prof. Dr. Teodor Bodogae, Bucureşti, 1989, p. 208. [2] Cabasila, Nicolae, Despre viaţa în Hristos, cartea a IV-a, trad. în rom. şi studiu introductiv de Pr. Prof. Dr. Teodor Bodogae, Bucureşti, 1989, p. 211. [3] Stăniloae, Pr. Prof. Dumitru, Spiritualitate şi comuniune în Liturghia ortodoxă, Craiova, 1986, p. 278. [4] Sf. Simeon al Tesalonicului, “Pentru a ne cumineca toţi adesea”, cap. 361, în lucrarea: Tratat asupra tuturor dogmelor credinţei noastre ortodoxe după adevăratele principii puse de Domnul nostru Iisus Hristos, partea a IV-a, trad. în rom. de Ierom. Chesarie şi tipărit în 1765, apoi tipărit de Toma Teodorescu, Bucureşti, 1865 şi diortosit şi editat de Arhiepiscopia Sucevei şi Rădăuţilor, vol. II, Suceava, 2003, p. 113. [5] Sf. Simeon Noul Teolog, Rugăciunea a şaptea din Rânduiala Sfintei Împărtăşanii în: Liturghier, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureşti, 2012, p. 360. [6] Sf. Ioan Gură de Aur, Omilia a XVII-a în: Comentariile sau explicarea Epistolei către Evrei, trad. în rom. de Arhiereul Teodosie Athanasiu (Ploieşteanu ), Bucureşti, 1923, p. 231. [7] Sf. Ioan Gură de Aur, Mărgăritarele, editată de Pelerinul Român după traducerea veche, tipărită în chirilică în anul 1746, Oradea 1994, p. 251-252. [8] Arseniev, Nicolae, Mistica şi Biserica Ortodoxă, trad. în rom. de Remus Rus, Ed. Iri, Bucureşti, 1994, p. 62. [9] Liturghier, Ed. IBMBOR, Bucureşti, 2000, p. 475. [10] Sf. Ioan Gură de Aur, Omilii la Postul Mare, versiune românească îmbunătăţită, pornind de la ediţia tradusă şi îngrijită de episcopul Melchisedec al Romanului (1893), în col. Comorile Pustiei, vol. 19, Ed. Anastasia, Bucureşti, 1997, p. 138.

[11] Cabasila, Nicolae, Tâlcuirea Dumnezeieştii Liturghii, cap. XLIII, trad. în rom. de Pr. Prof. Dr. Ene Branişte, Bucureşti, 1989, p. 93. [12] Cabasila, Nicolae, Despre viaţa în Hristos, cartea a IV-a, p. 203. [13] Sf. Teofan Zăvorâtul, Sfaturi înţelepte, trad. în rom. de Cristea Florentina, Ed. Egumeniţa, Galaţi, fără an de apariţie, p. 145-146. [14] Gogol, Nicolae, Dumnezeiasca Liturghie meditată, trad. în rom. de Pr. Marin Dumitrescu, Bucureşti, 1937, p. 175. [15] Liturghier, ed. 2012, p. 368. [16] Stăniloae, Pr. Prof. Dumitru, Taina Euharistiei, izvor de viaţă spirituală în Ortodoxie, în: Ortodoxia, an. XXXI (1979), nr. 3-4, p. 510. [17] Sf. Ioan Damaschin, Dogmatica, cartea a IV-a, cap. 13, trad. în rom. de Pr. D. Fecioru, Ed. Scripta, Bucureşti, 1993, p. 166.

Biography Vasile Miron, born in Homocea, Vrancea, Romania on the 23rd of February 1960, Theology Doctor, practical studies, Theology Faculty from Bucharest, 1993. He works as a LECTURER in Theology Faculty from Constanta and has published twelve books and fiftyseven articles – Saints holidays (Constanta, Romania, Tomis Archdiocese, 2015. Lecturer Vasile Miron is a member of “Clepsidra” Cultural Association from Roman, Romania, a scientifical reviewer at Bucharest University Publishing and a writer for “Actualitatea Ortodoxă” magazine from Toronto, Ontario.

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This paper was presented in the

The 3rd Virtual International Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology. (DIALOGO-CONF 2016)

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held online, on the Journal’s website, from November 3 - 10, 2016

journal homepage: http://dialogo-conf.com

ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 14 July 2016 Received in revised form 28 August Accepted 12 September 2016 Available online 30 November 2016 doi: 10.18638/dialogo.2016.3.1.31

Keywords: Adam and Eve; Creation vs. Evolution; Biblical Flood; Paleolithic; Mesolithic; Neolithic; Homo sapiens; Ancient Civilizations; Apocrypha; Lost Books of the Bible; The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha;

ABSTRACT

Inherent in the Creation (“Intelligent Design”) versus the Theory of Evolution (“natural selection”) War, is the scientific belief in the millennia-long “evolution” of humankind, versus the Christian belief in the creation of the Biblical Adam and Eve circa 7,700 B.C. This article shows that there is no such thing as an “evolution” of Earth’s life forms. Over the course of millions of years, God created then, re-designed all Earth’s life forms in successive stages, which accounts for the non-linear progression of said forms and particularly of humanoids. Integrating Mitochondria DNA and archaeological evidence with Judeo-Christian and extra-Biblical texts, shows that after God created then redesigned pre-Adamic humans, He created the Biblical Adam and Eve circa 9,700 years ago during the Mesolithic Period as prototypes for present-day man. Moreover, archaeological evidence, plus Judeo-Christian and extra-Biblical texts suggest that Eve and Adam co-existed with Homo sapiens during the Mesolithic/Neolithic Periods. © 2014 RCDST. All rights reserved.

I. Overview

The debate over whether the Biblical account of how humans came into being is the correct one or if the scientific account is correct, began with the publication in 1859 of Darwin’s On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) proposed that all life on Earth, including

human life, evolved – gradually developed and changed over a period of millions of years – and that since the beginning of life on earth, nature has selected only the fittest species to survive. Scientists have adopted this Theory of Evolution while theologians, especially Christians, yet hold to the belief in the creation of Adam and Eve (circa 9,700 year ago) as the first humans. This paper brings a new perspective to the issue and thus attempts to reconcile the two beliefs

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by eliminating the boundaries that currently exist between the two. II. God creates primitive man 7 million

years ago during the Pliocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period.

The Biblical book of Genesis chronicles the first experiments in the creation of humankind and of man’s succession: And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness [utilizing the “mingled sperm drop”] and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the Earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fertile, and increase, replenish the Earth and master it, and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on the Earth.’ (Genesis 1: 26-28)

According to God’s design, the animal “man” would be a symmetrically-shaped biped, and thus be more like the deities (“in our image”) than were God’s other animals. It would inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, live primarily on the dry land, reproduce sexually and, as was noted above, be at the top of the visible food chain. The phrase “in our image” meant that 7 million years from his inception, the end product (Homo sapiens sapiens – Adam and Eve) would be highly intelligent and similar to the gods in appearance. On the other hand, man would be made from “dust,” inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, be able to tolerate direct exposure to sunlight, and for the next 7 million years, be ground bound. The Biblical verses cited above appear before those that chronicle the creation of Adam and Eve, and indicate that other human-like beings were created prior to that and they thus existed outside the Garden

of Eden. These passages (Genesis 1:26-28) clearly indicate that a number of humans (“male and female…them”) who engaged in sexual reproduction (“fruitful/fertile”) were created and thereby “increase [d]” their numbers. Moreover, the words them and male and female are utilized suggesting the two genders were created simultaneously. The word replenish is a clear indication that God had created, or formed, successive species of man as replacements for the earlier species of primitive man (whom He systematically eliminated) but before the end product, Adam and Eve, were formed. Contrary to what many scientists believe, humankind did not “evolve” or self-change, over millions of years. Enoch wrote: The Lord with his own two hands created mankind: in a facsimile of His own face, both small and great, the Lord created them. And whoever insults a person’s face, insults the face of a king, and treats the face of the Lord with repugnance…He who spits on a person’s face insultingly, will reap the same at the Lord’s great judgment. (The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 Enoch 44:1-3, excerpts)

During the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs (26 MYA - 5 MYA), there existed a much greater diversity of apes than does now exist. 10 million years ago, there were no less than 50 varieties of apes (compared to only four today, excluding the human), and many more forests in which to house them. Earth, at that time, was indeed a planet of apes. That was when God first thought to create man, as it would require the passing of many millions of Earth years to perfect an articulate, intelligent Earth being that could exist and thrive in the flesh. During one of his visits with God, Enoch saw “the first human ancestors and the righteous ones of old dwelling in that place.” (ibid) God told Enoch that “every kind of soul that breathes the breath of all living things” was created on the 5th Day; this must include primitive man. Between 8 and 7 million years ago, God eliminated most of the ape species from

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Earth. During the Upper Pliocene Epoch, God infused the eggs of the four remaining species of female apes with a miniscule percent of Divine DNA. Thus, about 7 million years ago He created primitive forms of mankind, with four variations of hybrids existing simultaneously; He did this in order to field-test them and try each for suitability factors. Early man did not have the power of articulate speech and therefore, did not have a spoken language. It is written in The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 76 (Al-Dahr) verse 3: “We have created man from a mingled sperm-drop that We might try him; so We made him hearing and seeing.” Until recently, fossil evidence had suggested that the earliest form of man to walk upright habitually was australopithecus afarensis (AKA “Lucy”) created some 4 million years ago in Ethiopia. In February 2005, the bones of another bipedal hominid were discovered in the wooded grasslands of the Horn of Africa at a site called Mille. The fossilized remains of this hominid also date back to 4 million years. However, a skull was recently discovered in the desert of Chad (central Africa) that dates the earliest experiment with upright walking back to 7 million years. Some anthropologists have concluded that this was a pre-human skull while others believe that it was not, because the bone structure does not line up with an orderly progression of human “evolution.” This hominid would have lived during the Middle to Upper Pliocene Epoch. Although approximately 8 million years ago God changed many forests into grasslands, 7 million years ago Chad was yet a dense forest. Anthropologists and paleontologists have now come to realize that early mankind lived in a variety of environments, including dense forests (and not just on the grasslands as was previously believed), that early man branched off in many different directions, and therefore, that several species of humans existed

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simultaneously. God’s first pre-human creatures, who with subsequent genetic manipulations would become modern man 7 million years in the future, would be theoretically, at the top of the food chain and would be rendered more intelligent than any other life form on Earth. III. God re-designs mankind over millions of years and, in time, places them over “all the earth.”

Over the course of millions of years, God selected the most desirable physical traits of this bipedal and increasingly hairless creature, whose origin was always on or near the African continent, the warmest of all Earth sectors. The African continent was the one continent with enough diverse landscapes upon which the various species of pre-humans could be tried and tested, and up until the creation of Adam, was always ground zero for human advancement. Anthropologists generally separate the main species of the Homo family into the following categories: Homo rudolfensis, Homo ergaster, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neaderthalensis, and Homo sapiens (“wise man” or, earlymodern man). Moreover, the dating of habilis and erectus fossils discovered in 2000 near lake Turkana in Kenya, indicate that the existence of the two species overlapped: The erectus skull dated back to 1.55 MYA, and the habilis skull to 1.44 MYA, destroying the previously-held belief that man “evolved” in and orderly progression, “one after the other…Instead, they apparently lived side by side in Eastern Africa for almost half a million years” (Wilford 2007, A12). Over time, God gradually increased the amount of Divine DNA of all subsequent species of man (while retaining the more efficient traits of the earlier models) and at the same time restructured humankind’s

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physical self. There simply are no “missing links” between the ape and primitive man, or between the successive or the co-existing species of man that God created; therefore, the theory of self-willed, spontaneous physical evolution – physical evolution brought about by environmental changes – is null and void. If humans were able to bring about physical changes at will, those who desire to be, for example, taller and/or thinner would will their bodies to change. Humans would create for themselves the “perfect” bodies and live far beyond normal life expectancy, and far longer than God intends. Another fact that obviates the Theory of Evolution, or the ability for plants and animals to self-change, is that humans of European descent have been living in Africa and other sun-drenched regions for centuries now and have not “evolved” the short, curly hair, the dark-colored eyes, the melanin, the thicker skin and the mostly hairless bodies of the indigenous peoples – those traits that God bequeathed upon them to enable them to thrive in that environment. Genesis 1: 26 – 28 appear chronologically, before the account of the Creation of Adam and Eve, which does not appear until Chapter 2, verse 7 (for Adam), and Chapter 2 verses 21 and 22 (for Eve). Adam and Eve were not created until the 7th Day, approximately 9,700 years ago during the early Mesolithic. In addition, Adam was created, then placed in a botanical garden specifically “to dress it and to keep it”, and the Garden only (Genesis 2:15). Moreover, God did not tell Adam and Eve to “be fertile and increase; replenish the earth and master it.” Finally, there were no “fish of the sea” or “fowl of the air” in the “enclosed”, self-contained botanical garden. The “living creature[s] that Adam named were “brought” or transported to him (Genesis 2:19). Chronologically speaking, Genesis 2:47 could be attached to immediately follow

Genesis 1:29. It would thereby read the following way: So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth’. And God said, ‘Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of the tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat’. [Attach Genesis 2:4-7] These are the generations [successive developments] of the heavens and of the Earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the Earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the Earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Verse 27 cites “God created man” which carries with it the plural connotation of mankind. The word Aadam is Babylonian in origin and was a generic name for all humankind. In support of this, in The Bible Library: Strong’s Hebrew Old Testament Dictionary, the word adam was translated to mean either “an individual or the species” (Reference # 120). However, in further consulting Strong’s Hebrew Old Testament Dictionary, Reference # 1254, indicates that “created He them” transliterates from bará, meaning “a primitive root.” This means that God created primitive mankind before he created the singular, first true human being referred to in the Bible as Adam. The “dust” of which the human body is composed, is carbon mainly (which along with water is present in all chief molecules of the human body) but also hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium and sodium. The first experiment in the creation of the animal “man” began approximately 7 million years

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ago between the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs (near the end of Earth’s Fifth Age), and ended with the creation of early-modern man near the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, or the Sixth Age, the 6th Biblical day. In that “Day” (Genesis 2:4) or Age – between the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs – the earth, “the dust,” was rich with those elements of which mankind was formed. Apes are comprised of the same elements but differ from humans in DNA sequencing. During the Upper Pliocene Epoch, God infused the eggs of the four remaining genera of female apes with a miniscule percent of Divine DNA. Thus, about 7 million years ago He created primitive forms of mankind (the so-called “fifth ape”), with four variations of hybrids existing simultaneously; He did this in order to field-test them and try each for suitability factors. In retrospect, some fossils that have been classified as “ape” by anthropologists were those of a very primitive “man” to God. The split from ape, meaning the hybridization that led to the creation of modern man, came about due to genetic manipulation — the application of the “mingled sperm drop.” It is written in The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 76 (Al-Dahr) verse 3: “We have created man from a mingled sperm-drop that We might try him; so We made him hearing and seeing.” Early man did not have the power of articulate speech and therefore, did not have a spoken language. God created primitive humans to inhabit every area of Earth (“all the earth”) and not just the Garden of Eden. Before Adam and Eve, primitive man did inhabit “all the earth” beginning in Africa, and was transported to the east of that continent and then, to the west into the area now known as the Americas. From the Americas, humans were later transported to the northernmost regions of Earth as ice sheets retreated northward and climates became warmer. God developed all the species of flora

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intended to grow upon the surface of Earth in His space station’s bio-lab before He transplanted them to Earth, and before the advent of mankind, for as God disclosed to Enoch: “…before I created living souls, I prepared food for them.” (Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1 Enoch, 30:1) God “prepared food” for man (as well as for all His other living creatures) prior to their creations. When God did transplant His Garden to Earth as a “paradise,” it was expansive and was located on a mountain plateau. Taking samples from this Garden, God and His angels further transplanted “every plant…and every herb” to predetermined areas of Earth as food for his living creatures. IV. God Creates Adam and Eve circa

9,700 Years Ago.

During the Upper Paleolithic and early Mesolithic, only Homo sapiens existed outside the Garden of Eden: “…there was not found a help meet” for Adam, means there were other humans, but no other human was his intellectual equal. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept [was anesthetized]; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. (Genesis 2:21-22)

God anesthetized Adam and performed an operation on him. He extracted the advanced DNA from Adam’s bone marrow, separated the dual principle with which Adam was created, then, used his DNA to clone a female counterpart. Colonel Churchward’s discovery of the “Tale of Creation” garnered from “Oriental Naacal writing, supplemented by the Mexican Tablet # 1584” reveals the following information: Man was created with the dual principle, male and female. The Creator caused this man to pass into a sleep, and while he

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slept, the principles were severed by Cosmic Forces. When he awoke, he was two: man and woman (1972, 72-74).

Churchward further recounts strikingly similar tales told by the ancient Egyptians, the Hindus, the Chaldeans, and the Hawaiians. For example the Hawaiian creation “myth” chronicles the creation of the prototype of present-day humans that is very similar to that written in the Bible: “Toaroa made man out of red Earth, Araca, and breathed into his nostrils. He made woman from man’s bones and called her Ivi” (75). After Adam transgressed God’s commandment to not eat of the fruit of “the tree,” He first expressed His disappointment with Adam’s behavior then, revealed to Adam His purpose for creating him as a new species: “For I made thee of the light; and I willed to bring out children of light from thee and like unto thee.” (Lost Books of the Bible, Book I: Adam and Eve, 13:14). This dynamic duo, Adam and Eve, were perpetual youths; both were apparently cloned, nurtured in a virtual reality laboratory then, placed in the botanic Garden after they had developed to the adolescent stage; they were adolescents by present-day standards. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, the Sibylline Oracles, Book I, Lines 23-34 read: And then later He [God] again fashioned an animate object, making a copy from his own image, youthful man, beautiful, wonderful. He bade him live in an ambrosial Garden, so that he might be concerned with beautiful works. But he being alone in the luxuriant plantation of the Garden desired conversation, and prayed to behold another form like his own. God himself indeed took a bone from his flank and made Eve, a wonderful maidenly spouse, whom he gave to this man to live with him in the Garden. And he [Adam], when he saw her, was suddenly greatly amazed in spirit, rejoicing, such a corresponding copy [clone] did he see. They conversed with wise words which flowed spontaneously [super intelligently], for God had taken care of everything.

The Apocrypha: Book II Esdras, Chapter 3:5-6 read:

And [God] gavest a body unto Adam without soul, which was the workmanship of thine hands, and didst breathe into him the breath of life, and he was made living before thee. And thou leddest him into Paradise which thy right hand had planted before ever the earth came forward. In the day that the Lord God made the Earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the Earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the Earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the Earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a Garden eastward [meaning a location that derived the greatest benefit from the rising sun] in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:4-8)

When man became a “living soul” he became self-actualized and self-aware, and was endowed with free will. Adam was a special creation, superior to the human species that existed outside the botanic garden, as is noted in Genesis 2:20: “For Adam there was not found a help meet for him.” Therefore he was the only advanced species of man on Earth until Eve was created. At the time Adam was “formed” he was upgraded from the most advanced line of extant humans who have been dubbed Homo sapiens. This transformation from Homo sapiens (wise man) to Homo sapiens sapiens (very wise man) was effected through additional processes of genetic manipulation, or specifically through an increased dose of Divine DNA, which currently amounts to about 2.4% removal from ape DNA (Campbell and Loy 1996, 31). Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures and the Bible (KJV) state that there was no female or mate equal to Adam at the time of his creation. In Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures it is written: “... but for Adam no fitting helper was found” and the Bible states: “...but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him.” These passages clearly indicate that God did search

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for another human intelligent enough to equal Adam’s special abilities; this further means that other humans did exist outside the Garden. The common animals – the “beast [s] of the field” – did not reside in the botanic Garden. They were “brought…unto Adam,” or transported to that area, named and classified by Adam, then transported back to their usual habitats. Over the course of time, as God continued his successive re-engineering of animal and plant life on Earth, Adam named “every living creature” that existed during the Mesolithic/Neolithic Periods, after the last Ice Age. This unique man, Adam, was a scientist, to whom God had given special knowledge of what is today called biology and zoology: And out of the ground [from the earth and fossils] the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field. (Genesis 2:19-20)

After Adam and Eve violated God’s commandment to them and were banished from the Garden, Adam said to Eve, “We no longer belong to the inhabitants of the Garden; but henceforth we are Earthy as of the dust, and of the inhabitants of the earth” (Lost Books of the Bible: Book I: Adam and Eve, 65:9). Because the animals of the earth are invariably referred to as “beasts” throughout these books, the word “inhabitants” can only mean that other humans existed on Earth. Genesis 4:14-15, lend support to the theory that other humans besides Adam, Eve, and their children existed on Earth: And the Lord said unto him [Cain] ‘Therefore whosoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should slay him.

These

other

humans

were

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Homo

sapiens, or early-modern man, who were mute and illiterate. Speech and written language, as well as large-scale, organized warfare, did not come into existence among humankind until after the creation of the Biblical Adam and Eve and the advent of their descendants. Written language would come about around 5,000 B.C.E. (3,000 B.C.) after the Biblical Flood and after the fallen angels would re-establish themselves as the gods of Earth. It is written also in Lost Books of the Bible, Book I: Adam and Eve that, after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, they were distraught and no longer wanted to live. God explained to Adam that Jesus would come to Earth and “save him and his seed…in 5 days and a half” meaning “…5,000 years and a half of that, further meaning 7,500 years. (3:3 and 6) Although the “half” was translated by the editor to mean half of a thousand, it is more likely that the “half” means half of 5,000. The date of the creation of Adam and Eve must also include the time that they spent in the Garden, which was “five and a half hours” in the realm of the heavenly hosts (Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 Enoch 32:3). “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day” (2 Peter 3:8). If a thousand Earth years is equal to one day in the realm of the heavenly hosts, then 5 ½ hours is equal to about 229 years of Earth time. Putting all this together, between 9,800 and 9,700 years ago is an accurate date of creation for Adam and Eve. During this time, the Upper Paleolithic/Lower Mesolithic, humans created before Adam and Eve were yet hunter-gatherers. And God said: ‘Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the Earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the Earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the Earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat’: and it was

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so. And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold [after complex analysis] it was good [the Earth had reached homeostasis]. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:29-31)

After their banishment, God transformed Adam so that he would be physically bigger and stronger (Lost Books, Book I: Adam and Eve, 4:2), then informed them that they would now have to grow their own food (become farmers) and thus provide for themselves: And you shall eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread… therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Genesis 3:18, 19-23) God and His angels either directly instructed humankind, or indirectly gave their “hearts wisdom” (Lost Books, Book I: Adam and Eve, 66:8-10) as to which plants and foods were edible and useful to them, and which were not. For example, by 7,000 B.C.E. (9,000 years ago), flax was being cultivated and raised, not for food, but for linseed oil and for linen to be used as clothing. Information disseminated to humans by an advanced species (e.g., expert angel botanists) was the only way that early farmers could know that this banal-looking plant could be so valuable. In addition, early farmers needed to be instructed about exactly when to harvest this plant. If fiber flax is harvested too early, its fibers will be too weak to spin into yarn, and if harvested too late, the fibers will be stiff, rough, and useless: The first farmers didn’t have any existing crop as a model to inspire them to develop other ones. They couldn’t have been conscious that, whatever they were doing, there was a tasty result ahead. Why did olive trees yield to Stone Age farmers, while to this day oaks continue to outwit our best and brightest botanists? Wild almond seeds contain an intensely bitter chemical called amygdalin, which breaks down to yield poison cyanide. A snack of wild almonds can kill a person foolish

enough to ignore the bitter taste…Lima beans, potatoes, and eggplants are among many other familiar crops whose wild ancestors were bitter and poisonous…there were changes that could not have involved such conscious choices, because in these cases the plant features being selected for were invisible (Diamond 1994, 102-103).

After the initial planting, it takes olives, figs, dates, and pomegranate crops three years for minimal production, and up to ten years for full production. Moreover, the cultivation of apple, cherry, plum, and pear trees requires “grafting,” a complicated and difficult process “a highly conscious enterprise, carried out according to explicit rules that the Romans described in encyclopedia treatises” (ibid 105). Yet, all these foods mentioned here, and many others, were planted, correctly harvested, and consumed widely by ancient farmers and their families by 3,000 B.C. E. (5,000 years ago). Berossus, who lived after the Biblical account of the Flood was written in Hebrew, and around the time of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.E.), was chief priest/ historian for Antiochus I, and to the gods of ancient Babylon, particularly Marduk, the chief god. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his Antiquities refers to him as “Berosus the Chaldean” and as being one of the “writers of barbarian histories” (32) especially concerning the Flood. Three of Berossus’ books on Babylonian history were published during the time that Antiochus II ruled (261-246 B.C.E.), particularly those that had been adapted from the writings of other ancient priests, and then preserved in the temple of Bel at Babylon. In his History of Babylonia, Berossus wrote that after the global Flood, a being called Oannes emerged from the Persian Gulf and gave the ancient Babylonians seeds to plant, then schooled them in all aspects of farming. In addition, Oannes informed them about all vegetation that was edible and that which was harmful to humans (Cory).

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“But when Adam and Eve went out of the Garden, they trod the ground on their feet, not knowing they were treading” (Lost Books, Book I: Adam and Eve, 2:1). This means that, while they were in the Garden, they were literally light on their feet as the gravitational force there was indicatively, less than that in the realm of the other humans who existed outside the Garden. After they left the Garden, God started Eve’s ovulation and menstrual cycle so she would be able to conceive and bear children. Because she would become the primary caretaker of her and Adam’s offspring, God then reduced her duties so as to free up more of her time for breastfeeding and nurturing. When God told Eve that her desire should be to Adam “and he shall rule over you,” He was speaking to her, and to her only, because of what she had done; God knew that this new system would work better for the two of them. God did not decree that all men of all time should dominate, deny, abuse, and persecute women. While they lived in the Garden of Eden, Eve was called merely “woman.” After she was rendered capable of bearing offspring, Adam gave her the name “Eve, because she was the mother of all living [presentday humans]” and DNA evidence suggests that she is. “Now a woman is called in the Hebrew tongue, Issa; but the name of this woman was Eve, which signifies the mother of all living” (Josephus Antiquities, Book I, v. 36, p. 29). God told them both that they would eventually die a physical death. He next instructed an angel to make “coats of skin” for them to protect their own sensitive “skin” that was spread over them so “it may bear cold and heat.” And Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3: 14-19)

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That happened around 9,600 years ago, when Earth was yet recovering from the last Ice Age, when median temperatures were considerably lower in the Middle East than they are now, and when the inhabitants of Mesopotamia wore coat-like garments. Because this species of man had failed its test, and was not yet spiritually perfected, and therefore not yet ready to “live forever” or to be immortal in its present form, it was necessary to keep it away from the tree of immortal life (Genesis 3:22). God expelled them from the Garden then placed a mechanized guard (a “cherubim”/robot) at the entrance (on the eastern side) to keep them from getting back in: And the sword of the cherub seemed to flame afar off. But when he raised it over Adam and Eve, the flame thereof did not flash forth. Therefore did the cherub think that God was favourable to them, and was bringing them back into the Garden. He could not go up to Heaven [the space station] to ascertain God’s order regarding their getting into the Garden; he therefore abode standing by them, ...for he was afraid lest they should enter the Garden without leave from God, who then would destroy him. (Lost Books, Book I: Adam and Eve, 54:57)

The word “heaven” is derived from the Hebrew word shamayim, which means “heights,” “elevations,” “high places,” “sky,” “aloft,” and “the higher ether1 where the celestial bodies revolve” (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, Reference #’s 8064 and 8065). Soon, other cherubim and angels embarked from the “kingdom of heaven,” came down to Earth, and landed in the Garden: At that time the heavens and the Earth shook [landing shuttle]; and other cherubim came down from heaven to the cherub who guarded the Garden...Then, again, other angels came down nigh unto the place where Adam and Eve were. (ibid. 54:9-10)

Their pronouncements were that God had decreed that Adam and Eve were not to be allowed to re-enter the Garden. Adam, an authentic superman, was 130 (biologically

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equivalent to age 13) when Seth was born, as a verse in the book of Genesis corroborates (Genesis 5:3). Adam and Eve were endowed with special abilities and powers above and beyond those of Homo sapiens – powers that gradually evanesced after they disobeyed God’s directives to them. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 Enoch, 30:12, it is written that God spoke to Enoch about how He had created Adam:

Other supernatural attributes of Adam and Eve were also altered. God explained to them:

I created him [Adam] from the invisible [sub-atomic particles] and the visible [physical matter]...and I placed him on Earth, a second angel, honorable, great and glorious, and I appointed him as ruler to rule on Earth and to have my wisdom, and there was none like him on Earth of all my existing creatures.

Then Adam, when he heard the Word of God, and the fluttering of the angels whom he did not see, but only heard the sound of them with his ears, he and Eve wept, and said to the angels: ‘O spirits...when I was in my former bright nature, then I could see you...But now that I have transgressed, that bright nature is gone from me, and I am come to this miserable state. And now am I come to this, that I cannot see you, and you do not serve me as you were wont, for I am become animal flesh.’ (55:2-4)

Then God the Lord said unto Adam, ‘When you were under subjection to Me, you had a bright nature within you, and for that reason couldst you see things afar off. But after your transgression your bright nature was withdrawn from you: and it was not left to you to see things afar off, but only near at hand; after the ability of the flesh; for it is brutish.’ (Lost Books, Book 1: Adam and Eve, 8:2).

Although the normal functioning of the human eye is amazing (it provides full color and stereoscopic vision, enables humans to detect low objects up to 15 miles away, and to almost simultaneously focus sharply on up-close images), it limits humans to the perception of three-dimensional images and only of those objects that reflect light. The angels, who were “cut from the fire” are made of pure light, and therefore in their spiritual form, cannot and do not reflect light. Initially, God had endowed the eyes of Adam and Eve with superior powers of visual accommodation so they were able to see “afar off” as well as to see the angels that co-existed with them while they were inside the Garden. However, after they were banished, their vision was altered: “Then Adam, when he heard the word of God and the fluttering of the angels whom he did not see, but only heard the sound of them with his ears, he and Eve wept.” (55:2)

But when I heard of your transgression, I deprived you of that bright light. Yet, of My mercy I did not turn you into darkness, but I made you a body of flesh, over which I spread this skin, in order that it may bear cold and heat. (23:7)

Adam further describes the traumatic deterioration of his super-human powers:

Several months passed before Adam and Eve ceased their attempts to re-enter the Garden of Eden. According to Lost Books of The Bible, Book II: Adam and Eve, they were devastated and hung around the entrance for months pleading with God to let them back in, but He refused. Still possessing some superhuman capabilities, they did not sleep, drink, nor eat for months, as they appealed to God for a second chance. They resided in a nearby cave -- The Cave of Treasures -- (as Homo sapiens resided mainly in caves) never sat or lay down, but stood for many days and nights in prayer. They were yet very much like God’s angels who also never sit. For the first time they witnessed the falling and rising of the sun and felt the changes in weather and temperature; as time passed, they experienced hunger, weariness, sleepiness, fear, worry, anxiety, and pain: And Adam said to God, ‘While I was in the Garden I knew neither heat, nor languor, neither moving about [walking on the ground], nor trembling, nor fear; but now since I came to this land [beyond the gate] all this affliction has come upon me.’ (Lost Books of the Bible, Book I: Adam and Eve, 22:3).

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Gradually, however, Adam and Eve became accustomed to all the physical, physiological, and psychological vicissitudes of life that Homo sapiens had long since taken for granted. God commanded them to go inside a cave and eat the giant figs that He had provided for them. However, they were afraid to eat “earthly food…lest if they ate, their stomach should be burdened and their flesh thickened, and their hearts take to liking earthly food.” (Book I: Adam and Eve, 64:4). Then God looked upon them, and at once fitted them for eating food, so that they should not perish. And they both knew from that hour that they were altered beings, for that now their bodies had strange functions; and all flesh that requires food and drink for its existence, cannot be in the garden (65:6-8). Then they arose, and went to the bank of the stream of water, that was on the south border of the garden. Then the word of God came to Adam and said unto him, ‘O Adam, your body is become brutish, and requires water to drink. Take you and drink…’ (66:2-3).

As Satan wasted no time in attacking the two while they were at their weakest, God sent an angel, or “Lord” to teach, protect, and look after them until they became unaccustomed to the lifestyle in which everything had been provided for them, and in which they had had no cares or concerns. A few months later, Adam and Eve became farmers: And they went down to a land of dark soil, and found there, corn, growing in the ear and ripe, and figs to eat…and God gave Adam’s heart wisdom, to work out the corn until it became bread [cornbread]. He returned to the cave rejoicing at what he had learned of what is done with wheat, until it is made unto bread for one’s use. (66: 8-10)

Adam then petitioned God’s permission to marry Eve, and his request was granted. Adam and Eve were instructed to fast for 40 days and nights before the wedding, which they did, so their union would be “pure and undefiled.” Their guardian angel advised Adam to present to Eve wedding gifts of

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gold, incense, and myrrh, married them in the sight of God, and instructed them in sexual intercourse: “Be ye, thou and she, one flesh” (73:4). At this point in time, after over 100 Earth years had passed, and after she had reached the biological equivalency of age 12, Eve’s menstruation/ovulation cycle began. And after having also lived for over 100 years and after also having attained sexual maturity, “Adam knew Eve, his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have gotten a man from the Lord.” (Genesis 4:1). The angel that God dispatched to help Adam and Eve adjust to life outside the Garden continued instructing them on how to grow and harvest their own food: And they dwelt on the Earth working, in order to continue in the well-being of their bodies; and were so until the nine months of Eve’s childbearing were ended, and the time drew near when she must be delivered…And God looked at His maid-servant Eve, and delivered her, and she brought forth her first-born son, and with him a daughter (The Lost Books of the Bible, Book I: Adam and Eve, 74:1-5).

Josephus wrote it this way: “Adam and Eve had two sons; the elder of them was named Cain; which name when it is interpreted, signifies a possession. The younger was Abel, which signifies sorrow. They had also daughters” (Antiquities, Book I: Chapter 2, v. 1, p. 31). Anatomist Alan Thorne became intrigued enough with the discovery of Australian Aborigines, Mungo Lady and Mungo Man, that he ordered tests to be conducted on these and other Mungo fossils, and published the results in January 2001. The first discovery was that the Australian Aborigine fossils dated back to 60,000 years. Geneticist Gregory Adcock of Australian National University then extracted the DNA from the interior of the bones in a manner so as to avoid contamination. He “compared mitochondria DNA from an early-modern Australian” [Mungo Man] with that of the mitochondria DNA of contemporary man,

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and they did not match. Furthermore, “His [Mungo Man’s] mitochondria DNA signature did not match anyone’s, living or fossil, on Earth. There was no evidence that he was genetically related to ancient Africans” (D’Agnese 2002, 56). Anthropologist Alan Mann of Princeton University remarked: “The people of Mungo were totally modern looking and were expected to carry the DNA we have, but they didn’t” (ibid, 56). Plainly speaking, because mankind today is descended for Adam and Eve by way of the Biblical Noah, thoroughly-modern man does not have the same mitochondria DNA, as did ancient humans. All Homo sapiens, as well as the descendants of Cain, were destroyed during the sixth extinction -- the Biblical Flood. After this minor extinction of life on Earth, there was left only one species of man, the family of Noah, of the line of the Biblical Adam and Eve. God made Adam, and later Noah, different from other extant humans -- the Homo sapiens. Noah was specially rendered with a varied enough gene pool so his descendants would be able to successfully re-populate and thrive in the various climates and ecosystems of Earth. Based on the DNA evidence cited above, it is suggested here that all present-day humans are descended from the Biblical Noah, are of Adam and Eve’s blood, and are therefore, all literally the children of Adam and Eve. And thus began the saga of thoroughly modern man. V. God destroys all humankind except

Noah and his family.

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the Earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons [creations] of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said: ‘My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.’ There were giants in the Earth in those days: and also

after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)

During the time when H. s. s. began losing his longevity, or the Lord’s “spirit,” God decreed that the ministrations of man’s physical body could yet maintain the “flesh” for up to 120 years. “The sons of God” as they were called in the Bible, were His creations, referred to as the “Watchers” in the books of Enoch. Corroborating evidence of the existence of giants during the Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods is found in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1 Enoch 7:1-6: And they took wives unto themselves, and everyone (respectively) chose one woman for himself, and they began to go unto them. And they taught them magical medicine, incantations, the cutting of roots, and taught them (about) plants. And the women became pregnant and gave birth to great giants whose heights were three hundred cubits. These (giants) consumed the produce of all the people until the people detested feeding them. So the giants turned against the people in order to eat them. And they began to sin against birds, wild beasts, reptiles, and fish. And their flesh was devoured the one by the other, and they drank blood. And then the Earth brought an accusation against the oppressors.

Greek poet Hesiod (700s B.C.E.) in his Works and Days (1914) espoused that there were four main Ages of the new man. The interpretation here of Hesiod’s Ages is unlike the traditional ones that correspond to the archeological Ages that include the Neolithic’s Iron Age (1,500 to 1,000 B.C.). Besides, Hesiod wrote his Works and Days millennia before present-day archaeologists established the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Ages of man. The Ages that Hesiod wrote about seem to correspond precisely to what happened to Adam and Eve and their descendants. According to Hesiod, the first Age of this new man was Golden, during which “Cronus reigned” on Earth. During this Age, humankind enjoyed protracted youth,

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peace, and joy and ate of the fruits that the earth spontaneously brought forth. The Golden Age coordinates with the time in which Adam and the “woman” lived inside the Garden of Eden, and further corresponds with the accounts described in Genesis 2:15 through Genesis 3:24. During the subsequent Silver Age, humans remained physically youthful until the age of 100. However, their physical and mental attributes had diminished somewhat from those of the Golden Age and sin came into the world. The Silver Age describes Adam and Eve just after they were banished from the Garden, and they and their descendants lived between 65 and 500 Earth years before they reached puberty, at which time they could bear children. Once outside the Garden, Adam, Eve, and their descendants had to consume the same “earthly” food as did Homo sapiens, in order to sustain their bodies. During this time, Homo sapiens and the children of Cain resorted to lawlessness and “evil.” The Brazen/Heroic Age describes humans toiling for a living, the cohabitation of human females with the fallen angels (the “Nefilim” or “Watchers”), the subsequent appearance of the “giants” and “mighty men” on Earth and the hatred and warfare among humanity. Towards the end of this Age, the Watchers broke through their vows, cohabitated with human females, and the giants of the Bible and of “myth” came into being (Genesis 4:1 through 6:4-5). Based on ancient depictions of the gods, the gods themselves, when morphed in human form, were also giants. Hesiod’s Iron Age describes humans farming and continuing to work and toil to provide for themselves. However, as time passed, mankind became increasingly lawless, resulting in his moral decline. The first Sibyl prophesied about the five “generations” of humans (from Adam through Noah) that existed before

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the Biblical Flood. The chronological events described in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1 Sibyl, of the Oracles, Lines 65-216, corroborate precisely with Hesiod’s “Ages” and with the Biblical account of what happened on Earth from the time of the Creation of Adam and Eve to the advent of the Flood.: “And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the Earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his [man’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). God then made the decision to destroy all humankind (by way of a global Flood around 5,500 B.C.E.) except Noah and his family. (Genesis 6:8 and Genesis 7) VI. Archaeological evidence corroborates the Biblical Flood.

William Ryan and Walter Pittman (2000) are senior scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. During their remarkable careers, they have conducted extensive research in marine biology, including research into the possibility of an ancient global deluge. In their book, Noah’s Flood, they wrote that as a result of “the dating of the shells belonging to the first marine mollusks to enter and colonize the drowned rim of the Black Sea,” that they were able to give “a precise age for the flood” (Pittman & Ryan 2000, 152). Explorer Robert Ballard radiocarbon dated shells collected, or dredged, from the sea bottom. The oldest freshwater shells were determined to be about 7,460 years old, and the saltwater shells to be about 6,820 years old indicating a transition from a freshwater lake to a saltwater lake at around the time of the dating of the oldest freshwater shells (about 5,460 B.C.). In addition, Ballard, using side-scan sonar, discovered an ancient shoreline off what is now the Black Sea to be about 550 feet below the surface of the current sea level. The original lake was smaller in size and completely freshwater, and freshwater yet enters the Black Sea from

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its tributaries the Danube, the Dnepr, the Dnestr, and the Don Rivers. However, the current Black Sea remains mostly saltwater and is larger than the original freshwater sea -- a result of having been inundated by the Mediterranean, which misplaced the original freshwater. Ryan and Pittman have determined that the transition from the ancient shoreline to the newer one (which directly corresponds with the transition from freshwater to saltwater) happened around 5,500 B.C. They and their colleague, researcher Glen Jones, believe that the transition was a “rapid” one. “Jones had previously thought that the consumption of the dissolved oxygen in the water [called “anoxia”] of the Black Sea, had taken one to two thousand years...all that saltwater poured in during the big catastrophic flood... and shut down the breathing of the Black Sea” (2000 149). Other ancient coastlines have been discovered and noted all over Earth, most notably, around the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan. The newer coastlines and farming villages were established at about the same time as those in Mesopotamia, during the Neolithic Period. In Robert Kunzig’s article featured in the November 2002 issue of Discover, details about the Neolithic village “now called La Marmotta” are written. Archaeologists and divers have explored the remains of this village, whose ruins now lie “at the bottom of Lake Bracciano, about 20 miles northwest of Rome.” It has been estimated that this village existed roughly between 5,700 B.C., and 5,200 B.C., when it was “abandoned, suddenly and mysteriously” (36). More careful carbon dating will undoubtedly point to the actual time of the destruction of this village, once located in the Mediterranean area, as being around the time of the Biblical Flood, or 5,500 B.C. Since the time of the submersion of this village and the sudden disappearance of its inhabitants, the coastline of Lake Bracciano has also risen

about 25 feet above its original level. Concerned parties have posed very relevant concerns about whether or not the Biblical Flood ever took place. The reasons for these concerns are understandable. Geologic conditions on Earth today are the same, or are very similar to, those that were present 8,000 years ago. The approximate amount of water needed to cover Mount Everest (29,028 feet/8,848 meters high), the highest elevation of land on Earth, is 4,441,800,000 cubic miles; in other words, a whole lot. According to the National Geological Survey, the total amount of water available on Earth, including that below the surface and that stored in ice caps and glaciers, is equal to far less than that, a total of 326,000,000 cubic miles. And because God placed the waters of the seas in huge pits and likewise set the boundaries of those bodies of water (especially saltwater bodies) so that they should not overflow those boundaries, that water, by itself, could not flood the entire Earth in the amount necessary to rise above Mt. Everest. Although the freshwater of the original Black Sea was misplaced because of the inundation of saltwater from the Mediterranean, the question yet remains: Where did all the additional water necessary and powerful enough to cause a breach in the boundary of the Mediterranean Sea and to flood the entire Earth come from? Enoch was a witness to all events that had ever taken place on Earth up to his time, and to all future events. This is why, before his final ascent into heaven, he was so apt to admonish his sons to stand firmly in righteousness no matter what “cruel yoke” should come upon them. One of the events he was witness to was the Flood which God told Enoch He would bring upon Earth for the purpose of destroying all corrupted flesh. It is written in 1 Enoch 54:7-8 that Enoch prophesied: And in those days, the punishment of the Lord of Spirits shall

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be carried out, and they [angels] shall open all the storerooms of water in the heavens above, in addition to the fountains of water which are on Earth.

In the Slavonic Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypse of Enoch (Enoch 2), it is written that later, after the above revelation and prophecy, God’s angels took Enoch up to heaven (a space station?) and allowed him to observe those angels who were in charge of Earth’s precipitation: They bore me [Enoch] up on to the first heaven and placed me on the clouds. And there I looked and again I looked higher... and they placed me on the first heaven and showed me a vast ocean, much bigger than the Earthly Ocean. (3:2-3)

Enoch also saw the angels who “guard the storehouse of the snow and ice...and the treasuries of the clouds”. (2 Enoch: 4 - 5) So the postulation here is that, in order to flood, and to thereby cleanse the entire Earth, the following would have had to take place: Earth’s glaciers had to be melted; Earth’s ground waters had to be released; and the rains that were generated from that “vast ocean” -- the heavenly reservoir -- had to fall mercilessly upon Earth, and all this simultaneously. So, the angels simultaneously unleashed all the Earthly water and the additional water needed to inundate the entire Earth “in cascading streams” from “heaven.” This postulation is supported by the passage in Genesis 7:11 that reads, “...the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” In 1681, English clergyman Thomas Burnet (1635-1715) published The Sacred Theory of the Earth. In it, he proposed that after the Flood, the “waters retired into their Channels and Caverns within the Earth.” Some geologists and other interested parties have postulated that, because no sizable caverns beneath Earth’s surface have ever been found, this is not possible. As so very little of inner Earth has ever been explored by present-day man, the

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non-existence of such caverns within the bowels of Earth cannot presently be proved. Information in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1 Enoch, bears out the belief of Burnet regarding where the water went after the Flood as Enoch described what the angels showed him. Enoch bore witness to the entire event, including that which happened at the end of the Flood: Again I kept seeing in the vision until those cascading streams were dissipated from that high ceiling; the fountains of the Earth were normalized, and other [specially formed] pits [“channels and caverns”] were opened. Then the water began to descend into them until the ground became visible; that boat settled upon the Earth, the darkness vanished, and it became light. (89:6-9)

In May of 2005, residents of Bolotnikovo, Russia awoke one morning to discover that their lake, White Lake, had literally disappeared. The lake was located about 240 miles east of Moscow near the Oka River. An eyewitness saw the water of the once 48-feet-deep, and 1,320-feetwide lake being violently “sucked” into an underground abyss along with the fish that were in it and some of the vegetation that was on the shore of the lake. What is now left is but a crater of dry land of the same dimensions. Similarly, in May 2007, park rangers of the Chile National Forest Service discovered a vast, moist bed of land where a sizable glacial lake (measuring 217,800 square feet by 100 feet deep) had once been. The lake, located in the Southern Andes, was last seen whole and complete in March 2007. No recent earthquake or other geologic activity that would indicate that the lake had seeped underground has been noted. During the Biblical Flood, God and His crew watched over the Ark and guided it to rest on top of Mount Ararat (Jewish version) or Mount Al Judi (Islamic version), in the ancient land of Phrygia. Josephus wrote this about the Ark: “After this, the

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ark rested on the top of a certain mountain in Armenia; which when Noah understood, he opened it…However, the Armenians call this place The Place of Descent; for the ark being saved in that place, its remains are shown there by the inhabitants to this day” (34). In considering the Biblical account of the number of days that passed before the inhabitants of the Ark emerged (Genesis 7 and 8) as well as that of Josephus (33) the number of days that passed were between 211 and 244. After this extinction by water began, Noah and his family and all the creatures on board the Ark emerged, but only the highland areas around this resting place of the Ark were dry enough to establish a small farming community. Noah became a “husbandman and he planted a vineyard”, as the grape plant can grow and thrive during periods of high heat and very low rainfall and even on the sides of hills and mountains. The roots of this remarkable plant can extend vertically into the earth up to 6 meters (20 feet) and laterally up to 10 meters (33 feet) to find even the smallest amount of moisture and nutrients upon which it can thrive. Around 5,000 B.C., the area of Africa now known as the Sahara had lakes and streams and was mainly grassland; this may have been due at least in part, to the Biblical Flood. However, by 4,000 B.C., the land had begun to dry and become a desert as the dry land expanded southward. Currently, the Sahara is the largest desert on Earth (about the size of the continental United States), and due mainly to the lack of rainfall on that region, continues to expand southward by an estimated 30 miles each year. It is likely that God increased the mean temperature of Earth for a short period of time to accelerate the drying process. Even so, it took decades more for the rest of Earth to become dry enough for Noah, his family, their descendants, and all the living

creatures that emerged from the Ark with them, to expand outward from this, ground zero, and it took centuries more before sizeable civilizations could be re-established. The replenishment of the new species of man and the re-establishment of agricultural civilizations began about 5,000 years B.C., just after the Flood, and coincides with the carbon-test dates for the earliest villages established in Mesopotamia, particularly in the area of the Fertile Crescent. This also signals the sudden end of the Mesolithic Age (as has been established by present-day geologists and archaeologists) along the Mediterranean coastline, followed in quick succession by the “Neolithic Revolution.” This “revolution” happened with the help of God and His angels who provided mankind with the seeds and knowledge needed to re-establish farming communities that later developed into civilizations. Just as “God gave Adam’s heart wisdom,” so he gave righteous wisdom to all humankind particularly regarding crop cultivation. VII. The Advent and Rise of the Great

Ancient Civilizations after the Flood

And the whole Earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar [Sumer], and they dwelt there [Babylon]. (Genesis 11:1-2)

The replenishment of the new species of man and the re-establishment of agricultural civilizations began about 5,000 years B.C., just after the Biblical Flood, and coincides with the carbon-test dates for the earliest villages established in Mesopotamia, particularly in the area of the Fertile Crescent. This also signals the sudden end of the Mesolithic Age (as has been established by present-day geologists and archaeologists) along the Mediterranean coastline, followed in quick succession by the “Neolithic Revolution.” Coincidentally, Syrian Christians originally

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set their date of Creation at 5490 B.C., and the Eastern Orthodox Church established 5508 B.C. as its year of Creation. These two dates of Creation directly coincide with the re-establishment of settlements and civilizations after the Great Flood. Over a thousand years had passed since the Biblical Flood. Earth had now dried sufficiently and the new shorelines of Earth’s rivers, lakes, and seas (oceans) were well established. Humankind felt confident of God’s rainbow covenant, and in time, the descendants of Noah emigrated southwest out of the highlands and into the plains in their quest to “replenish the Earth.” The Earth gods came out of hiding and quickly re-established themselves and their rule on Earth, as God had allowed it. In the History of Babylonia, Berossus accounts for beings that were part man and part fish that emerged from the Persian Gulf and instructed the Babylonians in the arts and sciences, farming, writing, and in all other useful knowledge. What the Babylonians saw were morphed angels emerging from fish-shaped submarines (Cory). The fallen angels re-built magnificent civilizations and monuments starting in Mesopotamia, and “the children of men” emulated their gods and attempted to build a “city” and a “tower” of their own.2 While under the influence of the wannabe Satan and his legions of Earth gods, the Babylonians attempted to build a tower of war against God. Almighty God “came down [from the mountain/southwest Zagros] to see the city and tower,” understood the evil motivations and intents for the tower then, destroyed it: “The Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from there scatter them abroad [from Babylon] upon the face of all the earth” (Genesis 11:9). These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations, and by these were the nations divided in the Earth after the flood. (Genesis 10:32)

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The family members with melanin in their skin were placed in the areas of Earth where sunlight is most intense, simply because their superficial attributes enabled them to survive and thrive under those conditions. The family members without melanin were transported north to colder regions for the same reason. Therefore, Shem’s descendants initially populated the Middle East/ Sinai Peninsula (Syria, Assyria, Persia, Arabia, Libya); Ham’s settled initially in the Near East and moved on into Africa as far south as Nubia (Palestine, Canaan, Egypt); Japeth’s settled first, in the areas near the Black and Caspian Seas (Greece and Cyprus) then moved northward. And from these locations, humans were allowed to spread out even more as time passed and Earth continued to dry. Neolithic civilizations were re-established in riverine environments “upon the face of all the earth” simultaneously. Those who were dispersed to nearby locations walked while being guided along by airborne crafts. The Sena people of Zimbabwe believe that their ancestors migrated south from northern Africa while being led by a very bright star in the sky. This is similar to how God led Moses and the descendants of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. By 4,000 B.C.E. farming villages had been re-established in the Indus River Valley of Pakistan and in the Hwang Ho Valley of China, and 3,000 B.C.E. saw the rise of the great ancient civilizations and a form of writing called cuneiform (Danzer 2000). The gods taught the families of man computergenerated languages, the oldest being Akkadian, the language of the Sumerians. Approximately two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul wrote the following: [God] hath made of one blood [DNA composition] all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of Earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. (Acts 17:26)

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Scientists and physicians have known for some time now that under the skin, all mankind today are 99.99% alike. The .01 percent difference in the genetic makeup of all humankind is what accounts for the superficial differences among humans. ‘If you ask what percentage of your genes is reflected in your external appearance, the basis by which we talk about race, the answer seems to be in the range of .01 percent,’ said Dr. Harold P. Freeman, the chief executive, president and director of surgery at North General Hospital in Manhattan, who has studied the issue of biology and race (Scientists, 2000).

Ironically, most humans place more importance on those distinguishing physical variations than on the 99.99% that connects the human race. Forensic anthropologists also know that all people on the planet today descended from one small gene pool. There are few variations in the mitochondria DNA of all the 6.8 billion humans on Earth, and this leads directly back to one female, the Biblical Eve. What divides mankind today is not “race” (since there is only one) but culture and politics, yes, but more importantly, old, deep-seated, Sataninspired hate, borne of selfishness, envy, fear, and ignorance. Indeed, the progeny of Noah were separated into families and placed “on the face of all the earth,” but all evidently, remain one family. Notes 1. In physics, “ether” is generally believed to be the matter, or substance (the medium), in outer space through which light travels and radio waves are transmitted. 2. It is important to note here that Satan was never banned from God’s presence, and that God and Satan collaborated on many aspects of the governance of planet Earth as well as on the fate of humans.

References Apocrypha: King James Version. (2001). Great Britain: University Press, Cambridge. [2] Berossus. (2009, July 21). In Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 2, [3] 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/ [4] The Bible Library [CD-ROM]. (1998). Oklahoma City: Ellis Enterprises. [5] Campbell, B.G., and J. D. Loy. (1996). Humankind Emerging. New York: Harper Collins. [6] Choice, E.T. (2015) Scriptural and Secular Parallels, West Conshohocken: Infinity. [7] Churchward, J. (1972). The Sacred Symbols of Mu. New York: Paperback Library. [8] Churchward, J. (2001). The Lost Continent of Mu. Las Vegas: C.W. Daniel Company. [9] Cory, I.P. (1832). Fragments of Chaldean History, Berossus: From Alexander [10] Polyhistor. “Of the Cosmogony and Deluge.” Retrieved October 1, 2006 from http://www. sacred-texts.com. [11] Danzer, G. A. (2000). An Atlas of World History. Ann Arbor: Borders Group, Inc. [12] D’Agnese, J. (2002, August). “Not out of Africa.” Discover, 23(8), 52-57 [13] Diamond, J. (1994, September). “How to Tame a Wild Plant.” Discover, 15(9), 100-106. [14] The Holy Qur’an. (1994). Farid, M.G. (Ed.). United Kingdom: Islam International Publications, Limited. [15] Hesiod’s Works and Days. (1914). (H. EvelynWhite, Trans.) Retrieved August 8, 2009 from http://www.sacred-texts.com [16] Josephus, F. (1987). The Works of Josephus. (W. Whiston, Trans.) Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. [17] Kunzig, R. (2002, November). “La Marmotta.” Discover 23(11), 34-41. [18] Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden. (1927). Newfoundland: Alpha House Incorporated. [19] The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments. 1983. Charlesworth, J.H. Ed. 1983. (Vol. 1). New York: Doubleday. [1]

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Pitman, W. and W. Ryan (2000). Noah’s Flood. New York: Touchstone. [21] “Scientists Find Little to Support Classifications by Race.” (2000, August 27). The Press-Enterprise, p. A19. [22] Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (1985). Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society. [23] Wilford, J. N. (2007, August 8). “Man’s Evolutionary Line Blurred.” The PressEnterprise, p. A12. [20]

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“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, Who is sending a love letter to the world.” Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

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Proceedings of the Conference on the Dialogue between Science and Theology Volume 3 Issue 1 Religion and Society: Agreements & Controversies. Dialogo conf 2016 RSAC ISBN 978-80-554-1285-6 November 3-10. 2016 Romania - Slovakia - Pakistan - Switzerland - Poland - India - Egypt - Uganda - Jordan - Turkey Argentina - USA - Canada - Germany