Religious Symbols

We are going to talk about religious services in an open congregational meeting next Saturday. One of the things I have missed in our services has been the use of visual symbols. The flaming chalice is good, but being a visual learner, I need more. Visual images are important to me in understanding and making sense of the deity. As a child, I guess I had the same view of God that a lot of other Christians were brought up with, a big powerful yet kindly white haired man with a long white beard. Someone recently told me this was really the image of Zeus adopted by Christians like a lot of other symbols from other religions made over to fit with Christian theology. Looking at images of Zeus on the Internet, I think it certainly resembles the image of God from the Sunday school papers of my youth. As my view of the deity has changed, so have the symbols I find valuable in worship.

One of my favorite religious symbols is the Taoist Yin Yang because to me it represents wholeness and the beauty of a divinity that is far beyond the dualistic concepts that humans use to view our existence. I have some Ying Yang earrings and a necklace. I often wear them when I feel my life is getting out of balance, or I see myself as viewing the world through dualistic glasses. They remind me that even though I may not be able to bring things into balance in my life, and the world seems out of control, there is a higher force keeping it all together. All I need to do is to surrender and follow the Tao.

Another symbol I can relate to is that of Shiva doing the cosmic dance. One of the problems I have with the Judean/ Christian view of divinity is that God must be divided into loving and vengeful or evil personifications. How can an all loving God with human type emotions and attributes bring pain and destruction to humankind? This creates a dilemma that is answered either by a demon type being, devil or some inherent fault in humanity like original sin. But if God is all powerful, the prime mover of all creation and all knowing why would s/he bring such pain and suffering to humanity? Shiva represents a deity that transcends our understanding. The cosmic dance is the constant creation and destruction of the physical that brings perfect harmony and order which we, being in our physical form and attached to things physical, cannot comprehend or appreciate. The serene expression on Shiva’s face reminds us that no matter how we think we mess things up, the creator and sustainer of all that is has it perfectly under control. When I get caught up in emotions, I like to look at Shiva doing the cosmic dance and go to a place of calm acceptance. I am part of the dance and at the same time observer of Shiva’s dance, no longer fighting change but accepting what is, knowing that all is balanced and beautiful.

Here are some explanations of these symbols that I like.

Explanation of the oneness that is symbolized by the Yin Yang

Explanation and picture of Shiva Nataraja