What Makes Something "HOLY"?

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GeoFee said:
German and British soldiers killing each other by order of their respective superiors. Both hold to the mythology and traditions of Christmas. Weapons are laid aside. Food and drink are shared as gifts are exchanged. At the very heart of darkness a glimmer of light. Holy? At very least perplexing.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
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It would have been a beautiful sight on the 25th. On the 26th, not so much.
 
Ty for trying to explain some of your social norms and what you find to be holy to blackbelt

and knowing is growing!
 
I guess from the Hebrew, the English equivalent would be distinguished. Something that stands out.

To me personally, "holy" is whatever works the way it is supposed to. The universe as a whole is holy, peace is holy, altruism is holy.
 
Yes, Ichthys. If one regards the universe as a singularity, as an inseparable whole in a state of synthesis, then anything unifying, unitive, wholistic or holistic is holy. The New Age belief that whole is holy, or wholeness is holiness, is not so far-fetched. Then the whole universe, in its full wholeness, is holy.
 
Since no one has tossed this out yet, that I saw anyway, I figured I'd throw in a dictionary definition of Holy (from my old Merriam-Webster dictionary)

Holy:
1) Worthy of absolute devotion
2) Sacred
3) Having divine quality

Synonyms: hallowed, blessed, sacred, sanctified, consecrated

I tend to be more comfortable with the term 'sacred' myself, but that just a personal thing.
As to what makes something Holy I'd say it's mainly a case of personal or group perception. In many cases it's the use of an item or space in ritual that leads to something or someplace being labelled as holy. I don't think that anything or any place is innately holy.

I may come back a expand on this later, I just realized that if I don't get a move on I'll be late for work....
 
"It would have been a beautiful sight on the 25th. On the 26th, not so much."

Yep. Back to the guns and butchery - folk on either side simply doing what they are told to earn their wage.
 
I think "holy" and "sacred " is a feeling = not a specific place.
You can, of course be in a place - church, river, prairie field, with children.
These are holy moments. I don't think the place or the person is holy all the time. Just flitting moments in time.
What is Holy for one, is not necessary Holy for another, imho.
 
Question for anyone: Are there any people in the world today that you consider worthy of the title "Holy"?
 
What is holy for one might not be holy for another. Still, if I realize that a certain place or object is holy for someone, I try to treat it with respect.
 
Well, I think everyone is holy -- if only we knew, and lived, thought, and created based on that knowledge.

I think Jesus was one of those Holy personages who brought us the message of our divinity. Unfortunately, we divinized only him, and left ourselves in the mundane mud.:cry:
 
Hermann said:
Well, I think everyone is holy -- if only we knew, and lived, thought, and created based on that knowledge.

I think Jesus was one of those Holy personages who brought us the message of our divinity. Unfortunately, we divinized only him, and left ourselves in the mundane mud.:cry:
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No one that stands out today, set apart from the rest, that you would consider holy?
 
What makes us outstanding is how we express our holiness.

As I said, I think everyone is innately holy, a unique form of the divine, universal holiness. In that, we are all the same, no one is special. One can't be diviner than divine, or uniquer than unique.

There are, of course, differences in the way we perceive, experience, and express our innate holiness. The holy personages I mentioned in my previous post were aware of it to an extraordinary degree, and able and willing to pass it on. In that way they were special, or especially holy. There are, of course, people who are similarly aware and active today.
 
You mentioned Jesus, and I agree. Christians follow Him, why? Does it come down to that He/God is the only one that is worth following thus far? Was he "set apart" or different? The Holy of Holies? We're all holy, surely, but is there anyone above our "holiness" is what I mean or do you think our holiness is equal to God's?
 
Waterfall said:
You mentioned Jesus, and I agree. Christians follow Him, why? Does it come down to that He/God is the only one that is worth following thus far?
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Yes, Waterfall, I agree -- if God is the unified whole, and Christ the holistic or unitive consciousness or awareness of being an inseparable part of the unified whole.
 
Thanks Hermann, I will wait and see if anyone else can think of any others they would consider HOLY.
 
To me, the whole of Existence is Holy/Divine (definition of pantheism). However, that Holiness often bubbles away unnoticed until it breaks through into our perceived reality in various times and ways. Often, it is when we perceive the beauty of the world that is there but not always recognized. It can also be when someone brings it through into stark reality, whether that someone is a person doing a simple kind deed, bringing our attention to the Holy is some way (prophets, preachers, etc.), or someone working to the change the world (the Gandhis and King Jr.'s of the world). Churches/mosques/temples/syngogues/holy places of choice are holy because we make a deliberate effort to make them so, to make them places where we practice finding what is Holy.
 
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