What Makes Something "HOLY"?

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RitaTG said:
That is one purpose for setting aside chansen .....
Now please just allow me to extrapolate a bit....
I shall put it a bit primitively ...... if something is set aside for religious purposes ..... then one could consider the purpose holy "activity or whatever promoting something felt to be within God's desire or requirement or that God would find pleasing in some way" and therefore the objects set aside to help achieve that goal would also be considered holy.
I do suppose it does have close ties to special events and often impressing someone..... unfortunately....
I am not much into holy stuff.....
If my answer is the least impressive ..... may I consider that a compliment please???
I was attempting to explain .... not justify nor endorse...
Regards
Rita
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Fear not, blackbelt came to your rescue with a worse justification.

I get that holy things are supposed to have some use within a religion, but I see nothing special or different about them. Is it just things that are part of rituals, then? Maybe that's the best answer - holy things are those places and items used for religious rituals. And that there is nothing else that sets them apart.
 
I had a Buddhist from Bhutan live with me for two years while he was attending university. During those two years we often discussed religion. I learned a lot from him and I think he learned from me - but neither of us tried to convert the other. He was one of the most spiritual people I had ever met. One day I took him for a drive in the countryside. We stopped by the side of the road near a dairy farm to watch the cows in a pasture between the road and the river. I just was enjoying the scenery and the cows - I like cows - when I heard him murmur 'I think we are standing on holy ground'. To him, after not seeing a cow for two years, just being near them made the ground holy. I can't drive by that place now without thinking of holy ground. -- a place made special by his respect and awe.
 
Standing together in a place my friend considered sacred and holy made it sacred and holy to me as well. It united, rather than divided, us.
 
blackbelt1961 said:
of course it does , to someone who has never experienced it , i would agree
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Have you considered changing your diet? Maybe that low rumbling is not God approaching with His Presences. Maybe it's stomache gasses?

And if you want to say this is just me not being open to experiencing God standing beside me, lots of Christians would love to experince God in this way, but don't.
 
And then we have the "Holy of Holies". That must be the ultimate Holy. It used to be that the Jewish priest was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the place where the ark of the covenant rested upon the "mercy seat" along with cherubim.
 
Seeler said:
Standing together in a place my friend considered sacred and holy made it sacred and holy to me as well. It united, rather than divided, us.
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Muslims and Jews feel exactly the same way about Jerusalem.
 
In some religions, sanctification is required to become Holy. This is supposed to be a gift from God and it is bestowed upon an object, day or person, and sets these things apart for a special use or purpose.
 
Well chansen ..... somehow I don't feel that the notion of "holy" was intended to impress you.
Indeed I would be shocked if it did.....
The notion of the holy has significance to those that happen to believe in God .... and once again .... no ... I am not trying to convince you. The "God" thing is a whole other discussion.
The "holy" can act as a lens to help focus thought and purpose ..... whether for good or ill is a matter of a personal nature.
For me .... who happens to believe in God and feels that treating my neighbour well would be pleasing to God ... there are times my lawnmower and snowblower sort of become holy objects for a while. Do I do this to gain God's favour? No ..... I feel I already have that. Do I do that for an "atta girl" from God?.... no .... no more than doing something I know pleases my spouse requires any sort of response. I do it just because ..... quite sufficient ..... Is there a need for God in that? .... hard to say actually ... but I do find a place for God in that.....
Just my honest thoughts....
Rita
 
chansen said:
Have you considered changing your diet? Maybe that low rumbling is not God approaching with His Presences. Maybe it's stomache gasses?
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im fit enough thanks for your concern, i train 3 times a week, also there is no low rumbling with His Presence

And if you want to say this is just me not being open to experiencing God standing beside me, lots of Christians would love to experince God in this way, but don't.
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I get a real kick out of some atheist who love to talk for the entire christian community , who think they know more about what they dont believe in

too funny
 
Waterfall said:
We have Holy Water, Holy Places, Holy Land, etc......What makes something Holy, in your opinion?
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excellent thread!

Holy to me is an essence that human beings can give to various experiences, ideas & things

It is a very strong social norm -- and it is true because it is true, held to be above reproach

To question that which is Holy is blasphemous (which can also be considered an antonym of Holy), in fact various other social norms exist (that harness natural human behaviours & innate processeses) that enforce/enhance the Holy social norm

Since it is a social norm (which, collectively, make up a culture) what is Holy isn't automatically shared amongst different cultures

Some common examples

One's tribe
One's self identity
Sexuality
the right to bear arms
Deity
human babies
consciousness

The sacred (just like the blasphemous) is part of our nature

and so it goes
 
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chansen said:
And if you want to say this is just me not being open to experiencing God standing beside me, lots of Christians would love to experince God in this way, but don't.
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blackbelt1961 said:
I get a real kick out of some atheist who love to talk for the entire christian community , who think they know more about what they dont believe in

too funny
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I have read many self-identified Christians indicate that they do not experience the "presence" of God as you describe it. I expect quite a few in this thread will not identify with your experiences here. I'm not attempting to "talk for the entire christian community," and I think most here will understand that and would not have interpreted my words to mean that. That's why I said, "lots of Christians" and not, "all Christians."

Of course, you have to attack me from some angle, so make something up, I guess.
 
Waterfall said:
In some religions, sanctification is required to become Holy. This is supposed to be a gift from God and it is bestowed upon an object, day or person, and sets these things apart for a special use or purpose.
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:3

and there is sometimes a special class of person that can bestow and/or recognize that Holyness

cf. Holy Water, church sanctification, communion
 
Waterfall said:
And then we have the "Holy of Holies". That must be the ultimate Holy. It used to be that the Jewish priest was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the place where the ark of the covenant rested upon the "mercy seat" along with cherubim.
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Well, the Holy of Holies was hidden behind a curtain, and access to it was restricted. We don't really know what was behind the curtain. What exactly was the "ark of the covenant"? Was it an object? Or something that was in the mind of the High Priests, and they contemplated it behind the curtain, seeking communion or communication with their God?

 
Hi Inna:

"All that lives is holy," you have this as a permanent quote at the bottom of your posts. This answers the question of this thread rather well, doesn't it?
 
chansen said:
I have read many self-identified Christians indicate that they do not experience the "presence" of God as you describe it. I expect quite a few in this thread will not identify with your experiences here. I'm not attempting to "talk for the entire christian community," and I think most here will understand that and would not have interpreted my words to mean that. That's why I said, "lots of Christians" and not, "all Christians."

Of course, you have to attack me from some angle, so make something up, I guess.
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It wasn't meant to be an attack sometimes you're very difficult to read when you're always ridiculing
 
chansen said:
Muslims and Jews feel exactly the same way about Jerusalem.
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I would think that the hostility and distrust between these two peoples would interfere with their being able to share a sacred moment even in a place that they both consider to be holy.
 
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
 
blackbelt1961 said:
It wasn't meant to be an attack sometimes you're very difficult to read when you're always ridiculing
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When you're saying you "get a kick" out of my post that was a serious point and end it with, "too funny", that's just your go-to attack: Try to paint what the other person is saying as ridiculous by declaring it so. People don't laugh when you point to things you don't like and say, "That thing the person I oppose just said was so wrong it was funny! Laugh at him! Now!"

My post wasn't wrong, it was drier than talcum powder, and identifying what is funny is not your thing.
 
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