Multidisciplinary Project the Light
R E L I G I O N
The symbolism of light is present in the ancient cults: the fire which is guarded by the protectors of goddess Vesta is used as a symbol of eternal light.
| The ancient pictorial representations depicted
a god of sun or light with a halo around the head. This symbol was also
accepted by the Christian iconography under the influence of Hellenistic
art.
Gods, heroes and messiahs in religious literature are often surrounded by light or flames, so that their illuminating effect is emphasized. (Icon-Orthodox church in Sarajevo) |
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Hanukkah is a Jewish religious holiday of light
which lasts for eight days. It is dedicated to the reconsecration of the
Jerusalem temple after the Syrians were banished from Jerusalem (164 B.
C.).
Menorah is a sevenfold candelabra. The same name is also used for the eight-fold candelabra used by Jews during Hanukkah. Every night, one candle on the candelabra is lit. Number eight is related to the legend which says that there was very little oil in the temple usable for the ceremonial lights. However, there was just enough oil to last for eight days. Candles on the candelabra are lit by a special ninth candle which is called shamash. |
| The antithesis between light and darkness is
also evident in the Bible. Separation of the light from darkness is the
beggining of creation
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 (The Bible, Genesis I 3-5). In depicting an event, the conflict between the light and the darkness, i. e. between good and the evil or life and death, is symbolically emphasized. The man is caught between the divine light and Christ's power, as a region of goodness and justice, and the darkness and Satan's power, as a region of evil and godlessness. He must choose, and become either a "son of darkness" or a "son of light". The ones who do evil deeds flee from the light because they do not want these deeds to be revealed; those who act truthfully arrive to the light and believe in the Light to become "the sons of light". The God lightenes the believer's way as with a lamp, with His Word and His Orders (the Bible). The wisdom is a reflection of eternal light and the mirror of God's deed and goodness (The Bible). (Vitrage-Catholic church in Sarajevo) |
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In Qur'an light is mentioned quite a few times. The light actually represents a metaphor for the truth.
| "We have sent down the Torah, containing guidance and light."
(5,44)
, "We have sent down the Gospels, containing guidance and light." (5,46) , "A beacon has come to you from God, and a profound scripture." (5,15) , "Praise the God, who created the heavens and the earth, made the darkness and the light." (6,1) |
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"He is the One who rendered the sun radiant, and the moon alight, and He designed its phases that you may learn to count the years and to calculate." (10,5) A lunar year is shorter than a solar year for about ten days, which causes Ramadan, whose beginning is calculated by the lunar calendar, to fall at a predetermined location on the earth in each season. If the exact beginning of Ramadan were calculated by the solar calendar, then in some parts of the world it would always fall in winter, and in some other parts - in summer.This actually means that in some places the fast would last for 9 hours, and elsewhere for 15.5 hours. The use of the lunar calendar prevents the unequal burdening of believers. (The mosque during the Ramadan) |
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"He designed the moon therein to be a light, and placed the sun to be a lamp." (71,16)
The Merciful lets people know that the moon is actually cold and that it only reflect the light coming from the sun, while the sun is a source of light or a "burning lamp" which is incandescent.
Notice that we meet the same terms we already saw in the Old Testament: "light" and "lamp".
"Another allegory is that of being in total darkness in the midst of a violent ocean, with waves upon waves, in addition to this fog. Darkness upon darkness - if he looked at his own hand, he could barely see it. Whomever God deprives of light, will have no light." (24,40)
This excerpt could be related to a phenomenon discovered in very deep sea waters, closely linked to dispersion .When a ray of light reaches the surface of the water, the light is decomposed into seven components. Upper layers of water absorb red light so that no red light is visible under 10m of depth. Therefore, if a diver would get cut at 10m below the surface of the sea, he would not be able to see his blood. Orange light is absorbed at 50m below the surface, green below 100m, and blue also below 100m. Hence the ocean gets darker with the increase of depth.
The angels, with their reports, climb to Him in a day that equals fifty thousand years." (70,4)
Let us discuss the possible interpretations of this excerpt.
In Einstein's theory of relativity, time, space and mass are not constant, but their values depend on the velocity of the body we are observing.
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 =
length of the time interval when a body is moving with a velocity v
v = the velocity of the body c |
| Let us go back to the excerpt.
Put the data given there in the formula for time dilation:
It follows that v |
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Just as light represents the Mercy of God, the Good, the Truth,... in all religions, by choosing this topic for our project we wish to send the message: "A universal idea can exist in the same time at the same place despite different interpretations."
The proof is BOSNIA!!!
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Synagogue, Orthodox church, Catholic church and Bay's mosque in Sarajevo
= length of the time interval when the body is stationary
300.000
km/sec (the speed of light)