Hildegard's songs evoke an erotic and embodied devotion to a Divinity imagined as sensuous, relational, immanent and often female. These songs, written for use in her predominantly female community, are part of Hildegard's educational program to guide the spiritual development of the women in her Benedictine monastery. Hildegard's theology of music proposes that the physical act of singing enables humans to experience connection to the Living Light (Hildegard's most common address for the voice of the Holy Presence in her visions, lux vivens), and to embody this Divinity in their midst. Her songs express, in dense poetic texts set to widely-ranging chant-like melodies, her rich imaging of the fecund presence of the Divine. The singers are thus encouraged to imagine themselves in relationship with the Holy One, the Living Light, through the physical act of singing these evocative songs. This dissertation analyses four of Hildegard's songs, representing a small cross section of her musical oeuvre. The analysis elucidates the way in which the music affectively conveys the meaning and significance of the texts. Carefully incising the "flesh" from the structural "bones" of the melodies reveals underlying organising configurations which pervade the songs and deliver the texts in a distinctive manner. Hildegard professed herself to be musically uneducated because she lacked a knowledge of music notation, although she admitted to extensive experience in singing Divine Office. However, she clearly claims to be the oral composer of her songs, arranging late in her life for music scribes to notate her melodies. My analysis unravels the influence of the oral composer as it intersects with the influence of the musically trained scribes who neumed her texts. Hildegard wrote that the "words symbolize the body, and the jubilant music indicates the spirit" (Scivias 3:12:13). She claims that the music conveys the meaning of the texts with affective power, and my analysis shows ways in which the oral composer endeavors to achieve this goal. Her texts, conveyed by her melodies and thus intimately entwined with the words they deliver, are powerfully persuasive forces in the spiritual education of the women in her monastery. This dissertation uncovers significant insights which can inform the communal practice of worship of the Divine, especially where song forms part of that worship, and particularly in regard to the imagining of Divinity in ways which can nourish the diversity of all humans, all creatures, and all creation. The work of feminist theologians is brought into dialogue with Hildegard's imagery and educational purpose, thus making available ways of imagining the Divine which are especially important for contemporary women, who have suffered from being excluded from the imago Dei. Thus the dissertation unearths a rich lode of female, and creatural embodied images, which threads its way though the millennia, but now needs to be mined to uncover images that might work for contemporary Christians seeking multiple imaging of the Divine to touch the deep feminist, ecological and liberative yearnings of many hearts and spirits.

在人們的生活中，宗教不只提供精神上的鼓勵、慰藉，同時亦包含許多物質層面的部分。其中，宗教物質或聖物的交流，更常見於歷史的紀錄之中，而在現代資本主義的脈絡下，則出現了「宗教消費」。本研究以新一代宗教物質—龍宮舍利—為主軸，以台北建國玉市、能量寶石店面為田野地，訪談龍宮舍利的持有者：經銷商、零售商及一般消費者，並搭配問卷調查，以量化研究比較龍宮舍利與舍利兩者差異。本研究首先追尋龍宮舍利的崛起過程，包括佛經中所記載的舍利與龍王、泰國產地相關的二手資料分析，及龍宮舍利跨海來台的故事。重點在於龍宮舍利的命名及傳說由來，是為聖化此物的關鍵第一步。其次，龍宮舍利在臺灣的流通，並非仰賴教團或僧人的推廣，而是由佛教文物銷售者建立其消費市場及機制。同時，透過消費者的回饋，經銷商逐步完整建構龍宮舍利的分類、功能、特性及真偽辨識等，並強化龍宮舍利的衡量判準與應用方式。此外，龍宮舍利的持有者亦自發性成立、加入社群網站，作為經驗與心得的分享交流平台。接續，龍宮舍利帶給持有者的靈驗經歷，使龍宮舍利的功效或是神蹟，並非僅能夠過語言文字來理解與流傳。此種神秘經驗，加強持有者對其的信心及依賴，亦成為現代宗教物質或聖物「顯聖」的一種印證方式。由訪談與問卷量化的結果顯示，在受訪者的概念中，龍宮舍利與舍利僅存在細微的差異。透過這些訪談記錄及統計數據，本研究認為，可進一步定義龍宮舍利確為一現代的新造聖物。 / Religion not only provides spiritual encouragement and consolation, but also brings a number of material aspects to people in their everyday life. Among them, exchanging of religious artifacts and sacred object is often seen in the historic record, while in the context of modern capitalism, Religious consumerism emerged. The current research focuses on a new generation of religious artifact “Long Gong Sarira” (Sarira from the Palace of the Dragon king), taking the Taipei Jianguo Jade Market, energy gem stores as samples for field research, interviewing holders of Long Gong Sarira, which are the distributors, retailers and general consumers, combined with a quantitative research with questionnaires to compare the differences between Sarira and Long Gong Sarira. The first part of this study introduced the origins of Long Gong Sarira, including secondary data analysis of Sarira and the Dragon King recorded in the sutra, information about the place of origin in Thailand, as well as the story of how Long Gong Sarira crossed the sea and entered Taiwan. The naming and the origin of the legend of Long Gong Sarira play a crucial step in sanctifying the artifact. Further, the exchanging of Long Gong Sarira in Taiwan was not promoted by religious groups or monks, but by the retailers who builds its own consumer market and mechanisms.At the same time, through consumer feedback, retailers gradually build a complete classification of Long Gong Sarira, with their functions, characteristics and identifying the authenticity, etc., and to strengthen the criterion measurements and application methods. In addition, the holders of Long Gong Sarira spontaneously form and join social networking sites as a platform to share their experience and knowledge. The mythical experience of Long Gong Sarira’s holders made believe that Long Gong Sarira brings effects and miracles; however, it is beyond the description with words. These experiences enhanced the holder’s confidence and dependency, becoming a proof of ‘hierophany’ in modern religious artifact or sacred objects. Results from qualitative and quantitative data revealed that Long Gong Sarira can be defined as a new sacred object in modern religion.

<p>The aim of this study is to investigate the components of religion and spirituality in the specific context of "Fryshuset" – a multicultural and glocal arena. Against the backdrop of contemporary researchers such as Heelas and Woodhead and their hypothesis about the "spiritual revolution" and a "new spirituality", as well as the postmodern discussion about "the return of God", this study discusses how religious change can be understood in the context of Fryshuset.</p><p>The theoretical point of departure is taken in a hermeneutical method where Fleck´s theory about "thought-collective" and Gidden´s theory about the "duality of structure" are used in order to understand and describe the dialectical relationship between individual and social structure.</p><p>The method used in this study is qualitative. The interviews are made of six individuals representing different social projects at Fryshuset.</p><p>By analyzing the material from the field study through theories on religious change, three areas are identified:</p><ol><li>"The subjective turn"</li><li>Religion and spirituality</li><li>A Cosmopolitan interpretation of life </li></ol><p>The result of this study is that the religiosity among the interviewed can be described through Taylor’s understanding of the "subjective turn". Furthermore they are also part of a "double subjective turn" understood as an internalized subjective turn. Despite the fact that a lot of what the informants describe corresponds to Heelas and Woodheads theories of "subjective life spirituality" it is not relevant to talk about a "spiritual revolution". However, according to Beckford´s theories about religion as a "cultural resource" it can be described as a kind of new spirituality which is used in order to act and think global. The individuals use religion and spirituality as a cultural resource in their formation of a larger cosmopolitan interpretation of life.</p>

本論文研究的是巴塔耶的普遍經濟論，它主要分四部分來探討。它首先從時間的瞬間性和能量的耗費兩個原理出發來說明什麼是普遍經濟。接著說明的是聖世界與俗世界二分的原理，這又可分兩部分來討論。從勞動與消盡的第一組對立可以產生聖俗的區分判隼，一者是勞動的超越性世界，一者是獻祭暴力的內在性世界。從禁忌與越度的第二組對立可以導出聖俗的再次區分，一者是禁忌所管轄的俗世界，一者是人性逾越的歡慶狀態。此外，普遍經濟論可以充分說明各種笑的型態，最終導向對超越的虛無性的笑。最末，本論文從死亡共同體的角度提出一種普遍經濟的友情論。 / This study is to discuss the theory of general economy of Georges Bataille. The argument falls into four parts. First, it accounts for what general economy means by inspecting two principles: that of instant and that of expenditure. Next, the discussion goes to what separates the sacred from the profane world. On the one hand, the profane world is dominated by work and labor which make it transcendent while the sacred immanent world is liberated from within by the representation of sacrificial violence. On the other hand, while the taboo has a command of the profane, human beings achieve and celebrate their sovereignty by transgressing the interdiction. Then, the discussion shows that general economy can have sufficient and satisfactory explanation of the morphology of laughter. Finally, it proposes a new meaning of friendship from the economic view.

Renato Zero rappresenta un mito contemporaneo in quanto nell'artista, molte persone vivono un'esperienza di senso, di comunità e di sacro. Il mito è una dimensione sacrale, con una forte valenza sia religiosa, sia sociale. L'arte musicale di Renato Zero offre l'accesso ad un mondo di speranza e di valori (amore, amicizia, solidarietà, coraggio, fede), un mondo che reincanta e unisce chi si stringe intorno a lui: i suoi fan, detti sorcini o zerofolli. Il fandom zerofolle costituisce una comunità reale e on line, in quanto il web appare centrale nella costruzione di un'identità sorcina; una comunità nella quale si condivide una cultura zeroista. Il legame tra Zero e i sorcini è interpretato alla luce della teoria del carisma di Weber. Infine, il punto d'appoggio per una concezione laica di sacro, in cui sacro consiste in un'esperienza di senso, è fornito dalla sociologia della religione di Durkheim. / In the actual society there are different shapes of sacred, and the myth is one of this forms. Myth has more means, and celebrity is a part of this means. Especially, the religion of celebrity is an important social phenomenon, and d our analysis?object is a star: the singer Renato Zero. Around the star there is a fandom, interesting social movement, in which people of fan build sense of belonging and identity. The fan club represents a form of fandom and is a passion community, with her order, space, communication, rite or ceremony, and mythology. The name of Zero?s fandom is sorcini o zerofolli; they are a sort of charismatic aristocracy around own prophet; in fact, the weberian theory of charisma represents a principal interpretation of this fandom (perhaps of fandom generally). Sorcini has worths and a collective conscience: in this case we found our interpretation on Émile Durkheim sociology and, in particular, on theory of rite as celebration on community. Sorcini has a liturgy and sacred in the myth of Renato Zero, in fact, sorcini are different to simple fan, because sorcini mean an identity and sense of group or membership.

A través de esta investigaci6n perseguimos comprender el sentido que la imagen del ángel, tanto en su vertiente celestial como en la infernal, posee en los escritos de los poetas del 27. Para el desarrollo de este cometido era necesario el establecimiento de unos principios te6ricos a prop6sito de la figura del ángel, que son los que pretenden ser clarificados en el primer capítulo de nuestro estudio: diferenciaci6n entre el modelo judeocristiano del ángel y su formulaci6n textual; determinaci6n de la verdadera naturaleza literaria de los espíritus divinos; concreci6n del espacio de análisis. Dado que la pareja tradición/vanguardia es uno de los descriptores característicos del grupo poético del 27, las potencias angélicas son estudiadas no sólo atendiendo a la producción de otros autores contemporáneos de los escritores del 27 sino también dirigiendo la mirada hacia el pasado. De este modo, realizamos una pormenorizada revisión de las plasmaciones de ángeles y diablos en nuestra historia literaria desde la Edad Media hasta nuestros días, acudiendo a algunas manifestaciones angélicas sobresalientes de otros países. Trazado este viaje, nos internamos en la codificaci6n de la figura del ángel en los diez autores más reconocidos de la generación del 27, sin obviar las aportaciones de otras personalidades que conforman el denominado entorno del 27. Nos ocupamos de las materializaciones del ángel en todas las variedades de género practicadas por estos autores (poesía, teatro, narrativa, ensayo) a lo largo de toda su creación artística con el fin de obtener un conocimiento pleno y riguroso. A través de un estudio individualizado del ángel en cada uno de los poetas del 27, comprobaremos cómo éstos, aunando tradición, vanguardia y mundos personales, elaboraron un pro grama angélico literario en el que tenían cabida todas las variedades ex presivas de las entidades ultraterrenas. Sopesando todas las vías de desarrollo de la figura del ángel, lo cierto es que todos ellos encontraron en los espíritus alados un medio para apresar, respetando la esencia del ángel, su particular ultrarrealidad o trascendencia a la que aspirar, ya estuviera este nivel en ellos mismos o en la realidad circundante. Cernuda con su modelo masculino; Salinas y Guillén en su búsqueda de la verdad tras la apariencia; Prados en su viaje a lo inaprehensible, o Alberti en la realización dramatizada de su conflicto. El ángel, por tanto, seguía siendo emblema de lo invisible, o de lo que sólo cada poeta era capaz de captar. / Through this investigation we try to understand the sense that the image of the angel, as much in its celestial side as in the infernal, has in poets of the 27 ' s writings. For development of this assignment the estab lishment of theoretical principles with regard to the figure of the angel was necessary. Those principles are clarfied in the first chapter of our study: differentation between the judeochristian model of the angel and its textual formulation; determination of the true literary nature of the divine spirits; concretion of the analysis space. Due to the pair tradition/vanguard is one of the characteristic feature of the poetic group of 27, the angelic powers are studied not only considering other contemporary authors' works of the writers of 27 but also directing the glance towards the past. This way, we make a detailed revision of the image of the angels and devils in our literary history from Medieval Age to the present time, going to some excellent angelic manifestations of other countries. After this trip, we advance into the codification of the figure of the angel in the most recognized ten authors of the generation of 27, without forgetting the contributions of other personalities that conform the denominated surroundings of 27. We study the materializa tions of the angel in all varieties of genre practiced by these authors (poetry, narrative, theater, essay) throughout all its artistic creation with the purpose of obtaining a total and rigourous knowledge. Through an individualized analysis of the angel in each one of the poets of 27 we will verify how these combining tradition, vanguard, and personal worlds, elaborated a literary angelical program in wich all the expressive varieties of the ultra earth beings were contained. Examining the literary development of the angel in generation of 27, we can say that these writers found in the winged spirits an instrument to catch, respecting the essence of the angel, their particular ultrareality or trascendente to wich to aspire, as much if this level was in they themselves as if it was in surrounding reality. Cernuda and its masculine model; Salinas and Guillén' s search of the truth behind the appearance; Prados and bis strip to the inapren sible, or Alberti with the dramatized accomplishment of his conflict. The angel, therefore, continued being emblem of the invisible, or of wich only each poet was able to catch.

In contemporary North America, death is contained within a network of cemeteries, crematoria and funeral homes. Death-space and its associative funeral rituals are both sacred and abject resulting in marginalization that adversely affects how the living understand their mortality. Our perception of death influences our place in the world and funeral ritual facilitates our departure from it. In most cities, the funeral home houses this liminal ritual, while also providing the clinical handling and processing of the deceased body. Investigation of the funeral home and its role within the city addresses how architecture can influence cultural views on death. Through the funeral home there is an opportunity to balance the seemingly opposing narratives of the living and the deceased by bringing them together for the funeral. In the City of Toronto, the density of its diverse neighbourhoods is not reflected by a proportionate number of local funeral homes. This thesis proposes a non-denominational space for funeral ritual and cremation within the dense St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. The placement of the Funeral Centre satisfies the practical requirements of this growing community, while the adjacency to the St. Lawrence Market juxtaposes the vibrancy of the ordinary and the solemnity of the sacred. This proposal extends into a network for the scattering of ashes throughout the city aiming to reconnect people to the realities of their existence.

The aim of this study is to investigate the components of religion and spirituality in the specific context of "Fryshuset" – a multicultural and glocal arena. Against the backdrop of contemporary researchers such as Heelas and Woodhead and their hypothesis about the "spiritual revolution" and a "new spirituality", as well as the postmodern discussion about "the return of God", this study discusses how religious change can be understood in the context of Fryshuset. The theoretical point of departure is taken in a hermeneutical method where Fleck´s theory about "thought-collective" and Gidden´s theory about the "duality of structure" are used in order to understand and describe the dialectical relationship between individual and social structure. The method used in this study is qualitative. The interviews are made of six individuals representing different social projects at Fryshuset. By analyzing the material from the field study through theories on religious change, three areas are identified: "The subjective turn" Religion and spirituality A Cosmopolitan interpretation of life  The result of this study is that the religiosity among the interviewed can be described through Taylor’s understanding of the "subjective turn". Furthermore they are also part of a "double subjective turn" understood as an internalized subjective turn. Despite the fact that a lot of what the informants describe corresponds to Heelas and Woodheads theories of "subjective life spirituality" it is not relevant to talk about a "spiritual revolution". However, according to Beckford´s theories about religion as a "cultural resource" it can be described as a kind of new spirituality which is used in order to act and think global. The individuals use religion and spirituality as a cultural resource in their formation of a larger cosmopolitan interpretation of life.

Cette thèse pense la place des figures littéraires (le Cantique des cantiques, Kierkegaard, Hofmannsthal) et cinématographiques (Matador d'Almodóvar) de la séduction dans la relation entre le soi et l'autre. Elle interroge le rapport au sacré et à la transcendance que pose l'écriture de la séduction. Dans le premier chapitre, les frontières établies entre littérature et philosophie (personnage conceptuel, figure esthétique) sont interrogées à travers les figures de la séduction. À ces figures sont associées les figures de matadors, qui permettent de penser la violence extrême de la séduction et l'instant au cours duquel la conscience ne peut plus se dédoubler. Le deuxième chapitre est une réflexion, à partir des figures du maître et de l'esclave, sur le désir et la conscience de soi et de l'autre dans la séduction. Les figures tauromachiques exposent le sacrifice à l'œuvre dans la séduction. Le dialogue est ici pensé au sein de la séduction, pour saisir la place de celle-ci dans la formation de la pensée. Le troisième chapitre développe le rapport entre le soi, l'autre et le monde qu'établit la séduction. Le dandysme permet d'approcher la tension entre la matière et l'esprit que posent la séduction et son écriture. Le dialogue à l'œuvre dans la séduction est présenté comme un espace de formation. La séduction est envisagée comme séduction éthique, quête de la bonne distance, exercice spirituel. La syncope, le duende, l'extase sont décrits comme des états de conscience où la distance entre le soi et le monde, le soi et l'autre, l'esprit et la matière s'abolit. À partir de ces états, l'ouverture vers l'infini et vers la transcendance que peut poser la séduction est exposée. Dans le quatrième chapitre, la séduction est pensée comme le parfum du sacré, à travers une lecture du Cantique des cantiques. Par la séduction, l'importance du corps dans le sacré est soulignée. La place du secret et de la foi dans la séduction, dans le sacré et dans le littéraire est étudiée. La séduction permet une plongée érotique dans le monde et dans le réel, par les figures et par les images qu'elle déploie. Le savoir de la séduction est un parcours, savoir du corps et de l'esprit. / This thesis reflects on the place of literary (Kierkegaard, Hofmannsthal, The Song of Songs) and cinematic (Matador d'Almodóvar) figures of seduction in the relation between the self and the other. It explores the connection to transcendence and the sacred inscribed in writings on seduction. In the first chapter, the figures of seduction help us put into question the boundaries between literature and philosophy (conceptual persona and aesthetic figure). The figures of bullfighters, associated with the figures of seducers, present the extreme violence of seduction and the instant when consciousness can no longer be split in two. The second chapter is a reflexion, through the figures of the master and the slave, on desire, consciousness of the self and the other in the relationship of seduction. The figures of bullfighters manifest the sacrifice in seduction. Dialogue, considered at the heart of seduction itself, reveals the importance of seduction in the process of thinking. The third chapter develops the bond established by seduction between the self, the other and the world. In the writings of seduction, dandyism shows the tension between mind and matter. The dialogue at work in seduction opens a space of education. Seduction is viewed as an ethical process, the search for an appropriate distance, a spiritual exercise. Loss of consciousness, duende and ecstasy are described as states of consciousness that abolish the distance between self and world, self and other, and mind and matter. Through these states, seduction brings about an opening to the infinite and transcendence. Finally, seduction is defined as the perfume of the sacred through a reading of The Song of Songs. Through seduction, the importance of the body in the sacred is underscored. The place of secrecy and faith in seduction, the sacred and literature is examined. Seduction enables an erotic immersion in the world, in the real, through the figures and images of seduction. The knowledge of seduction is a process, a knowledge of body and mind.

The study, “Between honor and shame: Martyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6-7 within the socio-cultural arena”, presents a look at how the community viewed martyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42 from the perspective of honor and shame. The chief objective is to determine whether or not the community supported or challenged the notion of the martyrs’ death being either honorable or shameful. In order to reach a satisfactory conclusion to this objective, this study set as goals the identification of key themes which shed light upon the views of the community in regard to the martyrs, as well as the investigation of the community’s understanding of honor and shame found in 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42. This study incorporates a contextual analytical method comprising of an analysis of sociocultural vocabulary, an analysis of the socio-cultural vocabulary within the Greek text of 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42 and a synthesis of the analysis of both the socio-cultural and the Greek context. As criteria for the study of the socio-cultural context the aspects of sacred-profane, pure-impure, the patron-client relationship and the relationship between individual and group(s) are implemented. Core-findings of this study may be divided into two main categories: evidence in defence of an honorable conduct during death, and evidence in defence of the dishonorable manner of death. Evidence in defence of honorable conduct during death, are: • The martyrs remain completely loyal and devoted to God (their Chief-Patron), His laws and • the customs of the forefathers. • They are portrayed as being bodily whole. • They safeguard their set-apartness. • They remain pure – especially in the ritualistic sense. • As individuals belonging to the collected identity of various groups, the martyrs prove themselves loyal and honorable. Evidence in defence for the dishonorable manner in which the martyrs die, are: • Torture was deemed disgraceful by the community and would therefore degrade honor. • Mutilation went into the very fabric of the wholeness of the body by destroying the bodily unity, thereby disqualifying a person to come into the realm of the sacred. • Certain members of the community would regard the martyrs’ rejection of the lesser patrons’ favor as disrespectful and therefore as dishonorable conduct. Despite this evidence, it is still found that the community could remain undecided on how to judge the martyrs and martyrdom. Therefore, it is proposed, and successfully implemented, that an emotional argument might be the key to tipping the scale toward viewing the martyrs and martyrdom as honorable. It must therefore be concluded that the community would have indeed challenged the notion of martyrdom being honorable, for torture and mutilations in themselves, were regarded as being disgraceful. Yet the community would have been persuaded to accept the honor of the martyrs because of their honorable conduct and the emotional appeal made by the author of Maccabees. / Thesis (MA (Greek))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.