Bryan Rennie | Westminster College (PA) (original) (raw)
Papers by Bryan Rennie
An Ethology of Religion and Art
<jats:p>Eliade was educated as a philosopher. He published extensively in the history of re... more <jats:p>Eliade was educated as a philosopher. He published extensively in the history of religions and acted as editor-in-chief of Macmillan's Encyclopedia of Religion (1987). The influence of his thought, through these works and through thirty years as director of the history of religions department at Chicago University, is considerable.</jats:p> <jats:p>Eliade's analysis of religion assumes the existence of 'the sacred' as the object of worship of religious humanity. It appears as the source of power, significance and value. Humanity apprehends 'hierophanies' – physical manifestations or revelations of the sacred – often, but not only, in the form of symbols, myths and rituals. Any phenomenal entity is a potential hierophany and can give access to nonhistorical time, what Eliade calls illud tempus ('that time'). The apprehension of this sacred time is a constitutive feature of the religious aspect of humanity.</jats:p>
An Ethology of Religion and Art, 2020
Zähriä Stäncu asked as early as 1955 why Eliade did not publish or even record in his journal any... more Zähriä Stäncu asked as early as 1955 why Eliade did not publish or even record in his journal any commentary on the "odious mass crimes of Sima's Legionaries" in the Romania of the 1930s and 40s and in 1 982 Ivan Strenski began what soon became a trend: critiquing Eliade's theoretical analyses by reference to his political position. Indeed, Strenski argued that that the traditionalist and mythico-religious feelings of the Romanian right actually produced Eliade's ontological and religious viewpoint. Following Strenski's criticism Adriana Berger shifted her earlier appreciative analysis of Eliade's "desire for unity" to a concerted attack upon his politics and his past. This attack was reinforced in 1991 by Norman Manea's review essay of Eliade's Journal and Autobiography, "Happy Guilt: Mircea Eliade, Fascism and the Unhappy Fate of Romania."
Mircea Eliade was undoubtedly an international figure. Born and educated in Romania, he traveled ... more Mircea Eliade was undoubtedly an international figure. Born and educated in Romania, he traveled and studied in India, Italy, Germany, and France. He taught at the University of Bucharest, the Sorbonne, and the University of Chicago. His academic writing has been translated into all major European and some Asian languages and his literary fiction has likewise been widely translated. One of his novels Nuntœ în Cer (Marriage in Heaven) won the Elba-Brignetti prize for the best foreign novel in Italian in 1984, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1979 and 1980. He carried on a lifelong correspondence with scholars of the history of religions on several continents, including Raffaele Pettazoni, Stig Wikander, Georges Dumézil, and Gershom Scholem. He received the French Legion of Honor in 1978 and honorary degrees from (among others) the University of Washington, the Sorbonne, Lancaster University, Boston College, Universidad de San Salvador, Universidad de la Plata...
To readers other than scholars of Iranian religion this material may be new, but the issue of Zor... more To readers other than scholars of Iranian religion this material may be new, but the issue of Zoroastrian influence on Biblical religions is itself far from new. Matthew Black, John Bright, Harold Henry Rowley, Wi l l iam David Davies, Walther Eichrodt, Reginald H. Fuller, Theodore Gaster, E. O. James, and Helmer Ringgren all recognized it. Parallels between the Jewish and Christian Messiah and the Zoroastrian Sosyans were noted in Ί906 by Lawrence Mills and in 1926 by Hu bertus Von Gall. George Carter wrote a monograph on Zoro astrian influence in 1918. It was a common theme of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, who suggested a thoroughgo ing influence on Jewish and Christian apocalyptism, messianism, and eschatology. Finkelstein and Manson in 1929 and 1938 suggested that "Pharisee" derives from a Pahlavi rather than a Hebrew root, and thus means "Persian" or "Persianizer." That has not been decided and seems to have been forgotten. The whole quest...
Introduction. 5.2 The Archaic and the Modern Conceptions of Time. 5.3 The Development of Concepti... more Introduction. 5.2 The Archaic and the Modern Conceptions of Time. 5.3 The Development of Conceptions of Time. 5.4 The Linearity of the Modern Conception of Time. 5.5 Some Problems in Eliade's Usage of History. 5.6 The Sources of Eliade's "History." 5.7 Eliade as Anti-Historian.
Explaining, Interpreting, and Theorizing Religion and Myth, 2020
An Ethology of Religion and Art, 2020
Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion, 2007
Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of... more Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of human experience that is apprehended as the real' (Rennie 1996, 21) this article pursues the concept of the apprehension of the sacred in empirical experience as described by Eliade in his discussion of religious symbols. Using a vareity of visual analogies an attempt is made to understand what Eliade's understanding might imply and how this 'perception of the sacred' might come about. This necessitates some consideration of the status of 'intentional objects' and leads to a reflection on Eliadean claims concerning the 'irreducibility' of religion and of the relation of such claims to contemporary congnitive analyses of religion. The conclusion is that Eliade's understanding can be seen as complementary to recent cognitive theory, which demonstrates the coherence of that understanding.
Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion, 2007
Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of... more Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of human experience that is apprehended as the real' (Rennie 1996, 21) this article pursues the concept of the apprehension of the sacred in empirical experience as described by Eliade in his discussion of religious symbols. Using a vareity of visual analogies an attempt is made to understand what Eliade's understanding might imply and how this 'perception of the sacred' might come about. This necessitates some consideration of the status of 'intentional objects' and leads to a reflection on Eliadean claims concerning the 'irreducibility' of religion and of the relation of such claims to contemporary congnitive analyses of religion. The conclusion is that Eliade's understanding can be seen as complementary to recent cognitive theory, which demonstrates the coherence of that understanding.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2013
Religion, 2017
ABSTRACT Eliade’s sacred seems to refer to an autonomous entity but close inspection indicates a ... more ABSTRACT Eliade’s sacred seems to refer to an autonomous entity but close inspection indicates a response to experiences to which we attribute sacrality. This allows the postulation of a natural ‘sacred’ that can be defined, and become the basis for an empirical definition of religion. Such ascriptions are commonly associated with art objects, from narratives and texts to dramas and architecture. Consideration of anthropology and ethology of art reveals a relationship between skill and the sacred, which clarifies the origin and function of 'sacrality' as a cognitive experience characteristic of, but not exclusive to, religious behaviour. The same trait is operative in other behaviours, such as art and sport, but it is less restricted in art and less comprehensive sport. Nonetheless, art and sport (and other secular behaviours) do have an affinity with religious behaviour. They are consanguineous with religion – descendants of a common ancestor.
Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2015
Enough has been written on the cognitive and evolutionary bases of both art and religion to permi... more Enough has been written on the cognitive and evolutionary bases of both art and religion to permit a theoretical understanding of these closely related behaviors. My argument is that religion and art are descendants of a common ancestral behavior that cannot be identified as either one or the other but has identifying features of both. It is my contention that such an understanding facilitates an improved comprehension of the history of religion as well as a coherent theoretical explanation of religious pluralism. As an example of the application and implication of this theory I will undertake a brief analysis of Biblical Prophecy as a complex of art forms bearing significant similarities to contemporary postcolonial literature and street theater. Both complexes communicate individual emotional responses to the environment that are transmitted and retained in the local culture and contribute to assured and persistent behavior.
An Ethology of Religion and Art
<jats:p>Eliade was educated as a philosopher. He published extensively in the history of re... more <jats:p>Eliade was educated as a philosopher. He published extensively in the history of religions and acted as editor-in-chief of Macmillan's Encyclopedia of Religion (1987). The influence of his thought, through these works and through thirty years as director of the history of religions department at Chicago University, is considerable.</jats:p> <jats:p>Eliade's analysis of religion assumes the existence of 'the sacred' as the object of worship of religious humanity. It appears as the source of power, significance and value. Humanity apprehends 'hierophanies' – physical manifestations or revelations of the sacred – often, but not only, in the form of symbols, myths and rituals. Any phenomenal entity is a potential hierophany and can give access to nonhistorical time, what Eliade calls illud tempus ('that time'). The apprehension of this sacred time is a constitutive feature of the religious aspect of humanity.</jats:p>
An Ethology of Religion and Art, 2020
Zähriä Stäncu asked as early as 1955 why Eliade did not publish or even record in his journal any... more Zähriä Stäncu asked as early as 1955 why Eliade did not publish or even record in his journal any commentary on the "odious mass crimes of Sima's Legionaries" in the Romania of the 1930s and 40s and in 1 982 Ivan Strenski began what soon became a trend: critiquing Eliade's theoretical analyses by reference to his political position. Indeed, Strenski argued that that the traditionalist and mythico-religious feelings of the Romanian right actually produced Eliade's ontological and religious viewpoint. Following Strenski's criticism Adriana Berger shifted her earlier appreciative analysis of Eliade's "desire for unity" to a concerted attack upon his politics and his past. This attack was reinforced in 1991 by Norman Manea's review essay of Eliade's Journal and Autobiography, "Happy Guilt: Mircea Eliade, Fascism and the Unhappy Fate of Romania."
Mircea Eliade was undoubtedly an international figure. Born and educated in Romania, he traveled ... more Mircea Eliade was undoubtedly an international figure. Born and educated in Romania, he traveled and studied in India, Italy, Germany, and France. He taught at the University of Bucharest, the Sorbonne, and the University of Chicago. His academic writing has been translated into all major European and some Asian languages and his literary fiction has likewise been widely translated. One of his novels Nuntœ în Cer (Marriage in Heaven) won the Elba-Brignetti prize for the best foreign novel in Italian in 1984, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1979 and 1980. He carried on a lifelong correspondence with scholars of the history of religions on several continents, including Raffaele Pettazoni, Stig Wikander, Georges Dumézil, and Gershom Scholem. He received the French Legion of Honor in 1978 and honorary degrees from (among others) the University of Washington, the Sorbonne, Lancaster University, Boston College, Universidad de San Salvador, Universidad de la Plata...
To readers other than scholars of Iranian religion this material may be new, but the issue of Zor... more To readers other than scholars of Iranian religion this material may be new, but the issue of Zoroastrian influence on Biblical religions is itself far from new. Matthew Black, John Bright, Harold Henry Rowley, Wi l l iam David Davies, Walther Eichrodt, Reginald H. Fuller, Theodore Gaster, E. O. James, and Helmer Ringgren all recognized it. Parallels between the Jewish and Christian Messiah and the Zoroastrian Sosyans were noted in Ί906 by Lawrence Mills and in 1926 by Hu bertus Von Gall. George Carter wrote a monograph on Zoro astrian influence in 1918. It was a common theme of the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule, who suggested a thoroughgo ing influence on Jewish and Christian apocalyptism, messianism, and eschatology. Finkelstein and Manson in 1929 and 1938 suggested that "Pharisee" derives from a Pahlavi rather than a Hebrew root, and thus means "Persian" or "Persianizer." That has not been decided and seems to have been forgotten. The whole quest...
Introduction. 5.2 The Archaic and the Modern Conceptions of Time. 5.3 The Development of Concepti... more Introduction. 5.2 The Archaic and the Modern Conceptions of Time. 5.3 The Development of Conceptions of Time. 5.4 The Linearity of the Modern Conception of Time. 5.5 Some Problems in Eliade's Usage of History. 5.6 The Sources of Eliade's "History." 5.7 Eliade as Anti-Historian.
Explaining, Interpreting, and Theorizing Religion and Myth, 2020
An Ethology of Religion and Art, 2020
Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion, 2007
Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of... more Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of human experience that is apprehended as the real' (Rennie 1996, 21) this article pursues the concept of the apprehension of the sacred in empirical experience as described by Eliade in his discussion of religious symbols. Using a vareity of visual analogies an attempt is made to understand what Eliade's understanding might imply and how this 'perception of the sacred' might come about. This necessitates some consideration of the status of 'intentional objects' and leads to a reflection on Eliadean claims concerning the 'irreducibility' of religion and of the relation of such claims to contemporary congnitive analyses of religion. The conclusion is that Eliade's understanding can be seen as complementary to recent cognitive theory, which demonstrates the coherence of that understanding.
Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion, 2007
Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of... more Building upon earlier analysis of Eliade's 'sacred' as 'the intentional object of human experience that is apprehended as the real' (Rennie 1996, 21) this article pursues the concept of the apprehension of the sacred in empirical experience as described by Eliade in his discussion of religious symbols. Using a vareity of visual analogies an attempt is made to understand what Eliade's understanding might imply and how this 'perception of the sacred' might come about. This necessitates some consideration of the status of 'intentional objects' and leads to a reflection on Eliadean claims concerning the 'irreducibility' of religion and of the relation of such claims to contemporary congnitive analyses of religion. The conclusion is that Eliade's understanding can be seen as complementary to recent cognitive theory, which demonstrates the coherence of that understanding.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2013
Religion, 2017
ABSTRACT Eliade’s sacred seems to refer to an autonomous entity but close inspection indicates a ... more ABSTRACT Eliade’s sacred seems to refer to an autonomous entity but close inspection indicates a response to experiences to which we attribute sacrality. This allows the postulation of a natural ‘sacred’ that can be defined, and become the basis for an empirical definition of religion. Such ascriptions are commonly associated with art objects, from narratives and texts to dramas and architecture. Consideration of anthropology and ethology of art reveals a relationship between skill and the sacred, which clarifies the origin and function of 'sacrality' as a cognitive experience characteristic of, but not exclusive to, religious behaviour. The same trait is operative in other behaviours, such as art and sport, but it is less restricted in art and less comprehensive sport. Nonetheless, art and sport (and other secular behaviours) do have an affinity with religious behaviour. They are consanguineous with religion – descendants of a common ancestor.
Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 2015
Enough has been written on the cognitive and evolutionary bases of both art and religion to permi... more Enough has been written on the cognitive and evolutionary bases of both art and religion to permit a theoretical understanding of these closely related behaviors. My argument is that religion and art are descendants of a common ancestral behavior that cannot be identified as either one or the other but has identifying features of both. It is my contention that such an understanding facilitates an improved comprehension of the history of religion as well as a coherent theoretical explanation of religious pluralism. As an example of the application and implication of this theory I will undertake a brief analysis of Biblical Prophecy as a complex of art forms bearing significant similarities to contemporary postcolonial literature and street theater. Both complexes communicate individual emotional responses to the environment that are transmitted and retained in the local culture and contribute to assured and persistent behavior.