The books Divine Mirrors: The Virgin Mary in the Visual Arts and Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture bring up two ideas of how the Virgin Mary is viewed in Islam. One being that she is merely human, and only important because of her role in Jesus’ story and the other being that she possesses spiritual importance, as she was specifically chosen for this role and had direct communication with a sacred being, the angel Gabriel. Varying depictions of Mary, in manuscripts, further illustrate the ambivalent and complex debates centered on her role as merely the vessel for a prophet or as a significant being, in her own right.
In her essay, “Marian Parallels in the Qur’an and Hebrew Bible,” in Divine Mirrors: The Virgin Mary in the Visual Arts, Melissa R. Katz introduces the idea of Mary having less importance than her son, Jesus. Katz states “Her son Jesus is considered a great prophet but fully mortal like his
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She states that “Many parallels can be drawn between Mary and Abraham. Both are told by angels that they have found favor with God. Both are destined to engender great nations. Both obey God’s commands without fully understanding.” So, Mary could be spiritually important because she was specifically chosen to carry and care for Jesus, just as Abraham was chosen to sire Isaac. This idea is illustrated in the Ottoman Empire, Qisas al Anbiya illustration, “Mary and Jesus, Nativity Scene.” In it, Mary sits beneath a date tree with the infant Jesus on her lap. A small body of water sits to her left and, behind her, a border of craggy rocks mark the horizon line. An unknown man peeks over the border, witnessing the scene. Most notably, both Mary and Jesus poses halos. This indicates that Jesus is not the only sacred being in the image. Even after giving birth, Mary remains spiritually important. Mary’s halo speaks to her own divine
The language in Fires in the Mirror, by Anna Deveare Smith, is a microcosm for the way in which language creates reality in every community.
In our world today, how would one describe an American? Throughout the history of the United States, the image of an American is often portrayed as someone with fair skin, and who is of European descent. In reality, this idea is rather false, for America is greatly shaped by different racial groups from all continents—including Asia and Africa. In Ronald Takaki 's book, "A Different Mirror", he talks about how people in America are viewed through the "Master Narrative of American History", the idea that a person is an American, or not, depending on whether he or she satisfies the requirements to be considered as white (4). Takaki argues the Master Narrative left out certain groups including Asian Americans, African-Americans and Native Americans
For most everybody in the world, people tend to have two identities: one in reality and one online. Andrew Lam wrote an essay, called “I Tweet, Therefore I am: Life in the Hall of Mirrors”, in which he described how people are posting videos or statuses which is making social media take a turn. Instead of social media being a place to share very little information, people are now tending to post weird updates. Lam was describing an example where a boy that was going to surgery asked to have his picture taken because his arm got taken off by an alligator. Another example is when Bill Nye was speaking and collapsed from exhaustion. Most of the crowd took their phones out and recorded videos instead of helping Bill Nye out (540-541). With the power of the internet at everyone’s fingertips, most everyone is trying to make the most of it. With all
She allows us to understand the duality of God. This concept was not new. The Old Testament prophets portrayed God as a loving mother nurturing, caressing, and comforting her children. Isaiah invokes God in labor giving birth while Psalms compares the femininity of the body and the creator.
Warner's book details the special importance of the Virgin Mary throughout Christianity and explores her religious and secular meaning. She discusses such things as the Church's attitude toward virginity, the role model of the Virgin martyr, the Virgin's relics, and her role as an intercessor with God.
The immediate background consists of natural mounds of dirt and a brick wall that enclose the Virgin, Child, and St. John, amplifying the protective effect that Mary’s figure has. The dirt mounds roll inward with a brick wall bordering them on the right, drawing the viewer’s attention towards the three figures. The background is painted in broad terms, with a simple, uniform depiction of tree leaves and smooth rock faces on the horizon. This contrasts with the fine-lined detail and texture of Mary’s hair, facial features, and veil, which further contribute to her elegance and highlight her
Sure, some of us have this great confidence within ourselves about looking great, but that does not hold true for everyone. I understand the pain or disgust, or even disappointment one feels when they look in the mirror and say, “I wish I could change this or that about myself”. Although this piece is written about the author’s life, it holds meaning and connects with for many people; one only has to dig deep enough to find one. For me, it was to realize what is important in life can change, adapt and that we must explore our inner selves and find our own path in life.
The depiction of Madonna and Christ is among the most ancient and common in Christian iconography and has an extensive number of variations because apart from its symbolic religious functions, it allows one to interpret the link between mother and child in many aspects. (8)
as well as how God has chosen Mary “above the women of all nations” (3.42). Similarly the Gospel by Luke shows the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and telling
The eyes and mouth are slanted creating a strange and captivating feel. Art historians over the years have separated the two halves of the Christ Icon, pairing each side with a more symmetrical representation of the other half of the face. This process revealed the duality of Christ which the painter was attempting to capture. On the left side of his face, Christ appears to be an ordinary, youthful man who would not attract any attention when walking through town. On the right side, Christ is a much older and more divine individual who appears to be glowing. This duality represented the belief that Christ is both omnipotent and ordinary. The two halves of the Christ Icon are an impressive demonstration the immense talent of the artist in making divine religious values appear to the viewer thought
The 14th century was a dark period in history where mankind showed what it was capable of. The medieval period brought gaping divide between social classes, causing a time period with extreme prosperity and unrivaled poverty. These events, recorded in scattered historical documents, are gathered succinctly in Barbara W. Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror. A Distant Mirror follows the history of European humanity during this time period, loosely focusing on Enguerrand de Coucy, a French nobleman. Through this lenses, A Distant Mirror recounts the depravity of human nature and the ability to rise above it.
It is obvious here that, the Virgin Mary not only holds her role as a witness of her son’s love and faithfulness to His lovers, but also constantly reminds and reassures them of His loyalty and
Sound Vision Foundation, 2014, The Islamic and Christian views of Jesus: a comparison, Islamic information and products, retrieved from: http://www.soundvision.com
This scripture is an incredible story illustrating the faith that Abraham had in his God. God had made promises over a period of time that Abraham and Sarah would have a son even though Sarah’s child bearing age was past and there would be descendants more than the stars in the sky and more than the sand on the shore. Even though it was hard to believe, Abraham trusted God that His word would come to pass.
Her purity brought upon the savior of the world and she is greatly respected for that. In the beginning after her assumption to Heaven, she started appearing to various people of different age,race. Mary’s appearance was know as Miraculous, and this name was well spread and known in all parts of the world. The Virgin Mary appeared to St.Catherine of Laboure and said “ Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck”