Katrina Thralls-Humans as Sacred

Carmody, Denise L. and John T. Carmody. Original Visions: The Religions of Oral Peoples. New

York: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1993.

“Human beings were the offspring of divine forces, in this case of the evening and morning stars. Behind the imagery lay the intuition that human beings could not explain themselves, and also the desire to give men and women a sacred origin” (32).

This quote brings up millennia of people wanting to believe that they are sacred, from primal religions to those we think of as the big world religions. Christianity believes that they are God’s children, as well as that they are filled with the Holy Spirit, which is one of God’s forms. Hinduism says that Brahman, the Ultimate in their worldview, is not only apart from them, but it is also within them.

More importantly, though, this brings up questions. Are we sacred? Should we act as though we are sacred? What would that look like? Should we be selfish or altruistic? Is there a way to treat others like they are sacred while treating yourself as sacred? Can you treat yourself as sacred and still be humble?