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From the Greek , ''theo'' (God), and ''phainein'' (to show forth), ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' ; retrieved 24 March 2006. theophany means an appearance of a God to man, or a divine disclosure. J.T.Burtchaell, "Theophany", in ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'', 2nd ed. (2003), .13:929. While the Iliad is our earliest source for descriptions of theopanies in the Classical tradition (and they occur throughout Greek mythology), probably the earliest description of a theophany is in the Epic Of Gilgamesh . There, the protagonist meets Siduri , a goddess associated with brewing and fermentation. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the Bible is the primary source of events which both ''Britannica'' and the ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' cite as being theophanies. GREEK TRADITION The appearance of , not an Olympian but a Titan , who brought knowledge of fire to humanity. There are no descriptions of the humans involved in this theophany, but Prometheus was severely punished by Zeus. JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION The ''. A similar case would be Moses and the burning bush. Initially Moses saw an angel in the bush, but then goes on to have a direct conversation with God himself (Ex 3). In the case of Jesus Christ according to the gospels and tradition, Christians understand him to be God the son, become man (Jn 1:14). The ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'', however, makes few references to a theophany from the gospels. Mk 1:9-11, and Lk 9:28-36 are citedJ.T.Burtchaell, "Theophany", in ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'', 2nd ed. (2003), 13:930. which recount the Baptism, and the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ respectively. Although we could understand that although Jesus Christ is believed by Christians to be a manifestation of the divine throughout his life, it is only when his divine glory is manifested and not veiled by his humanity, that we would call it a ''theophany''. Traditional analysis of these passages led Christian scholars to understand ''theophany'' as an unambiguous manifestation of God, to man, where "unambiguous" indicates that the seers or seer are of no doubt that it is God revealing himself to them. Orthodox Christianity The Feast Of Theophany in the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 19 of the Julian Calendar or January 6th of the Gregorian Calendar celebrates the theophany at Jesus' Baptism . The 4th century bishop Eusebius Of Caesarea wrote a book called ''Theophania'', referring to Jesus' Incarnation. THEOPHANY IN OTHER BELIEFS Since Hinduism is often understood as polytheistic or pantheistic, theophany has a different significance than it carries in Judaism and Christianity. The most well-known theophany in Eastern religions is contained within the Bhagavad-Gita , itself representing one chapter of the epic, Mahabharata . In the Gita, the famed warrior Arjuna begs for Krishna to reveal his true form after a series of teachings given by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra indicates Krishna to be far more than mortal. Krishna complies and gives Arjuna the spiritual vision which enables him to see Krishna in his true form, a terrifying and awe-inspiring manifestation that forms the main part of Chapter XI. This theophany was paraphrased by Robert Oppenheimer upon witnessing the first atomic bomb test, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." More recently, Science Fiction author Philip K. Dick reportedly had a Gnostic theophany on February 3 , 1974 CE, which was to become the later basis for his semi- Biographic works Valis (1981) and the posthumous Radio Free Albemuth (1985). REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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