1/11/11 Tuesday Lecture

Temple
- Temple: building/structure to worship God in/a place where God dwells
- Theme: God gives specific plans for the temple to be built
- Divine origin for sacred places
- Know examples and dates

Consecration of Sacred Space
- Building the reputation of a sacred place and attracting stories/legends (ex: similar to cutting the ribbon of a new building or a frat house's reputation)
- Major theme: Jerusalem is a magnet for stories/legends!  (ex: Gihon Garden of Eden river, Adam being buried under the Dome of the Rock, King Melchizedek of Salem --> Jerusalem, Solomon's Temple being built on Abraham's Mt. Moriah)

Time is Sacred
- Because both time and space were sacred, when space was destroyed, a new definition of being Jewish came about which encompassed the sacrality of time (ex: different reasons for the Sabbath in Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy)

Axis Mundi
- Connects Earth to heaven and hell
- Sacred places with altars that are consecrated become connections between heaven and hell (ex: burning bush, 10 commandments given at the top of a mountain, David's altar, Hinnom Gai/valley was a trash dump.  Therefore, Gehenna = hell)

Sacred Places Attract Tradition
- Ex: prayers in the Western wall, denominations fighting for the Holy Sepulcher and Adam's tomb, God at the top of mountains (Cosmic mountain, Mt. Zion, Mt. Zaphon)



Questions
1. Does the temple mount = Solomon's temple/Herrod's temple?
2. Was the temple mount replaced by the Dome of the Rock?


There many words thrown in this class, such as: Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, Herrod's Temple, and Wailing Wall...... or Cosmic Mountain, Mt. Zion, and Mt. Zaphon.......or City of David, Jerusalem, The Old City, The Lower City that are a bit confusing and hard to distinguish from each other.  What is the clear relationship between these places? 


I found Professor Cargill's whole YHWH description very interesting.  I had no idea LORD was YHWH!  


The lecturing about the Church of Holy Sepulcher was also thought-provoking for me.  How can so many different denominations fight to worship various Gods in one location?  They are not even supposed to fight in a place of worship!  It's ironic that these holy people do not trust each other and must give the key to a Muslim...