(Published in GrailWorld 41/2006) THE FIGHT BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARKNESS About three millennia ago, starting from Persia, a new religious idea spread: It was the idea of the fight of the forces of good against the forces of darkness, of which - as far as we know - the Persian founder of religion Zarathustra (Greek Zoroaster) was the first to speak. [...]
Category: History of religion
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The Ark of the Covenant
(Published in GralsWelt 25/2002) A search for the legendary treasure “In 1118 nine of the most distinguished French knights appeared before Baldwin II, the king of Jerusalem. They wanted to found an order to protect the pilgrims in the Holy Land from thieves and murderers and to monitor the land routes. Then they moved into a house on the spot [...]
(Published in GralsWelt 33/2004). The first European immigrants to North America were neither ethnologists nor religious scholars and accordingly only interested in the customs, traditions, myths and religious ideas of the Indians to the extent that it was useful for trading with Indians or (in the case of missionaries) for conversion. In addition, Europeans and Americans understood "religion" until the 19th [...]
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Modern fundamentalism
(Published in GrailWorld 55/2009; as of 2001) Believers of today's religions consider the adjacent words of Plato to be outdated; for they believe that the founder of their community has long since given this enlightenment hoped for by Plato, and that it is only up to us to also implement the spiritual insights accessible to us. To other religious people the quotation seems strangely topical. "We [...]
(Published in Grail World 36/2005) FROM THUNDERLIGHTNING AND GRAINING Probably in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. a people immigrated to Italy whose origin is disputed. It mingled with the local population and other immigrants, came into contact with the Greeks and adopted their alphabet: the Etruscans. Greek influences can be seen with them [...]
(Published in GralsWelt 20/2001). In Germany, the name Zarathustra (Greek: Zoroaster) is best known through Friedrich Nietzsche, whose main work bears the name of the Persian priest. However, Nietzsche's philosophical fictional figure has only the name in common with this model. "They didn't ask me, they should have asked me what was in my mouth, in the mouth [...]
(Published in Gralswelt 37/2005) Priests in white robes pose in front of the megalithic cult site Stonehenge. You feel connected to the classical Druidism from Caesar's time and want to revive an old religion as a Neo-Druid. Because the life of the Druids and their worldview continues to attract great interest in our day. Fantastic novels and also comics present [...]
(Published in GralsWelt 39/2006) During excavations of Roman antiquities, Mithraea, ie cult sites dedicated to Mithras, were found in many places, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland. For example, you can visit a Mithras grotto on the Hallberg near Saarbrücken; the Saalburg near Bad Homburg (Taunus) and the Palatinate Museum in Heidelberg have reconstructed mithraea. "Had a fatal disease [...]
(Published in GralsWelt 38/2006) THE QUESTION ABOUT THE FUTURE Anyone who thinks or plans ahead is because of a future they hope for. Out of that desire, asking about the future for foreknowledge has become a practice almost as old as humanity. Here are some practical reasons: "The prophetess also sits on a holy tripod [...]
(Published in GralsWelt 33/2004) When we Europeans speak of antiquity, we actually only think of the Mediterranean area, but especially of Greece and Rome. We were taught at school that this is where the roots of our culture lie; this is where philosophies were devised two and a half millennia ago and which continue to have an impact today; and on the edge of the Mediterranean - [...]
