Physical object and rituals | Division by Zero

Physical object and rituals

Physical object and rituals

Written by Division by Zero

Wednesday, 03 August 2011 09:44

The last two week I wrote two posts on rituals. Doing this reminded me of a discussion I had years ago (hmmm... I feel old using this term!). This discussion was if, of course in special circumstances, it was allowed to perform the ritual of the last supper using cola and chips.

My initial reaction, back then, was: of course that's allowed. Why even discuss this? This is quite obvious: it's the meaning behind the symbols, not the symbols themselves that matter.

Today I'm not that fast. It is quite more complicated than that. As I said in the post of the last few weeks: the physical objects do matter within a ritual. Physical object, when used within a ritual, connect the earthly, physical, to the eternally, non-physical. In order to do that they must have meaning to the people that participate in the ritual.

Bread and wine have special meaning to Christian. For one there is a theological attachment to it, because they were used by Christ himself. They're also part of the Christian tradition and used over centuries.

Back to the original question: is it possible to use other physical objects within a ritual, like cola and chips instead of wine and bread? I still think it is possible. You're required to have a good reason to, though. It is possible to take the time to give meaning to these objects. It is done to bread and wine, but because these objects are so commonly used, the meaning is already there in the minds of the believers. This is different for other objects. So, meaning must be attached to these object, otherwise the ritual will lose it function completely.

My answer is still: yes. But with more caution. There must be good reasons to dot this and enough deliberation and time must be taken to introduce the physical objects and give attention to their meaning within the ritual.

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