Meanings Of Stones

Christianity infuses our Western culture

The sort of atheist who sues over the placement of the 9/11 cross reminds me of the type of Christian who smashes stained glass windows if they do not fit his theology. Neither man will spare beauty or meaning others see under the tyranny of his ideology.

The 9/11 cross was formed by nature in the rubble made by evil men. Better men and women saw it and gave it meaning. That is what souls created in God’s image do. He creates the Cosmos and gives life deep meaning. We create art from the cosmos and echo His beauty in our little creations.

Two thousand years ago Roman injustice killed a good man to placate elites fearful of losing power. They used the cruel cross and like any terrorist, rejoiced in the ruin of the good man’s body. His followers refused to allow injustice to stand and over centuries transformed the sign of torture, the cross, to a sign of compassion.

Whenever the Red Cross acts, it confirms that powerful artistic transformation.

If I were not a Christian, I would not be so sorry a soul as to fail to see the human greatness in this change. It is no different than when here in England I see great standing stones built by pagan people long ago. I marvel at what they did and I strive to find the meaning they placed in it and learn from it.

It is barbaric to see the pure piety behind the 9/11 Cross and to want it banned from a public space. If an atheist finds beauty and creates meaning in a public space, I too would glory in it.

My faith teaches me that all beauty is God’s beauty, all meaning an echo of His voice.

Most Americans are and have been Christian. Anyone living in this culture can see it is shot through with art and meaning those Christians have created. If ever a work of music, art, philosophy, and politics shaped with Christian symbolism in mind were stripped from our public square, it would be denuded and left naked like a West Virginia hill after strip mining.

The useful, but artificial public-private distinction cannot stand when brave men die. Citizens will become men facing death and try to see meaning beyond the merely civic. Graves are private spaces that the public must see, but to denude them of meaning the dead and living see in them is to dishonour the dead.

Most of our holidays and public events would be incomprehensible if we ignored the Christian roots that inspired them. We would have to forget the very origin of the word holy-day, but atheists can go on holiday, enjoy Handel’s Messiah, put religious Rembrandt in public museums, and quote the beautiful poetry of the Bible in public speeches without bringing on theocracy.

Engagement and Rings: Precious stones- Powers and spiritual meanings

Since ancient times, different things have been credited with magical and/or spiritual powers. That’s definitely the case with gems and precious stones. The problem is that the modern versions seem to be pretty self-serving, with various stones credited with powers including healing and astral characteristics, and also including the highly valued In fairness, although the association between stones and spirit seems to be well outside what’s considered “normal” in Western society, in ancient civilizations the opposite was the case. The stones and their unique characteristics were highly prized for their beauty, and it’s hard to argue with the fact that gemstones give a definite impression of being something beyond the ordinary and special. The general idea wasn’t entirely wrong, either, in terms of the health aspects of stones, although it was hardly anything like the modern interpretation of healing. Many forms of minerals contained in precious stones are in fact essential to human life, including a large number of common electrolytes. The human body in fact contains most of the Table of Elements, so the basic idea that human health involves minerals in various forms is actually pretty right. The ideas of harmonies and light are truly ancient, and the strong aesthetic values of the precious stones and gemstones are obvious analogies. These colours and plays of light have been major aesthetic concepts in all cultures, so the idea that a feeling of well-being or fascination with the play of light on a diamond aren’t too hard to understand. The meanings of stones are an interesting study in concepts, whether you believe in them or not. Aventurine, for example, is considered to eliminate negative energies. Blue Topaz is said to assist in clarity in communication. Jade is famous in Chinese lore as a “harmonic stone” (quite right, good jade emits a musical note when tapped) and a stone of wisdom.

Meaning and identity in a Greek landscape, an archaeological ethnography

Comparative syntax of Greek and Latin

Amulets

The Place of Stone Monuments, Context, Use, and Meaning in Mesoamerica's Preclassic Transition

The materiality of stone, explorations in landscape phenomenology 1