Meaning of Angels and Doves in Religious Art
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
By David Warren
The symbol I propose to take literally today is that of the dove. It is familiar to everyone, in its quasireligious role as the peace symbol. Appropriated from Christian iconography, it is now an easily recognized item of international signage: a kind of marketing logo, to go with jingle or slogan. Its meaning has been narrowed to "no more war" - an unachievable condition on this planet. Yet it resonates still, from the depth of the spiritual tradition it appropriated. The Christians, for their part, took it from the Jews, and indirectly from the pagan Greeks and Romans upon whom the Hebrew people had made some impressions. It was a symbol of purity and peace from the most ancient times: in ancient Egypt, for instance, the insistent cooing of the dove at daybreak, was taken as summons to the sleeping soul, to awaken into immortal life. [link]
By David Warren
The symbol I propose to take literally today is that of the dove. It is familiar to everyone, in its quasireligious role as the peace symbol. Appropriated from Christian iconography, it is now an easily recognized item of international signage: a kind of marketing logo, to go with jingle or slogan. Its meaning has been narrowed to "no more war" - an unachievable condition on this planet. Yet it resonates still, from the depth of the spiritual tradition it appropriated. The Christians, for their part, took it from the Jews, and indirectly from the pagan Greeks and Romans upon whom the Hebrew people had made some impressions. It was a symbol of purity and peace from the most ancient times: in ancient Egypt, for instance, the insistent cooing of the dove at daybreak, was taken as summons to the sleeping soul, to awaken into immortal life. [link]
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