The Encyclopedia of World Religions

flood stories S 151

The Jewish Sabbath begins with the lighting of special candles, customarily by the women of the house. Fire in the world of religion takes as many forms, and has almost as many meanings, as does fire itself. flood stories Also called the deluge; in mythol ogy, a flood that covered the entire Earth and destroyed almost all human beings. Although extensive, localized floods have occurred, there is no evidence for any worldwide flood. The flood story best known to most North Americans and Europeans is the one told in the B IBLE (Genesis 6–9). In this story, G OD wishes to destroy human beings because of their SINS . He decides, however, to save N OAH and his family. On God’s instructions, Noah builds an ark in which he, his family, and representative animals ride out the flood. The biblical story appears to be part of a large, older tradition of flood stories that derive from Mesopotamian mythology ( see M ESOPOTA MIAN RELIGIONS ). The story of G ILGAMESH was put into final form around 2000 B . C . E . In it, King Gil gamesh visits the two human beings who survived the flood, Utnapishtim and his wife. They have become immortal, and Gilgamesh wants to learn how he can become immortal, too. Another Meso potamian story, the story of Atrahasis (1600 B . C . E . or earlier), tells a different account of the flood. Indeed, it parallels Genesis closely. Human beings were making too much noise. After trying several other remedies, the gods, led by Enlil, decided to destroy them with a universal flood. But the crafty god Enki told his faithful worshipper, Atrahasis, to build an ark. In it, Atrahasis, his family, and repre sentative animals were saved. Greek mythology knew a similar flood story. Because of human wickedness, Z EUS sent a flood to destroy the Earth. Deucalion and Pyrrha were saved in an ark; to repopulate the Earth they cast stones, which turned into people. The mythology of India knows a similar story, too. There the god V ISHNU takes the form of a great fish that pulls M ANU , the ancestor of humankind, to safety on

ried their essence to other realms ( see V EDA ). Cor responding to fire on Earth was the lightning in the sky and the sun in HEAVEN ; Agni went between those levels, and the sacrificial fire on Earth was believed to correspond to the processes of eternal creation and destruction. In H INDUISM , the bodies of the deceased are generally burned, returning them to the elements and making them part of that process. In its purely terrible and destructive aspect, flames are the substance of HELL —the “Lake of Fire”—eternally punishing the wicked, though in Roman Catho lic tradition the fires of Purgatory have the more benign though also painful role of purging away the impurity of SIN from those who do not deserve hell but are not yet ready for heaven. Fire has also symbolized life and the immortal spark that is the soul. Buddhist literature has used the image of passing the torch, or lighting one flame from another flame, to indicate the process of REINCAR NATION . Statues of the B UDDHA sometimes show him with a flame above his head, pointing to his enlightenment. The Hindu U PANISHADS use the met aphor of a single flame that takes many different shapes to suggest how BRAHMAN , the One, assumes the form of all the different entities in the universe. In the book of Acts in the N EW T ESTAMENT it is said that the Holy Spirit descended on the APOSTLES as “tongues of flame,” making fire an embodiment of spiritual wisdom and power at the same time, even as J ESUS had said he would baptize with fire. Fire has also been employed as an instrument of divine HEALING . The ancient Celts would herd cattle between two fires, in the belief that this would help preserve them from disease ( see C ELTIC R ELIGION ). It can be a guide, especially to the other world, as Agni guided the dead to heaven; and it can bring the dead back to life like the Phoenix reborn out of his ashes. Finally, fire, especially in the form of soft and quiet candlelight, is widely used to indicate and hallow sacred places. Candles are frequently burned before Christian and other shrines as offerings and to demarcate their holi ness. Candles are found on the ALTARS of many churches, and lighting them is a preliminary mark ing the beginning of the sacred time of a service.