Holy Water: The Role of Water in Religion

Water has played an important role in many major religions in both ceremonial and mythological aspects. There are two main reasons for that. Firstly, water cleanses. It washes away impurities and pollutants, it can make an object look as good as new and wipe away any signs of previous defilement. Secondly, water is a primary building block of life. We are at the mercy of water just as we are at the mercy of our God or gods. The significance of water is revealed differently in different religions and beliefs but it is these two qualities of water that underlie its place in our cultures and faiths.

In fact, while the term “holy water” is derived from Christianity, many religions have linked water to spirituality.

Thus, one of the oldest living major religions, Hinduism has long used water for cleansing and ceremonial purposes. Seven rivers are considered sacred in India, and every day many Hindus follow these rivers on pilgrimages to holy places near riverbanks, coasts, and shores. Rivers are also used in funeral ceremonies; Hindu funerals are almost always located near a river, and the ashes are scattered in the river after cremation. Moreover, many stories in Hindu mythology associate rivers with gods and goddesses.

Many of Judaism’s most important stories prominently feature water. In the book Genesis, God destroyed humanity by casting a great flood upon the earth, and Noah was tasked with building an ark to save all of the earth’s animals. Water also played a significant role in the tale of Moses. Leading the Israelites in escape from the Egyptian army, Moses used divine powers to part the Red Sea and ensure the freedom of his people. Judaism, like Hinduism, also recognizes water as a purifier. Judaism states that, in order to achieve spiritual purification, followers must immerse themselves in a ritual bath (called a mikveh) connected to a natural source of water.

In Christianity, many stories depict control over water as a symbol of divinity. For example, Jesus Christ was said to have performed miracles such as walking on water and turning water into wine. Further, Christianity uses holy water for a number of ceremonies. In a ceremony called baptism, a priest initiates an infant into the religion by pouring or sprinkling holy water on the infant’s head. Further, in some churches, priests provide basins of holy water or sprinkle holy water on denizens in preparation for Mass.

In Islam, water is similarly used for purification. Some mosques have fountains or clear pools of water to symbolize purity or for use in cleansing. Muslims must perform the major ablution, or the washing of the whole body of water, before touching the Koran or conducting important ceremonies. Further, the minor ablution, or washing of the face, head, and arms, must be done before each of the five daily prayers.

Discussing

Can you fill this concept map and then summarize the information from the text using the scheme:

Grammar review

a) Passive Voice Questions

To form a question, the first auxiliary is placed before the subject. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Question
She is shown the sights. You were shown the sights. The sights will be shown to him. This substance can be purified.	Is she shown the sights? Were you shown the sights? Will the sights be shown to him? Can this substance be purified?

 Change the following affirmative statements into questions.

1. You are required to attend the lecture in Botany.

2. English is spoken all over the world.

3. The Periodic law is known to every student of our Academy.

4. When I came into the room, the last student was tested by a professor.

5. John was given a high mark for the test.

6. America was discovered many centuries ago.

7. My friend (admit) to the University last year.

8. All the mistakes appeared in your essay must be corrected immediately.

9. The guests were expected to come at 6 o’clock.

10. Water can be separated from the dissolved substances by distillation.

b) Negative Statements

To form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the first auxiliary. For example:

Negative Statements

She is not shown the sights. You were not shown the sights. The sights will not be shown to him. This substance can not be purified.

‚ Change the following affirmative statements into negative statements.

1. The fax will be sent today.

2. They were sure that some way out would be found.

3. The doctor was sent for on time.

4. Our laboratory must be well-ventilated because we often work with substances having strong and unpleasant odour.

5. All members of my group will be asked to participate in the conference.

6. ¼ of the Earth’s surface is covered by water.

7. The first instrument for measuring temperatures was invented by Fahrenheit.

8. “Winnie-the-Pooh” was written by Charles Dickens.

9. The article about water pollution will be published next month.

10. The living conditions of nowadays and of the past can easily be compared.

c) Negative Questions

To form a negative question, the first auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary. Contractions are often used in spoken English. For example:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
Is she not shown the sights? Were you not shown the sights? Will the sights not be shown to him? Can this substance not be purified?	Isn’t she shown the sights? Weren’t you shown the sights? Won’t the sights be shown to him? Can’t this substance be purified?

ƒ Change the following affirmative sentences into negative question. Don’t use contractions in this exercise.

11. The exercise was written by that student an hour ago.

12. All the flights of this airline are cancelled because of bad meteorological conditions.

13. Extensive amounts of carbon are found in the form of its compounds.

14. Enzymes and their products were first obtained from bacteria.

15. For centuries Dioscorides was looked upon as the chief authority on medicinal plants.

16. The researchers will need several years of clinical tests and several thousand dollars to continue their work on developing the vaccine against AIDS.

17. The energy is released or absorbed during the chemical reaction.

18. For several years Peter was raised by his elderly grandmother.

19. Several homes were smashed by an unexpected tornado in a suburb of Knoxville.

20. The shower will be repaired by the plumber.

Speaking

Can you summarize the information from the lesson 4 using the following concept map?

Lead-in

Exercise 1: Identify the alchemical symbols shown on the pictures. Odd one out. Describe the elements and their properties.

Exercise 2: Complete the sentences with one of the words or phrases given:

ancient	according	element
twenty-first	substance	useful
hydrogen	synthetic	Earth

1. An element is a … in which all atoms are of the same kind.

2. Ninety-two chemical elements occur naturally on ….

3. The first synthetic … to be produced was technetium, discovered in 1937 by Italian American physicist Emilio Segrè.

4. Except for technetium and promethium, all … elements have larger nuclei than uranium.

5. At the beginning of the … century, there were 114 known elements.

6. One … way of describing the chemical elements is according to their metallic or nonmetallic character.

7. … Greek philosophers conceived of the idea that some materials are more fundamental, or basic, than others.

8. … to the big bang theory, the simplest forms of matter to appear were protons and electrons.

9. A … atom consists of one proton and one electron.

Exercise 3: Complete the text using the words and phrases: