Manifestation and Proclamation

Abstract

In the paper two forms of human dealing with the notion of the sacred are compared — manifestation (a display of the sacred in events, objects, etc., surrounding human beings) and proclamation (communication about the sacred thought texts). Author suggests that proclamation is a characteristic for modern monotheistic religions based on the Old Testament theology. In particular, a vivid example of proclamation is a teaching of Jesus Christ, as presented in synoptic Gospels. In Ricouer’s view, a decline of the sacred in modern Western civilization is connected with an unjustified absolutization of the scientific and technical achievements and must be overcome in the course of the further social development.