| Symbols: from fire extinguisher signs to airline | | | | In other words, in the church--in the stained glass |
| diagrams, they're becoming a more and more | | | | windows. |
| common sight in our world. Some people consider the | | | | Think of stained glass windows as the airline diagrams |
| proliferation of the symbol to be a sign of declining | | | | of the Middle Ages. |
| literacy rates worldwide, and with them the decline | | | | Once the Holy Spirit was commonly thought of as a |
| of civilization in general. | | | | bird, the concept--already vaguely defined in the |
| But the rise of the symbol is by no means bad--and | | | | existing religious literature--started to take on new |
| by no means new. | | | | meanings, to "stretch its wings." The notion of |
| Although there is some truth to the idea that a focus | | | | winged angels began to arise, human-looking figures |
| on symbols is correlated with illiteracy. Symbols, after | | | | who had taken on the aspects of birds. The whole |
| all, stand for words and ideas. If you can't read | | | | notion of heaven as being an "upward" place, a |
| words, the only way to comprehend an elaborate | | | | kingdom in the clouds, was in no small way |
| idea is to look at a visual representation of it. If the | | | | determined by the use of the bird symbol. And |
| visual representation is good and clear--as warning | | | | contemporary shorthand symbols for ideas--notably, |
| signage invariably is--the idea should suggest itself on | | | | the "dove of peace"--are unthinkable without the |
| its own. In some cases, the idea-as-symbol takes on | | | | initial religious bird imagery. A vague concept must be |
| meaning beyond the original confines of the symbol. | | | | communicated to a lay audience. It must be |
| Take early Christian symbology, one of the biggest | | | | translated into a symbol. And suddenly the symbol |
| sources of common symbols in the European | | | | takes on new meaning--changed by its new language, |
| tradition. The success of the Catholic Church at | | | | the language of symbols. |
| establishing theological dominance depended on the | | | | Maybe it's a stretch to think that one day cultural |
| Church's ability to contain and marginalize heresy, | | | | historians will study our fire extinguisher signs as |
| especially heresy related to the doctrine of the Holy | | | | assiduously as they study alchemical manuscripts and |
| Trinity. But how do you communicate a subtle | | | | other rich veins of classical symbols. And maybe it's a |
| concept like "The Holy Spirit" to audiences who've | | | | stretch to think that the warning signage of today |
| never had an education beyond twelve hours a day | | | | will suggest infinite, subtle meanings to the historians |
| pushing a plow for their feudal lords? The answer: | | | | of tomorrow--that it may found new religions, new |
| express the holy spirit as a drawing of a bird, and put | | | | philosophies, new ways of looking at mankind. One |
| those drawings where people can see them: in | | | | thing isn't a stretch, though: we're living in the age of |
| common gathering places, repositories for knowledge. | | | | the symbol. And we have been for a very long time. |