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Offerings: The Metaphysics of Giving

Offerings: The Metaphysics of Giving

Ana-Maria Pascal
Copyright: © 2017 |Pages: 36
ISBN13: 9781522519553|ISBN10: 1522519556|EISBN13: 9781522519560
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.ch005
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MLA

Pascal, Ana-Maria. "Offerings: The Metaphysics of Giving." Multiculturalism and the Convergence of Faith and Practical Wisdom in Modern Society, edited by Ana-Maria Pascal, IGI Global, 2017, pp. 99-134. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.ch005

APA

Pascal, A. (2017). Offerings: The Metaphysics of Giving. In A. Pascal (Ed.), Multiculturalism and the Convergence of Faith and Practical Wisdom in Modern Society (pp. 99-134). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.ch005

Chicago

Pascal, Ana-Maria. "Offerings: The Metaphysics of Giving." In Multiculturalism and the Convergence of Faith and Practical Wisdom in Modern Society, edited by Ana-Maria Pascal, 99-134. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1955-3.ch005

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Abstract

The chapter will discuss the key role that offerings play in everyday life in Asian and Byzantine traditions, and the ontological and eschatological beliefs behind it. Other examples of metaphysical gifts are discussed, like the Biblical notion of sacrifice, which is present both in the Old and the New Testament, that is in the Avraam-Isaac episode and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, respectively. Some relevant pagan rituals will also be mentioned, before reflecting on what all these have in common. Since they are observed through a personal journey, and reflected upon through philosophical analysis, findings do not claim to have the ‘objectivity' of an anthropological study. Instead, they might lead to a kind of practical understanding similar to that, which narratives or images provide. Indeed, Andrey Tarkovsky's last film, Sacrifice, will serve as an illustration of the existential and, at times, eschatological meaning of the range of acts of giving that we discuss – from spiritual gifts, to offerings, and ultimately to sacrifice.

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