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Living with the Gods

Religion & Ethics

How shared beliefs have shaped societies from the earliest days of humanity

How shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity with Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum.

How shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity with Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum. 

Image: Gold coin, Credit: The Trustees of the British Museum

Living with the Gods: Rejecting the Image

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Rejecting the Image

17/03/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - Living with the Gods, Rejecting the Image

Focussing on the word: a yad is used to follow the text during readings from the Torah

Focussing on the word: a yad is used to follow the text during readings from the Torah, to avoid any damage to the delicate parchment.

A striking cobalt blue mosque lamp, from around 1570, shows an Islamic way of doing honour to the word - calligraphy. In Jewish religious ceremonies a yad - a small silver rod with a little hand and a pointing index finger - is used to follow the text during readings from the Torah, to avoid any damage to the delicate parchment. Neil MacGregor reflects on faiths which focus on the word rather than the image as an expression of beliefs.

Image: A yad, Credit: British Museum

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