Special Olympics Summer Games 2007

The picture shows the mascot of Special Olympics Summer Games 2007 which is announced today. The character is based on a popular Shanghai cartoon figure, "Sanmao," which means "three locks of hair" in Chinese, created by late painter Zhang Leping (1910-92) 71 years ago. The Special Olympics will be held in Shanghai between October 2 and October 11 this year.


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What do they use?

• Incense stick or joss stick
• Candle
• Candle holder
• Censer or incense burner
• Tea or water
• Flower
• Fruits

Who do they pray and worship for?

• Heaven worship
is a Chinese religious belief that predates Taoism and Confucianism, but was later eventually incorporated into both Taoism and Confucianism.
Ancient Chinese believed in a non-corporeal entity called Shangdi, an omnipotent, just, monotheistic and incorporeal being. Over time Shangdi became synonymous with Tian, or Heaven. Worship of Heaven is highly ritualistic, and the emperor has to hold official sacrifices and worship at an altar of heaven, the most famous of which is the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. There are no idols allowed in Heaven worship.
Heaven worship is closely linked with ancestor veneration, as ancestors are seen as the medium between Heaven and humans. Rulers of China, also known as Sons of Heaven, derived their Mandate of Heaven, and thus legitimacy, from their supposed ability to commune with Heaven on behalf of his nation. (Wikipedia, 2007)




• Ancestor worshiping
(or ancestral worship) is a religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. All cultures attach ritual significance to the passing of loved ones, but this is not equivalent to ancestor worship. The goal of ancestor worship is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living and sometimes to ask for special favors or assistance. The social or nonreligious function of ancestor worship is to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage. While far from universal, ancestor worship or ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times. (Wikipedia, 2007)

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Approaches to prayer

• Direct petitions to God
From Biblical times to today, the most common form of prayer is to directly appeal to God to grant one's requests. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the social approach to prayer. In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled. God listens to the prayer, and may or may not choose to answer in the way one asks of Him. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud. (Wikipedia, 2007)

• The educational approach
In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence.

• The rationalist approach
In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by the Jewish scholar and philosopher Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today, a significant minority of people still hold to this approach. (Wikipedia, 2007)

• The experiential approach
In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of the recipient of the prayer (or as close to direct as a specific theology permits). This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual. It also has some similarities with the Kabbalistic view, but it lacks the Kabbalistic emphasis on the importance of individual words and letters. (Wikipedia, 2007)

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