Gold Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Religion==== [[File:Filippine, provincia di agusan, immagine hindu, statuetta in oro massiccio, xiii secolo.jpg|thumb|The [[Agusan image]], depicting a deity from northeast [[Mindanao]]]] The first known prehistoric human usages of gold were [[Prehistoric religion|religious]] in nature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lioudis |first=Nick |date=30 April 2023 |title=What Is the Gold Standard? Advantages, Alternatives, and History |url=https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/09/gold-standard.asp |access-date=21 September 2023 |website=[[Investopedia]] |language=en}}</ref> In some forms of Christianity and Judaism, gold has been associated both with the sacred and evil. In the [[Book of Exodus]], the [[Golden Calf]] is a symbol of [[idolatry]], while in the [[Book of Genesis]], [[Abraham]] was said to be rich in gold and silver, and Moses was instructed to cover the [[Mercy Seat]] of [[Ark of the Covenant|the Ark of the Covenant]] with pure gold. In [[Eastern Christianity|Byzantine]] [[icon]]ography the [[Halo (religious iconography)|halos]] of Christ, [[Virgin Mary]] and the saints are often golden.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Alborn | first1 = Timothy | year = 2017 | title = The Greatest Metaphor Ever Mixed: Gold in the British Bible, 1750β1850 | url = https://academicworks.cuny.edu/le_pubs/184| journal = Journal of the History of Ideas | volume = 78 | issue = 3| pages = 427β447 | doi = 10.1353/jhi.2017.0024 | pmid = 28757488 | s2cid = 27312741 }}</ref> In [[Islam]],<ref name="moors-etnofoor">{{cite journal |last1=Moors |first1=Annelies |title=Wearing gold, owning gold: the multiple meanings of gold jewelry |journal=Etnofoor |date=2013 |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=78β89 |oclc=858949147|issn=0921-5158}}</ref> gold (along with [[silk]])<ref name="boulanouar-otago">{{cite thesis |last1=Boulanouar |first1=Aisha Wood |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10523/1748|title=Myths and Reality: Meaning in Moroccan Muslim Women's Dress |date=2011 |publisher=University of Otago |hdl=10523/1748 |type=Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy|citeseerx=10.1.1.832.2031 }}</ref><ref name="poonai-islamic-clothing">{{cite web |last1=Poonai |first1=Anand |title=Islamic Male Clothing |url=https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/whatwewear/men/ |website=Who We Are & What We Wear |access-date=17 June 2020 |date=2015}}</ref> is often cited as being forbidden for men to wear.<ref name="aziz-hijab">{{cite journal |last1=Aziz |first1=Rookhsana |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10500/4888 |title=Hijab β The Islamic Dress Code: Its historical development, evidence from sacred sources and views of selected Muslim scholars |date=November 2010 |publisher=University of South Africa|journal=UNISA EDT (Electronic Theses and Dissertations)|hdl=10500/4888 |type=Thesis, Master of Arts|citeseerx=10.1.1.873.8651 }}</ref> [[Abu Bakr al-Jazaeri]], quoting a [[hadith]], said that "[t]he wearing of silk and gold are forbidden on the males of my nation, and they are lawful to their women".<ref name="byu-studies-toronto-umma">{{cite journal |last1=Toronto |first1=James A. |title=Many Voices, One ''Umma'': Sociopolitical Debate in the Muslim Community |journal=BYU Studies Quarterly |date=1 October 2001 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=29β50 |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss4/4}}</ref> This, however, has not been enforced consistently throughout history, e.g. in the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="jirousek-clothing">{{cite web |last1=Jirousek |first1=Charlotte |title=Islamic Clothing |url=http://char.txa.cornell.edu/islamicclothes.htm |publisher=Encyclopedia of Islam |access-date=17 June 2020 |date=2004}}</ref> Further, small gold accents on clothing, such as in [[embroidery]], may be permitted.<ref name="omar-dress">{{cite journal |last1=Omar |first1=Sara |title=Dress |journal=The Encyclopedia of Islam and Law, Oxford Islamic Studies Online |date=28 March 2014 |url=https://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0040 }} {{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], [[Theia]] was seen as the goddess of gold, silver and other [[Gemstone|gemstones]].<ref>{{cite book | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=c7cNB-JaZA8C&pg=PT153 153] | last1 = Daly | last2 = Rengel | title = Greek and Roman Mythology, A to Z | first1 = Kathleen N. | first2 = Marian | publisher = Chelsea House Publishers | date = 1992 | isbn = 978-1-60413-412-4}}</ref> According to [[Christopher Columbus]], those who had something of gold were in possession of something of great value on Earth and a substance to even help souls to paradise.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Peter L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dIYmHiYhDu8C |title=The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession |date=2004 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-43659-1 |page=1}}</ref> [[Wedding ring]]s are typically made of gold. It is long lasting and unaffected by the passage of time and may aid in the ring symbolism of eternal vows before God and the perfection the marriage signifies. In [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] wedding ceremonies, the wedded couple is adorned with a golden crown (though some opt for wreaths, instead) during the ceremony, an amalgamation of symbolic rites.{{Explain|reason=Is it a single crown and where does the amalgamation come from?|date=September 2023}} On 24 August 2020, [[Israel]]i archaeologists discovered a trove of early [[Islam]]ic gold coins near the central city of [[Yavne]]. Analysis of the extremely rare collection of 425 gold coins indicated that they were from the late 9th century. Dating to around 1,100 years back, the gold coins were from the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/5a35414a3fdcdf42c68a274b69595750|title=Israeli dig unearths large trove of early Islamic gold coins|access-date=24 August 2020|website=Associated Press|date=24 August 2020 }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page