theismapproximately the fourth century, Christianity stages passion (from the
Latin passio, suffering) plays that recount the final days of the life and
suffering of Jesus with narrative and music. Later developments include
the addition of poems, hymns, and chorales, which include singing by
the audience. Two Passion works by J. S. Bach are especially famous: the
St. John Passion (1721) and St. Matthew Passion (1729).
Shi’ite Muslims re-enact their own passion play that commemorates the
martyrdom of al-Husain at Karbalā called the ta’ziya. According to Shi’ite
tradition, the prophet Muhammad gave al-Husain the key to heaven and
appointed him an intercessor to serve as a rescuer of sinners. The public
re-enactment of the suffering of al-Husian is commemorated by male believ-
ers marching through the street and flagellating themselves with metal-
tipped whips upon their backs or cutting their foreheads to elicit blood in
order to share in the suffering of their martyr and his redemptive promise.
In India, popular devotion offered to Krishna and Rāma is often expressed
by theatrical performances (rāsa līlā) given by itinerant troupes of young
boys who play male and female parts. These richly colored, costumed,
youthful actors imitate the divine beings by staging a drama that is also a
liturgy; this is enhanced by the waving of camphor lamps at the beginning
and end of a performance. A performance commences with a dance fol-
lowed by a one-act play based on the deeds of Krishna or Rāma. The play
is intended to encourage an audience to participate in whatever mood is
depicted in the drama by enabling a viewer to feel indirectly the emotions
of another person. These public plays evoke emotions with visual, oral, and
aural experiences. The Rāma plays contain political messages because they
depict a wisely governed kingdom characterized by justice, order, and
prosperity, an ideal ruler, and a vision of a utopian kingdom.
Further reading: Hawley (1981); Hein (1972); Kinsley (1974)THEISM
A concept derived from the Greek term theos (God). In the Judeo-
Christian-Islamic tradition, it refers to a transcendent and personal deity
who creates the world from nothing, sustains it, and governs it. This type
of God is defined as omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, immutable, a neces-
sary being, and all good. The theistic deity reveals something about itself
and its message about the proper human–divine relationship. Theism
should not be confused with Deism, a defense of the rationality of religion
in light of Newton’s scientific theories. Deism denies that God personally