Semitic Religions
Fire is an element of theophany in the Hebrew Bible's burning bush, pillar of fire, and the Eternal flame of the Menorah.
The highest form of sacrifice is the Korban Olah, performed twice-daily, which is an animal sacrifice completely consumed by fire.
In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is manifested as "tongues of flame".
The Qarmatians, a branch of Ismailism (in turn a branch of Shia Islam) claimed to have found the Mahdi in the 10th century and appointed him caliph, but later deposed him because of an ensuing power struggle. Among his so-called heretical beliefs were fire worship and book burning of religious texts.
Read more about this topic: Fire Worship
Famous quotes containing the word religions:
“The ancients adorned their sarcophagi with the emblems of life and procreation, and even with obscene symbols; in the religions of antiquity the sacred and the obscene often lay very close together. These men knew how to pay homage to death. For death is worthy of homage as the cradle of life, as the womb of palingenesis.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)