SYMBOLIC PARADIGM OF ARCHETYPE DARKNESS IN THE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

Abstract

The author analized denotative and significative particularity of archetype darkness and adjacent symbols as its verbalizators. The biblical symbols mark the higher spiritual reality, encode and transmit God`s ideas. These symbols are not abstract ideas or even allegories, they relay the reflected spiritual reality. The symbolism of the Bible is necessary as an abstract, own logical system can not reflect the reality. Comprehensive study of biblical symbolic system is promising because this analysis makes it possible to fill the gaps of linguistic worldview, to find out the mechanism of their influence on mentality of Ukrainians as bearers of Christian culture. The determining components of search and knowledge of sacrum at different levels are biblical marked concepts realized in certain images, symbols, archetypes. These symbols as hierarchical system reveal horizontal connections – the ability to create opposition: top / bottom, light / dark, life / death, positive / negative, etc. These lexical binarms are indicators of absolutized logic of some thinking, they model the logical system of related signs and cause the association with the universal opposition of harmony and chaos. Primarily the archetypal and symbolic opposition light / dark correlates with such categorical concepts as God (a bearer of moral excellence, the embodiment of ideas of happiness) – Satan (the embodiment of the world system of unclean and sinful, spiritually dead things), good – evil, faith – unbelief, righteousness – sin, spiritual purity – immorality, life (salvation through resurrection) – death. In particular the complicated symbolism and special allegory are inherent in the biblical archetype darkness that make it possible to interpret and decode of clearly defined polarization of the world forces of good and evil and their confrontation. In the biblical discourse the spiritual darkness – a confrontation with God good – is a moral imperfection that leads to pride, cruelty, deceit, economic crises, wars, suffering, etc., which are synonymous correlates to concept of evil and markers of category sin. In the Book of Books the darkness is interpreted as a substance-subject, as a real force that confront in life and death war with the Light and the Truth. Christianity calls to conquer darkness with light.