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History Forum / General / General Topics / September 2004Myth, religion, revenge, pride, etc.
The Judaic religion is a religion, having grown out of the myths of a nomadic people, which we have now in two parts. The Egyptians enslaved the nomads, and the nomads learned from that that they needed the security of not being homeless. The myths are of freedom and home, which are often incongruous and have now displayed their incongruity in several millennia of war. The Islamic religion is a reaction against the Judaic reaction, and so is less a religion and less mythological than the Judaic religion. However, both of those religions, along with most of the other religions of Earth, support themselves by a profession older than the profession that the Bible says brought down the walls of Jericho, the profession of prostitution. The older profession is revenge, from the Mahabharata to the Iliad to now. Jews complicate that mythology by trying to avenge themselve against people who had nothing to do with enslaving them, against the Philistines now called Palestinians. And that makes exactly as much sense as calling Helen of Troy a prostitute. But, the bottom line is that we humans get all that stuff mixed up. In our claim to being more reasonable than dumb animals, we kill more than any other species, not for lunch but for revenge. Well, a myth, propagated by the child-molesting Roman Catholic Church, is that pride is the deadliest sin. So, while you're blaming it on the Jews or the Arabs, consider why citizens of the land of the free buy Saabs so they can make their neighbors owning Volvos feel cheap. People living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, except maybe to break through glass ceilings. www.star.net/silence > Jews complicate that mythology by trying to avenge themselve against people > who had nothing to do with enslaving them, against the Philistines now > called Palestinians. That's a gripping story. Pure fiction, but gripping, nonetheless. The truth is, as I'm sure you know, that the Israelis are merely trying to protect themselves. If the Palestinians stopped murdering Israelis (as disappointing as that would be to you), the Israelis would stop retaliating and everyone could live in peace. > The truth is, as I'm sure you know, that the Israelis are merely trying > to protect themselves. If the Palestinians stopped murdering Israelis > (as disappointing as that would be to you), the Israelis would stop > retaliating and everyone could live in peace. Menachem Begin, the King David Hotel. The Battle of Jericho, Rachel Corrie. It's revenge on all sides. And it must stop! > The Judaic religion is a religion, having grown out of the myths of a > nomadic people, which we have now in two parts. The Egyptians enslaved the > nomads, and the nomads learned from that that they needed the security of > not being homeless. The myths are of freedom and home, which are often > incongruous and have now displayed their incongruity in several millennia of > war. That is quite arguable. Even the Biblical accounts paint the "enslavement" ( which might be figurative; Egyptian slavery has been attacked some in recent years) as payment in hubris for the Nation of Israel's behavior. This "slavery" may have been metaphorical, in the manner we refer to people as "wage slaves". At any rate, some artifact record seems to decrease the Egyptian emphasis on slavery, at least as I've heard it. Most were hired, not enslaved. this is not inconsistent with the tone of the Old Testament, alhtough it makes the DeMille movies a bit off :) > The Islamic religion is a reaction against the Judaic reaction, Um, no. Not even close. If there was an Islamic reaction it was to the general religious climate, not Judaism in specific. True, there ate comments on Judaism, but they are ambiguous at best. But the Koran itseld changes tone throughout. As I understand it, the Jewish community was at first embraced, then split from the early dfirect followers of Mohammed. But Islam itself seems ot have evolved at these points. Anthropolgically, Islam and Judaism are so close as to be indistinguishable. Historically, not so much. But none clash like siblings... But the clash in the mideast is still that Israel is *Western*, not Mideastern by it's design and nature. The point of intransigence is the inability of those who follow Sharia to accept that other mechanisms can be tolerated. Since Islamic people have been Tolerationist in the past, this inidicatexs that this intransigence is at least variable... > and so is > less a religion and less mythological than the Judaic religion. No, it's simply more messianic. It has one central trans-human figure. All the "people of the book" are given special status above that of raw, unkulturny "infidels" . > However, > both of those religions, along with most of the other religions of Earth, > support themselves by a profession older than the profession that the Bible > says brought down the walls of Jericho, the profession of prostitution. Well, if you scratch a nun, a Roman "vestal virgin" shines through. Especially in primogeniture intensive cultures, political stability depended on marital fidelity, and unnatached women were ... *ahem* ... a liability :) And don't forget - in argicultural societies which are largely animist, there are often conjugal rites which simulate and are beleived to stimulate harvest fecundity. It wasn't until the post Western emperors that Rome, and the Church, decided to be agents of chastity in the sense we now use the word. And really, in the evening of the decline of the Church as a political force. > The older profession is revenge, from the Mahabharata to the Iliad to now. Much more an avocation than vocation. > Jews complicate that mythology by trying to avenge themselve against people > who had nothing to do with enslaving them, against the Philistines now > called Palestinians. That is a largish stretch. Philistine is as much a term like "goy" as anything else - it just means "foreigner". > And that makes exactly as much sense as calling Helen > of Troy a prostitute. And so what if she was? She's a smuch a device fo narrative as a real figure... > But, the bottom line is that we humans get all that stuff mixed up. In our > claim to being more reasonable than dumb animals, we kill more than any > other species, not for lunch but for revenge. We just farm the lunch-killing out to specialists. One thing that's starting to become apparent to me - humans are not predator-specialists - we are scavenger-generalists, who happeed to fork a different way from real predators. The violence is a pathology, an artifact of circumstance, and not a central fact of out nature. The wholesale violence of the 20th century has been as much an artifact of technology as of humanity. > Well, a myth, propagated by > the child-molesting Roman Catholic Church, is that pride is the deadliest > sin. That's just the old Latin/Greek hubris again. > So, while you're blaming it on the Jews or the Arabs, consider why citizens > of the land of the free buy Saabs so they can make their neighbors owning > Volvos feel cheap. Who cares? Volvos ain't exactly Trabants... > People living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, > except maybe to break through glass ceilings. Stubborn limitations are either invitations to turn another way, or to persist. > www.star.net/silence -- Les Cargill > > The Judaic religion is a religion, having grown out of the myths of a > > nomadic people, which we have now in two parts. The Egyptians enslaved the [quoted text clipped - 125 lines] > -- > Les Cargill Les, this millennia old horror is not a joke! It is, however, an intellectual exercise, and that's the human tragedy of it all. What are you after in your life? www.star.net/silence |
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