Ean McEwan has a long article about apocalyptic belief, the belief that the end of the world is near. The second half, by the way, is better than the first. It's not world-class thinking, but it is interesting, you'll learn bits of history you didn't previously know, and it seems to me a reasonable pean to rational skeptical thinking.
Jerusalem makes its appearance, inevitably, and the Jews appear repeatedly. McEwan doesn't ask himself why the Jews are so central to many of agents of ending the world, but then, that's not really a politically correct question, is it.
FROM CAROL HERMAN
ReplyDeleteYes, at the time Jesus was born, there was a belief that the world was "counting down" it's days. And, the end was near.
Was Jesus well known in his time? I think not. I think most Jews hadn't heard about him at all! But, yes, among themselves, they were discussing apocalyptic visions.
Yes, the story of the "man who climbed, and then flew," wasn't bought by the Jews ... Many of whom had left the state's borders for what we'd call, today, parts unknown.
As a matter of fact DIASPORA has been great for the Jews! Starting way back. When Babylon conquered Israel. When was that? In the 700's BCE? Then, you'll notice the numbers going "south" to 1.
And, encompassed in all that past history. Well, in Babylon and Macedonia, people spoke GREEK. Ancient GREEK. The Jews who settled there? Well, they forgot Hebrew. And, they, too, spoke GREEK.
Alexander a few hundred years later, conquers EYGPT. (Yes, Rome destroys Carthage. Because they were savage pigs.) But Alexandria remained alive. AND, FULL OF JEWS! Got it? Jews settled in Eygpt and thrived.
Interestingly enough, about 70 years into their first exile in Babylon, a new king came to the throne. And, he invited 72-rabbis from Jerusalem, to come. For the purpose of translating the Hebrew Bible into GREEK.
This book is called the SEPTUAGENT. So, there ya go. In the ancient GREEK language, "septuagent" is the GREEK word for "72." It's not unusual for the truth to be hidden right out in the open. Because no one's changed the name of that ancient translated text. Which was used by Jews ... who were now GREEK SPEAKERS ... as Judaism "reformed."
In other words, the destruction of the First Temple pressured Jews into new ways so they could accommodate continuing their religion. Even though they didn't have the Temple, anymore. So all those instructions to animal sacrifices went out the proverbial window. (On average? 200 animals a day were slaughtered on these alters. Must have smelled bad, too.)
Oh. Yes. There was a priestly sect. Because you know about Cohens, and Levy's. Instead? Well, without the Temple, they no longer had their political "control." The jobs were no longer ones where you needed to be born into. Because linage stopped counting.
The "new" Jews depended, instead, on education. Learning. And, that's been a mainstay for longer than 2000.
I mention that Jesus, alive at the time of Roman SAVAGERY ... has no great sentence (he'd have heard at his dad's knee) ... repeated: Except: "Give onto Caesar that which is Caesar's." In other words? Pay the ransom.
That's it?
You think God would give the germans such a pass? Or do you think hitler will remain a millstone around the necks of a once intellectually proud people? Hey. I'm just asking. Everybody's entitled to an opinion. And, in my opinion I think the germans lose. Just like the Roman's lost.
You want "apocalyptic?" The Romans' lost. For them, there was an "end to their time" in the top chair. And, their language also became a "dead one." Unless, you just love spouting sentences in Latin. (To each his own.)
Right now, the political scene in Israel is in turmoil. The crap that Ben Gurion put into place; where Marx became Kibbutzim. Isn't really a powerful political system. And, no one, today, sees it on the same par as CAPITALISM. Which is the American mainstay. (Yes. Surviving because it incorporates "change.")
Need a lesson? Survivability is the essence of change.
What are Israelis gonna do?
The arabs are weak. And, the Saud's grew obscenely rich on oil. But they're not doing constructive things!
At what point would the system contain breakdowns? Just asking.