From soc.men Fri Apr 2 11:09:40 1993 Xref: utcsri talk.politics.misc:166899 alt.sex:100806 soc.men:64396 misc.legal:56512 Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc,alt.sex,soc.men,misc.legal Path: utcsri!utnut!cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!linac!att!cbnewsk!noraa From: noraa@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (aaron.l.hoffmeyer) Subject: Why not chase windmills? (Was Re: Why not concentrate on child molesters?) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1993 06:07:45 GMT Message-ID: References: <1993Mar28.165837.16710@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu> Lines: 99 In article sys1@exnet.co.uk (Xavier Gallagher) writes: >4. St Paul was a Jew, he brought to Christianity many of the Jewish > beliefs. If you check out what he says you will find that it is > 1% Jesus, 70% Judaism, 29% original (prejudiced) Bullshit. Ah, yes.... the Epistles, like I Corinthians ... where Paul states his convictions that Christ will come again very soon (this was about A.D. 50)(OK, so he waited 1943 years and he came back in Waco, Texas, Paul was close, right?), and therefore, people should remain unmarried so that they may devote more attention to religious endeavors.... He seemed to have quite an affinity for the Big Sleep too -- personal immortality and all ... "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" One of the more interesting things I've read in the last year was a short summary of all the books of the Bible from an objective, academic perspective. What are the books of the Bible about? Many people could probably give a general description of Psalms, Proverbs, Genesis, Job, Exodus, Jonah, Revelations. Fanatics could possibly accurately describe the general contents of Deuteronomy, Judges, Kings, Ruth 'Intreat me not to Leave Thee', The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Many Jews could tell you about what a Mati Hariesque heroine (aka "babe") Judith was for slicing Holofernes' (the evil Assyrian's)(it sounds so, oh, so Big Time Wrestlingesque) throat -- to the bone and beyond. But who among you could summarize Amos, Esdras, Maccabees, Hosea, Nehemiah or Habakkuk? For example... Joshua: A historical book dealing with Joshua's (John Derek's) assuming leadership of the Hebrews after the death of Moses. It tells of the entry into Canaan and of battles (many, many battles) against hostile tribes (yeah, right, hostile ... these folks were just sitting there minding their own business when the next thing they know, the twelve tribes of Israel (Hebrews) are breathing down their village, looking to overrun them ... yeah, right, hostile ... one particular incident stands out ... an attack was ordered on a village because several messengers were publicly humiliated when they entered a village. They had their faces shaved and their hair cut. "Joshua, they made fun of us." "Israelites! Listen to me now and believe me later! We must avenge our brethren..." Joshua and his army of Hebrews killed hundreds of villagers in retaliation. All those who saw the light of the one true God were spared (all those who kissed their behinds).) It is a deliberate attempt to create a national military hero. Its most famous passages describe the fall of the walls of Jericho and the standing still of the sun and the moon. and ... The Revelation of St. John the Divine (dba Revelations) (c. A.D. 90): This book was almost certainly written by some unidentified Ephesian mystic instead of by the Apostle John, to whom it has been ascribed. It is addressed, in epistolary form, to the seven Churches in Asia. Though nominally a revelation of Jesus Christ, the book is more Hebraic than Christian in tone and represents a continuation of the Jewish longing for freedom from oppression -- the same longing found in many of the Old Testament prophets and in the book of Daniel. It was written soon after widespread persecution of the Christians began under the Roman emperor Domitian. This apocalypse foretells the fall of Rome (the Whore of Babylon), the Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection of the saints, the chaining of Satan, the Millenium, the final battle (of Armageddon) between the powers of Good and Evil -- with the triumph of the former, the Judgement Day, and the establishment of New Jerusalem. Ethically inferior to the other books of the New Testament, the Revelation is, nevertheless, a literary masterpiece. Its mystical symbolism (though often obscure), its graphic accounts of the battle between Good and Evil, and its terrifying picture of the end of the world place it high in the realm of descriptive writing. Trivia questions: What is the Apocrypha? What happened to the Apocrypha around 1890? Aaron L. Hoffmeyer (metaphysician, beer drinker "Nut Brown Ale") TR@CBNEA.ATT.COM Bonus question: St. Augustine, born Aurelius Augustinus, later Bishop of Hippo, theologian and philosopher, was born in A.D. 354 in the city of Tagaste in what country? Essay Question: Was Catullus a thoroughly modern poet? Explain why or why not. "A" for the Class Question: What was Plato's affectionate nickname for Sappho of Lesbos? Next Lecture: The North Germanic Eddas. Ah, the Lays. Next week: Euripedes and Those Phoenician Women. "Get Your Filthy Hands Off My DESERT!!!" "What'd he say?" - R. Waters Today on Oprah: David Koresh ... Child Sex Abuser or God? Join us as we talk to two of his ex-wives. Today on Oprah: Richard Pryor ... MS or AIDS? Join us as we talk to two of his ex-wives.