Today’s holidays: Fast of Ṭeveth (Judaism), Fourth Sunday of Advent (Roman Catholicism), Saturnalia and Larentalia (Roman religion), Feast Day of St. John Belushi (Church of the SubGenius), HumanLight (Secular Humanism).
Greetings.
1) Today is the Fast of Ṭeveth, which commemorates the siege on Yerushalayim. More information can be found in “Asara B'Tevet” and “Fast of 10th of Tevet Marks Siege of Jerusalem”. Needless to say, because of the fast, I am not particularly active today and will not wax poetic on anything.
2) Friday was supposed to be the end of the World according to various New Agers and a Christian sect known as “Almighty God”. Also needless to say, these people were wrong. The articles on the “Mayan apocalypse” did not stop, so today you get a followup.
Today’s holidays: Day 38 of the ‘Omer (Judaism), Feast Day of Isidore (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Jagger (Church of the SubGenius), Nakba Day (anti-Semitism).
Greetings.
I have completed reading my collection of LaVeyan Satanism books. Now I have to get around to working a review…
In the meantime, I would like to note a few items.
1) “Same-sex unions and intermarriage: Against as a Jew, for as a citizen”: Elli Fischer correctly recognizes that there is a difference between what is morally or theologically correct and political rights. Governments are not good institutions for determining the truth, and so as a matter of practical policy we aim to keep them religion-neutral, just as we aim to keep the government from interfering with people’s business in general when they are not doing anything to hurt other people. This is the difference between not approving what one’s neighbor is doing that does not hurt other people and having the government stop him/her from doing it. Fischer also notes that religion and politics being too closely intertwined can lead to politicization of religion. For comparison, see Rav Shmuley Boteach’s “Obsession Over Social Sexual Issues Is Destroying America” and “Why American Religion Isn't Refining American Values”, which complain about the politicization of religion objections to homosexual marriages and abortion in the United States; Rav Boteach claims a corresponding lack of emphasis on other moral issues.
3) I know at times that I have noted religious humor, but the Turks have made an anti-Semitic claim which is probably unintentionally funny: “Turkey suspects bird of being Israeli spy”. I suppose it is possible (or will be possible) to cyborgize a bee-eater and use it as a spy drone, but no claims of having pulled any electronics out of the bird are mentioned, and it seems like an awful lot of trouble to go through, and a human spy is arguably more practical and useful. Also: if one is going to make a ridiculous claim, at least one should try to make it awesome. The Egyptians at least had the sense to make the claim that Israel was using sharks, which are 39 times cooler than bee-eaters.
Today’s holidays: Feast Day of Mary Magdalene (Roman Catholicism), Feast Day of St. Karl Marx/St. James Whale/ 1/Pi approximation (Church of the SubGenius), Feast of the Scarlet Woman (Thelema).
WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW. YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP TO TOPIC 2.
This book focuses on parodying the plays of William Shakespeare, particularly Macbeth and Hamlet, not theology. There are a number of more or less theological ideas dealt with, though.
Ghosts. Early in the book King Verence I of Lancre is murdered. After meeting with Death (apparently a favorite character of Pratchett), Verence remains in his castle as a ghost. It turns out the castle is filled with the ghosts of royalty—and the kitchen is filled with the spirits of animals eaten by them! Ghosts interact weakly with material objects and are not visible to anyone except cats, witches, and Death. Ghosts are also linked to the actual material of the place they died and cannot go far from it. The only way Verence and a number of other ghosts can leave the castle is to have a brick of it physically carried elsewhere.
Witches. Featured in this book is not only Esmerelda “Granny” Weatherwax, but two of her colleagues, Gytha “Nanny” Ogg and Magrat Garlick, as well. While Nanny Ogg works pretty much along the same lines as Granny Weatherwax (except never having been celebate and dominating a large family), Magrat is a parody of the contemporary “witches” of our world. E.g., she coerces Granny and Nanny into forming a coven with periodic sabats, she wears tacky silver jewelry, she likes dancing, she believes in “Nature’s wisdom and elves and the healing power of colors and the cycle of the seasons” and pretty much any flaky New Age idea the reader can think of. There is also the idea that witches are supposed to stay out of political matters; this is not a genuine traditional or New Age concept about witches, but rather an inversion of the behavior of the witches in Macbeth. Duke Felmet, who murders King Verence I and claims the throne, accuses the witches of interfering in politics, as they make convenient scapegoats.
Cleanliness = moral purity. Duke Felmet, like Lady Macbeth, feels guilty over his crime. In a rather extreme version of the equation, he does extensive damage to his hands trying to rid them of the (real or imagined) blood of his victim. (I know: ew! While much of the book is funny, in this item Pratchett goes into the realm of the cringe-worthy.)
Granny Weatherwax discovers that the Kingdom of Lancre has what might be described as an “overmind” consisting of the minds of all its inhabitants, including animal inhabitants. This may be a reflection of ideas that all are part of a greater whole. This overmind hates Duke Felmet and his wife and want them deposed.
Destiny. The witches believe that Tomjon, the son of Verence I, is destined to inherit the throne. While they do play a part in ensuring his survival and hastening his ascent to the throne, the assumption is that his ascent is inevitable. Tomjon is indeed recognized as the legitimate heir to the throne, but he does not want the job of king. The throne is then turned over to the Fool, who is his half-brother. This is consistent with the handling of fate/destiny previously in the series.
Belief = reality. The influence of belief on reality on the Discworld has already repeatedly been discussed. Wyrd Sisters takes it in a new direction by having Duke Felmet have the Fool commission a play depicting the “official” version of the death of Verence I with the intention of establishing that the Duke is legitimately ascending to the throne. While the actual performance of the play is accidentally hijacked by the witches, Death, ad Verence I to reveal what really happened, the question of whether the play could have actually changed reality in the Discworld had it been executed successfully is left undecided.
Next up in this series: Pyramids (The Discworld Series, book 7) by Terry Pratchett.
Topic 2: A backlog of materials on Islamic misbehavior, including associated anti-Semitism: “Special Analysis: The Obama-Netanyahu Summit” looks at biased reporting. In “Tom Friedman’s Soft Spot for Terrorist Fadlallah”, Rav Shmuely Boteach blasts New York Times columnist Tom Friedman for mourning the death of Hezbollah terrorist Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah as if he were a hero. (Some people do have very strange ideas that murderers can be heroes. I have no clue why.) Daniel Pipes in “Turkey in Cyprus vs. Israel in Gaza” notes Turkish hypocrisy over criticism of Israel’s treatment of Gaza, considering how Turkey has treated northern Cyprus since it invaded and occupied it in 1974. “No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches? Call it Pornistan” notes that Pakistan, an Islamic nation not famous for freedom, is the number-one country in many pornographic searches on Google; I suspected this story was a hoax until I went into Google Trends and checked the claims myself. “The Muslim Mosque: A State Within a State” argues that Islam itself qualifies as a state; his might be stretching the meaning of the term somewhat, but lots of citations in basic Islamic literature are brought forward to argue the claim, especially the point that it is a goal of Islam to take over the Earth. And there is plenty in the way of violence, but I have other things to do today that just blog.
Topic 1: Today begins the Nine Days, an intense part of the Three Weeks culminating in the Ninth of ’Av, which commemorates the destruction of both Temples and many other tragedies in Jewish history. The level of mourning is increased. No meat, no wine, no fresh clothes, no anointing for pleasure, and no bathing for pleasure. The last one, while probably not onerous in ancient times, when they did not have so much indoor plumbing and did not bathe as frequently, is a big pain in the neck for a modern human used to showering every single day. (It was clearly not an epidemiologist who came up with this idea, as an epidemiologist would have objected to any enactment that worked against good hygiene.) While bathing itself is not forbidden during the Nine Days except for 9 ’Av, one is expected to keep the temperature of the water as low as possible, which makes showering rather unpleasant, especially since it is difficult to step into cold water in the first place. (While a cold is not so bad if one is feeling overheated, the air conditioning has been working splendidly over here, so this is not the case.) I am tempted to ask the local rav if there is any way to trade decently warm showers for fasting two days straight, I will not bother because I know full well the answer will be “no”.
Now, some may be asking why I would ever consider putting myself through ritual mourning and eight days of cold showers. Is not religion supposed to be about fun activities? Or if not fun, at least about spiritual highs? And the answer to these questions is “no”. Because religion is ultimately about truth, not just theological truth, but the truth about what one is supposed to do. A lot of morality is anything but fun. Sure, one may enjoy even sharing and being selfless with friends. But admitting one has done something wrong and trying to correct one’s mistakes is anything but fun. Returning lost property is not fun. Not hitting some jerk who keeps annoying you is not fun. Self-control and moderation are not fun. Letting someone jab you in the arm with a needle as part of blood donation is not fun. And so on. And why should ritual be any different? The dark parts of life are to some degree inevitable? Why should they, too, not be addressed?
Topic 2: The latest in this series on Gospel-based films, The Miracle Maker (2000):
(Yes, they have it on Hulu.) Most of the originality in this movie goes into animation and presentation, with an emphasis on miracles and parables. Theologically, there is little new here. The usual suspects, depicted as mean-spirited, are after Jesus the Annoyingly Perfect, claiming to fear Pilate’s and Caesar’s wrath. Pilate is a little craftier and more evil than usual. Unless you want to see the animation, do not bother with this one.
Topic 3: More on Islamic stunts: The Dry Bones cartoon “the Name Game”, which notes correctly that it makes no sense to try to pretend that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, even though this contradicts what terrorists themselves claim. “The humanitarian show” notes that the “poor” people of Gaza are better off that a lot of the rest of the people on this planet, including having a higher life expectancy that part of Britain, while no aid is sent to far worse off people in Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran. “Abbas to Arabs: We'd Support a War Against Israel” shows that Mahmoud Abbas is no partner for peace. And finally, we have the video “WHAT ISLAM IS NOT”, based on the article “What Islam Isn't”, which describes how Islamization works:
Note: There will be no religious humor during the Nine Days because it is not really appropriate during mourning.
NOTE: There was no blogging yesterday due to the Fast of Tammuz, which begins the Three Weeks, a period of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples and other tragedies in Jewish history.
Let’s face it: comedians can say true things with impunity that many other people would hesitate say at all. The Dry Bones cartoon “Immigrants (1990)” correctly notes the different attitudes of Israel on Jewish immigrants and Islamic countries on “Palestinian” immigrants; the former I, as a future immigrant to Israel, am grateful for, while the latter is beneath contempt and a complete betrayal of the notion that all Muslims are supposed to brothers and sisters. “Bret Stephens on Shalom TV: Will Israel Survive?” presents a “liberal case” for Israel:
Mr. Stephens correctly notes that the values of Israeli society and government are in close agreement with liberal values, while the values are Islamic countries are contradictory to liberal values; it therefore makes no sense for liberals to back Islamic states. “Telegraph Caught Recycling Gaza War Photo to Distort Today's Reality” documents using an old photograph as if it were applicable to the current situation, a form of quoting out of context. Rav Shmuely Boteach presents “Response to Congressman Rothman Calling Pres. Obama the Best Friend Israeli Security has Ever Had” and “The World’s Oldest Hatred”, noting correctly that Obama is no friend of Israel (actually, to be fair, every US president since at least Jimmy Carter, has tried to get Israel to do stupid things in the name of “peace”) and that Israel-bashers tend to be insensitive to things wrong with other countries, such as Israel’s enemies.
Also: Someone please prod me to get back to writing about Jesus for a change and not to concentrate too much on the Arab-Israeli War. We are most likely going to be dealing with the Arab-Israeli War so long as our planet uses petroleum as fuel, and there is no way one man can comment on everything on this one topic. Not to mention that there is material in Sanhedhrin 43a that presents a radically un-Christian picture of one “Yeshu hanNoṣri”, and there is some particularly un-Jewish and anti-Semitic material in the Gospel According to John which really needs to be discussed.
Note: The big gap in postings is largely due to me attending an ‘Aliyyah Absorption Information Expo last week. This is also the reason I have not yet written a review of Mort (The Discworld Series, book 4) while having finished reading Sourcery (The Discworld Series, book 5). Expect the next Discworld review to be for at least two books at the same time. On this past trip, I have also acquired a copy of the first season of Serughim, an Israeli show which deals with a group of Dathi Le’umi (religous Zionist/Modern Orthodox) singles in Jerusalem. The point of getting this set of DVDs is to work on my understanding of spoken Hebrew (Israeli radio is too fast for someone unused to rapid Hebrew speech), but there is enough going on religiously in the episodes I have already watched that I expect to eventually be writing episode-by-episode reviews.
Also: Since I have a huge backlog, expect this post to be very short on commentary.
Topic 3: For today’s religious humor, which deals with a commonly voiced paranoia: “Consequences Of Gay Marriage”. I do not support gay marriage, but this graph gets it right as to what would happen if homosexual marriage were allowed.
Topic 1: “When Court Jews Defend Moral Cowards”. This article by Rav Shmuley Boteach has much less to do with court Jews than moral cowards who defend the indefensible. Particularly taking a beating is Pope Pius XII, who is infamous for his failure to do much of anything against the Nazis and all their moral atrocities during World War II. Religion is supposed to be about what is true, not what would be politically expedient to believe or what we want to believe. Do note that all glossing over the Armenian genocide and Pius XII’s indifference is actually doing is making people angry.
Topic 1: “Creation, Evolution, and Christian Laypeople”. This article deals with perceived conflicts between Christianity and science. Notable is the debunking of the notion that if humans are hardwired for religion, this would prove all religions are wrong; for all we know, a creator deity could have bred this into humanity deliberately. Much of this article deals with the question of how to interpret the early chapters of Genesis, Romans 5, and 1 Corinthians 15. The early parts of Genesis are hard enough for Jews to interpret. For Christians it is worse since the New Testament, which has the notion of Original Sin, seems to take the position that ’Adham and Ḥawwah (Adam and Eve) were historical figures. The attempt is interesting, even if one does not agree.
Topic 1: 
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9a707e44-557a-4926-8430-1bf0f8f4a102)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=af84be64-1f00-44de-b639-3aeaf892b863)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6159620b-ae59-49d0-beee-2fab5f2926c1)