The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine
So I got this book from the library because I thought it would be
interesting to read about Jesus as his teachings may have come across to
a first-century Jew hearing his parables and teachings, messages of
repentance and even prayers. And I guess the book is about that. I mean
the first chapter has sections on his parables and prayers (I enjoyed
the section on the Lord's Prayer), but much of the book is more or less
putting Judaism back into Jesus since the author is a Jew and
understandably doesn't like Christians throughout the centuries and even
today to say that Judaism is a legalistic burden, misogynistic and
overly concerned with purity rules.
I know Jews have been mistreated over the years and I tried to read
this book understanding her mindset on that, however, the group of
Christians I grew up in is so pro-Jew that the current State of Israel
can do the most atrocious things and they chalk it up to "Islam's thugs"
doing something to the poor Jews so that the Jews have no choice but to
defend themselves. So, I read the author's words putting Judaism back
into Jesus (so no one could argue he was anti-Judaism, anti-Law)
thinking, "Oh, I didn't realize some Christians wrote/said/taught these
things." Well, I guess I did know it on some level. Again, it just
wasn't at all what I was taught or even today what most of my family and
friends believe about Jews. I suppose the main thing many of them would
be guilty of is desiring the Jews to follow Jesus because they believe
Jesus is the Way to the Father, the Messiah whom they seek.
But then Ms. Levine said not all Jews were even looking for a
Messiah. She explained that just as there were Sadducees who believed
only in the Torah and no resurrection of the dead and Pharisees who
tended to add fences around the Law and believed in resurrection, there
was Shammai's school and Hillel's - not all Jews believed the same.
Makes sense. I know Christians and Muslims who hardly believe the same
as other Christians and Muslims so why not Jews? There's always a range
of thought in groups with some believing more literally and some more
metaphorically and so forth.
I shared this story on Facebook because I liked how Rebbe Moshe Leib of Sassov (1745-1807) taught his disciples how to truly love their neighbors.
"Tell me, friend Ivan, do you love me?"
"I love you deeply."
"Do you know, my friend, what gives me pain?"
"How can I, pray, know what gives you pain?"
"If you do not know what gives me pain, how can you say that you truly love me?"
Lesson: "Understand, then,...to love, truly to love, means to know what brings pain to your comrade."
(pg. 116)
Ms.
Levine encouraged Jews and Christians to read the texts together and
through each other's ears because Christians may not realize how "the
Jews" doing such and such in John's or Peter's or Paul's words comes
across to a Jewish person. She also pointed out to Jews that most
Christians probably do not read anti-Jewish thought into the New
Testament texts. I believe Rebbe Leib's illustration goes along with
that. If I know that certain texts bring pain to someone because to them
it seem accusatory, I can truly love my Jewish neighbors better.
Besides manna, I don't recall food ever coming down from heaven
to feed people. Unless you count quail which God used to feed people on
occasion. While discussing the "Lord's Prayer" Ms. Levine mentioned the
phrase about giving us our daily bread and recalls a Jewish prayer said
before eating, "'Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe,
who brings forth bread from the earth." Bread, she notes, does
not come forth from the earth. Grain does and then you use the grain to
make bread. It's God giving grain from the earth and humans making and
baking bread. She says these prayers are each "a concrete petition that
God will motivate our hearts to do the right thing. Both insist that
humanity and divinity work together." (pg. 49)
Other notable things according to the author:
1. Jewish teaching for some is such that Gentiles do not need to become
Jews in order to "have a share in the world to come" as "righteous
people of all nations" would be included. (pg. 69) Therefore Jews don't
often see any need to convert people to their faith. (There have been
times of exception or perhaps this thought is the exception.)
2. One Jewish philosopher's thoughts on why men needed to be
circumcised and not women: "Circumcision is required to check male pride
as well as male sexual impulses; women, ... have no such problems." -
Philo of Alexandria (pg. 71) The author's point of bringing this up is
because some have claimed women were perhaps not full members of the
Jewish community since God made an outward covenant - circumcision -
with only the men. She argued that their community considered women full
members without their having to be circumcised. And the bigger reason
for this being mentioned is that some have argued that baptism is more egalitarian since both men and women are included in this covenantal sign.
3. "Multiculturalism, then or now, cannot function if there is a
homogeneous default that causes one group to give up what is of enormous
value to them, especially if what is to be forsaken is divinely
mandated Torah." (pg. 76) -- I just read that and found it both
understandable and a bit disconcerting. It's fine if you are talking
about Jews wanting to eat kosher or observe purity laws. Absolutely no
problem. But it gets more questionable when you have a group whose
divinely mandated scriptures imposes its will on the full population*,
who tells its followers (according to how the majority interpret it)
that they are the rulers and the unbelievers are to be protected, yet
second-class citizens. I guess I was reading too much of what I fear
happening after these revolutions in the Arab world into this
statement. I've been all for the uprisings against these brutal
dictators and I want the people to enjoy freedom, but I do hope they can
avoid bringing Taliban types to power who will rule with iron fists
anyone who does not subscribe to their interpretation of religion.
Sadly, power is often corrupting unless we remember to keep it in check
and stay humble.
* I suppose we do this also when we make laws limiting rights to certain groups because it's against the teaching of our faith. I'm specifically thinking of homosexual groups.
Your thoughts on any of this?
Friday, September 16, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Thoughts on Pagans, Christians, Constantine, Julian, Polytheism and Monotheism
For some reason I just can't get into the writing mood enough to make sense of this post. OK, maybe I got the writing part down, but the editing suffers.
Yet I wanted to record a few things from God Against The Gods by Jonathan Kirsch that I found interesting. Overall I really enjoyed the book. The chapters on Constantine and Julian were good. I know I've read some about them in the past, but it's been awhile so reading their stories - from this author's perspective and from my grown-up one (ha) - was good for me. Kirsch asked if Constantine were really a Christian noting how he was labeled "the Great" in Catholic tradition and "St. Constantine" for the Orthodox. Perhaps Kirsch recognized Constantine didn't seem all that devoted to the faith he claimed to fight for. He wasn't even baptized until he was close to dying. Maybe he wanted to commit all the sins he could in life before taking this crucial step because during his life as a so-called "Christian emperor," I surely wouldn't say by his fruits that I knew he was a follower of Jesus. He had his own son killed for goodness sake! I even went back and read where the Bible teaches
10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (I John 3)
So does this mean if you kill your own son, you are not a child of God?
After reading all this about Constantine, I made the observation on Facebook:
Other bits from the book that made it on Facebook as well as other notes of interest.
"'Paganism' to the pagan never existed, ... It is not far from the truth to say that before Christianity invented it, there was no Roman religion, but only worship, expressed in a hundred-and-one different ways." -- John Holland Smith in The Death of Classical Paganism (Kirsch quoted from this guy on pg. 9)
The author shares that paganus is really just a villager and in Roman military terms it differentiated the civilian from the soldier. Christian "rigorists" ready to be soldiers for the One True God "characterized anyone who refused to take up arms...as a civilian, a slacker, a 'paganus.'" Interestingly Christians were called "atheists" because they were against most of the gods, goddesses and godlings (as this author puts it) except the One True God.
This next bit was wild because the author talks about the fight between Christians because of the wording of Jesus being of similar substance to God vs. the same substance as God. He said in Greek the only difference in the two (similar and same) was an iota. Kirsch writes,
"The question of whether God and Jesus were made of the same stuff or different stuff was and is ultimately unanswerable - indeed, that was what church authorities meant when they characterized the Trinity as a mystery - but that did not stop ordinary men and women throughout the Christian community from literally brawling with one another over an iota." (pg. 161)
Charming, no? Seriously I wonder sometimes what God thinks of such things. Does He watch and shake His head at how we treat one another? Especially those of us who say we know and follow and serve and submit to Him.
"At the heart of polytheism is an open-minded and easygoing approach to religious belief and practice, a willingness to entertain the idea that there are many gods and many ways to worship them. At the heart of monotheism, by contrast, is the sure conviction that only a single god exists, a tendency to regard one's own rituals and practices as the only proper way to worship the one true god." (pg. 2)
The heart of polytheism sounds somewhat like Universalism, doesn't it? Actually the author ends the book claiming western countries with religious liberty and cultural diversity are honoring pagan values.
"Contrary to what we have been encouraged to believe by the teachings of monotheism, the phrase 'pagan morality' is not a contradiction in terms. The pagans may have been guilty of hypocrisy, praising virginity and fidelity while indulging in sexual adventures of various kinds, but they were no more hypocritical than worshippers of the Only True God who have shown themselves to be equally capable of failing to practice what they preach." (pg. 59)
I just thought this was ouch-worthy. Too bad it's true too often concerning us hypocritical believers.
"No wild beasts are so hostile to mankind as are most of the Christians in their savagery toward one another." - Ammianus (pg. 211)
It seems Christianity the Religion lost its Jesus roots a long, long time ago. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus or any of the apostles tell us to be unkind to others. Instead Jesus tells us to love our enemies. So if your fellow Christian is an enemy, love him. And for those who believe Paul invented Christianity, he says pretty much the same thing in his letter to the Romans (see chapter 12 here). These people of the Roman empire taking up arms for Jesus are just in error. And killing fellow believers? Wow.
Again, no wonder Julian decided to serve other gods.
Though Julian didn't have much use for Christianity, the author claims he "admired and envied the superior organizational skills that the Christians brought to bear in setting up and running their churches." (He liked organized religion...which I find in contrast to more and more people today who want to find God in their own ways.) He decided to copy them and "invented" a "pagan 'church' with its own all-encompassing theology and its own unified clerical hierarchy...He established a unified pagan priesthood. ... He encouraged the Hellenes, the term he used to describe what Christians called 'pagans,' to follow the Christian example in both chastity and philanthropy. Pagan priests were to avoid the excesses of the tavern, the distractions of the theatre and the seductions of erotic literature, and they must shun the company of actors, jockeys and dancers. He even prescribed a set of dietary laws that he extracted from the cult of the Great Mother - root vegetables, pomegranates and pork were forbidden, and fish was to be eaten only when prescribed." Additionally he made all the gods and goddesses subservient to the "the most high god whom Constantine had once worshipped, the solar deity variously called Apollo, Sol Invictus and King Helios." (pg. 255)
I thought the dietary restriction part was fascinating! Bye bye, morning glass of carrot juice! And does this mean french fries were forbidden, too? Ah!
To really get back at the Christians, Julian decided to allow the Jews (whom the Christians now regarded as their worst enemies) to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. Although the Jews were monotheists and Julian not, he saw the commonalities between the Hellenes and Jews. "'We have all else in common - temples, sacred precincts, altars for sacrifice, and purifications,...in all of which we differ not at all from one another." (pg. 260)
A series of natural disasters coupled with a rising threat from Persia got in the way of this Spite the Christians rebuilding project.
This quote was at the beginning of one of the later chapters. Made me of think of morality police who make people keep outward rules - for God's sake of course!
"What should be said of us, who are forced to live piously, not by devotion but by terror?" - Maximus of Turin (pg. 269)
Your thoughts on any of this? I'd love to hear 'em!
Yet I wanted to record a few things from God Against The Gods by Jonathan Kirsch that I found interesting. Overall I really enjoyed the book. The chapters on Constantine and Julian were good. I know I've read some about them in the past, but it's been awhile so reading their stories - from this author's perspective and from my grown-up one (ha) - was good for me. Kirsch asked if Constantine were really a Christian noting how he was labeled "the Great" in Catholic tradition and "St. Constantine" for the Orthodox. Perhaps Kirsch recognized Constantine didn't seem all that devoted to the faith he claimed to fight for. He wasn't even baptized until he was close to dying. Maybe he wanted to commit all the sins he could in life before taking this crucial step because during his life as a so-called "Christian emperor," I surely wouldn't say by his fruits that I knew he was a follower of Jesus. He had his own son killed for goodness sake! I even went back and read where the Bible teaches
10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (I John 3)
So does this mean if you kill your own son, you are not a child of God?
After reading all this about Constantine, I made the observation on Facebook:
If my only examples of Christians were the people Julian saw, I think I'd be "apostate" too. Whew!
Yes, I sometimes express my thoughts on books on my Facebook statuses. Just so you know.Other bits from the book that made it on Facebook as well as other notes of interest.
"'Paganism' to the pagan never existed, ... It is not far from the truth to say that before Christianity invented it, there was no Roman religion, but only worship, expressed in a hundred-and-one different ways." -- John Holland Smith in The Death of Classical Paganism (Kirsch quoted from this guy on pg. 9)
The author shares that paganus is really just a villager and in Roman military terms it differentiated the civilian from the soldier. Christian "rigorists" ready to be soldiers for the One True God "characterized anyone who refused to take up arms...as a civilian, a slacker, a 'paganus.'" Interestingly Christians were called "atheists" because they were against most of the gods, goddesses and godlings (as this author puts it) except the One True God.
This next bit was wild because the author talks about the fight between Christians because of the wording of Jesus being of similar substance to God vs. the same substance as God. He said in Greek the only difference in the two (similar and same) was an iota. Kirsch writes,
"The question of whether God and Jesus were made of the same stuff or different stuff was and is ultimately unanswerable - indeed, that was what church authorities meant when they characterized the Trinity as a mystery - but that did not stop ordinary men and women throughout the Christian community from literally brawling with one another over an iota." (pg. 161)
Charming, no? Seriously I wonder sometimes what God thinks of such things. Does He watch and shake His head at how we treat one another? Especially those of us who say we know and follow and serve and submit to Him.
"At the heart of polytheism is an open-minded and easygoing approach to religious belief and practice, a willingness to entertain the idea that there are many gods and many ways to worship them. At the heart of monotheism, by contrast, is the sure conviction that only a single god exists, a tendency to regard one's own rituals and practices as the only proper way to worship the one true god." (pg. 2)
The heart of polytheism sounds somewhat like Universalism, doesn't it? Actually the author ends the book claiming western countries with religious liberty and cultural diversity are honoring pagan values.
"Contrary to what we have been encouraged to believe by the teachings of monotheism, the phrase 'pagan morality' is not a contradiction in terms. The pagans may have been guilty of hypocrisy, praising virginity and fidelity while indulging in sexual adventures of various kinds, but they were no more hypocritical than worshippers of the Only True God who have shown themselves to be equally capable of failing to practice what they preach." (pg. 59)
I just thought this was ouch-worthy. Too bad it's true too often concerning us hypocritical believers.
"No wild beasts are so hostile to mankind as are most of the Christians in their savagery toward one another." - Ammianus (pg. 211)
It seems Christianity the Religion lost its Jesus roots a long, long time ago. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus or any of the apostles tell us to be unkind to others. Instead Jesus tells us to love our enemies. So if your fellow Christian is an enemy, love him. And for those who believe Paul invented Christianity, he says pretty much the same thing in his letter to the Romans (see chapter 12 here). These people of the Roman empire taking up arms for Jesus are just in error. And killing fellow believers? Wow.
Again, no wonder Julian decided to serve other gods.
Though Julian didn't have much use for Christianity, the author claims he "admired and envied the superior organizational skills that the Christians brought to bear in setting up and running their churches." (He liked organized religion...which I find in contrast to more and more people today who want to find God in their own ways.) He decided to copy them and "invented" a "pagan 'church' with its own all-encompassing theology and its own unified clerical hierarchy...He established a unified pagan priesthood. ... He encouraged the Hellenes, the term he used to describe what Christians called 'pagans,' to follow the Christian example in both chastity and philanthropy. Pagan priests were to avoid the excesses of the tavern, the distractions of the theatre and the seductions of erotic literature, and they must shun the company of actors, jockeys and dancers. He even prescribed a set of dietary laws that he extracted from the cult of the Great Mother - root vegetables, pomegranates and pork were forbidden, and fish was to be eaten only when prescribed." Additionally he made all the gods and goddesses subservient to the "the most high god whom Constantine had once worshipped, the solar deity variously called Apollo, Sol Invictus and King Helios." (pg. 255)
I thought the dietary restriction part was fascinating! Bye bye, morning glass of carrot juice! And does this mean french fries were forbidden, too? Ah!
To really get back at the Christians, Julian decided to allow the Jews (whom the Christians now regarded as their worst enemies) to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. Although the Jews were monotheists and Julian not, he saw the commonalities between the Hellenes and Jews. "'We have all else in common - temples, sacred precincts, altars for sacrifice, and purifications,...in all of which we differ not at all from one another." (pg. 260)
A series of natural disasters coupled with a rising threat from Persia got in the way of this Spite the Christians rebuilding project.
This quote was at the beginning of one of the later chapters. Made me of think of morality police who make people keep outward rules - for God's sake of course!
"What should be said of us, who are forced to live piously, not by devotion but by terror?" - Maximus of Turin (pg. 269)
Your thoughts on any of this? I'd love to hear 'em!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Attention!
I remember awhile back there was some talk about how human brains were wired to notice patterns so maybe I can chalk this up to that, but in
NEWS OF THE ODD:
So, yesterday I was in the mood for and ate tuna on Wheat Thins. I can't tell you the last time tuna and crackers was my supper choice, OK? Like, um, years. Years! Like living-at-home-with-my-parents years!
This morning I was looking through a few Facebook statuses from overnight and read one acquaintance's that said
NEWS OF THE ODD:
So, yesterday I was in the mood for and ate tuna on Wheat Thins. I can't tell you the last time tuna and crackers was my supper choice, OK? Like, um, years. Years! Like living-at-home-with-my-parents years!
This morning I was looking through a few Facebook statuses from overnight and read one acquaintance's that said
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
August Books
This month I traveled the world, learned why we need religious instruction in public high schools, and got inside Celtic culture in order to understand the Scots-Irish people that make up so much of my own region. All through books, of course.
One Year Off by David Elliot Cohen -- Have you ever wished you could quit your job and just take off around the world for a few months? Well, that's what this man and his family did after selling most of their possessions including their house. The family left their California home and traveled to a variety of places in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia after one or two stops in the Americas. The chapters are a series of informative, entertaining e-mail updates Mr. Cohen sent to family and friends back home who wanted to hear of their adventures. I enjoyed learning about the family's experiences in a variety of places such as Paris, Sardinia, Zimbabwe, Capetown, Istanbul, Zurich, Mumbai, Phnon Penh, Perth and many other cities around the world. Who knew hippos were the most dangerous creature in Africa? Well, read about the family's experience with one of them. Wow, the African safari chapters were exciting! Great book!
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb -- The author discusses the Celtic culture of the Scots-Irish going all the way back to Roman times with brief mentions of various factors that shaped those who make up a sizable number of those who settled and live in the United States. One chapter focuses on Braveheart and the fight for Scottish independence while others focus on Andrew Jackson and later still the author discusses some of his own life as a son of a career military man.
I enjoyed learning about this culture and could identify with much of what the author says since I live in an area with a huge Scots-Irish presence.
The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu by Kira Salak -- This book told the adventure of the author as she paddled a kayak along the Niger River and across Lake Débo to Timbuktu. Along the way, she stopped at villages and told of her experiences with the various people. She met some very friendly tribes while others were hostile. Many (most?) wanted money as they saw "tubab" (white woman) as rich. The author told of various practices amongst these West Africans -such as men marrying more than one wife, female genital mutilation, sorcery, even slavery. In fact she bought two women's freedoms when she reached Timbuktu. Yes, they say slavery has been made illegal, but still the Tuaregs own the Bellas despite the governmental decree. A few times the author wanted to see inside one of the mud mosques only to be refused because she was "Christian." (She's actually Buddhist.) I really enjoyed this book. I felt I was paddling along experiencing the African sun and cultures.
Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero -- In this book the author makes a case for religious studies within high schools and colleges because so much of world and national events come from people's religious beliefs. Think of the American support for the State of Israel. Much of that comes from religious people who believe from the Bible that Israel has the right to this land because God gave it to them for all time. Without knowing this about the Bible, you may be perplexed why a number of Americans would care about the fate of some piece of land half way across the world. Happenings in Iran and Iraq and with al Qaeda have a religious reason. If you strip public life from all study of religion, you are ignorant of much of what makes the world tick.
It cannot be taught as literature alone, but "students must understand the historical force of the Bible - how its words have beckoned adventurers to new lands and motivated politicians to create new governments." (pg. 134)
A Ride Along the Great Wall by Robin Hanbury-Tenison -- An English couple rides along the Great Wall of China by horseback and tells of their adventures, sights they see, people they met and their overall impressions. I found this at the library and enjoyed reading this book about China. I was particularly interested in the section on when they met Muslims. They were the friendliest and most helpful Chinese this British couple met. Also their bathrooms were clean unlike the putrid pits they found elsewhere along the way.
Sleeping With The Devil by Robert Baer -- The subtitle is "How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude"; this book was written by a former CIA agent and it touches on the US's relationship with Saudi's royal family, the bribes, the corruption...ugh! He speaks of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda as well as the Alawaites in Syria which I find extremely interesting to read in light of this year's events there. I actually thought it would be interesting to read an updated version since this book was published 7 years ago and he speaks of the cost of oil anywhere from $20 to $40 a barrel. Ha! Also the Syria thing...I'd like to read his thoughts on what has happened there in recent months and really in Egypt and Libya as well. As for the US and Saudi, did you know Saudi was our biggest customer in weapons? This book was rather painful.
From the epilogue: "Washington abetted the whole thing, even encouraged the Al Sa'ud to run a kleptocracy. The result is a kingdom built on thievery, one that nurtures terrorism, destroys any possibility of a middle class based on property rights, and promotes slavery and prostitution. We can't get around the fact that the House of Sa'ud underwrites the mosque schools that turn out the jihadists, just as it administers the charities that fund the jihadists. It channels the anger of the jihadists against the West to distract it from the rot in the House of Sa'ud." (pg. 205)
The House on Dream Street by Dana Sachs -- This is a memoir of an American woman during her extended stays in Vietnam. What began as a backpacking adventure with a friend to see Asia grew to a love for Vietnam. The author tells of her experiences learning the language (which is very tonal), interacting with locals, trying to cook an American meal (hamburgers and fries) for her landlords and other aspects of the culture. I found this a good way to learn more about Vietnam's people and their attitudes towards Americans and war and destiny in general.
I thought this statement worth pondering: "You only realize how heavily you depend upon the customs of your own culture when you live somewhere that doesn't follow them." -- She said this in the context of the Vietnamese rarely saying "please" and "thank you" which is something she grew up learning.
The Miss Stone Affair: America's First Modern Hostage Crisis by Teresa Carpenter -- I found this book in the library and although it wasn't the most exciting book I've read, I did learn a few things about separatist groups in the Balkans. A missionary lady was kidnapped by men who were opposing the Ottoman rule in order to get money for their cause. They also kidnapped a Bulgarian woman who was 6 months pregnant. Oddly, they kidnapped the latter for the sake of Miss Stone's honor. Propriety amongst kidnappers? Weird! These kidnappers for the most part were portrayed as rather kind although they had their moments of roughness. When Katerina's baby was born, the men each took turns holding her and vowing to put her name on their guns for good luck. This book was an interesting way to learn more about the Balkans and the roles western powers had in creating some of the borders and discord there.
Wuhu Diary by Emily Prager -- The author takes her adopted daughter back for a visit to Wuhu, China to see where LuLu was found and lived her first seven months. They stay for several weeks and LuLu gets to attend preschool and meet many Chinese people all of whom seem to adore the little Chinese girl who speaks perfect English. see previous post for information on Individualism
One Year Off by David Elliot Cohen -- Have you ever wished you could quit your job and just take off around the world for a few months? Well, that's what this man and his family did after selling most of their possessions including their house. The family left their California home and traveled to a variety of places in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia after one or two stops in the Americas. The chapters are a series of informative, entertaining e-mail updates Mr. Cohen sent to family and friends back home who wanted to hear of their adventures. I enjoyed learning about the family's experiences in a variety of places such as Paris, Sardinia, Zimbabwe, Capetown, Istanbul, Zurich, Mumbai, Phnon Penh, Perth and many other cities around the world. Who knew hippos were the most dangerous creature in Africa? Well, read about the family's experience with one of them. Wow, the African safari chapters were exciting! Great book!
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb -- The author discusses the Celtic culture of the Scots-Irish going all the way back to Roman times with brief mentions of various factors that shaped those who make up a sizable number of those who settled and live in the United States. One chapter focuses on Braveheart and the fight for Scottish independence while others focus on Andrew Jackson and later still the author discusses some of his own life as a son of a career military man.
I enjoyed learning about this culture and could identify with much of what the author says since I live in an area with a huge Scots-Irish presence.
The Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu by Kira Salak -- This book told the adventure of the author as she paddled a kayak along the Niger River and across Lake Débo to Timbuktu. Along the way, she stopped at villages and told of her experiences with the various people. She met some very friendly tribes while others were hostile. Many (most?) wanted money as they saw "tubab" (white woman) as rich. The author told of various practices amongst these West Africans -such as men marrying more than one wife, female genital mutilation, sorcery, even slavery. In fact she bought two women's freedoms when she reached Timbuktu. Yes, they say slavery has been made illegal, but still the Tuaregs own the Bellas despite the governmental decree. A few times the author wanted to see inside one of the mud mosques only to be refused because she was "Christian." (She's actually Buddhist.) I really enjoyed this book. I felt I was paddling along experiencing the African sun and cultures.
Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero -- In this book the author makes a case for religious studies within high schools and colleges because so much of world and national events come from people's religious beliefs. Think of the American support for the State of Israel. Much of that comes from religious people who believe from the Bible that Israel has the right to this land because God gave it to them for all time. Without knowing this about the Bible, you may be perplexed why a number of Americans would care about the fate of some piece of land half way across the world. Happenings in Iran and Iraq and with al Qaeda have a religious reason. If you strip public life from all study of religion, you are ignorant of much of what makes the world tick.
It cannot be taught as literature alone, but "students must understand the historical force of the Bible - how its words have beckoned adventurers to new lands and motivated politicians to create new governments." (pg. 134)
A Ride Along the Great Wall by Robin Hanbury-Tenison -- An English couple rides along the Great Wall of China by horseback and tells of their adventures, sights they see, people they met and their overall impressions. I found this at the library and enjoyed reading this book about China. I was particularly interested in the section on when they met Muslims. They were the friendliest and most helpful Chinese this British couple met. Also their bathrooms were clean unlike the putrid pits they found elsewhere along the way.
Sleeping With The Devil by Robert Baer -- The subtitle is "How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude"; this book was written by a former CIA agent and it touches on the US's relationship with Saudi's royal family, the bribes, the corruption...ugh! He speaks of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda as well as the Alawaites in Syria which I find extremely interesting to read in light of this year's events there. I actually thought it would be interesting to read an updated version since this book was published 7 years ago and he speaks of the cost of oil anywhere from $20 to $40 a barrel. Ha! Also the Syria thing...I'd like to read his thoughts on what has happened there in recent months and really in Egypt and Libya as well. As for the US and Saudi, did you know Saudi was our biggest customer in weapons? This book was rather painful.
From the epilogue: "Washington abetted the whole thing, even encouraged the Al Sa'ud to run a kleptocracy. The result is a kingdom built on thievery, one that nurtures terrorism, destroys any possibility of a middle class based on property rights, and promotes slavery and prostitution. We can't get around the fact that the House of Sa'ud underwrites the mosque schools that turn out the jihadists, just as it administers the charities that fund the jihadists. It channels the anger of the jihadists against the West to distract it from the rot in the House of Sa'ud." (pg. 205)
The House on Dream Street by Dana Sachs -- This is a memoir of an American woman during her extended stays in Vietnam. What began as a backpacking adventure with a friend to see Asia grew to a love for Vietnam. The author tells of her experiences learning the language (which is very tonal), interacting with locals, trying to cook an American meal (hamburgers and fries) for her landlords and other aspects of the culture. I found this a good way to learn more about Vietnam's people and their attitudes towards Americans and war and destiny in general.
I thought this statement worth pondering: "You only realize how heavily you depend upon the customs of your own culture when you live somewhere that doesn't follow them." -- She said this in the context of the Vietnamese rarely saying "please" and "thank you" which is something she grew up learning.
The Miss Stone Affair: America's First Modern Hostage Crisis by Teresa Carpenter -- I found this book in the library and although it wasn't the most exciting book I've read, I did learn a few things about separatist groups in the Balkans. A missionary lady was kidnapped by men who were opposing the Ottoman rule in order to get money for their cause. They also kidnapped a Bulgarian woman who was 6 months pregnant. Oddly, they kidnapped the latter for the sake of Miss Stone's honor. Propriety amongst kidnappers? Weird! These kidnappers for the most part were portrayed as rather kind although they had their moments of roughness. When Katerina's baby was born, the men each took turns holding her and vowing to put her name on their guns for good luck. This book was an interesting way to learn more about the Balkans and the roles western powers had in creating some of the borders and discord there.
Wuhu Diary by Emily Prager -- The author takes her adopted daughter back for a visit to Wuhu, China to see where LuLu was found and lived her first seven months. They stay for several weeks and LuLu gets to attend preschool and meet many Chinese people all of whom seem to adore the little Chinese girl who speaks perfect English. see previous post for information on Individualism
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Individualism
In Wuhu Diary author Emily Prager takes her adopted daughter back to her hometown in China. She wants LuLu, nearly five when they make the trip, to see the area in which she was born and found and lived her first seven months. In the early part of the book, Emily and LuLu went to a park where several families gathered. I found this observation worth sharing because Emily's thoughts on the individual's importance in Western culture slightly shocked me. Until...I thought about it and realized it was probably true.
"I am feeling pretty relaxed, although I am the only Westerner in the park. It will take a week or two for me to change myself so I can walk around China. My awareness of myself has to vanish completely. Right now, I am still too self-conscious. After all, this is a culture where the whole is greater than the individual, and I have just come out of a culture where the individual is more important than God. ..." (pg. 21)
What do you think? Do you agree with Emily or do you think this was a slight exaggeration on her part? At the very least I think it was an interesting way to get across the point that individualism is pretty important to us. Do you consider us too individualistic, not enough or just about right? Where would you like to see some improvements? What are the benefits of individualism, if any? What are drawbacks of it? What are the benefits of a more collectivist society such as China?
"I am feeling pretty relaxed, although I am the only Westerner in the park. It will take a week or two for me to change myself so I can walk around China. My awareness of myself has to vanish completely. Right now, I am still too self-conscious. After all, this is a culture where the whole is greater than the individual, and I have just come out of a culture where the individual is more important than God. ..." (pg. 21)
What do you think? Do you agree with Emily or do you think this was a slight exaggeration on her part? At the very least I think it was an interesting way to get across the point that individualism is pretty important to us. Do you consider us too individualistic, not enough or just about right? Where would you like to see some improvements? What are the benefits of individualism, if any? What are drawbacks of it? What are the benefits of a more collectivist society such as China?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Books & Boys!
Almost a month ago, I showed you my latest stack of library books. It took a while, but I finally finished all of those. Normally I am a fairly quick reader, but I kept getting distracted. By these guys. Especially the baby. (click pics to see larger)
Michael was busy spending time with his uncle Juan and hanging out with his friends before school starts back, but we did go to the park earlier this week on an especially nice day. The weather was about perfect!
My sister emailed me last night about a free 8x10 collage picture that Walgreens was offering so I uploaded a few photos and made this which I picked up at the store this morning. Pretty cute, huh?
I have many pictures of Michael around my house. Not so many of Zach so I should remedy that before he gets old enough to notice. The collage is a start.
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| We don't want the little man to feel neglected, do we? |
I went to another library branch last week and ended up with these....none of which are in my yellow notebook, but they seem interesting enough.
There's a couple about China, one about Vietnam, the US's involvement with Saudi Arabia over the years and even a fiction story this time! (Hear that, Becky?) :-)
And no, really, I cannot believe I've not written much on my blog in so many days! I've been reading yours as I hope you've noticed by my comments and I've been pretty active on Facebook, but just haven't had much to blog about. I hope you all are doing great!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
August, Syria, Ramadan, Somalia, Zach, Juan, World Travel, Fear
First off...happy August! I really cannot believe it's the eighth month of the year and Christmas will be here before we know it! While growing up, I recall people talking about life going so fast once you were out of high school. At the time, I was stuck in chemistry and physics classes that crawled by so I didn't believe them. But, boy, do I now!
The tenth of this month marks two and a half years since our last day in Damascus. My heart has been aching over what the government continues to do there. The day before Ramadan, they decided to be even more cruel if you can believe it. I cannot even imagine that Syria is the same place I traveled to and loved. Which, in a way, it isn't. The people then feared their government and all was calm. Today, while they may still have this fear, many have chosen to speak out in spite of it. With hopes for a better, freer future. I admire their courage.
Secondly, I hope my friends observing Ramadan have a beneficial month as you reflect on God and what He has blessed you with yet others in the world lack. Some of them your brothers and sisters in faith. Like Somalia. Ugh, again heartache seeing those starving people on television and Wafa's blog posts. Heartbreaking.
Thirdly, today is the third and Zach is three months old! My dad reminded me that his grandfather would have been 111 years old today as he was born August 3, 1900.
Fourthly, my brother in law's brother has been visiting the area for the last few days. Juan is from Venezuela and it's his first trip to the USA. He doesn't speak much English, but thankfully Will is great at both languages and can translate. Really, smiles and hugs don't need any translating and Juan is a fun-loving, pleasant, loving 18 year old. I've enjoyed seeing him while he's been in North Carolina. Will hasn't seen his little brother since Juan was about 8....younger than Michael! Can you imagine? Of course he's talked to his family and seen Juan via Skype, but still. It's so cute seeing Juan and Will together. They have similar facial expressions and even walk the same!
Lastly, I have two questions for you.
1. I just finished a book about a family who took a year to travel around the world. They visited about 40 cities concentrating on southern Europe, South Africa, India, Cambodia, Laos and Australia. They avoided South America, the Middle East (except for Turkey), most of northern Europe, Russia and most of the USA since they are from California. I was curious if you could take off for a trip around the world for a year, what are the places you would most definitely want to visit?
2. I keep seeing how much fear drives the news. I've been hanging out at my parents' house recently and while feeding my baby nephew, I'll sometimes watch CNN to see what's happening in the world. For days last week, you would have thought the world was coming to an end if Congress failed to extend the debt ceiling. As if the USA keeps the world going and if we defaulted, life as we know it would come to and end, aliens would invade and we'd all be their slaves. (I think Amber's post influenced that last bit..sorry.)
I've read articles about the Norway terrorist and see how often fear drives people to do evil things. They fear Muslims. They fear immigrants. They fear the end of civilization as we know it. They fear the extinction of white people. Why so much fear?
That got me to wondering what YOU fear. Do you fear the same things? If so, why? I think we all have our own personal fears so who is brave enough to share some of them? And how do you deal with your fear? Do you feed it by listening to even more doomsday news stories (or preachers!) or do you handle it by denial - what exactly? What are your fear-busting remedies? Any recommendations?
Or maybe you think it's a good thing to fear because it keeps up from getting too complacent? What are your thoughts on fear? Healthy? Good in moderation?
Do share...unless you are too scared! ;-)
The tenth of this month marks two and a half years since our last day in Damascus. My heart has been aching over what the government continues to do there. The day before Ramadan, they decided to be even more cruel if you can believe it. I cannot even imagine that Syria is the same place I traveled to and loved. Which, in a way, it isn't. The people then feared their government and all was calm. Today, while they may still have this fear, many have chosen to speak out in spite of it. With hopes for a better, freer future. I admire their courage.
Secondly, I hope my friends observing Ramadan have a beneficial month as you reflect on God and what He has blessed you with yet others in the world lack. Some of them your brothers and sisters in faith. Like Somalia. Ugh, again heartache seeing those starving people on television and Wafa's blog posts. Heartbreaking.
Thirdly, today is the third and Zach is three months old! My dad reminded me that his grandfather would have been 111 years old today as he was born August 3, 1900.
Fourthly, my brother in law's brother has been visiting the area for the last few days. Juan is from Venezuela and it's his first trip to the USA. He doesn't speak much English, but thankfully Will is great at both languages and can translate. Really, smiles and hugs don't need any translating and Juan is a fun-loving, pleasant, loving 18 year old. I've enjoyed seeing him while he's been in North Carolina. Will hasn't seen his little brother since Juan was about 8....younger than Michael! Can you imagine? Of course he's talked to his family and seen Juan via Skype, but still. It's so cute seeing Juan and Will together. They have similar facial expressions and even walk the same!
Lastly, I have two questions for you.
1. I just finished a book about a family who took a year to travel around the world. They visited about 40 cities concentrating on southern Europe, South Africa, India, Cambodia, Laos and Australia. They avoided South America, the Middle East (except for Turkey), most of northern Europe, Russia and most of the USA since they are from California. I was curious if you could take off for a trip around the world for a year, what are the places you would most definitely want to visit?
2. I keep seeing how much fear drives the news. I've been hanging out at my parents' house recently and while feeding my baby nephew, I'll sometimes watch CNN to see what's happening in the world. For days last week, you would have thought the world was coming to an end if Congress failed to extend the debt ceiling. As if the USA keeps the world going and if we defaulted, life as we know it would come to and end, aliens would invade and we'd all be their slaves. (I think Amber's post influenced that last bit..sorry.)
I've read articles about the Norway terrorist and see how often fear drives people to do evil things. They fear Muslims. They fear immigrants. They fear the end of civilization as we know it. They fear the extinction of white people. Why so much fear?
That got me to wondering what YOU fear. Do you fear the same things? If so, why? I think we all have our own personal fears so who is brave enough to share some of them? And how do you deal with your fear? Do you feed it by listening to even more doomsday news stories (or preachers!) or do you handle it by denial - what exactly? What are your fear-busting remedies? Any recommendations?
Or maybe you think it's a good thing to fear because it keeps up from getting too complacent? What are your thoughts on fear? Healthy? Good in moderation?
Do share...unless you are too scared! ;-)
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