What should we do with knowledge that undermines a force for good? I attended the Cyrus Cylinder symposium at DC’s Freer Sackler Gallery, the artifact’s first stop on its U.S. tour. It was a sunny Saturday morning, yet the hall was packed, and no one was snoozing. Rightly so, as the presenters are among the …
Ancient Cyrus Cylinder Stirs Modern Passions and Debate Read More »
Where is God that we may give thanks? Thanksgiving is the most American of holidays and not only because it’s specific to our nation. It’s also the one that everybody, no matter what else they believe, can get on board with. We even, for a brief moment, acknowledge the extraordinary people who called this land …
There is a long-standing tradition that no person, no mere mortal, should presume to possess the name of God. The Name, as the reasoning goes, is a holy thing, a handle on the divine not to be trifled with. We hear concern about its misuse in the ancient biblical commandment, “Thou shalt not take the …
One thinks of prayers as nice things and of the Bible goodness, wisdom, and light. What an ugly wake-up, then, to find supposedly decent people praying for the President’s death. And they’re using the Bible to do so, no less. This, against a president who shares with his detractors Christian faith and belief in the …
Some things one might expect to find in the Bible aren’t there at all; while sometimes what we do find is downright surprising. Take Hanukkah, for instance — not there! Ironically, not in the Jewish bible, but it is in the Orthodox Christian bible (in part — 1 Maccabees, if you’re looking). Meanwhile, the Christian …
The new Jewish Annotated New Testament is a welcome addition to the variety (cacophany?) of voices weighing in on Christian scripture these days. It is fresh, intelligent, and informed, actually a lot better informed than most of what’s out there. Published by Oxford University Press, it includes comments and insights from Jewish scholars, some of …
Biblical imagery draws richly from the world of the ancient Middle East, including its hills, waters, arid stretches, and wildly diverse animals — domestic and not. Trees “clap their hands” and the beloved is likened to a swift, graceful gazelle. These days, as I wander out to examine my new garden, trying to diagnose yellowing …
Despite a common assumption that the Bible is all sweetness and light, filled with upstanding moral models for individuals today, it doesn’t always translate so neatly. After Adam, the next father is one who murdered his brother. There’s Noah’s drunken nakedness whose story involving his sons ended up endorsing the slavery of Africans, Abraham’s near sacrifice of …
Alternatively: “On Not Reading the Bible”; but then I must hastily add that I’m not against reading the Bible… not exactly. But when it comes to the Bible, reading and knowing about it can be quite different things. Some time ago (if you read here regularly, you may remember), I was a bit put off …
Referring to the Cyrus Cylinder, Ahmadinejad is reported as saying that it represents the kind of foundation on which people can build a highly developed civilization. So far, so good, as it goes. But he reputedly went on to note the relative lack of such a foundation for the “Zionist regime” — meaning Israel?, Judaism? Let’s see… the Bible?! …
In the Game of Cultural Background: Iran vs. Israel Read More »
