Richard, I am reading a book called Why the Bible Began which is an examination of the time and milieu in which the OT was written. There are plenty of verses in there which are counter to how the Israelis have and are now behaving even though they had to respond to that attack. I blame religious fundamentalists and far right pols. I als…
Richard, I am reading a book called Why the Bible Began which is an examination of the time and milieu in which the OT was written. There are plenty of verses in there which are counter to how the Israelis have and are now behaving even though they had to respond to that attack. I blame religious fundamentalists and far right pols. I also blame some kind of hubris and maybe misogyny for the top brass not paying attention to what the women who were eyes along the border reported. Not all atheists are kind unfortunately, and I have had a few rounds with a couple of them because they want to paint all believers with the same brush.
I am wondering why the intense hate of the Jews in Israel by the Muslims in Iran. Is it that the Zionists stole the land from the Palestinians? It seems to me that Muslims hate anyone who isn't a Muslim but also some Muslims who belong to a different sect.
Islam is no different than other religions. The basic split is Shia and Sunni which I think goes back to the time after Mohammed's death. I think Muslim fundamentalists hate anyone who isn't Muslim, but I don't see all of them being that way. Then there is the creation of modern Israel which is its own special mire. As i see it, the far right Israelis do not want any Palestinians living in Israel, period. AD 70 marks the destruction of the Temple by the Romans and the scattering of Jews. That area was not empty all that time until 1948. The thesis of the book I am reading is that the defeat and destruction of Israel and Judah by the Assyrians and the Babylonians led to the OT as we know it and without that defeat, the OT might not have been written and two distinctive threads, one Israel and one Judah, combined into the idea of a people without a state.
The invasion in 1948 is the major but recent reason . Who , Why was there a 9/11. Why us?
We have harmed no-one since-- 1898? We have been Imperialists since then. We won WW I and the British and French broke up Mesopotamia==old news? . The Ottoman Empire ended, and Th Zionist entered. Who cared for the Arabs? Who gave them any weapons? Semitics? DNA? Abraham? Why will remain if the Israelis win, or lose.?
Thanks, Michele. Well said. It's too easy to blame and dismiss religion; that's throwing the baby out with the bath water, imo. And definitely hubris and mysoginy on thepart of N and top brass. There's definitley more than one thing to blame this awful mess on. (I'm surprised some responders here think it can all be attributed to one cause.)
I read a lot of history and am reading right now a book that is history and culture rather than theology about the writing of the OT. It wasn't simple then and it isn't simple now. In terms of religion there are those who pray loudly in the Temple and are false prophets and hypocrites. Then there are those whose profound good work is based on their faith. The current situation is so complex with many different players including N. who aided and abetter Hamas. I must say that the vaulted Israeli security apparatus took a very large hit.
Definitley, it's so complex. Knowing the history & setting or culture is so important to understanding the scriptures, the Hebrew scriptures or the Christian scriptures. My problem with N is he has violated the (man-made) law of proportionality in war, imo. I understand proportionality involves not only numbers killed but strategic hits and other aims of the warring parties. N can't knock out all Hamas players although that's his stated goal. But it's impossible to do -- so his goal is wrong. Couldn't Biden call him on that?
My problem with N. is that he is corrupt, he favors the far right in Israel, allows the fundamentalists to attack Palestinians and settle on to their land, aided and abetted Hamas, tries to destroy Israeli democracy, and is responsible for all of them not paying attention to what was happening at the border.
Yes, all those things (although I hadn't known about the womens' report from the border) but I meant at this point it seems Biden and other allies could do a little more regarding the extent of N's response. It was way over done and he has no chance of succeeding in killing all the Hamas, his stated goal. That's against the rules of war.
Richard, I am reading a book called Why the Bible Began which is an examination of the time and milieu in which the OT was written. There are plenty of verses in there which are counter to how the Israelis have and are now behaving even though they had to respond to that attack. I blame religious fundamentalists and far right pols. I also blame some kind of hubris and maybe misogyny for the top brass not paying attention to what the women who were eyes along the border reported. Not all atheists are kind unfortunately, and I have had a few rounds with a couple of them because they want to paint all believers with the same brush.
I am wondering why the intense hate of the Jews in Israel by the Muslims in Iran. Is it that the Zionists stole the land from the Palestinians? It seems to me that Muslims hate anyone who isn't a Muslim but also some Muslims who belong to a different sect.
Islam is no different than other religions. The basic split is Shia and Sunni which I think goes back to the time after Mohammed's death. I think Muslim fundamentalists hate anyone who isn't Muslim, but I don't see all of them being that way. Then there is the creation of modern Israel which is its own special mire. As i see it, the far right Israelis do not want any Palestinians living in Israel, period. AD 70 marks the destruction of the Temple by the Romans and the scattering of Jews. That area was not empty all that time until 1948. The thesis of the book I am reading is that the defeat and destruction of Israel and Judah by the Assyrians and the Babylonians led to the OT as we know it and without that defeat, the OT might not have been written and two distinctive threads, one Israel and one Judah, combined into the idea of a people without a state.
The invasion in 1948 is the major but recent reason . Who , Why was there a 9/11. Why us?
We have harmed no-one since-- 1898? We have been Imperialists since then. We won WW I and the British and French broke up Mesopotamia==old news? . The Ottoman Empire ended, and Th Zionist entered. Who cared for the Arabs? Who gave them any weapons? Semitics? DNA? Abraham? Why will remain if the Israelis win, or lose.?
TRUMP and IOWA.
Thanks, Michele. Well said. It's too easy to blame and dismiss religion; that's throwing the baby out with the bath water, imo. And definitely hubris and mysoginy on thepart of N and top brass. There's definitley more than one thing to blame this awful mess on. (I'm surprised some responders here think it can all be attributed to one cause.)
I read a lot of history and am reading right now a book that is history and culture rather than theology about the writing of the OT. It wasn't simple then and it isn't simple now. In terms of religion there are those who pray loudly in the Temple and are false prophets and hypocrites. Then there are those whose profound good work is based on their faith. The current situation is so complex with many different players including N. who aided and abetter Hamas. I must say that the vaulted Israeli security apparatus took a very large hit.
Definitley, it's so complex. Knowing the history & setting or culture is so important to understanding the scriptures, the Hebrew scriptures or the Christian scriptures. My problem with N is he has violated the (man-made) law of proportionality in war, imo. I understand proportionality involves not only numbers killed but strategic hits and other aims of the warring parties. N can't knock out all Hamas players although that's his stated goal. But it's impossible to do -- so his goal is wrong. Couldn't Biden call him on that?
My problem with N. is that he is corrupt, he favors the far right in Israel, allows the fundamentalists to attack Palestinians and settle on to their land, aided and abetted Hamas, tries to destroy Israeli democracy, and is responsible for all of them not paying attention to what was happening at the border.
Yes, all those things (although I hadn't known about the womens' report from the border) but I meant at this point it seems Biden and other allies could do a little more regarding the extent of N's response. It was way over done and he has no chance of succeeding in killing all the Hamas, his stated goal. That's against the rules of war.