Which goes long with the "paganism." We need to find another word to describe the old religions - "pagan" was just Latin for "peasant." Which gives you an idea of the overweening sense of entitlement the Xtians hd.
Well, "pagan" also meant, more or less, country person, which might suggest that city people were awfully full of themselves -- but it might also suggest that pagan traditions were generally linked to the natural world. The Christians had to co-opt those traditions to gain serious traction with the common folk.
The word "cretin," btw, derives from "Christian," so don't tell me etymology doesn't have a sense of humor.
You can see all kinds of pagan traditions Christianity appropriated. Most prominently Christmas. I mean, come on - the story is the Romans took a census and everyone had to return to their hometown, and they did it in the dead of winter? Ha! Christmas is the Roman mid-winter holiday Saturnalia, stolen. I doubt there is anything original in the religion.
Also, the mythological tale of the creation of Israel boggles the mind - modern archeology has found lots and lots of records from the rein of Ramses III, likely the Pharoah at the time of the Exodus. There is no mention in there of the plagues, which would be amazing enough to at least get a sentence or two - at least the one about the eldest male child of every family dying in one night. Also nothing in the historical record anywhere of an entire ethnic group being held as a slave class. And yet the modern history of the Middle East is the product of that myth that never happened.
It's not just Christmas (which is still referred to as Yule, one of its old names). The major Christian holidays map very closely to the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days (which fall midway between the solstices and equinoxes).
The modern history of the Middle East does owe a fair amount to that myth, but don't discount good ol' European imperialism, especially the British but also the French. Also the growing awareness in the early 20th century that there was a helluva lot of oil in the Persian Gulf region. The rise of Hitler and the Holocaust pretty much made it a done deal, but the foundation had been laid before then. (In 1969, I was a finalist in a high school speaking competition. My topic? The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916. The lesson? If you want to get to the finals, pick a topic that no one else knows anything about. ;-) )
Yes, the secret Sikes-Picot Treaty of 1916, dividing up the remains of the Ottoman Empire between Britain and France, taking no notice of the actual facts on the ground while drawing lines on a map, is the political cornerstone of Every Bad Thing in the Middle East today.
Add the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and you've pretty much nailed it. The text: "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
Even as a high school student I was struck by the use of the passive voice: "it being clearly understood" and "nothing shall be done." (Clearly I was an editor in the making!)
I was a teenage Arabist, and I haven't forgotten all of it. Like when Kim Philby's defection to the USSR became public, I was all "You mean he was St. John Philby's son??"
Very cool. I didn't know that till I got through reading "A Spy Among Friends" last month. For those who don't know about Philby, that book is a good place to start. I got it because I wanted to know the original source material for the TV series that was on MGM channel this past spring.
If you can't beat them, throw a better party! The holidays are an amusing power struggle. Those pagan habits live with us today. Wise women quietly live on, passing their skills to each new generation. Enjoy your herbal tea!
I mostly agree, but then there is witchcraft!
Which goes long with the "paganism." We need to find another word to describe the old religions - "pagan" was just Latin for "peasant." Which gives you an idea of the overweening sense of entitlement the Xtians hd.
Well, "pagan" also meant, more or less, country person, which might suggest that city people were awfully full of themselves -- but it might also suggest that pagan traditions were generally linked to the natural world. The Christians had to co-opt those traditions to gain serious traction with the common folk.
The word "cretin," btw, derives from "Christian," so don't tell me etymology doesn't have a sense of humor.
I laughed out loud at that.
You can see all kinds of pagan traditions Christianity appropriated. Most prominently Christmas. I mean, come on - the story is the Romans took a census and everyone had to return to their hometown, and they did it in the dead of winter? Ha! Christmas is the Roman mid-winter holiday Saturnalia, stolen. I doubt there is anything original in the religion.
Also, the mythological tale of the creation of Israel boggles the mind - modern archeology has found lots and lots of records from the rein of Ramses III, likely the Pharoah at the time of the Exodus. There is no mention in there of the plagues, which would be amazing enough to at least get a sentence or two - at least the one about the eldest male child of every family dying in one night. Also nothing in the historical record anywhere of an entire ethnic group being held as a slave class. And yet the modern history of the Middle East is the product of that myth that never happened.
It's not just Christmas (which is still referred to as Yule, one of its old names). The major Christian holidays map very closely to the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days (which fall midway between the solstices and equinoxes).
The modern history of the Middle East does owe a fair amount to that myth, but don't discount good ol' European imperialism, especially the British but also the French. Also the growing awareness in the early 20th century that there was a helluva lot of oil in the Persian Gulf region. The rise of Hitler and the Holocaust pretty much made it a done deal, but the foundation had been laid before then. (In 1969, I was a finalist in a high school speaking competition. My topic? The Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916. The lesson? If you want to get to the finals, pick a topic that no one else knows anything about. ;-) )
Yes, the secret Sikes-Picot Treaty of 1916, dividing up the remains of the Ottoman Empire between Britain and France, taking no notice of the actual facts on the ground while drawing lines on a map, is the political cornerstone of Every Bad Thing in the Middle East today.
Add the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and you've pretty much nailed it. The text: "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
Even as a high school student I was struck by the use of the passive voice: "it being clearly understood" and "nothing shall be done." (Clearly I was an editor in the making!)
Thanks. Yes, forgot that one and it is super-important.
I was a teenage Arabist, and I haven't forgotten all of it. Like when Kim Philby's defection to the USSR became public, I was all "You mean he was St. John Philby's son??"
Very cool. I didn't know that till I got through reading "A Spy Among Friends" last month. For those who don't know about Philby, that book is a good place to start. I got it because I wanted to know the original source material for the TV series that was on MGM channel this past spring.
I very much enjoyed that book.
Exactly so.
If you can't beat them, throw a better party! The holidays are an amusing power struggle. Those pagan habits live with us today. Wise women quietly live on, passing their skills to each new generation. Enjoy your herbal tea!
Damn! I know French but I never knew that! Thanks Susanna!
I've known French since 1966. And I only learned this today, almost 60 years later. That is so wonderful!!!
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-24-2023/comment/21289006
Go0 bend over for Putin you little piece of shit.
So full of anger :-(
If you've read Mary Daly's _Gyn/Ecology_ (1978), you know that the witches, and the persecution of "witches," were very much included in her spinning.