Comments on: Citing ‘Amalek,’ Goldberg/Netanyahu would seem to prescribe genocide for Iran

By: LeaNder

LeaNder — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:08:09 +0000

If I could correct, that is if I was logged in, I would delete the last line. I'll look into your comment more carefully with a little more time. I'll return to this

By: LeaNder

LeaNder — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:05:42 +0000

That would probably be "The White Goddess", by Robert Graves. No, that I would remember, I think. But thanks for your long comment. To my way of thinking Eros and Agape are closely related. yes, I think they are. Nygren's (Lutherian) strategy is though to show how obviously Greek philosophy influenced the early Church fathers, its an element that doesn't belong. For him there are essential differences. I have the really, really vague memory–sorry– that eros for him is like steps upward towards perfection, a development, while agape is associated with grace–to put it really blankly–you get God's love somehow for free. I'll look into your comment more carefully with a little more time. I'll return to this

By: moonkoon

moonkoon — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:41:39 +0000

That would probably be "The White Goddess", by Robert Graves. The word used in the Greek originals for the love of God for man and vice versa is Agape. It was switched, on some flimsy pretext, to caritas in the King James Version. Christian love is Agape. Agape is thoughtful, unconditional, self sacrificing and so on. To my way of thinking Eros and Agape are closely related. Christianity owes much to the Greeks and the Egyptians and (dare I say?) the Zoroastrians via Mithras as well as Judaism. I often wonder when the story of the Visitation of the Magi was introduced into the narrative. :-) You might be interested to read a polemic I penned on the subject a while ago. (I posted it on Xymphora). It is hard to find time for mythic contemplation in the face of all this static. But I did mange a few more versions of the story of Psyche. I find this is a much studied tale, and rightly so, for it is the story of our soul. As far as I can make out, it covers pretty much the whole history and destiny of mankind. I have been struck with the similarities between events in the story and our history. The last bit of the story about Psyche's enforced journey to the underworld is particularly interesting when viewed at as a metphor for modernism. The story goes that Psyche's last torment or test required she descend to the realm of Persephone, the underworld, and retrieve, using the golden box she was given by Aphrodite (who was calling the shots), a portion of the beauty of Persephone. She actually accomplished this deed and survived the return journey. But not without a few tips from the love she thought had abandoned her. Eros (Cupid) had never lost his love for Psyche and contrived to find ways to help her to accomplish the impossible tasks given to her by the miffed Aphrodite. So with the help of some coins in her mouth for the ferryman and some biscuits for the dog, she was able to do a Houdini act and escape from Hell. But then she snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. All the trials she has endured have caused her beauty to fade, she was looking tired and haggard. Concerned that Eros would grow cold because of her waning beauty, psyche starts to eye off the box. True, the contents of the box were meant for Aphrodite, but she was already the most beautiful of all the Gods, let alone man. She was only doing it for Eros… So she peeps into the box, to glimpse the magic scent of Persephone's beauty. The stuff of Gods proved to be the Scent of Death for Psyche. She swooned and fell to the ground, dead as a doornail. Galileo also peeped into the golden box and spied the Scent of Death. His inadvertent discovery spelled the the fall of man. He lost his sacred notion and became "another brick in the wall", living in "a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing". His only identity came from participating in the new social, industrial and political machines. Visited by alienation and madness and conscripted and sanctioned to murder one another, professionally, of course. Many prefer suicide to the travesty, even the young succumb. So here we are, lying dead on the ground like Psyche. What next? Well if the story of Psyche is anything to go by, it turns out OK. The only reason Psyche got as far as she did was because she never was forsaken by her true love, Cupid. Cupid loved her even though she was a mere mortal. As we know, mortals are often envious of the Gods and can become downright malicious. "How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves?" Yet Cupid fell in love with his enemy. He couldn't help himself. We too, know of the power of love. We know maternal love We know brotherly love We know passionate love We know of affection, compassion. We know how to love our enemy. Nothing else in this world is capable of the latter. According to the story, it is the root of our fortune. And it triumphs in the end. It is our destiny and our salvation It ushers in the new dawn… The quote is from The Parable of The Madman – "The Gay Science", by Friedrich Nietzsche

By: DICKERSON3870

DICKERSON3870 — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:19:01 +0000

RE: Netanyahu comes up with new prerequisite for statehood: Palestinians need to 'educate their children for peace ARTICLE - "Moses high on Mt Sinai: Israeli study", AFP, 03/04/08 (EXCERPT) Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week. Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy. "As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics," Dr Shanon told Israeli public radio.... ENTIRE ARTICLE - " target="_blank">http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/04/217...

By: DICKERSON3870

DICKERSON3870 — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:15:24 +0000

ARTICLE - "Moses high on Mt Sinai: Israeli study" , AFP, 03/04/08 (EXCERPT) Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week. Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy. "As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics," Dr Shanon told Israeli public radio.... ENTIRE ARTICLE - " target="_blank">http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/04/217...

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:43:47 +0000

[cont'd] Yuri Slezkine plausibly argues that the 20th Century was “The Jewish Century.” The widespread ethos of Jewish arrested development and refusal to accept accountability for its own behavior and consequential plight, today adopted by the contemporary secular Western Establishment and culture, suggests he may be right.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:42:03 +0000

Netanyahu’s narrative as conveyed by Goldberg…how fantastical! Truly brilliant in its disingenuous ability to glom together nearly everyone who has opposed organized Jewish clan (and even those like Stalin who also partnered with it) and scapegoat them all as possessed by the demon-like Amalek, who is “shape-shifting, impervious to logic and eternal” and hates the Jews simply because they are Jews. It might be titled: A Sociopath’s Explanation for Why the World Despises Him — “They’re All Under the Sway of Amalek!” What is so frightening about this narrative is not only that it provides a convenient psychological and historiographical means for Jewish Tribalists to remain in perpetual arrested development and avoid accountability for their own behavior, but that it is also of a kind with the narrative adopted by many Leftists, liberals and secularist-extremists who seem to believe that the world’s many problems (and their own) can be traced to a larger “Amalek” called religion in general and Christianity in particular. [cont'd]

By: Sin Nombre

Sin Nombre — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:31:10 +0000

Rowan you deserve a big applause for intellectual honesty in noting that maybe MRW was mistaken. (Not to mention your knowledge base for spotting it.) Too often we all probably sit by silent when someone says something wrong if it otherwise seems to be "on our side." Stand-up thing to do, dude. As they sometimes say hereabouts, goodonya.

By: RowanBerkeley

RowanBerkeley — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:39:16 +0000

Also, I don't personally believe bar Yohai wrote the Zohar. I think Moses de Leon wrote it himself. It's full of anachronisms.

By: Jacqueline_Hyde

Jacqueline_Hyde — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:15:31 +0000

Israel loves the Iranians! If they end up slaughtering them, it's only because terrorists are cynically hiding in their midst.