Beijing : China has urged Libya to protect its investments after a Libyan rebel said Chinese oil companies could suffer following the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
Wen Zhongliang, deputy head of the ministry of commerce's trade department, said the information manager at the rebel-run oil firm AGOCO, Abdeljalil Mayouf, had said Russian and Chinese firms could lose out on oil contracts for failing to back the rebellion against Gaddafi.
"China's investment in Libya, especially its oil investment, is one aspect of mutual economic cooperation between the two countries, and this cooperation is in the mutual interest of both the people of China and Libya," Wen was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily.
"We hope that after a return to stability in Libya, Libya will continue to protect the interests and rights of Chinese investors and we hope to continue investment and economic cooperation with Libya," he said.
China last year obtained three percent of its imported crude from Libya. About 150,000 barrels of oil per day - about one tenth of Libya's crude exports - were shipped to China in 2010.
Yin Gang, an expert on the Arab world at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said Abdeljalil Mayouf's warning may not represent the position of an emerging, post-Gaddafi government in Tripoli.
"This was one individual's opinion. I can say in four words - They would not dare. They would not dare change any contracts," said Yin.
"Libya is still in a state of chaos and hasn't formed a government. There are certainly different views among the rebels," he said.
The Libyan embassy in Beijing has reportedly switched to the red, black and green flag of the rebel group.
They would not dare!
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese commercial success, as measured by share of global GDP, has come at the expense of the Europeons.
Push is coming to shove.
There is little doubt that Carthage will remain Eurocentric.
NATO operations exempted from the War Powers Act, by intelligent design.
NATO may have closed the Chinese franchise that the Colonel had signed off on, Deuce.
ReplyDeleteNot opened an opportunity.
As rufus has said, that franchise was the "why" the Colonel had to go. He had finally reached a bridge to far, as seen from the Europeon perspective.
Miracles happen.
ReplyDeleterat has got something right.
(even a blind old boar finds an acorn once in a while)
b
iPhone Users Are About to Be Screwed Over
ReplyDeleteThe addition of the NFC chip to the iPhone isn't for easy credit card purchases, but so the phone companies can control your financial transactions.
Be warned.
I'm factually correct most of the time, boobie.
ReplyDeleteWhich is what drives the miscreants crazy.
I can supply the links, which is the real story.
While others just opine their party line, and tsk tsk at me for not being politically correct.
.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly you provide links rat.
I have chuckled at some of your sources.
:)
.
That's Entertainment!
ReplyDeleteWe are truly entering a zero sum game.
ReplyDeleteI heard this morning that in order to keep up their economy the Chinese are spending 40% of their GDP on infrastructure. That is not sustainable. Then what?
ReplyDeleteDown with the infrastructure!
ReplyDeleteDown with Dworshak Dam!
Abajo los lobos!
I'm factually correct most of the time, boobie.
bwabwabwahahahahhaha
b
Then we move to our strengths.
ReplyDeleteAgriculture.
Homegrown energy.
Sweet Sorghum and Switchgrass
Nuclear fusion, supplied by the sun.
Once and twice removed.
Seek a professional diagnostician, boob
ReplyDeleteSooner would be better than later.
Trevor, Niles and Lionel will not be down for breakfast - Israeli air strike kills Gaza militant
ReplyDeleteThe Euros ain't fattening no Libyan frogs for no Chinese snakes.
ReplyDeleteThat ain't why they came to town.
"Fusion" is a shiny toy for eggheads. We need Serious help, and we need it Now.
ReplyDeleteWhat should I tell the diagnostician your problem is, rat?
ReplyDeleteI'd be delighted to help, but should I tell him you are aggressive, depressive, humorless, tunnel visioned, self adulatory, maggot minded, suffering from delusions concerning the Jews, a closet muzzie, all of these things, just what should I say. And what kind of diagnostician do I get for you, any particular specialty or just someone whose shingle says "You Still Have Hope Here" ?
b
re: factually correct ALL the time
ReplyDeletere: Martin Luther on Saint James the Just
I maintain that some Jew wrote it [the Book of James] who probably heard about Christian people but never encountered any.
Many sweat to reconcile St Paul and St James, but in vain. 'Faith justifies' and 'faith does not justify' contradict each other flatly. If any one can harmonize them I will give him my doctor's hood and let him call me a fool.
We should throw the Epistle of James out of this school [the University of Wittenberg]....
What shall we do with...the Jews?...I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings...are to be taken from them.
What shall we do with...the Jews?...I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews.
What shall we do with...the Jews? I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach on pain of loss of life and limb.
What shall we do with...the Jews?...set fire to their synagogues or schools and bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them.
What shall we do with...the Jews?...their homes also should be razed and destroyed.
I could, for the benefit of T and others, quote the acerbic Saints Jerome and Augustine on James, but I must run.
While T is confident, authorities are/were not. But I am certain they would stand aside in the face of greater wisdom and knowledge.
Here's the world as it Really Is:
ReplyDeleteReuters) - When Brazil discovered huge offshore crude reserves four years ago, state oil company Petrobras sketched out plans to become a regional fuel exporter. That plan has since been turned upside down.
Rapid domestic economic growth and rising fossil fuels use has turned it into a recurrent fuels importer, with occasional gasoline purchases in 2010 evolving into regular imports that may not cease until the end of the decade.
This leaves Brazil following the path of other emerging markets such as China, which upended the oil products markets ten years ago with explosive demand, and the Middle East, where rising incomes have spurred demand growth.
With few signs that Brazil in the short term will be able to boost supply of sugar cane ethanol, which supplies almost half the fuel for its cars, the country is shaping up to be a demand center that energy markets will watch more closely.
Exporter? Nah, Importer into Perpetuity
Now complete the exercise Allen, you've done well so far, and give us a list of curses rained down from the Jewish side on the early Christians when giving them the boot out of the synagogues.
ReplyDeleteTo be really complete about Martin you should include his late in life feeling about the muzzies, and the peasants, too. His feelings toward the popes are well enough known, you can skip that. (The Princes are not severe enough with the peasants - this is the one really pisses ol' farmer b off)
b
More of "The World as it Really Is:
ReplyDeleteThe US is set to start importing crude oil from Saudi Arabia via Japan, in an unusual route that highlights the growing importance of Asian oil supplies for America's Pacific refineries as production from Alaska's North Slope declines.
The US has also become a top importer of "Epso Blend" crude, which Russia started exporting from Siberian oil fields to Kozmino last year.
From Saudi Arabia to Japan to California - You ain't seen nuthin' yet.
This here is just the first article that came up -
ReplyDeleteTHE CURSE AGAINST CHRISTIANS AT JAMNIA ABOUT 90 AD
The sole purpose of this page is to show the illogicalness of Christians pointing to this group (council?) of Jews to define which books belong in the Old Testament. (Please read my ecumenical statement and disclaimer toward Judaism listed at the end of the page.)
The curse can be documented by referring to the following quotes taken from Encyclopaedia Judaica under the subject headings listed below. The page references are listed at the end of this article. The Encyclopaedia Judaica is advertised as “The Most Comprehensive Authoritative Source on the Jewish World.”
"JABNEH
… called Iamnia or Jamnia …
After the fall of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin was reconstituted at Jabneh, first under R. Johanan and then under the patriarch Rabban Gamaliel II …" 1
"BIRKAT HA-MINIM
… the 12th benediction of the weekday *Amidah …
Under Rabban Gamaliel II (first century C.E.) this prayer was invoked against the Judeo-Christian and Gnostic sects and other heretics who were called by the general term *min (plural minim). To avoid any suspicion of heresy, the hazzan had to be certain to recite this prayer in public worship. If he omitted it by error, he had to return an recite it, although such a regulation does not apply to any other benediction (Tanh. B., Lev. 2a).
… The formulation of this prayer is ascribed to *Samuel ha-Katan, who revised its text after it had fallen into oblivion (Ber. 28b)." 2
"MIN
… According to Berakhot 28b, Samuel ha Katan (fl. c. 80-110), at the invitation of Gamaliel II of Jabneh, composed the "benediction against the minim," included in the Amidah as the twelfth benediction (see E. J. Bickerman, in HTR, 55 (1962), 171, n. 35). This was directed primarily against Judeo-Christians (specifically mentioned in one old text—see Schechter, JQR 10 (1897 / 98)), either to keep them out of the synagogue or to proclaim a definite breach between the two religions." 3
[See article Genizah Specimens / Liturgy, by Solomon Schechter, in The Jewish Quarterly Review, Volume 10, 1898, pages 654 - 659.]
"AMIDAH
… (12) Asks God to destroy the malshinim ("slanderers" or "informers"), all His enemies, and to shatter the "kingdom of arrogance" (see below).
… Birkat ha Minim (benediction 12), introduced in Jabneh by Samuel ha Katan, at the request of Rabban Gamaliel II, … enlarged on the meaning of a previously known benediction, as Shel Paroshin ("concerning the dissidents") or Shel Resha’im ("concerning the wicked"). He did this by applying it specifically to Jewish heretics. It is generally assumed that this new formulation was meant to force the Judeo-Christians out of the Jewish community; in the Genizah version, the word Nozerim ("Christians") actually occurs." 4
"SAMUEL HA-KATAN
… Samuel is best known for Birkat ha-Minim, which expressed anathema against Judeo-Christians, sectarians, and informers. It was composed at the request of Gamaliel II, and incorporated into the daily *Amidah (Ber. 28b)."
Perhaps everyone took things too serious in those days....?
b
I've heard of someone who is Swedish/Lutheran on one side, and German/Jewish on the other.
ReplyDeleteHow this internal conflict can be diffused is a good question.
Through a great sense of humor, I'd imagine.
:)
b
Makes the internal contradictions of a Rufus pale by comparison.
ReplyDelete:)
b
Al Jeezera today:
ReplyDeleteThe causalties are coming from all sorts of neighbourhoods. Because we know that there are certain places where there are pockets of Gaddafi forces. But not only are they fighting, they are also using those neighbourhoods to launch attacks and they are still firing in this urban environment where there are so many people living, they are firing mortars and they are firing grad missiles. So it's not just the fighters who are involved in the close quarter combat with the small arms but also people being injured when these mortars and missiles land near their homes..
LOL
Grad rockets and such being rained down on Libyians
Those are fire crackers dont ya know.....
lol
:)
ReplyDeleteb
All this chaos, rocketry, and non sense, about which I can do nothing, is why I think I'm better off watching my daughter ride a horse. I enjoy that.
ReplyDeleteAnd, might as well stay out of the stock market, for as I showed yesterday, it's going down for next fifteen years.
b
I heard this morning that in order to keep up their economy the Chinese are spending 40% of their GDP on infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteSure. There's entire cities with empty condos, which are nothing but a store of value, like bars of gold. No one can afford to actually live in them. They cost 20 times their annual salary. In the US a house is about 2.5 times annual salary. This is the mother of all housing bubbles.
Many sweat to reconcile St Paul and St James, but in vain. 'Faith justifies' and 'faith does not justify' contradict each other flatly. If any one can harmonize them I will give him my doctor's hood and let him call me a fool.
ReplyDeleteAllen, I won't offer commentary on the Talmud if you don't offer commentary on the New Testament.
Paul says men are not justified by works of law.
James says men are not justified by faith alone. He takes a faith plus works position.
They are reconcilied easily enough by realizing Paul's "works of law" refers to ceremonial acts such as circumcision or abstaining from pork, while James' works refer to feeding the hungry, watering the thirsty, healing the sick, etc.
You can go ahead and call Allen a fool now, Miss T.
ReplyDeleteb
The Lemurs reacted first (15 minutes Before the quake,) the Great Apes left their food, grabbed the kids, and headed for the tops of the trees about 15 seconds before the quake hit.
ReplyDeleteRufus belched, and ordered another Bud Light.
.
ReplyDeleteHome prices in the U.S. fell 5.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the biggest decline since 2009, as foreclosures added to the inventory of properties for sale.
Prices dropped 0.6 percent from the prior three months, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said today in a report from Washington. In June, prices retreated 4.3 percent from a year earlier, while increasing 0.9 percent from the previous month.
Bloomberg
Government officials, community and business leaders joined in a dedication ceremony for First Solar’s thin-film solar PV module manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona last week. Investing $300 million to build the four-line factory, it will employ some 600 full-time associates and is designed with the capacity to produce 250 megawatts (MW) worth of thin-film PV modules per year.
ReplyDeleteSolar Factory for Mesa, Arizona
Which is at least more energetic than the --
ReplyDeleteGiant Pandas
According to keepers, the giant pandas did not appear to respond to the earthquake.
:)
b
bob,
ReplyDeleteI do not intend to worry about Luther; he was what he was. If you care to tackle his other phobias and obsessions, go for it.
Luther detested St. James the Just and the eponymous book in the canon. He and many other Christians believed that James was a Judaizer. That is not my opinion or interpretation; those are the facts. James (the book) did not become safely planted in the Christian Bible until the mid-16th C. for Roman Catholics and the mid-17th C. for many Protestants. At this writing many Eastern creeds are still not satisfied.
On the other hand, our canon seems to have been set much earlier (say, two thousand years, give or take) and has not been amended. For those who would disagree, take care: The Dead Sea scrolls etc are rattlesnakes.
link
.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Barry Ritholz in his discription of what has happened since the bank bailouts in 2008:
Consider what was actually done in 2008-09, and you will understand why none of the underlying problems have been repaired:
• Bank holdings: Remain stuffed with declining assets, primarily in Housing and Derivative holdings. Another leg down in Housing could be nearly fatal.
• Transparency: Balance sheets are unnecessarily Opaque; Eliminating Fair value accounting via FASB 157 did not fix balance sheet problems, but instead allowed banks to hide them.
• Capitalization: Remains too thin; leverage should be mandated back to the pre-2005 rule change of no more than 12 to 1; As we have learned, management does not keep adequate capital unless mandated to do so (sufficient capital reserves cuts into profits);
• Misaligned Incentives: Compensation and bonus schemes were not significantly changed after bailouts, except during loan repayments. Thus, management and traders still have the same upside to roll the dice, but do not have the downside risks, which remains on shareholders and taxpayers;
Barry suggests that the banks should have been nationalized, rationalized, and then spun back to the public.
While I agree the nationalization of the banks would have been cathartic for most Americans, I am still unsure as to whether it wouldn't have resulted in more problems worldwide because of the interconnectedness of the financial world.
Ritholz is correct in saying the problems haven't gone away and it is likely we will revisit where we were in 2008.
However, as long as the GOP is in the ascendancy, talk of nationalizing the banks is off the table. That leaves us with us with TBTF vs classical bancruptcy.
Anyway you look at it there is no good option.
.
You can go ahead and call Allen a fool now, Miss T.
ReplyDelete"Whosoever shall say to his brother 'Raca' shall be in danger of the council, but whosoever shall say 'Thou fool' shall be in danger of hell fire." -- Jesus of Nazareth
.
ReplyDeleteWhat if Obama Isn't That Smart
...And if Obama is brilliant, and Bush is an imbecile, how come the genius kept most of the things the dolt set in motion: the protocols for fighting the war against terror, the surge strategy, the timetables, and even, in Robert Gates and David Petraeus, some of his main appointees? Why couldn't the genius improve on the idiot's handiwork?
Maybe he isn't that bright.
Not Too Bright?
.
T,
ReplyDeleteI am simply quoting recognized authorities, like the founders of Christian creeds. Now, if you disagree, you disagree with them. Think of me as the weather man. I report and you decide whether to take an umbrella out.
Sorry, but Paul (Saul) among others took unconscionable liberties with their use of Hebrew Scriptures - misquoting at length. That's good work if you can get it, but it was also why Christian leaders had to persecute Jews: We held the real deal - a terrifying threat. Wherever we were not oppressed by Christians, say among the early German conquerors (Arian Christians) we lived in peace. Only with the domination of the Franks, Trinitarian Roman Catholics, did we and our German neighbors across the length and breadth of Western Europe begin to taste the whip, the rope and the fire.
I am willing to cease anytime you all quit misrepresenting both the Jewish and normative Christian positions. You will find me more than competent in the defense of both.
:)
ReplyDeleteGo ahead and make it Raca, then. Whatever that means.
In all this talk about works and faith, there is a third way, that of the great Hinduland (at least in the common understanding).
Basically, it's "You slug, why should I help you. You are in the pickle you are in because of your misbehavior in your last life. Suffer, it's good for you."
b
On the other hand, our canon seems to have been set much earlier (say, two thousand years, give or take) and has not been amended.
ReplyDeleteYou have the same problem of authority that Protestants have. Who says what the Jewish 'canon' is? Rabbi A? Talmudist B? Who says what the Protestant canon is? Pastor X? Parson Y?
The Eastern Orthodox Church has always used the Septuagint and the Roman Catholic Church uses Jerome's Latin translation of the same. I suspect the Protestants use the Masoretic text (39 books vs 46) just to be different.
The questions about James in the history of the development of the NT canon parallels the questions about Daniel in the Hebrew bible, but the Apocalypse recieved far more scrutiny.
Luther was in error to say James was a Jew and not a Christian. A Jew would never say a man's sins would be forgiven through the intercessory prayer of another man, like James teaches.
JAMES 5:
[14] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
[15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
I've read, though don't really know how much stock to put in it, that it was when the Christian main symbol became the cross, with the emphasis on suffering, death, blood, and the Trinity, that things took a turn for the worse, behavior wise, among some of the Christians. Earlier on the symbols had been more of the Good Shepard, a youthful Christ with a lamb on his shoulders, images of the Garden of Eden, peaceful rural stuff, maybe Christ turning water into wine, Christ with that old symbol, the bunches of grapes.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand it must be easier to put up a stiff resistance to say the moslems if one has a more severe, militant outlook.
A change of metaphor is a change of meaning, and has real world consequences.
b
Bob: Go ahead and make it Raca, then. Whatever that means.
ReplyDeleteLet me do a "Navy" translation.
If you call your shipmate "shit for brains" you'll get twelve strokes of the Cat O' Nine Tails, and it will be richly deserved. But your Father in heaven sees your interior motives. So even if you call your shipmate a lunkhead, God isn't sure he can work with you in his kingdom.
:)
ReplyDeleteheh
At the Moscow Episcopal Church there was a fine stained glass above the outside door that depicted Christ with his hands in a perfect 'boon bestowing, fear dispelling' gesture of the Buddha.
It's gone now and I couldn't find a picture of it, but I always liked that instance of cross cultural influence, intended or not.
I believe the ELCA and the Episcopals can give one another communion these days.
b
Torah charity founder accused of fraud over lost scrolls
ReplyDeleteThis is our burden.
If You Like Stained Glass Go Here
ReplyDeleteb
I have a problem with folks who start these arguments and then get their knickers in a knot when they are embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but Paul (Saul) among others took unconscionable liberties with their use of Hebrew Scriptures - misquoting at length.
ReplyDeleteCare to give some examples, Allen?
On another but similar note. The "faith without works, faith with works" is a tricky thing. I believe Jesus died so us Believers can be forgiven our sins in order to have fellowship with our Holy Father. Believing that is faith. We believe we can not earn our way to Heaven (works), but we do works, not to earn but because it is the goodly thing to do. That is, feed the hungry, help the less fortunate, etc.
I have no intention of swaying any of you away from your current beliefs or lack there of. I am merely stating mine.
Gag Reflex,
ReplyDeletere: examples
Please, recall: I did not start this. My purpose was to bring order to chaos as that relates to Judaism in the debate. If the usual suspects will cease and desist, I will gladly follow.
No, but I would recommend to any interested party to google Isaiah 7, in the Jewish Publication Society version (JPS) and compare this to the Christian translation. Go to any good translation of Romans 9:24-29 (personally, I prefer the KJV because of its beautiful use of the English language) and compare this with the original snippets taken from Hosea and Isaiah in the JPS. Finally, and most importantly, try this without fail:
Outreach Judaism This gentleman's site will address the issues raised.
Finally, four Roman Catholics (one a retired USA Chaplain of 35 years) held up the canopy under which my wife and I were married. Invited to the wedding were Hindus, Buddhists, Protestants (of several varieties), Roman Catholics and Jews. The wedding took place in the Emory University Hillel facility, which is run by Orthodox Jews. The officiating rabbi (mine) is an Orthodox Jew. Jews have no problem embracing others. Others have clearly had a problem reciprocating.
When my wife and I were staying outside Epernay, France at a bed and breakfast, we met some wonderful French families (Roman Catholic). Among other rewarding experiences, we were invited to and attended a wedding in a small village church built in the 11th C. While the priest was off-put, the scores of people in attendance were not. We laughed, drank champagne in copious amounts and had a great time. Oh, and the lady of our bed and breakfast informed us that her great-grandmother was a Jew!
Jews do not care what others believe as that relates to Heaven. In our faith, all persons of goodwill have a place in the World to Come. As our prophet aptly put it, "What does G-d require of thee, O man, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your G-d."
Bloomberg Bans Clergy From 9-11 Ceremony – Pushes Ground Zero Mosque
ReplyDeleteScientists: 3/4 of earth's species have yet to be discovered. (And they all taste like chicken)
Steve Jobs: iResign
ReplyDeleteCheney: My book will have ‘heads exploding’ in D.C. (presumably his book will have a built-in shotgun)
I may have misquoted old Walt a bit a little earlier -- so here --
ReplyDelete4
Trippers and askers surround me;
People I meet—the effect upon me of my early life, or the ward and city I live in, or the nation,
The latest dates, discoveries, inventions, societies, authors old and new,
My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,
The sickness of one of my folks, or of myself, or ill-doing, or loss or lack of money, or depressions or exaltations;
Battles, the horrors of fratricidal war, the fever of doubtful news, the fitful events;
These come to me days and nights, and go from me again,
But they are not the Me myself.
Apart from the pulling and hauling stands what I am;
Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary;
Looks down, is erect, or bends an arm on an impalpable certain rest,
Looking with side-curved head, curious what will come next; 70
Both in and out of the game, and watching and wondering at it.
Backward I see in my own days where I sweated through fog with linguists and contenders;
I have no mockings or arguments—I witness and wait.
5
I believe in you, my Soul—the other I am must not abase itself to you;
And you must not be abased to the other.
Loafe with me on the grass—loose the stop from your throat;
Not words, not music or rhyme I want—not custom or lecture, not even the best;
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice.
I mind how once we lay, such a transparent summer morning;
How you settled your head athwart my hips, and gently turn’d over upon me,
And parted the shirt from my bosom-bone, and plunged your tongue to my bare-stript heart,
And reach’d till you felt my beard, and reach’d till you held my feet.
Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge that pass all the argument of the earth;
And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own,
And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own;
And that all the men ever born are also my brothers, and the women my sisters and lovers;
And that a kelson of the creation is love;
And limitless are leaves, stiff or drooping in the fields;
And brown ants in the little wells beneath them;
And mossy scabs of the worm fence, and heap’d stones, elder
When ya got that, faith as usually understood is no longer of any great concern.
Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved voice. :)
b
Palin Is In Third Place And She's Not A Candidate Yet
ReplyDeleteb
How do Missionaries Paint Jesus into the Jewish Scriptures
ReplyDelete…a whole series of lectures addressing misquotation etc…
Allen
ReplyDeleteNo one I "hang with" in the faith has anything but total respect for our Jewish brothers and sisters. I grow weary of apologizing for those among us past and present who do not. And I am sorry you have been insulted or vilified by anyone here or else where because of your belief or heritage.
I believe the Bible, both Old and New Testament is the Word of God, breathed by Him to those who wrote it.
And no one has ever been able to disprove any of it whether it be historical or prophetIc.
Gag Relfex,
ReplyDelete"Live and let live" should be our motto. And, believe it or not, there have been times when that was the rule. Some of Judaism's best literature, of all genres, percolated like a spring during these brief interludes. At the same time, the cultures of the host peoples did the same. Granada was a Garden of Eden, for example.
Only when religion, that most corrosive of all political poisons, came to the fore was Eden trampled, burned and abandoned.
Far too many people do not understand that religiosity and spirituality are NOT the same thing. The first leads men to chains, serfdom and barbarity; the latter to the full measure of the stature of men.
Do not misunderstand: I am religious in the sense of regular synagogue attendance and following a code of conduct singularly Jewish. That said, I know that my greatest growth arises when my behavior allows my G-d to touch my life. That can only happen when my fellow human beings touch and can be touched by me.
To summarize, a "Confession" is religion at its apogee; gleeful conversation around a bursting wine press in 8th C. Champagne, arranging the marriage of a righteous gentile and his Jewish love is spiritualism. Look to Ruth and Boaz as exemplary - under religious law, Ruth could not enter the covenant of Abraham. That rigid prohibition collapsed before the love of Ruth for her Jewish "mother" and Boaz' sense of duty to a dead kinsman and his spiritual connection to this wonderfully loving woman.
Concluding, I share the view of a great modern rabbi who said, “I am tired of hearing of “good” Jews; instead, let me hear of Jews doing good.”
Best
Gag Reflex,
ReplyDeleteForgive me. In my haste to answer I omitted a thank you for your civility and comity. Although this site seems to plunge quickly into the dark abyss of ignorant bloviating when much more than the mundane is offered for discussion, our conversation has been quite the opposite, and I appreciate that.
In no way do I blame Deuce for the above. He is stuck with the neighborhood regulars. His work, however, often shines until tarnished by stupidity.