RE: Witness/insight claims of the authors of the Bible
January 12, 2017 at 12:54 pm
(This post was last modified: January 12, 2017 at 1:00 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
They conceptualized the world they inhabited differently than we do. Magic was very real to them. Often enough, their explanations of magic sound decidedly like something that we're now much more familiar with - a fact not lost on us, but completely unknown to them.
My favorite, unrelated to the bible, btw (though not entirely....lol), was the concept of miasma. We'd call it social unrest. To them, it was a cloud of tragedy that had a life of it's own, beyond the instigating event and difficult to purge, to hear the tales, attempts to purge it most often made it worse. A rape happens in a small town (or doesn't, but is thought to have happened). The residents begin to fear and distrust each other, old grudges are reopened as opportunity presents itself. Someone gets lynched, the lynching causes the town to break out into rioting, everyone dies. Someone happens across the remains of the town.....everyone is dead, but they attribute the events to a third party, a war is started to seek vengeance....the cloud moves on to new victims.
It's a cautionary tale, and the backdrop of much divine tragedy (and comedy)...but it's also an early attempt at social science, and it's accurate in important and non-trivial ways, even though it isn't accurate with regards to being a semi-sentient cloud of evil. Bit like accurately describing a whales existence and behaviors, but calling it a fish. Thing is, to the people who came up with miasma, whether it was a semi sentient cloud of evil was beside the point..the stories leave that as a vague "just so" - they were interested in why it happened, to whom, for what...where. They were interested in the behaviors of the whale, not so much whether or not it was a fish.
Today, believers are firmly stuck on whether or not their god really is a fish. That;s all thats left to them,. as it would be all that was left to believers in miasma as they faced modern social sciences.
My favorite, unrelated to the bible, btw (though not entirely....lol), was the concept of miasma. We'd call it social unrest. To them, it was a cloud of tragedy that had a life of it's own, beyond the instigating event and difficult to purge, to hear the tales, attempts to purge it most often made it worse. A rape happens in a small town (or doesn't, but is thought to have happened). The residents begin to fear and distrust each other, old grudges are reopened as opportunity presents itself. Someone gets lynched, the lynching causes the town to break out into rioting, everyone dies. Someone happens across the remains of the town.....everyone is dead, but they attribute the events to a third party, a war is started to seek vengeance....the cloud moves on to new victims.
It's a cautionary tale, and the backdrop of much divine tragedy (and comedy)...but it's also an early attempt at social science, and it's accurate in important and non-trivial ways, even though it isn't accurate with regards to being a semi-sentient cloud of evil. Bit like accurately describing a whales existence and behaviors, but calling it a fish. Thing is, to the people who came up with miasma, whether it was a semi sentient cloud of evil was beside the point..the stories leave that as a vague "just so" - they were interested in why it happened, to whom, for what...where. They were interested in the behaviors of the whale, not so much whether or not it was a fish.
Today, believers are firmly stuck on whether or not their god really is a fish. That;s all thats left to them,. as it would be all that was left to believers in miasma as they faced modern social sciences.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
