From: Case (Case@iSpots.com)
Date: Sat Sep 17 2005 - 16:58:36 BST
CL,
I actually think it was Rome's idea but of course that is debatable. As for
people's desire to have someone or something save them, I think you are
close to the mark for most religions not just Christianity. I once heard a
conversation between Bill Moyers and Elaine Pagels (a religious historian
specializing in the various Gnostic gospels). She had recently lost both her
husband and her son and was talking about the guilt she felt over their
passing. She said she knew there was nothing she did or could have done to
change the situation. But she said it made her understand that even guilt
makes us actors in our own destinies. It allows us to feel that we have some
control. She said even guilt is better than confronting the horror of the
fact that we are actually powerless. I think that incite into human nature
is very valuable.
I agree with your assessment of fact and fiction. The search for Truth is
about understanding rather than a quest for facts. The truth in Aesop's
fables certainly does not reside in the facts as presented. Joseph
Campbell's work on comparative religion is outstanding in this regard. His
"Transformation of Myths Through Time" begins with cave bear clans and ends
with the Holy Grail.
Case
> Hey Case--
>
>> Also take a look at what we know about Pilate's tenure as governor of
>> Judea
>> and see if it sounds like he was intimidated by mobs.
>
> I wasn't thinking he was intimidated especially, just that it wasn't
> "Rome's" idea. My main point with all of this about the JCS opera was
> that it exposes the political motivations (the church's especially)
> behind the crucification and shows how much the "average" person wants
> to depend on someone else to "save" them or "teach" them or "fix"
> things for them. To me the message is: Act as I act. See what I see.
> Do as I do. Not, I'm here to carry you. Which is how I think it all
> has been twisted by "churches". I see the history of Christianity as
> a history of people (the majority) looking to be carried off someplace
> better, looking AT the figure of Jesus as "more than" they will EVER
> be capable of being, rather than as an example to which they might
> strive. For me the focus is on where the finger is pointing rather
> than on who is doing the pointing.
>
>> Hey, C.L., I notice you quoteing Castaneda now and then. You a fan? I
>> quit
>> reading him as anything but fiction after Journey to Ixlan but it was
>> damn
>> fine entertainment and he does say some pretty profound stuff.
>
> I read Casteneda around the same time I read Pirsig and Bach and
> Krishnamurti and a little book called the Ecstasy: A Way of Knowing.
> They all have themes and threads in common. BTW, where is the line
> between fiction and non-fiction? Especially when it comes to the kind
> of knowledge we're after here?
>
> C.L.
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