In this episode of Foundations in Torah with host Dr. Dinah Dye, I was invited on to discuss the question of how one investigates causality in history, and also how we can come to understand the constant characteristic of empire as it was expressed in both Ancient biblical times and today. The role of philosophy, methodology and epistemology are also treated with a look to the stories of the Old Testament, Plato and Aeschylus.
I'll watch and respond in a bit. From my research, the Torah and NT have taken "the truth that would set us free" and turned it upside-down and inside-out, making the heroes into villains and the villains into heroes. It's the most successful piece of propaganda ever written because it's confused us into worshipping empire in the guise of God, and made the entire discussion about God into THIS definition of God. I'll look forward to listening!
Absolutely, the Bible is one of the earliest forms of propaganda and a particularly nasty and cruel version, compared to other Semitic religions of the time.
Ummmm, it’s difficult for me to see ancient israel as a lone state amidst many empires. Hebrew religion is at best an amalgam of Egyptian and Zoastrian religions. It seems a weak and far more misogynistic interpretation of their metaphysics. They seem intensely angry, in general, at their misfortune of not having a productive land to control, as well as blaming the women, both in their midst and from surrounding cultures, as the source of their pecuniary existence. It seems to me it was their greed and self absorption that led to their repeated failures at establishing a state, let alone an empire.
I'll watch and respond in a bit. From my research, the Torah and NT have taken "the truth that would set us free" and turned it upside-down and inside-out, making the heroes into villains and the villains into heroes. It's the most successful piece of propaganda ever written because it's confused us into worshipping empire in the guise of God, and made the entire discussion about God into THIS definition of God. I'll look forward to listening!
Absolutely, the Bible is one of the earliest forms of propaganda and a particularly nasty and cruel version, compared to other Semitic religions of the time.
Ummmm, it’s difficult for me to see ancient israel as a lone state amidst many empires. Hebrew religion is at best an amalgam of Egyptian and Zoastrian religions. It seems a weak and far more misogynistic interpretation of their metaphysics. They seem intensely angry, in general, at their misfortune of not having a productive land to control, as well as blaming the women, both in their midst and from surrounding cultures, as the source of their pecuniary existence. It seems to me it was their greed and self absorption that led to their repeated failures at establishing a state, let alone an empire.