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Showing posts with label Pluralism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pluralism. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Following the Footsteps of St. Paul (15)
One may sympathize with Paul as he faced rejection and persecution in Philippi and Thessaloniki as Kar Yong has written in his post. We always assume that Christians are being persecuted because they refuse to worship the deified Caesars. That may be the case in Gentiles but not so for the Jews. The Jews were excepted from worshipping Caesar.
What possible reasons may there being for the violent reaction of the Jews toward Paul? Throughout Jewish history there have been many persons claiming to be the Messiah.
I suggest that this may be due to the Mithraic mystery cult. Remember there were many mystery cults around at that time and some of them were very powerful and influential. The Mithraic cult worship Mithra, a Persian god, during the first four centuries AD. Only men were admitted so it was very popular among the soldiers. Again we are reminded that many of the landowners of Philippi and Thessaloniki were former Roman legionnaires.
There are a number of similarities between this cult and Christianity that the Jews may be mistaken in thinking Paul was preaching a Mithraic-Messiah cult. Later, this cult became Christianity's chief rival religion in the Roman era.
(1) Both appealed to the masses instead of limiting to the upper castes or intellectuals
(2) Both has baptism
(3) Both has a ritual similar to the Lord's supper
(4) Both preach a disciplined life, avoiding the ecstasies and orgies of the other cults
(5) Both taught a cosmic struggle between good and bad, with good being victorious; a great flood, immortality, a resurrection, final eternal punishment, a heaven, a hell, and even a festive day in December 25th !
(2) Both has baptism
(3) Both has a ritual similar to the Lord's supper
(4) Both preach a disciplined life, avoiding the ecstasies and orgies of the other cults
(5) Both taught a cosmic struggle between good and bad, with good being victorious; a great flood, immortality, a resurrection, final eternal punishment, a heaven, a hell, and even a festive day in December 25th !
No wonder Paul has a problem. Which one-ar?
Following the Footsteps of St. Paul (15)
One may sympathize with Paul as he faced rejection and persecution in Philippi and Thessaloniki as Kar Yong has written in his post. We always assume that Christians are being persecuted because they refuse to worship the deified Caesars. That may be the case in Gentiles but not so for the Jews. The Jews were excepted from worshipping Caesar.
What possible reasons may there being for the violent reaction of the Jews toward Paul? Throughout Jewish history there have been many persons claiming to be the Messiah.
I suggest that this may be due to the Mithraic mystery cult. Remember there were many mystery cults around at that time and some of them were very powerful and influential. The Mithraic cult worship Mithra, a Persian god, during the first four centuries AD. Only men were admitted so it was very popular among the soldiers. Again we are reminded that many of the landowners of Philippi and Thessaloniki were former Roman legionnaires.
There are a number of similarities between this cult and Christianity that the Jews may be mistaken in thinking Paul was preaching a Mithraic-Messiah cult. Later, this cult became Christianity's chief rival religion in the Roman era.
(1) Both appealed to the masses instead of limiting to the upper castes or intellectuals
(2) Both has baptism
(3) Both has a ritual similar to the Lord's supper
(4) Both preach a disciplined life, avoiding the ecstasies and orgies of the other cults
(5) Both taught a cosmic struggle between good and bad, with good being victorious; a great flood, immortality, a resurrection, final eternal punishment, a heaven, a hell, and even a festive day in December 25th !
(2) Both has baptism
(3) Both has a ritual similar to the Lord's supper
(4) Both preach a disciplined life, avoiding the ecstasies and orgies of the other cults
(5) Both taught a cosmic struggle between good and bad, with good being victorious; a great flood, immortality, a resurrection, final eternal punishment, a heaven, a hell, and even a festive day in December 25th !
No wonder Paul has a problem. Which one-ar?
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Following the Footsteps of St. Paul (13)
The Emperor Worship Cult
The worship of rulers as gods originated from the east (eg. Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt). The Egyptians worshipped their Pharaohs as gods. This was adopted by the Ptolemies (successors of the Egyptian portion of the Greek Empire after the death of Alexander the Great). The Romans followed the practice after the death of Augustus Caesar (30B.C.- 14 A.D.) However some emperors (Caligula, Nero, Domitian) claimed deity for themselves while they are still alive. Domitian demanded public worship as "Lord and God." Aside from themselves, some emperors also made others god- for example Hadrian made his favourite slave boyfriend Antinous, who drowned, god (as we saw the fresco at the Delphi museum).
Pergamum became the Asian centre of emperor worship. By the second century, it already have three pagan temples, including one to Emperor Hadrian. Pergamum may be the place referred to "where Satan has his throne" (Rev.2:13). The book of Revelation may be written during Domitian's reign.
This veneration serves to establish political unity and affirm loyalty to Rome. It filled no religious needs. However it did present a problems to Christians who cannot affirm any man, god nor submit to any Lord except to Lord Jesus.
(statue of Emperor Hadrian from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. May be a statue from the emperor worship cult temple)picture credit
Following the Footsteps of St. Paul (13)
The Emperor Worship Cult
The worship of rulers as gods originated from the east (eg. Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt). The Egyptians worshipped their Pharaohs as gods. This was adopted by the Ptolemies (successors of the Egyptian portion of the Greek Empire after the death of Alexander the Great). The Romans followed the practice after the death of Augustus Caesar (30B.C.- 14 A.D.) However some emperors (Caligula, Nero, Domitian) claimed deity for themselves while they are still alive. Domitian demanded public worship as "Lord and God." Aside from themselves, some emperors also made others god- for example Hadrian made his favourite slave boyfriend Antinous, who drowned, god (as we saw the fresco at the Delphi museum).
Pergamum became the Asian centre of emperor worship. By the second century, it already have three pagan temples, including one to Emperor Hadrian. Pergamum may be the place referred to "where Satan has his throne" (Rev.2:13). The book of Revelation may be written during Domitian's reign.
This veneration serves to establish political unity and affirm loyalty to Rome. It filled no religious needs. However it did present a problems to Christians who cannot affirm any man, god nor submit to any Lord except to Lord Jesus.
(statue of Emperor Hadrian from the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. May be a statue from the emperor worship cult temple)picture credit
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Managing Pluralism-Indian Style
Books & Culture, May/June 2008
Managing Pluralism, Indian-style
Lessons for the 21st century.
by Chandra Mallampalli
"Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner—people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework—people in China and India are starving for your jobs."—Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat
Thomas Friedman's admonition to his daughters shows how distant lands are being re-packaged to Americans in the 21st century. In The World is Flat, the New York Times columnist describes a leveling of the economic playing field, where members of previously poor or stagnant economies are gaining greater access to global wealth through the power of information. India factors prominently in the flattening process, not least because its growing middle class ranks high in math and computer skills and fluency in English. But outsourced jobs and call centers are not the only images tied to the new India. In The Clash Within, Chicago ethicist Martha Nussbaum details how hypermasculine Hindu militants raped Muslim women and destroyed Muslim shops in their genocidal fury in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, threatening India's sixty-year-old democracy. The key to this democracy, according to Harvard economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, is its ancient tradition of argument and reasoned debate. In The Argumentative Indian, Sen claims that Westerners have failed to appreciate this Asian tradition of public reason due to a preoccupation with falsely exotic notions of the East.
read more
an interesting perspective on understanding how India deals with its pluralism by interacting with three books by an associate professor of history at Westmont College.
Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, and Identity (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005; Picador, 2006).
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Picador, 2007).
Martha Nussbaum, The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future (Harvard Univ. Press, 2007).
Managing Pluralism, Indian-style
Lessons for the 21st century.
by Chandra Mallampalli
"Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner—people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework—people in China and India are starving for your jobs."—Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat
Thomas Friedman's admonition to his daughters shows how distant lands are being re-packaged to Americans in the 21st century. In The World is Flat, the New York Times columnist describes a leveling of the economic playing field, where members of previously poor or stagnant economies are gaining greater access to global wealth through the power of information. India factors prominently in the flattening process, not least because its growing middle class ranks high in math and computer skills and fluency in English. But outsourced jobs and call centers are not the only images tied to the new India. In The Clash Within, Chicago ethicist Martha Nussbaum details how hypermasculine Hindu militants raped Muslim women and destroyed Muslim shops in their genocidal fury in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, threatening India's sixty-year-old democracy. The key to this democracy, according to Harvard economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, is its ancient tradition of argument and reasoned debate. In The Argumentative Indian, Sen claims that Westerners have failed to appreciate this Asian tradition of public reason due to a preoccupation with falsely exotic notions of the East.
read more
an interesting perspective on understanding how India deals with its pluralism by interacting with three books by an associate professor of history at Westmont College.
Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, and Identity (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005; Picador, 2006).
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Picador, 2007).
Martha Nussbaum, The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future (Harvard Univ. Press, 2007).
Managing Pluralism-Indian Style
Books & Culture, May/June 2008
Managing Pluralism, Indian-style
Lessons for the 21st century.
by Chandra Mallampalli
"Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner—people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework—people in China and India are starving for your jobs."—Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat
Thomas Friedman's admonition to his daughters shows how distant lands are being re-packaged to Americans in the 21st century. In The World is Flat, the New York Times columnist describes a leveling of the economic playing field, where members of previously poor or stagnant economies are gaining greater access to global wealth through the power of information. India factors prominently in the flattening process, not least because its growing middle class ranks high in math and computer skills and fluency in English. But outsourced jobs and call centers are not the only images tied to the new India. In The Clash Within, Chicago ethicist Martha Nussbaum details how hypermasculine Hindu militants raped Muslim women and destroyed Muslim shops in their genocidal fury in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, threatening India's sixty-year-old democracy. The key to this democracy, according to Harvard economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, is its ancient tradition of argument and reasoned debate. In The Argumentative Indian, Sen claims that Westerners have failed to appreciate this Asian tradition of public reason due to a preoccupation with falsely exotic notions of the East.
read more
an interesting perspective on understanding how India deals with its pluralism by interacting with three books by an associate professor of history at Westmont College.
Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, and Identity (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005; Picador, 2006).
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Picador, 2007).
Martha Nussbaum, The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future (Harvard Univ. Press, 2007).
Managing Pluralism, Indian-style
Lessons for the 21st century.
by Chandra Mallampalli
"Girls, when I was growing up, my parents used to say to me, 'Tom, finish your dinner—people in China and India are starving.' My advice to you is: Girls, finish your homework—people in China and India are starving for your jobs."—Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat
Thomas Friedman's admonition to his daughters shows how distant lands are being re-packaged to Americans in the 21st century. In The World is Flat, the New York Times columnist describes a leveling of the economic playing field, where members of previously poor or stagnant economies are gaining greater access to global wealth through the power of information. India factors prominently in the flattening process, not least because its growing middle class ranks high in math and computer skills and fluency in English. But outsourced jobs and call centers are not the only images tied to the new India. In The Clash Within, Chicago ethicist Martha Nussbaum details how hypermasculine Hindu militants raped Muslim women and destroyed Muslim shops in their genocidal fury in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, threatening India's sixty-year-old democracy. The key to this democracy, according to Harvard economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, is its ancient tradition of argument and reasoned debate. In The Argumentative Indian, Sen claims that Westerners have failed to appreciate this Asian tradition of public reason due to a preoccupation with falsely exotic notions of the East.
read more
an interesting perspective on understanding how India deals with its pluralism by interacting with three books by an associate professor of history at Westmont College.
Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture, and Identity (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005; Picador, 2006).
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Picador, 2007).
Martha Nussbaum, The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future (Harvard Univ. Press, 2007).
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