--- In [email protected], "Patrick Gillam" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- authfriend wrote: > > > > The decision Pharaoh was being forced to make (by God, > > not by the Jews themselves, according to the Hebrew > > Scriptures) was to let the Israelites leave Egypt, > > where Pharaoh had held them in slavery and slaughtered > > all *their* firstborn male children, and subsequently > > all their male newborns. > > > > Not as efficient as Hitler's genocide, of course, but > > then that was a pre-technological age. > > > > And of course Passover does not commemorate the > > slaughter of Egyptian children, it commemorates God > > having saved the children of the Israelites from > > *being* slaughtered: the angel who was killing the > > Egyptian children *passed over* the children of the > > Israelites. > > This a more palatable story, to be sure. "We were > persecuted, but did not have to rise up and kill in > our defense. Instead, God did our killing for us."
It's actually *the* story. Ain't no other story. (I can hear Barry revving his engines now.) Anything else is a story *about* the story. (Collective "you," not personal "you," Patrick, meant from here on.) Now if you want to make up a story about how it was really the Israelites who ran around killing Egyptian children, and that the bible story is a scam, fine, just make it clear that's what you're doing. Likewise if you want to dump on the God of the Hebrew Scriptures and declare that anyone who believes in such a cruel God is a terrible person--or just dump on the idea of God in general--fine, but again, make it clear that's what you're doing. But don't misrepresent the story itself. In the story, the Israelites weren't terrorists, they were being slaughtered themselves; and Jews today don't celebrate the slaughter of the Egyptian children, they celebrate their escape from bondage and attempted genocide. > > Violence I can't abide > I have no wish for genocide > But if you wish to take my life > Remember God is on my side > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
