Good point. That is why America, Canada and other diverse countries are really the hope for the world if they can realize that every path is important and should be encouraged and preserved. We sit in a circle of consciousnesses and make our decisions on a greater level than just the individual.
REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ed Weick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 5:48 AM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Athens and Jerusalem > Ray, I like what you've written and do hope you're right. Many years ago, > when I was in my thirties, I was fortunate to work with a very wise man, a > Jew, whom I still regard as one of my mentors. The point he would make over > and over is that people cannot forget their ethnicity. In his opinion, it > was the most important thing they have, and if they can't forget it, what is > necessary is that other people accept it and learn to work with it. > Unfortunately, ethnicity all to often expresses itself territorially. Here > in Canada, Palastinian kids and Jewish kids quite often go to the same > classrooms at school, college or university. They get along fine. But then > Canada is not the Middle East, where two ethnicities are bonded to the same > pieces of land. I'm sure you know what I mean out of your own background. > > Ed Weick > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Ed Weick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 10:20 PM > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Athens and Jerusalem > > > > At the time of King David the Mycenaean Greeks had landed on the coast of > > Israel. They formed a people who were not Habiru or Canaan. They were > > known by the Israelites as Philistines and were the opposite of the > Israelis > > although the Israelis took many of their better architectural features > from > > them. It was the metaphor of David and the Philistine giant that the > > intifada took for their image stealing it from the Israelis. The child > > who stops a giant with a stone. > > > > The one who tried to tie the Athens and Jerusalem together was the Jewish > > philosopher Leo Strauss who used the Greeks as reason and Jerusalem as the > > revelation saying that one needed both in order to evolve. Of course, > the > > Jewish settlers called the Arabs that they met in Palestine "Philistines" > > and that was not a good place to begin. > > > > Today, everyone has to give up something. The orthodox have to grow up > and > > discover the Israel within that evades them while the Palestinians have to > > acknowledge that Israel is antecedent to Islam and that Islam wouldn't > exist > > without the Jewish prophets in their own book. It comes down to families > > being able to get along. The Jews will have to share and pay reparations > > (at least the settlements) and the Palestinians will have to accept the > fact > > that a relative has come home and that the ancient stories are no longer > > applicable. That they must built a future together. If they can't do > > that then they will be known as just a couple of warring tribes that > don't > > deserve all of the accolades that the world gives them as major spiritual > > centers and the world will wipe the dust from its feet. > > > > I hope they do decide to get along. I like the Jews. I will always be a > > relative and the Arabs although foreign to me, seem to have a very > > interesting culture and history. Sacrifice is what makes sacred. That > > land will never be holy unless the two decide to make it so together. > IMHO. > > > > REH > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Ed Weick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Ray Evans Harrell" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 7:55 PM > > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Athens and Jerusalem > > > > > > > Brad, take a look at > http://members.eisa.com/~ec086636/christians&jews.htm > > > on my website. It may answer your question to at least some extent. > Here > > > are some references to Judaic-Greek interactions from the site: > > > > > > "Arguably, Christianity owes its origin less to Judaism than to the > > Greeks. > > > The Christian sense of mystery and duality, of good and evil, of Heaven > > and > > > Hell, of generalized sin as opposed to disobedience of divine law, of a > > > pantheon consisting of a great god and lesser and more specialized > > spiritual > > > beings, is essentially Greek. But it would seem that what Christians > also > > > inherited from the Greeks was a prejudice against the Jews. To some > > > considerable degree, this prejudice was economically based. The Jews > > formed > > > a large part of the population of the Graeco-Roman world. Many of them > > were > > > neither poor nor downtrodden, but wealthy and powerful, a matter which > > > played no small role in their eventual persecution. > > > > > > The wealthiest Jews were to be found in the major commercial centers of > > the > > > ancient Mediterranean world. Among the most prominent of these centers > was > > > Alexandria, which was founded by Alexander himself in 332 BCE, and > which, > > in > > > a generation or two, had displaced Athens as the Mediterranean's most > > > important commercial and cultural center. > > > > > > By the standards of the day, Alexandria was a large city. At the time of > > > Christ, it had nearly half a million people, with Jews comprising some > 30 > > to > > > 40 percent of its population. From Alexandria, the Ptolemies, a dynasty > > > founded by Alexander, maintained close control over the economy of > Egypt, > > > Rome's wealthiest province and granary. However, following the death of > > > Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemies, in 30 B.C., the city fell > under > > > direct Roman rule, and a path was opened to greater individual > initiative. > > > It would appear that the Jews took full advantage of this, accumulating > > > wealth and economic influence, and incurring the envy and wrath of the > > Greek > > > Gentile population. Much the same process occurred throughout the Roman > > > world, engendering strong anti-Jewish feeling. Gentiles both envied and > > > dreaded the Jews, feeling that they would be overwhelmed by growing > Jewish > > > influence while their own income and wealth remained stagnant. The > several > > > references in Greek and Latin literature to the wealth of the Jews and > > > Jewish rulers suggest that such envy was not misplaced. It became a > major > > > source of anti-Jewish hostility throughout the classical period. > (Feldman, > > > Louis H., Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World, Princeton, 1993, > > > pp.108-109)" > > > > > > Ed Weick > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > To: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 6:57 PM > > > Subject: [Futurework] Athens and Jerusalem > > > > > > > > > > It is obvious (and I read it again recently, > > > > but I didn't write down the reference...) that > > > > "The West" as we know it has a "multiple inheritance" > > > > from the Greeks and the Jews. > > > > > > > > Does anyone know anything about whether there was > > > > any contact between the two in "classical" (not > > > > late-Hellenistic!) times? > > > > What would Pericles, Aristotle, Socrates, Sophocles, > > > > Pindar, Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Protagoras et al. > > > > have made of Abraham, Moses, Jeramiah, Amos, Solomon > > > > et al., and vice versa? > > > > > > > > Did they engage with each other? (That's probably > > > > historically irrelevant, since, if they did engage > > > > with each other, the engagement didn't result in > > > > a marriage, let alone any offspring -- like if the > > > > Chinese discovered The New World before Columbus, etc.). > > > > But, as psychoanalysts say: "everything is grist for the > > > > mill". > > > > > > > > And, yes, what if Alexander the Great had not died in Iraq, > > > > but had been able to complete a journey to The East, > > > > and return? Might Persepolis have become Cosmopolis (ref. > > > > Stephen Toulmin's book by that name) and ethnicities have > > > > now for almost 2,500 years, have been -- for us > > > > citizens of the universal city -- of concern only > > > > to our ethnographers? Would we today live in a world where > > > > nachines move themselves so that we no longer > > > > need slaves, but we would still spend our days > > > > in leisured pursuit of "shining words and deeds" in the > > > > public space of the [cosmo-s creating] polis? > > > > > > > > \brad mccormick > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Let your light so shine before men, > > > > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > > > > > > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > > > > > > > <![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Futurework mailing list > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
