October 17, 2023
For four years I’ve taught a ten-week course at the Seniors’ Center titled How We Got the Bible. It’s been a great way for me to stay sharp and in-touch with reality. There are usually about a dozen folks, varying in background from atheists to Christian fundamentalists. A wonderful challenge. It’s fact based, but beliefs can’t be entirely ignored. The present group includes two retired profs from Queens University. I’ve got to be prepared.
I just got back from a class that dealt with the time period in between the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, centering on the life, times and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. The reality of that time/event is rarely dealt with in churches; Christians have been taught to ‘believe’ instead of to question and understand. So It’s with great trepidation that I entered the field. To my thankful wonder, all present thought it was one of the most worthwhile hours they had spent in a long time. They didn’t know the historical background to what has become ‘Christianity’ and were amazed at the facts and the fact that they had been unaware of it all.
This week we have all been shocked by the violence in Gaza and Israel. It seems as though fear and violence is becoming even more prevalent in our world. We wonder how it can happen. Though there are no easy answers, it is clear that violence thrives best when ignorance abounds. It has long been axiomatic that ‘The first casualty of war is the truth.’ And today, where the media is in the hands of fewer and fewer, all with an axe-to-grind, it’s a challenge to be truly informed. But try, we must. The consequences of ignorance grow each day, as it is increasingly easier to kill each other.
Most violence is perpetrated by people who don’t know their history, who have come to assume that the ‘enemy’ are sub-human and deserve to die. A close study in history is never wasted time, but it is so rare. What little time given to history in schools is usually pro-establishment and rarely encourages independent study. The ‘modern’ assumption of most people under sixty is usually that nothing before the internet really matters. Obviously, this is a deadly state-of-being. And we are paying dearly for it.
Lies, values and hatred die slowly, usually only fading away when replaced by other awareness. Be it religious, political or social, if we don’t do our best to know our past, our futures are at risk. As they are now. Take some time. Read some history. Learn that we’re all just people.
Anthony
