Much of the architecture is Roman, yes. The foundation, though (e.g. Wailing Wall) is remains from Solomon's palace. Since public excavation is prohibited by Israel and the Muslim caretakers, it is difficult to peel away the layers and see where one ends and another begins. The Dung Gate is almost certainly Old City, though.
Autodidacts are rare creatures. Very few people are fortunate enough to have teachers that give us tools to think, not rote lists of what to think. I am a dedicated fan of the Socratic method, but I dare anyone to come up with examples in the classroom. If folks spent even a fraction of the time they devote to gaming, TeeVee and doom scrolling to learning new things, the world would change overnight. A little learning is a dangerous thing.
That is truly a teacher, and she provided a real education. I was fortunate to have teachers like that through high school. I remember all of them and can tell you exactly what I gained from each. Most importantly, though, was my English teacher mother and my history teacher father. For me, school never ended until I graduated from university.
Just my ‘heads-up’, I’m about to enter my backyard sancturrry fro morning meditation swhen I mistakening open your epistle; I printed-out so to get a deep and clerar view of this obvously inspired sharing. I’ll get back after digesting, and re-digesting.
Looks like I was in a hurry to the meditation, the typos set a new record. Now to the meat of the matter: “nothing else matters” to coin a Metallica classic. A rare balanced recitation of historical verities, however it is a universal confluence of power that rules and justifies all. Might makes Right, right is within, irrespective of the nature of secular control. Attempting to uncover a religious thread to certify secular events is a mug’s game, one without a foundational base; again, power is temporal, fractious, and ephemeral. Biblical, Torahic, and Islamic texts are valued for their moral lessons (subject to considerations), poetic language, and interesting historical implications, and taken as such are valuable. As you elegantly point out, there is much hidden under the covers. I love that there appears to be no guardrails to your inquiry, the result of a curiosity gone wild. Keep on keeping on…….
Might makes right until it doesn't. That happens when something even mightier comes along. I believe this is what is happening with the current uproar over Iran (Persia)
The most interesting thing about power, and the part no one ever talks about, is that to possess and use it requires someone else to submit to it. No submission, no power.
Though not always successful, I try to remove all barriers when I study. I go where the evidence points and I am prepared to change my views if I find sufficient cause to do so. To me, it is far more important to confirm a fact than a belief. There many times I have set out to prove a belief, and have ended up forced to change my mind in the light of facts. The world, however, it built on those who discard facts, so as not to cloud their beliefs. As you note, there are also those who deliberately hide the facts in order to maintain control over the masses. This is dangerous. My belief that a bear trap can't hurt me will soon be challenged by the contraption clamped to my ankle. Religious beliefs are comforting bedtime stories, but they are not facts. Given a choice, I will take the latter.
I came to these historical "revelations" in my early 40's, and it was difficult at first to admit how indoctrinated I had been by my parents' church teachings. Most evangelicals will completely dismiss all of this in order to hold on to their beliefs.
You have hit the nail squarely on the head. Many folks have invested so much in beliefs that were handed to them, rather than verifying the details with independent sources. The first OT texts didn't appear until roughly 600BC, and by then the oral versions were around 600 years old. Just think how much American history is accurately remembered in 250 years and multiply. Add to the problem all the external inputs and influences (Babylon, Rome, etc.), and basically I wouldn't take a weather report literally in the book. In the NT, Constantine commissioned a translation of the Greek texts that made him the center of power, and Jerome happily obliged, so political influence is also an issue. He who pays the bills gets the quills.
I've always thought that the Jewish Torah did not belong in the Christian Bible, even as a child in Catholic school. This was in no small part because Yahweh seemed to be more demon than a loving God.
If you were raised in a strict Catholic tradition, then the idea that YHWH is not God is buried in your subconscious. The other thing buried in there is that the Old Testament is a quaint collection of stories, but it was all rendered moot by the New Testament. There has been a centuries-long effort to equate Christianity with Judaism, but they are very different ideologies, perhaps radically different is the term.
Catholicism has plenty of its own faults--original sin, collectivist thinking--but among them are not the dismissal of the Old Testament as antiquated and casting of YHWH as villain.
I was a child of converts who weren't real strict regarding religion. Most of my kinfolk considered themselves to be Christians but didn't belong to any particular church, and the few who did join a church were Christian Scientists.
Quite a diverse background. I come from strict Irish and German Catholics, went to Catholic schools from kindergarten to my first year in collage. I was an altar boy for 9 years, and a Benedictine monk for a time. To say I am steeped in Catholic theology and catechism is putting it mildly. I did, however, recover my senses, in part--and ironically--because of my Catholic education. It was the monastery, though, that revealed much of what I know now.
This is great stuff. Thank you. I remember Masada on tee vee. It was presented as Very Important Viewing. True by God: there is a part of the movie where the Romans have 'em holed up right there in the movie's name. The Romans were slinging captives into the base of the fortress with a huge machine. An effort to break the will of the rebels. When another was flying through the air to be dashed againt the stones, my dad said something like "Oh no! Ther're using the jewapult again!" We all about died laughing. Muchas gracias por las memorias.
Ha! Jewapult. That would certainly break the dramatic tension. I'm very happy you enjoyed the piece. It's a topic I've returned to many times over the years, as new archaeological finds bring new evidence to the table. Even with the agendas stripped away, it's a fascinating story about a strip of seemingly useless land. What could anyone possibly want with it, except to build a toll road between Africa, Asia and Europe? Such is history.
I'd read much of the 'temple mount' complex is Roman military ruins.
Much of the architecture is Roman, yes. The foundation, though (e.g. Wailing Wall) is remains from Solomon's palace. Since public excavation is prohibited by Israel and the Muslim caretakers, it is difficult to peel away the layers and see where one ends and another begins. The Dung Gate is almost certainly Old City, though.
Amazing how few know these things. We are sheep, and the wolves have just about locked the gates.
Autodidacts are rare creatures. Very few people are fortunate enough to have teachers that give us tools to think, not rote lists of what to think. I am a dedicated fan of the Socratic method, but I dare anyone to come up with examples in the classroom. If folks spent even a fraction of the time they devote to gaming, TeeVee and doom scrolling to learning new things, the world would change overnight. A little learning is a dangerous thing.
I can tell you the name of only one teacher from my youth. It’s the only one that I remember, and it was my 5th grade of elementary school.
She had us compose two separate newspaper articles, but both were to be the exact same “story”.
Our grades were based on effectively we could words to frame each article in a different light.
I was truly fascinated by the amazing power of words.
That is truly a teacher, and she provided a real education. I was fortunate to have teachers like that through high school. I remember all of them and can tell you exactly what I gained from each. Most importantly, though, was my English teacher mother and my history teacher father. For me, school never ended until I graduated from university.
And why I absolutely love to follow your thoughts!
Thank you Mr. Farside, for a much needed history lesson. While familiar with most, some covered new ground for me.
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to know you found something new to chew on. I hope the information will be fruitful.
Chomp, chomp....👍👍
Just my ‘heads-up’, I’m about to enter my backyard sancturrry fro morning meditation swhen I mistakening open your epistle; I printed-out so to get a deep and clerar view of this obvously inspired sharing. I’ll get back after digesting, and re-digesting.
Looks like I was in a hurry to the meditation, the typos set a new record. Now to the meat of the matter: “nothing else matters” to coin a Metallica classic. A rare balanced recitation of historical verities, however it is a universal confluence of power that rules and justifies all. Might makes Right, right is within, irrespective of the nature of secular control. Attempting to uncover a religious thread to certify secular events is a mug’s game, one without a foundational base; again, power is temporal, fractious, and ephemeral. Biblical, Torahic, and Islamic texts are valued for their moral lessons (subject to considerations), poetic language, and interesting historical implications, and taken as such are valuable. As you elegantly point out, there is much hidden under the covers. I love that there appears to be no guardrails to your inquiry, the result of a curiosity gone wild. Keep on keeping on…….
Might makes right until it doesn't. That happens when something even mightier comes along. I believe this is what is happening with the current uproar over Iran (Persia)
The most interesting thing about power, and the part no one ever talks about, is that to possess and use it requires someone else to submit to it. No submission, no power.
Though not always successful, I try to remove all barriers when I study. I go where the evidence points and I am prepared to change my views if I find sufficient cause to do so. To me, it is far more important to confirm a fact than a belief. There many times I have set out to prove a belief, and have ended up forced to change my mind in the light of facts. The world, however, it built on those who discard facts, so as not to cloud their beliefs. As you note, there are also those who deliberately hide the facts in order to maintain control over the masses. This is dangerous. My belief that a bear trap can't hurt me will soon be challenged by the contraption clamped to my ankle. Religious beliefs are comforting bedtime stories, but they are not facts. Given a choice, I will take the latter.
I came to these historical "revelations" in my early 40's, and it was difficult at first to admit how indoctrinated I had been by my parents' church teachings. Most evangelicals will completely dismiss all of this in order to hold on to their beliefs.
You have hit the nail squarely on the head. Many folks have invested so much in beliefs that were handed to them, rather than verifying the details with independent sources. The first OT texts didn't appear until roughly 600BC, and by then the oral versions were around 600 years old. Just think how much American history is accurately remembered in 250 years and multiply. Add to the problem all the external inputs and influences (Babylon, Rome, etc.), and basically I wouldn't take a weather report literally in the book. In the NT, Constantine commissioned a translation of the Greek texts that made him the center of power, and Jerome happily obliged, so political influence is also an issue. He who pays the bills gets the quills.
I've always thought that the Jewish Torah did not belong in the Christian Bible, even as a child in Catholic school. This was in no small part because Yahweh seemed to be more demon than a loving God.
Welcome back! You've been missed.
If you were raised in a strict Catholic tradition, then the idea that YHWH is not God is buried in your subconscious. The other thing buried in there is that the Old Testament is a quaint collection of stories, but it was all rendered moot by the New Testament. There has been a centuries-long effort to equate Christianity with Judaism, but they are very different ideologies, perhaps radically different is the term.
Catholicism has plenty of its own faults--original sin, collectivist thinking--but among them are not the dismissal of the Old Testament as antiquated and casting of YHWH as villain.
I was a child of converts who weren't real strict regarding religion. Most of my kinfolk considered themselves to be Christians but didn't belong to any particular church, and the few who did join a church were Christian Scientists.
Quite a diverse background. I come from strict Irish and German Catholics, went to Catholic schools from kindergarten to my first year in collage. I was an altar boy for 9 years, and a Benedictine monk for a time. To say I am steeped in Catholic theology and catechism is putting it mildly. I did, however, recover my senses, in part--and ironically--because of my Catholic education. It was the monastery, though, that revealed much of what I know now.
This is great stuff. Thank you. I remember Masada on tee vee. It was presented as Very Important Viewing. True by God: there is a part of the movie where the Romans have 'em holed up right there in the movie's name. The Romans were slinging captives into the base of the fortress with a huge machine. An effort to break the will of the rebels. When another was flying through the air to be dashed againt the stones, my dad said something like "Oh no! Ther're using the jewapult again!" We all about died laughing. Muchas gracias por las memorias.
Ha! Jewapult. That would certainly break the dramatic tension. I'm very happy you enjoyed the piece. It's a topic I've returned to many times over the years, as new archaeological finds bring new evidence to the table. Even with the agendas stripped away, it's a fascinating story about a strip of seemingly useless land. What could anyone possibly want with it, except to build a toll road between Africa, Asia and Europe? Such is history.