The Old World is a reference to those parts of Earth known to Europeans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus; it includes Europe, Asia and Africa.
JERUSALEM (July 15) -- Bible-era scholars say they are getting fed up with headline-grabbing archaeological discoveries that seem more influenced by modern political agendas and showmanship than by scholarship.
Some recent announcements have been tainted with "exaggeration and speculation the likes of which haven't been seen since pieces of the 'true cross' were found all across Europe in the Middle Ages," said Jim West, adjunct professor of biblical studies at the Quartz Hill School of Theology and moderator of an influential online forum for Bible scholars.
There are occasions when I think West is a pompous ass but not this time.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Somebody over here Min once commented that he could get 'hay for a rocking horse' provided that his grant application included the words 'Man made Global warming!'
I suspect that the same applies to archaeology in the 'Holy Land,' include the magic words, Noah's Ark etc and the 'flood' of cash is turned on.
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
Yes, Dig, in the case of Eilat Mazar and more importantly, her employers in Elad, the issue involves establishing some biblical reason to evict Palestinians from East Jerusalem. Sure, the money matters but their prime reason is political. Mazar has caught hell from her colleagues for selling out to Elad.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
I fail to understand the mentality of Israelis who seem to think they can have both peace and land.
Yet another group unable to face the realities of this world.
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
I don't get the fixation with archaeology. So what? If the whole story were true (and the evidence is against it but just for the sake of argument) what does it mean? If they found a deed from the Byzantine emperor giving the whole region to Mohammed would the Israelis say "You're right...we'll take our tanks and leave?" I doubt it.
If an Apache Indian showed up on my doorstep and said "we used to live here...get out" I'd call the cops and have him arrested. And he has a much better (or at least recent) historical claim than the Israelis do. They were kicked out in 135 AD.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Precisely my argument to RS and Uni vis-a-vis Israelis, Australians, New Zealanders and so on Min. There has been disputes recently in Poland with Germans and their descendents turning up on people's door steps in Poland stating they want their old homes back. Russia will not entertain any restoration to victims of pogroms etc.
Again we are faced by those who will not see reality as it is. I hold no grudge against modern day Germans for what their grand parents may have done, time to move on.
Likewise I do not entertain the claims by our looney left wingers who say that I should pay compensation to descendents of African slaves.
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
"Right of Conquest" was a perfectly acceptable means of settling land disputes for a long time. There is a school of thought which suggests that the Ancient Israelites invented the whole Joshua thing just to provide a basis for that right.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
What ever Min, I somehow doubt that the blowing of numerous Shofar had much effect.
Right of conquest is hardy dead though, and Yehoshua was hardly the inventor of the concept I think.
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
Offhand, I can't think of a situation where it has been used lately...other than the Six Day War. Even Hitler established puppet governments in Western Europe and did not try to move masses of Germans into the area. For that matter, even that greater mass murderer, Joe Stalin, was content to set up puppet regimes in Eastern Europe.
The Israeli problem is that they are moving Jewish settlers into Palestinian areas and thus creating future Danzigs to fight over. They learned the lesson about conquest being easy and control being far more difficult in Lebanon ( and which we are learning again and again because we can't seem to hold the thought) in Iraq and Afghanistan. I would say that the Israelis are being dense but I think it is more sinister than that. They need the Palestinians to be a threat. Without a common enemy the orthodox and secular Israelis would be at each other's throats.
I often think that Arafat missed a golden opportunity when Clinton had them thisclose to an agreement. Of course, Arafat had his own nut jobs to worry about and I guess he wanted to wake up the following morning without his throat having been cut while he slept.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
I often think that Arafat missed a golden opportunity when Clinton had them thisclose to an agreement.
Cyprus, Georgia, Tibet recently, most British, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Ottoman, Japanese and Russian colonies historiclly Min, in fact much of the modern world.
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
I don't know that I'd consider most of those "lately" even in historical terms.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
This is the first I've heard that Russians attacked Georgia so they could displace the population and move their own people in.
Cyprus? Greeks v Turks but as far as I know they are still there and Tibet? The Chinese are trying to subdue the Tibetan population but I don't know that they have moved any significant number of ethnic Chinese into the area.
Are we talking about the same thing, Dig?
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Minimalist wrote:Cyprus? Greeks v Turks but as far as I know they are still there and Tibet? The Chinese are trying to subdue the Tibetan population but I don't know that they have moved any significant number of ethnic Chinese into the area.
Actually i think i read a few years ago that they are moving people in. i'll go look around. Can't find it. Nothing to see here, move along.
The people are/have been displaced Min, so yes we are talking about the same thing. The Chinese have moved enormous numbers into Tibet, the Turks have effectively 'cleansed' one half of Cyprus and Russians ended up as the majority in that part of Georgia that they have annexed. They moved thousands into the Baltic states as well at one time, caused problems when the countries through out the puppet governments, we even had ethnic Russians from the Baltic states trying to claim asylum here.
Roy.
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
