Tag: religion

Not to Harp on a Topic, but…

Pavowski1 Comment

Here’s a story I stumbled upon today.

In short, a cleric asked his congregation (is it called a congregation in Islam?) if anybody did not love the prophet Mohammed. A young man, mishearing, raised his hand, and was called a blasphemer by the cleric. In response, the young man went home, chopped off his hand — CHOPPED OFF HIS HAND — and later presented HIS DISEMBODIED HAND to the cleric on a plate. All to prove the depth of his faith.

He is, apparently, being hailed as a hero by his community. The young man. Who cut off his hand. To add further insult to injury (pun seriously intended), apparently the boy’s father is proud of him.

Look.

Obviously this story doesn’t give all the details, but it’s hard to say that this is anything other than a young man who has willfully disfigured himself over a misunderstanding. He is now, and will forever be, crippled by his own hand because he felt so strongly about his religion.

But this is what we do to ourselves. And his community is calling him a hero.

Okay, seriously this time. I’ll get off the (anti)religion kick. Regular programming will resume.

Why “The Greatest Story Ever Told” is a Problem

Pavowski2 Comments

Not sure I could identify the cause of it, but one way or another, I’ve found myself reading a few articles and editorials lately that deal with The Bible; specifically, adapting The Bible as literature.  Like, I read a critique of Noah, and some examination of The Ten Commandments or something, and a few others.  One thing jumped out at me: virtually all of these examinations were particularly critical of their subject matter (the adaptation of course, not The Bible) and in particular they were critical of any filmmaker’s or screenwriter’s hubris in thinking they could improve upon “The Greatest Story Ever Told”.  The quotations and capitals are mine: invariably, when this statement is invoked by a believer it’s invoked casually, nonchalantly, as if this statement is a simple matter of painfully obvious fact.

I’m not here to start debates, and I’m not here to sermonize, or the opposite of sermonize, whatever that would be.  I just like to point things out and let them clunk around the old bean, like a goat swallowing stones to aid in its digestion.  Because language is important — it’s not just the what, but the way we say things that matters — calling The Bible “The Greatest Story Ever Told” is inherently problematic.Read More »