Dear Friends, Virtual and Otherwise:
At the risk of appearing disingenuous --or, to some, perhaps even
hypocritical-- please allow me to associate myself with Dom Thomas Sullivan's
sentiments.
>Please, let's stick to medieval religion.
While still searching for an on-line dictionary with an appropriate definition
of the verb "[to be] sandbag[ed]", I can only plead
near-enough utter ignorance as an excuse for strolling into what was,
apparently, a powder magazine with a handful of lit polyporus igniarius.
As it has developed, this string has been a source of constant surprise
to me, though it surely should not have been.
I certainly should not have been surprised at the generosity and
erudition so obviously inherent in some posts, most notably those of
Josef and Otfried.
Nor, I suppose, that a rather mild (under the circumstances), and totally
obvious observation about foundations of the modern state of Israel
should have been dismissed as "gratuitous."
[Off topic, reminds me a bit of Henry Kissenger's reaction when
confronted a few years ago with the breathtakingly clumsy accusations in
Oliver Stone's _JFK_ that JFK's assasination was the work of a conspiracy
involving bureaucrats in highest levels of the U.S. government.
"That's an *outrageous* accusation," said he.
Yes, Henry, absolutely *outrageous*.
And, as it happens, rather transparently, also true.
That a people who, at the end of the horrific last century's Second
Collective Acute Psychotic Episode, held moral high ground of positively
Olympian/Himalayan proportions should have increasingly shamelessly
subsequently squandered such a position is a source constant astonishment and
dismay to some of their friends. I do not, however, consider this topic to be
germain to the subject matter of this list, except in so far as the consistent
idiocy of our species is a quality universal to all cultures and times.]
The appropriate subject matter of this list, as I understand it, is not just
"Medieval Religion", but also, of collateral necessity, the methodological
approaches necessary for an examination of such a construct.
It was in this latter spirit that I found Fr Ambrose's Annonymous
Source's "Anti-semitism is a complex issue in the Fathers ... Applying modern
sensitivities and terms regarding race to ancient times, as though there were
a direct parallel between modern and ancient circumstances,
is inane...." to be germain.
And, in view of some of the thoughtful responses elicited, I'll stand by my
initial reaction to the text, no matter what its source might eventually turn
out to be. A complex issue properly framed [for a
relevant discussion on this list], I thought/think, therefore am.
Best to all from here,
Christopher
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