medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Thank you to everyone to has responded to my response to Cameronm's
query, and, who responded to Cameron's query.
It is certainly an enlightenment.
There are lessons to be learnt from this discourse, apart from the
sexual significance of feet in the context cited. That, of course, is
from a layman's perspective. Others may just take the points below, for
granted.
One is, as I previously stated, the principle that a version of a
history is influenced by the perceptions, and attitudes of the
historian, and, by the portrayal by the record(s) that the individual
historian is interpreting.
Another, is the principle that it can be wiser to remain silent. This
refers not to my making my responses, stating my personal
interpretations and apparently being wrong ("it is better to look a
minor fool for a few minutes, by making a minor error, and learning from
it, than to look a major fool for a long time, by not making minor
errors and learning from them"). This instead refers to not speaking, on
the basis that the person speaking cannot be sure how whatever the
person says, will be interpreted, due to differences in meaning, based
on differences in dialect. The HitchHikers' Guide to the Galaxy, makes
extensive references to variances in interpretation, based on dialect,
and, to the effects of the misinterpretation of actions and speech,
based on differences in dialect. That work is indeed a valuable
reference in studying mankind.
Another is that all of this justifies openness and directness about
sexual relationships, and about discussions of a sexual nature, so as to
avoid misconstructions that, as has been shown, can too easily occur,
thus, where openness and directness about such a vital topic, are
lacking, significant communication problems can occur. That can lead to
significant problems, including medical problems, such as the case of a
particular "christian" sect, which, in the late 1970's, taught its
followers that reproduction was to be achieved via the navel, leading to
medical problems.
Hence the significance of the following principle;
"There is no religion higher than truth" - Helena Blavatsky
Another lesson, is the possible misrepresentation of history, and of
religion, that can arise from variations in dialect and in translations
based on those variations.
I am reminded of two versions of a line of the Bible, from Ecclesiates,
that I encountered, from two different versions of the bible. One
version of the Bible, had the line as "Vain, vain, all is in vain", and,
the other had the line as "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity". Given the
context of Ecclesiates, from my understanding (the subject having become
despondent and cynical, from memory), both versions are equally
feasible, but both have entirely different meanings; the first, that
everything is futile, and, the second, that everything is based on low
self-esteem.
Ah, the "Towers of Babylon" still exist, do they not?
Thus, it has been said, we can never be sure of history, for it has come
and gone, and we can never be sure of what really happened or why, but
the best that we can do, is hope that the records that exist, and, the
interpretations of those records, and, our understanding of history, as
gained from those factors, all bear a reasonable resemblance to the
truth of what happened.
--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............
"So once you do know what the question actually is,
you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
Chapter 28 of
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
A Trilogy In Four Parts",
written by Douglas Adams,
published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|