Articles for October 2015

The Fools On The Hill

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American politicians don't write the laws or read the laws which, strangely enough, is not currently required anywhere in the U.S., and then they pass the laws.

Disgusted with the corruption and legislative malpractice, average-Joe-citizen Jerrol LeBaron set out on a quest to get legislation passed that would force legislators, at both the state and federal level, to read and fully understand any piece of legislation before voting "yes" on it, and to make the final text of the bill available for public perusal online prior to the vote.

This seems to be a common-sense requirement that would get broad support across the political spectrum, but Fools On The Hill shows just how entrenched the interests opposed to such a measure are, and how difficult it would be to actually get that kind of legislation passed. (Edited from dvdtalk.com)

The question that immediately comes to mind of course is, would the members of Congress actually read and pass a bill into legislation, which requires them to read every bill before passing it as law?  Hmm, I think not.

 

Women and Spirituality

Hidden History Continued
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Part 1: Goddess Remembered

Goddess Remembered is the first in a series of three films about Women and Spirituality made by Donna Reed. Part 1 focuses on the existence of pre-Christian Goddess-worshiping religions, which fostered an egalitarian society based on human cooperation. This civilization thrived for a long time without the intrusion of war. Visits to Paleolithic caves in France and temples in Crete give a glimpse of artifacts from this gynocentric world.

Scholars Merlin Stone, Jean Bolen and Charlene Spretnak draw connections between these ancient cultures, and women's contemporary interest in a spirituality based on harmony with nature. (Edited from spiritualityandpractice.com)

 

Part 2: The Burning Times

The Burning Times offers a chilling look at the persecution of women accused of being witches in Europe between the 15th and 17th centuries. The Christian church and the state cooperated in a concerted effort to wipe out the power and independence of midwives, healers and crones. Thousands were tortured and burned at the stake.

Matthew Fox, Margit Adler and others discuss the misogyny and sinister religious forces behind this massive campaign. (Edited from spiritualityandpractice.com)

 

Part 3: Full Circle

In the last part of the Women and Spirituality trilogy authors, social activists, teachers and feminists talk about the continuing battle against patriarchy and the need for a closer connection with the natural world. The film depicts the ways in which various individuals are finding empowerment through meeting together, performing rituals and fashioning a spirituality that is Goddess-based. 

(Edited from spiritualityandpractice.com)

Merlin Stone – When God Was A Woman

Hidden History
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When Gods Was A Woman outlines the historical events and political attitudes that led to the writing of the Judeo-Christian myth of the Fall, the loss of Paradise and, most importantly, why the blame for that loss was attributed to the woman Eve and -according to Judeo-Christian belief – every woman since.

Very few people today are aware of the archeological, mythological en historical evidence which reveals that in prehistoric and early historic periods of human development, people revered their supreme creator as female – The Great Goddess, The Divine Ancestress. Little is known about the centuries of continual persecution and suppression of Goddess worship, by the advocates of the newer religions which held male deities as supreme.

The writers of the Judeo-Christian Bible seem to have purposely glossed over the sexual identity of the female deity, who was held sacred by the neighbors of the Hebrews in Canaan, Babylon, and Egypt. The Old Testament doesn't even have a word for "Goddess". In the bible the Goddess is referred to as Elohim in the masculine gender, to be translated as "God". Interestingly enough the Koran of the Mohammedans states, "Allah will not tolerate idolatry, the pagans pray to females".

In her book 'When God Was A Woman' author Merlin Stone clearly explains, how the shift from matriarchy to patriarchy came about through a wholesale rewriting of history and various myths.

Related

Bible Myths And Their Parallels In Other Religions

Israel Shahak – Jewish History, Jewish Religion

Hidden History
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Israel Shahak is an Israeli Jew whose family lived in a Jewish ghetto in Poland for generations. Prof. Shahak survived the Holocaust and elected to settle in Israel where he lived out his life. Prof. Shahak, together with historian Ilan Pappe ("The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine") and prof. Shlomo Sand ("The Invention of the Jewish People") are smart, progressive, well-educated members of Israeli academia who understand that the present course of Israeli politics is untenable.

Jewish History, Jewish Religion demonstrates how the secular state of Israel has been and is being shaped by religious orthodoxy. The last sentence of Shahak's book reads: "Although the struggle against antisemitism (and of all other forms of racism) should never cease, the struggle against Jewish chauvinism and exclusivism, which must include a critique of classical Judaism, is now of equal or greater importance."

Related

Ilan Pappe: History of Israel – Stolen Land Of Palestine