Sacrilege: an excerpt from Austin Dacey's The Future of Blasphemy
We do not know what the first blasphemer said. We do know that he was a stranger who came among the Israelites. Continue Reading →
Category: Timeless
Sacrilege: an excerpt from Austin Dacey’s The Future of Blasphemy
We do not know what the first blasphemer said. We do know that he was a stranger who came among the Israelites. Continue Reading →
At the Heart of Societies
From Michel Foucault’s The Subject and Power (1982) Continue Reading →
Trembling Before the Internet
From Zackery Sholem Berger’s new article at Tablet, “Hasidic Writers, Plugged In”:
But there are also those who have decidedly not converted, who have not fled their communities. They hew to ideals they do not support because they are not yet ready to leave, or because they never will. Such a life can be exquisitely painful, but the writing that comes out of it can also be enlightening—or at the very least, can reveal a different view of the world within the Hasidic walls. Over the past few years, I have met some of the writers who are creating literature from within. I’ve come to believe that their personal struggles help us—and them—to see their surroundings in a new light.
Also at Tablet, a piece by Micah Stein, “Rallying Against the Internet,” on Sunday’s asifa of 40,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews at Citi Field, organized by Ichud HaKehillos LeTohar HaMachane (Union of communities for the Purity of the Camp):
The group’s stated goals for the rally are simultaneously modest and substantial: According to Together as One, the rally will provide “inspiration, direction, and viable solutions” for community members wary of technology. At the same time, the asifa represents “the first step in overcoming technology” and promises participants “an opportunity to have a part in the final redemption.”
But what do statements like these actually mean? In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ichud HaKehillos spokesman Eytan Kobre stressed that the group fundamentally accepts technology. “We’re not looking to banish the Internet,” he said. “We understand it’s here to stay.” But articles in the Haredi press and materials published by Ichud HaKehillos tell another story. “In a perfect world, the internet should be banned altogether,” Together as One suggests, going on to note that “providing your children with an internet-accessible cell phone is giving them directly into the hands of the Satan.”
The Truth About "Jim Wallis"
What does the NYTimes‘ Elisabeth Bumiller do when presented with a story that reveals cracks in the Christian right? Why, she calls Jim Wallis, of course. Wallis, who possesses the Continue Reading →
The Truth About “Jim Wallis”
What does the NYTimes‘ Elisabeth Bumiller do when presented with a story that reveals cracks in the Christian right? Why, she calls Jim Wallis, of course. Wallis, who possesses the Continue Reading →
"But Marriage is No Sacrament."
From Gary Wills’ new article at New York Review of Books:
The early church had no specific rite for marriage. This was left up to the secular authorities of the Roman Empire, since marriage is a legal concern for the legitimacy of heirs. When the Empire became Christian under Constantine, Christian emperors continued the imperial control of marriage, as the Code of Justinian makes clear. When the Empire faltered in the West, church courts took up the role of legal adjudicator of valid marriages. But there was still no special religious meaning to the institution. As the best scholar of sacramental history, Joseph Martos, puts it: “Before the eleventh century there was no such thing as a Christian wedding ceremony in the Latin church, and throughout the Middle Ages there was no single church ritual for solemnizing marriage between Christians.”
“But Marriage is No Sacrament.”
From Gary Wills’ new article at New York Review of Books:
The early church had no specific rite for marriage. This was left up to the secular authorities of the Roman Empire, since marriage is a legal concern for the legitimacy of heirs. When the Empire became Christian under Constantine, Christian emperors continued the imperial control of marriage, as the Code of Justinian makes clear. When the Empire faltered in the West, church courts took up the role of legal adjudicator of valid marriages. But there was still no special religious meaning to the institution. As the best scholar of sacramental history, Joseph Martos, puts it: “Before the eleventh century there was no such thing as a Christian wedding ceremony in the Latin church, and throughout the Middle Ages there was no single church ritual for solemnizing marriage between Christians.”
Islam's Mighty Wind
From Peter Brown’s review of the Met’s “Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition (7th-9th Century),” at The New York Review of Books:
The exhibition takes us to the heart of this great detonation. It embraces the last century of the pre-Islamic Middle East and the first two centuries of Islam. To our surprise, we do not find ourselves in a world swept by a mighty wind. Instead, we enter a series of quiet rooms where time seems to stand still. Like a perfect late fall day, only the occasional rustle of a falling leaf startles us into realizing that the seasons are about to change. The few clear signs that Islam had, indeed, become politically dominant in the Middle East by the end of the seventh century strike us with almost ominous intensity. For there are so few of them.
Islam’s Mighty Wind
From Peter Brown’s review of the Met’s “Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition (7th-9th Century),” at The New York Review of Books:
The exhibition takes us to the heart of this great detonation. It embraces the last century of the pre-Islamic Middle East and the first two centuries of Islam. To our surprise, we do not find ourselves in a world swept by a mighty wind. Instead, we enter a series of quiet rooms where time seems to stand still. Like a perfect late fall day, only the occasional rustle of a falling leaf startles us into realizing that the seasons are about to change. The few clear signs that Islam had, indeed, become politically dominant in the Middle East by the end of the seventh century strike us with almost ominous intensity. For there are so few of them.