Chinese media: 'crush' Tibet protests

Notice? We are only hearing from the "Chinese media". Apparently, they are using videos of the violence to post photos of rioters on TV. People are then supposed to turn in their friends and family members. Doesn't that sound like a good time?

China is officially an atheist country. Your loyalty is supposed to be towards the State, not some "non-existent" deity or religion. Tibet, with a government that is officially "Tibetan Buddhist", which is a distinct form of Buddhism which evolved specifically in Tibet, is considered "feudal" and "medieval" by the "progressive" Chinese. From the Chinese point of view, they are helping Tibet. Tibet has tons of mineral resources on their land that would be just going to waste (from the Chinese point of view) if they were left to their own devices. The Chinese want to utilize those resources, and, in return, they want to "modernize" Tibet. Of course, Tibet didn't really agree that that needed modernization, any more than the Native Americans in this country did, but that is besides the point.

It is important, too, to realize that even though China is officially atheist, there are several religions that are practiced there, including Confucianism, Ancestor worship, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Indigenous religions, and new religious movements such as Xiantianism and Falun Gong. There are also the remnants of Heaven Worship, Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism. With so much religious diversity, it is easy to see why the government may want to remain officially atheist.

The overwhelming attitude, though, is Confucsianism, with its emphasis on social order and personal responsibility to maintain it. Chaos is abhorrent and embarrassing, and China is no doubt mortified over the current conflict in Tibet. Under Confucsianism, the individual's responsibility is to maintain a peaceful and harmonious society. Hence, actions taken by the Chinese governement which may seem horrendous to us, may be accepted as necessary to maintain order to most Chinese. It is always important to realize that different people have different value systems.

Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher

I actually have thought this for a long time. I never had the resources to research it.

BRITISH MUSEUM MAKES IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH IN BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

In case you are new to Blogger technology, you can find the original article by clicking on the title above.

This is exciting stuff! The passage in the Tanakh (which most people in this country call the Old Testament) that is referenced here is:

"When Jerusalem was taken, all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon." (This is from the New Revised Standard Version, Angicized Edition). "Sarsechim" is the name, and "Rabsaris" is the title "Chief Officer" or, alternatively "Chief of Eunuchs". The event to which is refers is the story of the fall of Jerusalem's first Jewish Temple, commonly called Solomon's Temple.

It is very unusual to find ANY new direct sources for this period, and pretty much, scholars that work on that period spend their time studying over and over the same material.

What is cool about Jewish scripture though (aka, Old Testament), is that the ancient Jews were EXTREMELY careful about the accuracy of the copies. The Dead Sea Scrolls included much older copies of many of the books, and these copies are virtually identical to newer copies, even when separated in age by hundred of years.

The only thing is, most people read these books as "religious texts" rather than "historic documents" (contrary to what they may claim). Reading them as historic documents, in my mind, is MUCH more exciting than as religious texts. The story they tell is amazing