18. januar 2003

Judas the traitor The name "Judas" is associated with the lowest of traitors, one who for a rather modest sum of money choses to give over a beloved leader to death, and throws away all his ideals in the process. It is an interesting fact that in the gospels of Mark, Matthew and John, Judas Iscariot chose to betray Jesus immediately after he had been anointed with oil by Mary Magdalene. Could there be a connection here? The anointing was no impulsive act from one person. The idea that Judas was offended because of the high cost of the oil, and was motivated by personal greed, is quite implausible. It's obvious that Magdalene could never have bought such an expensive oil herself. Most likely, many or at least some rich (and powerful!) benefactorers of Jesus had contributed to it. It had been a group effort. Why? It meant that Jesus' followers officially recognized Jesus as king. This was a political act of rebellion. So, Judas may well have been a follower of Jesus because of the moral/religious message. He now realized where they were heading: open confrontation with the Roman authorities and with the powerful priests, both at the same time. Obviously, if it came to conflict, the lives of everyone who were known to be associated with Jesus would have been in danger. It is quite possible an act of self-preservation from Judas' part to betray Jesus. Maybe not only pure cowardize; he may have been repulsed by such a political act. Some other facts that doesn't sit well in the gospels, closely related to this issue: Why did Jesus need to be betrayed? Jesus is shown moving openly about in the gospel accounts. That means they would not need a traitor to find him. Judas' betrayal only makes sense if Jesus' whereabouts were secret. Obviously, even how Jesus looked like was secret if we should take the accounts of Jesus' arrest seriously, as Judas had to identify him to the armed men by a kiss (detail from artwork from St. John's in Rome). It is obvious, therefor, that if these accounts are correct, then the stories about Jesus' riding on a mule into Jerusalem and other accounts about publicly performed acts are fiction (or at least exaggerrations). What picture do we have? One of a secret group of revolutionaries, anointing their leader to king over Israel, only to have him betrayed to the Romans and executed shortly afterwards. Many details of the real story are still in the gospels, despite the attempts by his followers to make this disaster look like a triumph and a planned sacrifice. I'm not saying these are the actual facts about the case, but the story (stories) about the betrayal raises a few interesting questions. Tim at For Whom the Blog Tolls just posted a great fragment, as I chose to call it, inspiring some thinking about betrayal, Judas and Jesus. You should read it. It was what made me pick up these thoughts now. 9:58:53 PM    comment []

Woman protests RCC 'negligence' in refusing her demon exorcism A 51 year old American woman who has unsuccessfully tried to get an exorcism from the Roman Catholic Church, claims this is "unpardonable neglect of people who are possessed by a demon." The woman says she has been suffering from being posessed by multiple evil spirits on many occasions. She now plans to demonstrate in front of the Norwich Diocese in East Connecticut, with a sign and having her head covered by a hood, on behalf of herself and fellow sufferers of demon possession. One should, in my opinion, instead protest against an outdated religion making mentally sick people believe they need exorcism rather than healthcare. 9:31:02 PM    comment []

Yawn of the Day Raelian-owned renegade research institute Clonaid says its third clone baby will be born on Monday, in Japan. To learn why I don't believe anything coming from the Raelians, see this entry. To give the new clone story a twist that secures media attention, they 1) say it will be born in Japan (getting lots of extra press in Japan) and; 2) state that the new baby is a clone of a two-year old boy that died in a traffic accident. Human cloning is outlawed in Japan. 6:13:02 PM    comment []

56 per cent of Americans will sacrifice press freedom during war A recent ABC poll states that while Americans generally value freedom of press, in times of war "almost six in 10, 56 percent, said the media should mainly support the government's war effort, while 36 percent said the media should question government efforts." This was a part I found troubling to say it mildly. The part mostly emphasised in the press stories about the poll were the part that military secrets should go before press freedoms. That is understandable. Freedom of press is one thing, but telling the enemy "we will hit the beach at 8AM next morning" makes war pretty troublesome, to put it mildly. However, almost 6 of 10 Americans saying that the press should not criticise the decision to go to war, once it has started, that is a scary idea. Have they thought it through? Do they mean a journalist should be sent to jail for saying bombing Iraq is a bad idea? Or do they just ask for patriotic self restraint? 5:55:48 PM    comment []

France issues strict warning to Ivory Coast fractions Fresh fighting in the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) caused some upheavals at today's peace talks in Paris, but after French troops had inspected site and called the incident "minor" the talks resumed. France used the opportunity to give a strict warning to the warring fractions to respect the ceasefire. France would not, it said, allow the ceasefire to be threatened. France has 2,500 troops in the country, and peacekeepers from some West African neighbours are expected to join them when an agreement is settled. 6:57:50 AM    comment []

Natural beauty, natural business As interest for natural beauty products increases in the west, some of the poorest countries in West Africa has found themselves with a resource in high demand: shea butter, made from the nuts of the Karite tree (picture). From this cream comes a number of anti-wrinkle creams, lip balms and countless lotions. The market is expecting to boom, and representatives from a number of West African nations are meeting in Washington DC to discuss how to make the best deal with the beauty industry in the west. As often is the case, currently the nut is harvested and processed in the west, leaving the African nations and the producers with only a fraction of the potentially very lucrative income. The trade is already soaring, making the nut Burkina Faso's third largest export, but the potential has largely been ignored by economists and decisions makers. 3:17:14 AM    comment []

Muammar el-Qaddafi A very interesting, if long, article about and interview with Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi in the New York Times. If there is one leader that is a true paradox and enigma, it is him. I just realised that I linked to a Post interview with him a few days back. But somebody should standardise the English spelling of his name. 12:35:52 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 Jan Haugland. Last update: 01.02.03; 00:37:00.