DeclarationsThursday, September 9th, 2004The 'terror' besieging the Jehovan West is religious war, over three thousand years old: conquest and counter-conquest, Crusade and 'Jihad' (so-called), since the coming of 'God'. 9/11 2001 saw a vengeful blow against Israel - the original assailant - at its weakest point. If the purpose was to stir up a hornets' nest of reaction, that would create more disenfranchised recruits for this war, it succeeded horribly. For when US President George W. Bush blurred the distinction between homeland security and geopolitical goals, by invading Iraq in the name of 'counter-terror', he became prime mover in the fundamentalist cause. Holy war - Judaeo-Christian conquest mirrored back as 'Jihad' - became the unifying cause of a pan-national, anti-imperialist, impoverished Islam. It is an historic struggle between cultures, over earthly spoils and the right to enjoy them in peace. War and revolution have always been so. In the Middle East, 'secular democratic' industrialism does final battle with backward, 'holy' Theocracy. Or it would, if Christian Zionism were not so integral to the fight. Transcending the religious ideologies of the terror war is key to its end. For only in the unification of the Semitic-influenced cultures - to equitable global purpose - will their promise be realised. It is no coincidence that conflicting followers of the one same desert god, would transform the Earth to most resemble that terrain. Humanity must do better than this. Together, now, arrives transcendent peace - built upon the g0od reverance within us all. The prophetic tradition reaches unifying climax, as all nations become One "I am" of humble awareness. Sharing this Truth is our primary mortal task on Earth. Let there be peace. These pages are working notes on the above theme, to develop over time. What mobilises Arab peoples and world fundamentalist Islam: Genesis 15,18 - "In the same day [as animal sacrificial communion] the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." ["Holy Bible" King James version (KJB), Collins, London 1957, p.19] In Iraq today, is the USA not fulfilling Abraham's dream? An expansionist Israel is greatly feared and resisted in more voluminous blood of Islamic militants. Mecca itself triangulates the firing zone. Syria and Iran are border target states. The following notes collate references on our theme. Emphasis is given to materialist critique, exposing the intra-Semitic propaganda war started 3,000 years ago as "holy" written history, and the lasting conceptual framework at its base. The benefit of studying religious classics objectively is that it reveals major traditional faith to be ideology - of nation-building specifically - neither neutral nor culturally universal at all. That is, faith is mostly about justifying individual title to what is owned in the world, in a culturally relative way; i.e. faith meets subjective social and psychological needs, far more than it connects with any aspect of external material reality. Bible commentaryThe first five books of the Old Testament are known to Christians as the Pentateuch, and to Jews as the Torah - the Book of the Law of Moses. A working knowledge of this cogent textual unit begins any quest for human spiritual rebirth, because materialism's domination on Earth is built very purely upon it.The Torah's mythological explication of human origins formulates an early Middle East history - from the moment of anthropomorphised 'creation', to the verge of Palestinian dispossession. Much change from pagan and pantheistic religious practices, and into monarchical social organisation, is recorded here - creating the template for feudal and post-feudal Europe, and thereafter the colonised world. The Bible's claim as human history's most important book is cemented here - in the Torah's documentation of popular economic transformation. A-1 Genesis 1,7 - innovation: singular causation resolves pantheistic disparity. "And God made the firmanent, and divided the waters which were under the firmanent from the waters which were above the firmanent: and it was so." Prescience saw this ancient record mistake the source of rain, as another water world beyond the clouds of Heaven. Thus Jehoweh was primarily the water god, which makes sense in a desert, where 'His' placation means life or death dedication: the Gatekeeper Of Deluges could withhold the lifespring, or flood in anger. The Hebrew migration becomes plain, on this critical resource issue. Famine drove migration. In summary, Genesis accounts for the Hebrews' eviction from agrarian Mesopotamia, and their nomadic herding life in search of sustainable pasture from which to base security ever since. By tradition, grower Cain slew shepherd Abel, but saw his line annihilated except for master husbandsman Noah's. From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, passed a socially authoratitive moral creed - "Upright (with) God" (or "God fights") - 'Israel': "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed" 32:28. This people gathered stock, traditions, numbers and wealth, before, during, and after settlement, bureaucratic rise, enslavement and escape, in, then from, fertile Egypt. The rise from successful corn growers to tax administrators for the Phaoronic state was eventually reacted against, with dispossessing demotion to slave class, necessitating departure. Israel's survival proved that they had perfected statecraft. Before and after their sojourn in Egypt, these wandering people were martially victorious too. A-2 Exodus - disgorged by the Pharoahs, the desert welcomes Israel. A-3 Leviticus - hardened by severe environent, Israel grows as a family-ranked force creating a code of discipline to drive ever onwards for 'promised land.' Priesthood tribe of Levi; purge of military caste generation over forty years, for democratic unity. Spies were sent out to survey the previously occupied, but currently habitated, Canaan-Palestine. A-4 Numbers 22,4 - imperialism unleashed: "And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are around us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field." Martial conquests resumed. 23,19 - integrity contrast of blooming patriarchy: "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" 24,17 - imperial warning: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth[/tumult]" A-5 Deuteronomy - history recited to action, more law, genocides commence, conquest of Palestine arrived at and prepared, made all-or-nothing ideology, but Judaeo-Christian morality is thus faulted, especially of paid military: "27,17 - Cursed [be] he that removeth his neighbour's landmark.. 27,25 - Cursed [be] he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person.. 27,26 - Cursed [be] he that confirmeth not [all] the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen." A-6 Joshua - Jordan crossed & Palestine invaded, genocides continue, conquest incomplete where Mediterranean coast not reached; thus worship of god/-El Pagan God of Fertility - Ba'al / Baal / Baalim / Belial - retained sway, for quite some time.. A-7 Judges - religious cohesion fades and renews in bursts, while Law-givers prevail; separate tribes, schism and purge. A-8 Ruth - S-E neighbour tribe Moab married into genealogy & legacy (warred against later). A-9 Samuel 1 - religious bureaucracy purged, made humble vs corruption, & promoted, returning Monarchy: 2:1 - Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.. 2:5 [They that were] full have hired out themselves for bread; and [they that were] hungry ceased.. 2:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.. 2:10 ..the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.. 2:36 ..Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. 10:- 1st King, Saul, struggles to restore & extend unity, via Gibeah Benjamin war.. 12:11 - of Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel lineage.. 15:- Amalekites beaten south, strengthening Judah with 'Israel'.. 16:- Bethlehemite Jesse-David rises, of the LORD & strategy.. 17:- drives south Philistines coastwards, killing Goliath.. 18:27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.. 18:30- diplomacy credit.. 22:- repression of Judah & priesthood with David.. 23:- Philistines recover, David champion.. 25:- wide-area marriage ties.. 27:- mercenary David makes genocidal league with Philistines vs third tribes.. 28:- Saul defends south, conjuring Samuel past.. 28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?.. 29: Philistines attack north, 30:- David south, democratic gain - 30:24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. :25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day.. 31:- Saul extinguished, by archers - technology shift.. - Integration with indigenes & local worship key to southern rise as Judah. |
A-10 Samuel 2 - 2nd King, David, much more successful, archers trained: 1:17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah [the use of] the bow: behold, [it is] written in the book of Jasher. 1:27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!) 2:- Saul's line mostly extinguished, uniting all Israel. Hebron to Salem: 5:5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. 5:6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. 5:7 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same [is] the city of David. 5:8 And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, [that are] hated of David's soul, [he shall be chief and captain]. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 5:9 So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. 5:- Philistine counter repulsed. 6:2 And David arose, and went with all the people that [were] with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth [between] the cherubims. 6:12 And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that [pertaineth] unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness. (Temple Mount claimed) 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 8:- borders greatly extended. 8:3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 8:7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ..recorder & scribe - Religious, moral and law-giving criteria of kingship continue to rise, with armaments and counsel. Rabbah 12:31 And he brought forth the people that [were] therein, and put [them] under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem - industrial power & class. 13:- Absalom sets to rule 16:16 God save the king. 18:- fails. 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. - 8/500K forces, pestilence stayed (* Chr1) A-11 Kings 1 - David then Solomon grow an empire, which later splits back into north & south houses. Patriarchal oligarchy gives way to military monarchy and corruption. Truth defined as public prophecy borne out. Generations of struggle and failure to uphold Abrahamic law: local fertility cult religion still dominates, as do ruthlessness, weak regimes, and insecurity. Fringe role for prophets, less priesthood: 8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which [is] Zion. A-12 Kings 2 - ditto. Israel of far less righteousness than Judah, eventually making league with Syria for superiority, which fails. Egypt the real power, then Assyria, then Babylon. Both peoples packed off into servitude, despite Josiah's ideological revival in Judah. Seed of monotheist Islam sown 1,000 years before its birth: 17:24 And the king of Assyria brought [men] from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed [them] in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. 17:25 And [so] it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, [that] they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew [some] of them. 17:26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. 17:27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.. 17:41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.. 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, [That] which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. 19:21 This [is] the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. A-13 Chronicles 1 - Royal scribes, 2nd account? Genealogy, ideology, conquests & fall restated. An enemy line also traced: 1:1 Adam, Sheth, Enosh, 1:2 Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, 1:3 Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 1:4 Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 1:8 The sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 1:10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth. 1:11 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 1:12 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim. 1:13 And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth, 1:14 The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, 1:15 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 1:16 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. 4:1 The sons of Judah.. 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep [me] from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. 4:18 ..And these [are] the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. 4:21 ..and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea 4:22 ..who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And [these are] ancient things. 4:23 These [were] the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. 4:24 The sons of Simeon.. 4:33 And all their villages that [were] round about the same cities, unto Baal. 4:38 These mentioned by [their] names [were] princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly. 4:39 And they went to the entrance of Gedor, [even] unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 4:40 And they found fat pasture and good, and the land [was] wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for [they] of Ham had dwelt there of old. 4:41 And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because [there was] pasture there for their flocks. 4:42 And [some] of them.. went to mount Seir.. 4:43 And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day. 5:18 The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, [were] four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war. 5:19 And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab. 5:20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that [were] with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him. 5:21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand. 5:22 For there fell down many slain, because the war [was] of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity. 5:23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon. 5:25 And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. 5:26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day. Defeat of Israel: 10:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. Zionist conquest begun: 11:4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which [is] Jebus; where the Jebusites [were], the inhabitants of the land. 11:5 nd the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which [is] the city of David. Political demonisation begun - 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. (* Sam2) ... A-14 Chronicles 2 Enternal religious attack leads to internal command (ideology) collapse - 32:1 ..Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.. 32:10 Thus saith Sennacherib.. Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? 32:11 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 32:12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? 32:13 Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of [other] lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? 32:14 Who [was there] among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? 32:15 Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand?.. 32:18 Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech unto the people of Jerusalem that [were] on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. 32:19 And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, [which were] the work of the hands of man. 32:20 And for this [cause] Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. 32:21 And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Qur'an commentaryC-1 Sura al-Ikhlas - corrective, monotheistic mysticism:"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." To be cont'd.. Recognition of 'Israel''Nile-to-Euphrates' sources - research links & literature Two Futures - research conclusions |