Nahum (Chapters 1-3)

Nahum’s pronouncement against the [Assyrian capital] Nineveh: “YHWH is slow to anger but eventually becomes vengeful. He’s very powerful, being able to dry the sea and make mountains quake. Who can resist him? Why would you plot against him seing that you can never oppose him twice? Those among you who resisted YHWH have actually left you. Now YHWH, will afflict you no more [unclear, contradicted by what follows] and sweep away your name and your temples and gods.”

“A herald will announce to Judah that never again will scoundrels invade their land. Brace yourselves, nations! YHWH is avenging Israel by creating another force that will devastate you. Its warriors are fearsome and will breach your walls. Nineveh will be desolate. Now others flee before you, but soon they will plunder you. What will have become of the lion’s den then?”

YHWH says: “Nineveh is a city of constant violence, of endless sorcery and prostitution. I will disfigure you. I will lift your skirts up and show your nakedness to the other nations. You’ll be no better than any other powerful nations which are exiled, their babies dashed to pieces. So get ready for the siege. Your noblemen will be bound in chains. Your traders were like stars and your guards like locusts. They will all disperse. Everyone who suffered at your hands will cheer your destruction.”

Habakkuk (Chapters 1-3)

Habakkuk to YHWH: “How long will I continue to complain to you (about the violence that’s happening) and get no answer? The onslaught of the Chaldeans [Babylonians] has been terrible. They are like vultures, tearing through the land. How can you stand by while the wrong devours the right [Israel], whom you have made as helpless as the fish in the sea?”

YHWH’s answer: “Write down my prophecy (which even if late will eventually come to pass). I reward righteous people with a good life, how can anyone think I’ll let evildoers prosper? Their days are numbered. They plundered many nations so other nations will plunder them. All of you [this might be a general address, not just to the Chaldeans] who have founded empires of crime, oppressed people, made people drink so you can have your way with them, all will be destroyed. And you who worship idols, can’t you see that they’re just dead artifacts that can’t give oracles or save you?”

Habakkuk to YHWH: “I am awed by you and your compassion. Indeed, YHWH is coming in a brilliant light, bringing pestilence and plague to the evildoers, making nations tremble. YHWH’s power will stop the sun and make mountains tremble. YHWH will trample other nations to save Judah from those who would attack it. I await this day calmly. Even though things are hard now with poor crops and rumours of war — still YHWH is my strength.”

Zephaniah (Chapters 1-3)

The word of Zephania son of Cushi [ie. "the Ethiopian"] during the reign of king Josiah of Judah [see Kings]. YHWH says: “I will sweep everything away and destroy humanity. I will wipe out Baal from Judah and Jerusalem, everyone who worships idols, commits fraud or has forsaken me. There will be a great outcry. Those who are indifferent to me will be wiped out too, the rich and tradesmen will not get to enjoy their wealth. A terrible day of calamity and destruction is coming because of the people’s sins.”

“Gather together, shameless [Canaanite] nations, and repent, before I get you too. Perhaps you’ll be spared. All your cities will be destroyed, because you have insulted and gloated over Israel. Your nations will become desolate and the remainder of Israel will possess them. I will make every idol in the world shrivel so all other nations worship me alone. Even your most secure cities (that are considered bastions of civilisation) will become wastes and lairs for beasts.”

“Jerusalem is a harlot city for not trusting me. Its judges are like wolves that leave nothing. Why haven’t you learned from all the other nations I’ve destroyed? Still, after I pour out my anger, I’ll make the remnant pure and humble. Those who remain will do no wrong. Then, a shout of joy will cry over Jerusalem, that I have forgiven Israel. At that time I’ll defeat your enemies and soothe you and make you the most renowned nation on earth.”

Haggai (Chapters 1-2)

In the time of King Darius [the Persian who ended the Babylonian exile and let the Jews return to Israel], YHWH tells Haggai to speak to Zerubbabel the [Persian-appointed Jewish] governor of Judah and to the high priest. “You say it’s not yet time to rebuild the Temple. How long will you wait? Especially since you two are well-off! It’s because of this delay that the people [who have returned from the exile] aren’t doing so well with agriculture. It’s a punishment for attending to your own houses while My House is still in ruins.”

The governor and the high priest take heed, gather the people and begin reconstruction. YHWH says: “Most of you haven’t seen the original Temple — this one is a shabby replacement. But don’t worry since I am with you now and I will bring the kind of prosperity you’d need to decorate the Temple properly. This second Temple will be more glorious than the first.”

YHWH gets Haggai to ask the priests if sacred meat makes other objects holy upon touching them and whether a corpse defiles other objects upon touching them. Their answer is no and yes. YHWH says: “Just as unsavoury things spread defilement but not vice versa, so too does bad behaviour make me look unfavourably on Israel [and is not cancelled out by your good behaviour]. I have struck you down before but since you’ve built the foundation of the new temple, things will improve.” YHWH promises to establish the governor of Judah and overturn Israel’s enemies.

Zechariah (Chapters 1-14)

YHWH speaks through Zechariah in the reign of the Persian King Darius: “Turn back to me (unlike your sinful fathers) and I’ll turn back to you.” YHWH shows him a vision of a man on a horse with white horses behind him. The man is YHWH and he is angry with the nations for overdoing his intended punishment on Israel. The horses are his army. The next vision: 4 horns which are the 4 winds through which Israel has been scattered (which they’ll be gathered from). Next vision: a man holding a measuring line about to measure how big Jerusalem is to be.

Next vision: Joshua the high priest standing before YHWH and Satan [the accusing angel] saying he was plucked from the fire [his grandfather was executed and his father exiled] but now YHWH will redeem him and make him part of the rebuilding if he listens to YHWH. Next vision: a seven-piped lampstand and 2 olive trees. The lamp is YHWH’s seven eyes looking over earth (to proclaim the future rebuilding of the Temple by Zerubbabel). The trees are the king and high priest overseeing reconstruction. Next: a flying scroll, showing that whoever has stolen or sworn falsely (as is forbidden on said scroll) will be punished. Next: a tub with a woman representing wickedness. It’s meant to be carried out to Shinar [Babylonia]. Next: 4 chariots with different coloured horses; these are the 4 winds [again, apparently].

YHWH gets Zechariah to make crowns for Joshua and others involved in the rebuilding. The community asks if they should continue their annual fast mourning the destruction of the Temple (since it’s being rebuilt). YHWH: “Was the fast for my benefit? No, it was for yours. I just wanted you to do justice but your forefathers paid no heed, causing the exile and leading to the land’s desolation. Still, I’m zealous for Jerusalem now and will bring my people here. I used to bait people against each other but will do so no more. Neither will I keep the land barren. Cleave to righteousness. [Eventually or in the Messianic time or during some other future time],the current fasts will turn to celebrations. Everyone will be righteous and all nations will come to enquire about me in Jerusalem and the Jews will lead them to me.”

YHWH will subdue Tyre, Sidon, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ashdod and Philistia and put the Israelites over them. Rejoice, Jerusalem! Your king is coming: victorious, yet humble enough to ride a donkey, a donkey foaled by a she-ass. [This is the origin of the idea that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey. In a hyper-literal misreading of this verse, Matthew has Jesus arrive apparently on TWO donkeys!] His rule will extend from sea to sea. YHWH will arouse the Jews against the Greeks and will protect them. YHWH will provide rain and [finally] answer prayers. Judah and Israel will be as though YHWH has never disowned them, he will gather them in from afar. [The next bit is unclear and out of context.] YHWH gets Zechariah to tend a sheep meant for slaughter (a sign that YHWH will NOT be protective of the people) and break two staffs called Favour and Unity (to show that YHWH will punish everyone). YHWH gets Zechariah to deposit his shepherding wages of 30 silver shekels in the Temple treasury.

YHWH says: “In the end, all the nations will besiege Jerusalem. I will strike them with blindness, make Judah overrun them and all but annihilate them. But, I will give the Jews compassion so they’ll beg me to spare them. There’ll be a great cry over the city. I will erase all idols. False prophets will always be killed from then on. 2/3 of the people will die. The other third I’ll purify with fire and they’ll be [worthy of being] my people. On the day of the siege, first Jerusalem will be captured, then I will help. There’ll be continuous daylight and I will stand on the Mount of Olives. Afterwards, I will be king over the whole world, with all calling me by name. Those who made war with Jerusalem will get various gruesome deaths. Surviving nations will make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem once a year for Sukkot to pay tribute to me and make sacrifices. Otherwise the whole earth will be perfect, united in worshipping me.”

Malachi (Chapters 1-3)

[YHWH says]: “I have shown Israel love and by comparison have hated the nation of Edom and destroyed them. Why then do you not honour me? Why are your sacrifices [at the 2nd, rebuilt temple after the end of the Babylonian exile] so scornful? I am honoured by other nations too, your service is therefore nothing special now. This is especially a warning to the priests: if you don’t mend your ways I will curse you and smear dung on your faces for disregarding the Levitical rites.”

“The Israelites have broken their faith with me, especially in forsaking their wives of their youth — and I hate divorce. I am sending an angel. He will be like a smelter: purify the priests and destroy sorcerers, adulterers, those who cheat labourers and oppress the needy. Then will the sacrifices will be pleasing to me. From the very beginning [of the giving of the Torah], your forefathers have disobeyed the laws and you are still doing it. You defraud me of tithes and say it’s useless to worship me. If you stop, I will stop the curses that are on you. Otherwise I’ll keep track of all wrongdoing. The day is at hand when I’ll destroy the evildoers. I will send the prophet Elijah [who was taken up to heaven, see Kings] to reconcile parents with children and vice versa so that in my day of judgement there will be at least some righteous people and I won’t have to kill everyone.”

The death of Kim Jong Il has rekindled my interest in North Korea. Over the last few weeks I’ve seen quite a lot of movies, articles, photos and so on. Here’s a rundown of them and what they have taught me. My main takeaway was this: NK is fascinating but the texts about NK are doubly fascinating. It is because NK is so foreign to us that the assumptions of people who write about NK become all the more apparent.

As you might know, it’s quite possible to go to NK as a tourist, usually through one of the Chinese travel agencies. Basically you pay for a 7 day package tour where you are supervised, chaperoned and itineraried at all times. So it’s a pretty standard package. This video (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4) by David Pluth documents said standard tourist itinerary.

However, it’s much more than documentation — it is a creepy bit of NK apologism that’s a fascinating text in its own right. He starts by saying [paraphrased]: “What’s your view of NK? Probably negative. This video will open your mind.” He then proceeds to react to everything as if he was on a regular organised tour of any country other than NK. Especially creepy is when he praises the large array of dishes laid out before him and says “and that’s just the entree”. Doubly-fascinating then.

This page is a fairly long description of the same kind of tour by a guy from Russia. There are lots of photos meaning there is a lot more detail than you would otherwise see. He also got quite a few pictures of the countryside, ordinary people and places and so on — often from the window of the minivan. His commentary provides a very different perspective to what you’d be used to. For instance he says NKeans are closer in mentality to Russians than to westerners. Hmm. And then there’s this: “Recall that DPRK is a socialist country since the 1940s (not in the Lenin/Marxist understanding, of course, but in that of the USSR in the late 1980s) with all its pros and cons.”

The whole idea of pros and cons is ridiculous and reminds of of the whole false balance idea. There were definitely some things the late 80s USSR did better than say the late 80s USA. Perhaps there are some things NK does better now than (say) Australia. But the overall landscape of pros and cons is so skewed that to merely speak of “pros and cons” is as misleading as to say “research epidemiologists and people who think vaccines cause autism”. Still, a rare look at NK from the “other side of the Iron Curtain”.

Next is a video by Vice.com, a bastion of gonzo journalism in all its glory. Their “travel guide” to NK (part 1, part 2, part 3) is essentially the founder Shane Smith going on the same kind of tours but bringing an obviously different perspective. There are many bits of propaganda on the tour that are noteworthy. What I found most telling though was that part of the standard tour is the People’s Library (or some such building) where the tour guide shows you a Soviet-style school reading desk that they use and explains that Kim Jong Il invented it, and how important it is to have a desk that’s adjustable to the height of the reader and how this shows that Kim Jong Il was so etc etc. This same moment was present in David Pluth’s video as well, I believe.

What surprises Shane is just how alien the world of NK is to him. He concludes that culturally they have absolutely nothing in common. But he also keeps pointing to the great contradiction of the country’s devastation vs the showy grand facade of the capital city and the fact that it’s all for nobody. Even if you don’t like the style, this video is probably best at showing the creepiness of the regime’s official face.

Welcome to NK is a documentary whose makers were taken on the same standard itinerary. It’s meant to be more professional and shows some more ideosyncracies. More to follow in part 2 of the post.

A special edition today — some of my favourite entries from the now-defunct Best of Wikipedia Tumblr

• Metro-2, a rumoured secret metro network alleged to have been built by Stalin in Moscow to run in parallel with the standard metro network but only for top-level party officials.
• Sweater curse: “Knitters use the term “sweater curse” or “curse of the love sweater” to describe a situation in which a knitter gives a hand-knit sweater to a significant other, who quickly breaks up with the knitter.”
• Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language, a [probably] unique case where a community had a sign language that was used by both deaf AND hearing people, including by hearing people when talking between themselves without deaf people present.
• Rosenhan experiment: “The first part involved the use of healthy associates or “pseudopatients” (three women and five men) who briefly simulated auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 different psychiatric hospitals in five different states in various locations in the United States. All were admitted and diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. After admission, the pseudopatients acted normally and told staff that they felt fine and had not experienced any more hallucinations. Hospital staff failed to detect a single pseudopatient, and instead believed that all of the pseudopatients exhibited symptoms of ongoing mental illness. Several were confined for months. All were forced to admit to having a mental illness and agree to take antipsychotic drugs as a condition of their release.”
• Dancing Plague of 1518, where hundreds of people in Strasbourg were afflicted with some sort of mass hysteria where they danced themselves non-stop for about a month — in many cases to death.
• Tanganyika laughter epidemic, a similar case in 1962 in Tanzania where over the course of a few months there were outbursts of unstoppable mass laughter for up to 16 days. Fortunately it appears there were no deaths.
• Schmidt Sting Pain Index, a pain scale for bee stings. It is the descriptions that make it so interesting. 1.0 is “Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.” 2.0 is “Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.” 4.0 is “Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.”
• The Tree of Ténéré, the world’s most solitary tree. It stood in Niger in the Sahara and was famous for being the sole landmark for over 400km until a Lybian drunk driver ran it over in 1973.
• Henry “Box” Brown, “a 19th century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom by arranging to have himself mailed to Philadelphia abolitionists in a wooden crate”.

I’m going out of order a little but it was easier to expand my project to actual prophets with shorter books. In the Jewish Bible, these 12 prophets are called the “minor” prophets, because they form short books, and all 12 are treated as one full-length book. Here it is then. NOTE: with the prophets it becomes problematic to summarise what they are talking about — do I talk about the literal imagery or what it means (where there is a convergence of opinion)? Because this project is mainly about what’s in the actual Bible, when in doubt I’m going for the literal imagery. In cases where there’s a very well-known interpretation or obvious comment to be made, I may mention it in square brackets. Still, all misunderstandings are mine alone. Another note: in the prophets there are heaps of changes of voice (the prophet speaking for YHWH vs YHWH) and person (whether YHWH is speaking about Israel or to Israel). I’ve tried to smooth some of it out but it’s impossible to do entirely. So sometimes it’ll go from (say) referring to Israel to referring to Israel as “you”. These should still be pretty self-explanatory.

Hosea (Chapters 1-14)

YHWH tells Hosea: “Marry a prostitute and bear her children, because Israel is ‘whoring’ itself out with other gods. [YHWH gets Hosea to be a living allegory to the prophecy.]” He marries Gomer and has 2 sons and a daughter. YHWH gets him to name the son Jezreel (YHWH will revenge the misdeeds at Jezreel [see Kings]), the daughter Lo-ruhamah (meaning no mercy for Israel [but Judah is ok]), the next son Lo-ammi (meaning that the Israelites are “not my people” [anymore]). YHWH says: “I will punish Israel for playing the harlot. The wife will be sorry for straying: I will lay waste to her. I’ll eventually cause Israel to put away their idols and hence will call Israel my wife and everything will be peachy.” YHWH gets Hosea to hire another prostitute but to tell her the condition of her wage is that she cannot have sex with or marry anyone afterwards — to show that Israel will be for a long time without a king because of their idolatry.

YHWH says: “I have a case against you Israel. You are engaged in perjury, murder, theft and adultery. Because of these, nature is withering. The priests are especially bad for destroying my people through corruption — I reject them. The ordinary people will be punished too. Don’t go to pilgrimages in Judah so as not to spread your corruption there. In vain did the tribe of Ephraim appeal to the king of Assyria [later: and Egypt] as their patron! Because of your iniquities this king will only be a destroyer”

“Repent: I can still make everything right again. I desire goodness over sacrifice, but I don’t even have that. The priests are like bandits. Ephraim is especially bad for appealing to foreigners. I was their redeemer but they plotted against me. Their officers will fall by the sword. I reject Israel. Though you may plant crops, strangers will devour them. You will be taken to Egypt and Assyria, where you’ll eat unclean food and will not be able to offer sacrifices. The prophets have been driven made by your conduct — conduct that’s as bad as the days of Gibeah [see Judges].”

“I used to find Israel as pleasing as grapes in the wilderness, but since the idol-worship I’ve detested them. Now, though they may bear children I’ll have them killed and send the nation into exile. Israel is like a ravaged wine. I fell in love with her when she was a child and pampered her but she’s gone astray. I’ve had a change of heart, in my tenderness I won’t destroy you fully. I looked after you in the desert [during the Exodus] and given you food, water and defence. You’ve had no help but me and now you turn your back on me. Your infants will be dashed, your pregnant women ripped open. Repent and I’ll take you back with love. Then Israel will blossom like a lily, its beauty like an olive tree’s.”

Joel (Chapters 1-4)

Listen Israel, this locust plague is really bad. Have you ever seen anything as terrible as this? All of Israel is invaded and devastated. [According to some interpretations the locusts are an allegory for Israel's actual invaders.] Lament at how the land is ravaged, how the sacrifices to YHWH are suspended. I call on YHWH because everything is consumed and dried up.

A terrible day of YHWH is coming, a day of darkness and gloom the likes of which have never happened. A terrible army that are invincible, darken the sun and moon and cannot be stopped — with YHWH at its head. Still, even now YHWH offers Israel the opportunity for authentic repentance and then the punishment may be averted. But only if the entire people take this to heart.

This repentance will happen [or has happened, but I'll refer to it as a prophecy for the future]. YHWH will be roused to compassion, restore Israel’s lands, resources and honour and chase away the invaders. So don’t fear! You will eat your fill and come to know YHWH yet. YHWH will make a judgement, turning the sun to darkness, the moon to blood. Those who invoke YHWH by name will survive. YHWH will gather all other nations and punish them for oppressing his people — especially you Tyre, Sidon and Philistia! All the nations should arm themselves and get to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for jugement. Then the Israelites will live in peace and prosperity with YHWH dwelling in Israel.

Amos (Chapters 1-9)

YHWH speaks to Amos in the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. “I will punish Damascus for threshing Gilead, Gaza for exiling Israelite populations, Tyre for treacherously handing over Israelites to their enemies, Edom for pursuing his brother Israel [since Israel is descended from Jacob and Edom from Jacob's brother Esau] with the sword with no pity, Ammonites for ripping open the pregnant women of Gilead, Moab for burning the bones of the king of Edom. All of these will be destroyed in various gruesome ways. But don’t think you’re getting off lightly, Israel and Judah. Judah, you’re not following my laws and Israel, you’ve sold justice for silver, and allowed immorality. And this after I took you out of Egypt and conquered the land of Israel for you and raised prophets among you! Strength will not save you.”

“I’ve singled you out from all nations on earth which is why I’ll be extra tough on you. Would a lion roar in the forest if he has no prey? Well I’m roaring and it can only be because I’ve decided to punish you. An enemy will plunder your land, incidentally wrecking all your idols. Those who defraud the poor will be carried out in baskets. Come, keep sinning and then hypocritically present sacrifices the next day, you love that stuff! I sent drought, pestilence, destruction (as when God destroyed Sodom and Gemorah) [a rare remnant of monolatry in the text] but still you didn’t repent. 90% of your population will be destroyed if you keep going. Don’t you know how powerful I am? You’ve built nice houses from overtaxing the poor but you won’t get to live in them. Please turn away from evil to avoid tragedy. Those who look forward to the Day of YHWH, rest assured it will be nothing but terrible. I spurn your sacrifices because they’re accompanied by injustice. Take a look at the other nations — are you any better than them at this stage? Surely I will smash you to bits.”

YHWH reveals to Amos 3 punishments for Israel. Amos asks for mercy which YHWH grants each time. The high priest at Bethel, incensed that Amos is talking so negatively, complains to king Jeroboam and tells Amos to get out of Israel and prophecise in Judah. Amos says that he’s not a [professional] prophet but a simple shepherd who YHWH speaks to, furthermore YHWH will make the priest’s wife a harlot and kill his sons.

YHWH tells Amos that he’s had enough of mercy. “I will turn the festivals into mourning and send a terrible famine. No matter where the corrupt rulers of Israel/Judah may go, I will find them and bring them to justice. You might think you’re so special since you’re my own nation that I brought out of Egypt — but I also rescued the Philistines and Arameans from captivity so don’t get such a big head! Still, I won’t kill everyone but will scatter the remnant across the nations. Eventually I will mend the Davidic dynasty, restore Israel and reestablish the land — and never again will they be uprooted from there.”

Ovadiah (Chapter 1)

The nation of Edom will fall and become the most despised of nations. [According to Genesis, Edom is the nation descended from Esau, Jacob's brother and therefore the nation of Edom is considered Israel's older, bully brother.] It is an arrogant nation but its warriors will lose heart and nobody will survive the slaughter. The reason is because they hurt Israel by standing by when foreigners sacked its gates and siezed Jerusalem [ie. when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple, see Kings]. Edom, how could you stand by and gaze with glee, not to mention stealing the spoils of war? A remnant of Israel will remain [despite the Babylonian exile?] and will take back Edom’s land for Israel and destroy Edom.

Jonah (Chapters 1-4)

YHWH tells Jonah to warn the Assyrian city of Nineveh that YHWH is about to judge it. Instead, Jonah runs away on a ship. YHWH sends a storm and each sailor prays to his own god. They cast lots and “learn” that Jonah is responsible. Jonah offers to be thrown overboard so they wouldn’t die for him. At first they refuse but the storm is too dangerous so they do. To save Jonah, YHWH makes a fish swallow him.

Jonah is in the belly for 3 days. He composes a poem about how even though he is cast out, he is thankful for being saved, yearns to offer sacrifices at YHWH’s temple (in Jerusalem) and will obey YHWH. The fish spits Jonah out. He preaches at Nineveh. The inhabitants take heed, begin to fast and repent and YHWH cancels their punishment.

Jonah is angry and explains this was why he fled: he knew YHWH is compassionate and therefore delivering the prophecy is in effect offering Nineveh a chance to repent. [Jonah doesn't want to see Assyria spared because they have been or are about to attack Israel and destroy it.] In response YHWH provides Jonah a plant and just when he’s comforted by the shade, destroys it. Jonah is grieved about the plant and in defiance wants YHWH to kill him. YHWH explains that because Jonah cares for a plant he didn’t rear, how much more should YHWH care about Nineveh, a city of 120,000 children? [who were created by YHWH and who are not responsible for the "sins" of their adult parents.]

Micah (Chapters 1-7)

YHWH speaks to Micah, a prophet in the reign of king Hezekiah of Judah [see Kings]: “Listen all nations, I’m coming to judgement and the world will tremble. Judah will be judged, its idols smashed and harlot-fees burned. Start mourning: foreigners will take your lands from you. Everyone who commits fraud and injustice will get it doubly. Some say I will not do such a thing because of my patience. Though I’m friendly to the righteous, I won’t hesitate to strike at the wicked who oppress my people from within. To the rulers of Israel+Judah especially: you should know what’s right but instead you’ve flayed the skin off my people. I will be silent to your official prophets/seers. Because you dispence justice for a fee, I will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Eventually the nations will come to Israel to learn my ways. I will judge other nations who will beat their swords into plowshares, nation shall not take up sword against nation but everyone will be left alone etc.

“I will gather those of you [Israelites] who I treated so harshly and restore the Judean monarchy. It’s understandable that you’re upset now since you will go into exile to Babylon but I will redeem you there. Though other nations have conspired against you, I will defeat them. The new ruler will come from Bethlehem. He will defend Israel and lead them back to the land and protect them against any Assyrian attacks. The remaining Israelites will be among the nations like a lion among sheep, trampling all. I will destroy all idols and disobedient nations.”

“Israel, I have a case against you. What harm have I caused you? Testify against me — I’ve rescued you from Egypt and done only good. Do I want fancy sacrifices? No, I’m more concerned with justice. Should I overlook the fraudulent weights and balances of the lawless rich? This is why I’ve been chastising you, why you do work but it comes to naught — because you’ve continued the idolatry of the house of Ahab [see Kings].”

[Samaria personified(?) says]: “Woe is me! I have become barren and the pious are vanished leaving only scoundrels, the best of them like thorns. Trust noone because a man’s household are his enemies nowadays. Enemies, I bear YHWH’s righteous anger but I will rise up again so don’t rejoice over my downfall. You will only get punished for such gloating with destruction of your own land. You will cower before YHWH. He is a god that forgives sin and cannot stay mad at Israel forever. Hence he will honour all the covenants he promised meaning Israel won’t stay down forever.”

I’ve been reading a lot about the Gulags lately including the monumental Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I’ll post more later but I thought it was especially important to translate a page by Shalamov that I found. Varlam Shalamov is famous for his Kolyma Tales — a series of short stories that combines fiction and non-fiction to portray the horrors of the camps he was in.

The list below is a separate work and is a particularly poignant and terse summary of his long-term view of his experiences. The original is here. After I translated this by hand I found that the same site had another English translation here. Doh! I guess there’s room for an amateur’s translation to compete with a more official one. Mine has a few explanatory notes (the accuracy of which I don’t vouch for at all!).

What I’ve Seen and Understood in the Camps

1. The extraordinary fragility of human culture and civilisation. A person becomes a beast after just 3 weeks — given hard labour, cold, hunger and beatings.
2. The main tool for decomposing a soul — bitter cold. In Central Asian camps, probably people could hold it together for longer — it was warmer.
3. I understood that friendship and camaraderie can never begin in difficult (properly difficult, where life is at stake) circumstances. Friendship begins in circumstances that are difficult but bearable (in a hospital not a mine).
4. I understood that rage is the last emotion that remains in man. Enough flesh remains on a starving man just for rage — he’s indifferent to everything else.
5. I understood the difference between prison, which strengthens the character, and camps, which decompose the soul.
6. I understood that Stalin’s “victories” [aNadder: in WWII? Or in internal politics?] happened because he killed innocent people. An organised group (even ten times less numerous but organised) would have swept Stalin away in two days.
7. I understood that man became man through being physically tougher and more tenacious than any animal — no horse can bear the conditions of the Far North.
8. I saw that the only group of people that remained at least somewhat human amidst the hunger and abuses were the religionists — almost all the sectarians and the majority of orthodox priests.
9. The first people to lose it are Party workers and military men.
10. I saw what a formidable form of argument a simple slap in the face presents to a member of the intelligentsia.
11. That the people tell who are in charge by the strength and intensity of the beatings they give.
12. Beatings as a form of argument are almost unanswerable (method #3 [aNadder: not sure what that last bit is]).
13. I found out about preparing conspiracies [aNadder: ie. fake charges] from the masters of said craft.
14. I understood why in jail, you find out political news (arests etc) quicker than outside jail.
15. I found out that the jailhouse (and camp), a “bed-pan” is never a “bed-pan”.
16. I understood that you can always live by rage.
17. I understood that you can always live by indifference.
18. I understood why man doesn’t live by hope — there is no hope, or by will — what talk is there of will?, but by the instinct of self-preservation — the same feature that’s possessed by a tree, a stone, an animal.
19. I’m proud that I decided in 1937, in the very beginning, that I will never be a camp work squad leader if my will might lead to another man’s death — if my will must serve the administrators thereby opressing other people — prisoners like me.
20. And my physical and spiritual strength was greater than I thought during this great trial, and I am proud that I didn’t sell anyone out, didn’t send anyone to his death, or to a new camp term, didn’t dob anyone in.
21. I’m proud that I didn’t write any requests until 1955. [aNadder: when they started "rehabilitating" millions of falsely-convicted inmates, whether they were freed already or posthumously.]
22. I saw on the spot the so-called “Beria’s amnesty” — there was much to see there. [aNadder: This was the 1953 amnesty prepared by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Stalin's right hand man Beria just a few weeks after Stalin's death -- he saw the writing on the wall. It released everyone whose sentence was 5 years or less, or about 20% of the 2.5M people in the camps at the time. As well as foreigners, children, pregnant women, elderly and people with a disability.]
23. I saw that women are better, more selfless than men — in Kolyma there were no cases of men coming to their wives. While lots of wives came to their husbands. (Lists some examples). [aNadder: The Kolyma camps were so strict that at the end of your term you remained in perpetual exile in Kolyma, essentially living just outside the labour camp -- and often doing the same jobs but as a "free" man/woman! Until the whole thing started dissolving around 1956.]
24. I saw amazing northern families (consisting of free hired labourers and former inmates) with letters to “lawful husbands, wives etc”. [aNadder: not sure on this, perhaps this refers to the fact that many spouses of former inmates completely repudiated them and considered themselves married only in the legal sense?]
25. I saw the first “Rockefellers”, underground millionaires, and heard their confessions.
26. I saw those condemned to the harshest labour camp regime including the “D”, “B” contingent etc.
27. I understood that you can achieve a lot — a hospital stay, a transfer — but only through risking your life — beatings, the ice of the penalty cellar isolator.
28. I saw an icy penalty cellar isolater hacked out in the rock, and spent a night there myself.
29. The thirst for power and unrestricted murder is great — from the Big Kahunas to regular guards — all with rifles. (Gives some references)
30. The untamable propensity of a Russian man to complain, to dob people in.
31. I understood that the world shouldn’t be divided into good and bad people but into cowards and non-cowards. 95% of cowards are capable of any treachery (incredible treachery) at the slightest threat.
32. I am convinced that the labour camp experience — all of it — is a negative school, that you can’t spend even a single hour in it without it being an hour of corruption. Nobody had ever gotten anything good or useful from the camps at any point — nor could they. The camp is corrupting for all — both inmates and free hired labourers.
33. Every county had its own camps, every construction project. Millions, tens of millions of inmates.
34. Repressions did not just touch the top but all parts of society — in every village, in every factory, in every family there were family members of friends who were repressed. [aNadder: repression being the official term for punishment by the state, usually meaning arrest, conviction, labour camps and death.]
35. I consider the months spent in the Butyr prison the best period of my life — there I was able to strengthen the spirit of the weak and there everyone spoke freely.
36. I learned to “plan” my life only one day ahead — no more.
37. I understood that thieves aren’t people. [aNadder: thieves meaning the class of Russian career criminals and organised gangs, for more details see two old posts of mine]
38. That in the camps there are no criminals at all, but people who were near you (and will remain near you tomorrow), that were caught beyond the line but didn’t themselves cross the line of the law.
39. I understood what a terrible thing is a young boy’s pride — it’s better to steal than to ask. Boasting and this pride lead youth inmates to the abyss.
40. Women have not played a major role in my life — the camps were the cause of this.
41. That to know people is useless — since I cannot change my attitude towards any scoundrel anyway.
42. The last in the marching lines are hated by all — by the guards and by their inmate comrades — the straggling, sick, weak, those that can’t run in the cold.
43. I understood the meaning of power, the meaning of a man with a rifle.
44. That the scales [aNadder: by which you measure life?] are shifted, and this is a chief feature of the camps.
45. That to change your state from an inmate to a free man is very difficult, almost impossible without long acclimatisation.
46. That the writer must be a foreigner with respect to the issues he is describing — if he knows the material intimately, he will write it in a way that nobody else would understand.

It’s very common to mention Orwell’s 1984 when criticising a tyrannical/repressive/linguistically manipulative government/corporation/individual. This is often followed by praise of Orwell and how wise and prophetic his 1984 was. I find these comparisons ridiculous about 90% of the time because they seem to fundamentally misunderstand what Orwell was saying and dilute it to a much weaker point.

One example of such use is to criticise the military framing of civilian deaths as “collateral damage” and to call this phrase “Orwellian” and reminiscent of Newspeak. While I think it’s entirely appropriate to criticise use of phrases like “collateral damage”, the analysis is IMO incorrect. What’s wrong with the phrase is that it uses framing to direct the audience’s reaction. In this case to mislead them away from thinking that what actually happened was that the military killed civilians. While this is manipulation of language I don’t see how it would qualify as Orwellian. To find out what is Orwellian, let’s take a look at a famous quote from 1984.

“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?… Has it ever occurred to your, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?…The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact, there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”

The kind of dictatorship and language control Orwell was speaking about is of orders more magnitude than anything that’s happening now. I think it’s orders of magnitude more than what’s actually possible. It is so much stronger than any examples that people make when calling something Orwellian that it’s almost in an entirely different category.

The idea Orwell is buying into is the Sapir Whorf hypothesis, and the strong version too: that our cognition is literally trapped within the rigid categories of our language and that language sets up a total prison/boundary for our thinking. The Sapir Whorf hypothesis goes against the consensus of linguists. (Although a milder version has been brought back due to some recent results: eg. colour vocabulary affects colour perception.)

The idea of an Orwellian restriction of thought through the contraction of language is closely related to the idea that “language X has no word for Y”. Now, this trope that’s false close to 100% of the time because there’s nothing special about having a single word for something. Even if a language has no such word, it most certainly has a phrase for it. To see the silliness, here’s a list of ‘no word for X’ claims on LanguageLog, each with its own post rebutting it.

The idea of an Orwellian restriction of thought by the shrinking of vocabulary ignores the CENTRAL feature of language: the endless, recursive, infinite creativity and productivity both in meaning and syntax. It might even be associated with the old school behaviourist theories of language that consider it a result of simple stimilus-response and operant conditioning. If the specifics of your speech come from conditioning then it’s certainly possible to “condition” some concepts out of you. In this, Orwell might have been close to the best science of his time — but it’s not the best science of our time.

Let’s leave language for a minute and consider the broader concept of Orwellianism. One of the most powerful parts of 1984 is the ending, where Winston is effectively brainwashed into loving Big Brother. (Spoiler alert..!) I know someone who on reading that last bit as a teenager cried for days on end and it is a powerful image. But again, it relies on assumptions about human nature being much more of a blank slate than it is. In Orwell’s time it might have been taken for granted by some people that it’s possible to change people’s core beliefs (eg. make them love The Leader) through brainwashing. But like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, there seems to be no good evidence for it, at least in the strong form that Orwell speaks of. For more information, you can listen to (or read the transcript of) Skeptoid’s episode on brainwashing/deprogramming

The bottom line is that to take Orwell seriously we need to examine the world he’s actually painting, not a hopelessly-diluted version of it. Whether you’re talking about language or thought, 1984 pretty much requires human cognition to be much more of a blank slate, much more relative and a lot more malleable to crude restrictions (vocabulary control, brainwashing) than it actually is. Of course all of these things do influence the discourse, but this is too mild to call Orwellian. If we take him seriously, such a society is probably impossible. Even North Korea (possibly the most totalitarian state ever) is not Orwellian.

Interestingly, the criticisms of some (say) government being successfully Orwellian is a counterexample to the strong Orwellian hypothesis. The mere existence of the criticism shows that human thought has not been restricted by the manipulation. In other words if strong Orwellianism was possible and happened we wouldn’t know about it and would not be discussing whether or not it is happening.

I thought a brief foray into cartooning (using material from other people’s hard work) would explain things better than words:

I think ultimately it’s just another example of folk-Kantianism (ie. caring mostly about the “intent” of an act, quite literally an attitude of consequences-be-damned) rearing its head and mucking things up for humanity.

• Another post giving some examples of the extreme misogyny, rape threats, death threats and so on that are standard fare for a great number of women who blog.
• Theme music from Inception is actually Piaf’s Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien slowed down a lot. Which makes sense and is a brilliant Easter egg.
• Why same sex marriage is unconstitutional: a wingnut screed to end all wingnut screeds. Basically the real goal of SSM is to establish ‘feminist marriage’, “a three-way contract between two women and government… Government is the automatic third party collecting “child support” entitlements for children born in these marriages. Children will be born of extramarital affairs backed by welfare guarantees and child support entitlements.”
• Mind-blowing optical illusion that shows how much our mind’s eye photoshops our colour perception.
• Very well executed guessing game where you pick any person and the app asks you 20 questions. It got pretty much all the people I tried!
• I’ve discovered the most beautiful writing script ever: the script of Kannada (aka Canarese), a language from Karnataka, India with about 30 million speakers. To sample it, check out Wikipedia in Canarese.
• A look at some of the ways life in the past used to suck more than life today.

The news are full of cases where very religious people do extremely ridiculous or cruel things. For example, there’s Javon Thompson, a 1 year old starved to death by his cult member family because he did not say “amen” during mealtime. Or more recently, a 7 year old girl who was killed during an exorcism by her priest and congregation members. If you want something less harmful to others, look no further than the man who spent his life savings on those Harold Camping apocalypse ads.

A response I’ve seen a few times is that it’s wrong to “blame” religion for these incidents. The reason given is that the people who perpetrate this “obviously” just have a mental illness and that’s all there is to it. It would be as disingenuous as to blame critics of Rupert Sheldrake (a biologist who’s a major proponent of telepathy and other “challenges to the orthodoxy”) for the man who stabbed him . A certain percentage of the population just have Issues. No movement or social group will be without such people as members. Should every movement be blamed for its kooks?

It’s clear that in some cases of hyperreligiosity combined with mental illness, it’s mental illness that’s the overwhelming force. Cases of mothers who kill all their children because they want them to “be with God” are the most blatant examples. But I think to divorce these acts from religion entirely (and say that the exorcist priest was “just crazy”) is to miss the point.

Firstly, I don’t think it’s obvious that all of these people have a mental illness. We have a strong interest in seeing them as “crazy” since otherwise it would mean that the act was done by someone “normal” which is horrifying to most people. But unfortunately, both history and psychology show that the things we label insane are often done by very normal people. It’s crazy to see a suicidal person at the top of a building and yell for him/her to jump. And yet it’s common knowledge in police circles that a crowd of NORMAL people will spontaneously do this — more here. It’s crazy to deliver a 450V shock to a person at the behest of a person dressed in a lab coat, a shock that would be fatal. And yet 65% of people do this. It’s crazy to take a holiday snapshot of yourself posing in front of a few corpses of civilians you’ve hanged and send them as a postcard to your family, to see yourself in that moment as an average Joe Bloggs. But of course this happened all the time with the Nazis. And it looks like this was done by many ordinary soldiers too (not just the SS elite), meaning the ones drawn from the general population.

It’s ridiculous to explain these acts as a chemical imbalance in the brain. No, this is just normal brain function in a very specific set of circumstances. As scary as these might be to face up to, these are facts. Circumstances can influence a very ordinary person to do horrible things. These circumstances include ideology. If a horrible thing related to religion becomes very widespread (eg. the “witch children” of Nigeria), the mental illness explanation becomes much more unlikely. Of course the religious ideology is rarely the only cause or even the most important one — but it shouldn’t be ignored.

The second reason has to do with cases where we accept that a person has a mental illness and that this was the main cause for the action. I came across it in a wise statement by Angie the Antitheist when she was a guest on the fabulous Godless Bitches podcast episode 1.5. To paraphrase, because mainstream religion often consists of ridiculous beliefs, it provides an indirect cover for someone with an actual mental illness. In other words, a person’s crazy beliefs don’t stand out as much as they should.

To give just one example, if a person belongs to one of the Christian communities that is heavy into the persecution and martyr complexes, who emphasise something like Matthew 24:9 (“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”) then it will be all the much more difficult for anyone to notice if in fact he/she has paranoid delusions. Especially given how extreme entire religious communities can get in these matters.

When I was checking out the keywords that people used to find this blog in 2011 for the previous post, I came across a very curious keyword that deserves its own post.

I couldn’t help laugh — it was probably the most loaded question I’ve ever seen, and absolutely ridiculous. What a lucky find! I have no idea how this led to my blog since it does not come up on a Google search for the above phrase. What does come up is a very interesting religious studies quiz on Brainmass.com. The site seems to sell academic answers for all subjects so it’s not a Christian site per se — but the 3 question quiz on marriage, love and human society is a gem. Here are the 3 questions with a few comments.

1. Jack, 21, and Barb, 20, have decided to live together for sexual pleasure and also because they enjoy each others company. Barb has decided to take birth control pills, and they have agreed to share the expenses. They have both agreed that if either one wants to break off the relationship, they will part amiably. Do you think what they are doing is moral? In your opinion, what problems could arise from this arrangement? Justify your answers with reason.

Obviously this question is worded so that the “correct” Christian-studies answer would be no. The construction of the question to give this answer is obvious. Note that sexual pleasure is given as the main reason for the two living together and enjoying company is an afterthought. I also love the bit about sharing expenses — either the egalitarianism is meant to count as a negative or the garden path you’re being put on is that even though the couple thinks they’re nice and egalitarian they’re still doing A Great Wrong^TM.

Finally the bit about planning to part amiably if there’s a breakup is clearly meant to suggest that things are likely to end in tears even though they didn’t anticipate this. Because the average breakup must be THOUSANDS of times more emotionally traumatic than the average divorce. Right? Right? The whole thing is one of the loopiest caricatures of de facto couples living together that I’ve ever seen. And yet it’s all done by stealth.

2. Victor works with Jeremy, whom he always considers to be smart, witty and athletic. One night Jermey invites him to his apartment that he shares with Russ. Victor is shocked to learn that the two are lovers. They do not appear effeminate. They are not child molesters either, nor do they march in gay parades. They only have a quiet relationship. Is what they are doing moral? Why or why not? What if they did march in gay parades?

This one is just as obscene. It’s obviously set up to get the student to say that despite all the “mitigating” factors, the couple is still doing A Great Wrong^TM. In which case it’s very telling that it’s supposed to be “mitigating” that the men are not effeminate. Especially since other than the prohibition of cross-dressing, there’s not much in the Bible about generally “effeminate” behaviour. There are of course strict gender roles from the society it was written in. But I think the question is talking about mannerisms — a different beast entirely. Which just goes to show yet again that anti-gay prejudice goes way beyond what may be biblically defended.

Finally there’s the gold of matter-of-factly mentioning child molestation and marching in gay pride parades in the same sentence. And of course the fact that the couple aren’t child molesters has to be specified as extra information! It’s good when the veneer of niceness is so transparent that you can’t be fooled about the ugliness beneath.

3. A small city has one street that has several stores selling pornorgraphic films, books, and devices. The managers at the stores do check IDs, to make sure that no one underage comes in. However, certain religious groups want to have the license of these stores revoked because they are of the opinion that such stores ae a bad influence on the community. Should the licenses of these stores be revoked because what they are doing is immoral? Why or why not?

For this one I’m not completely sure what the answer is meant to be. But there’s a reason why. The question is framed specifically as religious groups trying to impose their morality on others — and I don’t think most religious groups who do this actually see it this way. Then again, it’s probably just hard to empathise with such a mindset when it’s so different to your own. I still think the answer is probably “yes because these stores are encouraging lust”.