Tag Archives: jerusalem

Is Saul Also Among the Prophets?

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Nathan

It’s pretty obvious that the Bible contains a lot of contradictions, although those who believe the whole thing to be the totally accurate Word of God tend to either ignore them or come up with convoluted workarounds. The way I … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, History, Judaism, Middle East, Mythology, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Santanimals

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Nathan

According to the annoyingly catchy Christmas novelty song “Dominick the Donkey,” Santa Claus rides a donkey because “the reindeer cannot climb the hills of Italy.” But can’t the reindeer fly, in which case hills would be more or less irrelevant? … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Christianity, Christmas, Finnish, Holidays, Music, Mythology, Norse, Poetry, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’m on Top of the World

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Nathan

I saw a link on Twitter to this article on Ancient Origins, a site that presumably isn’t always reliable. What it says here seems to have all been verified elsewhere, however, with nothing about aliens building the pyramids or anything. … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Authors, Babylonian, Christianity, Conspiracy Theories, Douglas Adams, Greek Mythology, Hellenistic Greece, History, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Humor, Islam, Judaism, Maps, Mesopotamia, Monsters, Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Land of Dairy Milk Bars and Honey

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Nathan

Tonight, I’m going to take a look at British Israelism, the movement popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that insisted the British were descended from refugees from Israel. This was essentially a way to be pro-Semitic and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Christianity, Conspiracy Theories, England, Ethnicity, History, Judaism, Language, Middle East, Mythology, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bring Me My Bow of Burning Gold

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Nathan

Despite what its title might suggest, “Jerusalem” is a very popular national song in England. The words were originally written as a poem by William Blake, and Sir Hubert Parry wrote the music in 1916, presumably as part of an … Continue reading →

Posted in British, Christianity, Monty Python, Music, Mythology, Poetry, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Crudeness of Crusades

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Nathan

The charge often lobbied against Christians by the rest of us is that so many of them are nothing like Jesus. Not that Jesus was perfect (to my mind, anyway), but it’s hard to totally hate a guy who preached … Continue reading →

Posted in Byzantine Empire, Christianity, Crusades, History, Holy Roman Empire, Islam, Judaism, Middle East, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

When Rome Ruled

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Nathan

Since Chanukah is soon coming to an end and I know I’ve at least occasionally had Jewish readers, I feel it’s only appropriate to write something related to this holiday. It’s sort of a multi-faith post, I suppose, as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Chanukah, Christianity, Christmas, Historical Personages, History, Holidays, Judaism, Religion, Roman Empire | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Better Than Ezra

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Nathan

The origins of most traditional religions are lost in the mists of ancient history, leaving only myths behind. Despite what biblical literalists might argue, Judaism is no exception to this. Modern scholars can’t be totally sure Moses even existed, let … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Personages, History, Judaism, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qiblahs and Bits

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Nathan

Reading this entry about Muhammad’s change in the direction Muslims should pray got me thinking about how this practice started in the first place, so I did a little bit of research (mostly on Wikipedia, admittedly). The idea of facing … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, Judaism, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tammuz Talk

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Nathan

Since summer has officially begun, the deity to whom we turn today is one closely associated with the summer, the Babylonian Tammuz. The god was originally known as Dumuzi in Sumeria, but is much better known by his Semitic name, … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylonian, Christianity, Egyptian, Greek Mythology, Judaism, Mythology, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments