Tag Archives: nebuchadnezzar

Aslan Will Provide

When reading Katherine Langrish’s reviews of the Chronicles of Narnia while having the theme of civilization on my mind, I thought about how Narnia is considerably more anti-civilization than Oz, even if I don’t recall the word being used (which … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Authors, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, Economics, Fairy Tales, History, Islam, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mythology, Oz, Prejudice, Religion, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Resistance Is Blasphemous

I sometimes wonder if there’s a connection between being deeply religious and following authority without question. In the most popular holy books, God does often come across as a rather cruel, petty dictator. Of course, that’s not really how it … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Fundamentalism, History, Judaism, Middle East, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Roman Empire | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Baum vs. the Bible

When we discussed John R. Neill’s Lucky Bucky in Oz on the old Nonestica mailing list, J.L. Bell mentioned how Bucky recalled the story of Jonah and the Whale when riding inside Davy Jones. Biblical allusions are uncommon in the … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Theosophy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Land of Dairy Milk Bars and Honey

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

Take Out the Tash

While The Last Battle might well be the weakest book in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, I was always struck by the appearance of Tash, the bloodthirsty god of Calormen. This nation, located to the south of Narnia, is largely … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia, Islam, Judaism, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

You Say You’ve Seen Seven Wonders

We’ve all heard of the Seven Wonders of the World, even though only one of them is still standing today. Why seven, though? I don’t know. Something about the ancient Greeks who chose it considering it a number of wholeness. … Continue reading

Posted in Hellenistic Greece, History, Music, They Might Be Giants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Empty Tomb Syndrome

That’s pretty much how I feel about the whole thing. It’s like how some people will try to use the Bible as proof of itself. “Look at how many prophecies Jesus fulfilled!” Yes, IF we already believe everything in the … Continue reading

Posted in Christianity, Easter, Holidays, Judaism, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Nabu Puts It in Writing

It seems that most pantheons of gods have a member who serves as a scribe, although that’s often but one of the deity’s functions. The Greeks give that position to Hermes, also the messenger god, deity of commerce, and patron … Continue reading

Posted in Babylonian, Christianity, Greek Mythology, History, Judaism, Mesopotamia, Mythology, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments