Please do not feed the god
- Worshipped by the Universal Church of Truth, as you do.
I am a little bit in love with Dr Francesca Stavrakapoulou.
I saw one of her series of documentaries last year, and I've listened to her on the Radio 4 show, "Museum of Curiosity" this week. And she's brilliant. A theologian, a lecturer, a member of the European Association of Biblical Studies, a television presenter and an atheist.
In the space of a half hour radio comedy panel show, she manages to mention
- Asherah, God's wife
- That the God worshipped today by Jews, Christians and Muslims isn't the God that the Bible was written about
- The snake was part of a healing cult and unfairly maligned
- That the "apple" in Eden was probably an Olive
- That 666 and the Virgin Birth are translation errors
- That 616, the actual number of the beast is a numerological magic number
- That she's written a book about sacrificing children ("it's not a manual")
- That sacrificing Children was a high-status sacrifice which was believed to work. And hence "kind of a good thing...."
- Child sacrifice was like a fertility sacrifice - kind of like a Harvest festival, but kind of... anyway...
Although a lot of people disagree with her on some of these points.
What I love is her historical approach to the study of religion which manages to be quite respectful as well as light-hearted. I'm sure academically she can be argued with, but she comes across as confident and funny. I knew most of her points above already; she manages to communicate them in a way which is accessible.
I'm sure some will find what she says sacreligious, but I find it tremendously respectful. She clearly loves and respects religion, but I think she's got its context pretty much right. I wish I could say what she says half as clearly as she does.
12 October, 2011
