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Kurt
Metzer, April 2004. |
Al-Qa’eda and America |
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The contrast in attitudes towards the
family and the role of women plays an important part. But women do have a
role in Arab/Muslim society, when they become mothers. Arabs and Muslims
revere their mothers. Their attitude towards religion is quite
different, e.g. alcohol. The British should be better, having been in contact
with Arabs/Muslims extensively over the last 300 years. But they can be
surprisingly naïve and insensitive. Re: Trial of Jesus There are many opinions, but analysts miss
a vital point. The Roman Empire was governed from Rome, and the crucifixion of
Jesus occurred at the same time as the fall of Sejanus. There were three parties in Judea who had
influence in Rome: - 1 Pontius Pilate, who was a Sejanus
appointee. 2 The family of Herod the Great. 3 The chief priests who ran the Temple and
the wealthy Jerusalemites who profited from the Temple and Pilgrimages. Now, Jesus offended Party 3 because he
upset the moneychangers at the Temple and generally criticised the
priesthood, who were in part monetarist and corrupt and had succeeded in A.D.
6 in getting rid of the son of Herod (Herod Archewlaus) and establishing
Roman Direct Rule. “We have no king but Caesar.” The Roman Governor and Herod Antipas (who
governed Galilee) were political opponents but reached agreement, as Luke
reports. Neither wished to antagonise the populace (“The Jewish street”) by
executing Jesus – Herod Antipas had made h8imself sufficiently unpopular in
Galilee by having John the Baptist executed. But the priests and capitalists could push
Pilate into having Jesus executed by threatening to denounce him in Rome as
insufficiently careful of the prestige of the empire, as Jesus was held to be
the Messiah (i.e. spiritual King of the Jews, rather like Sheik Yassin was
spiritual leader of the Palestinians.) The bulk of the Jerusalem populace (as opposed
to a hired mob) had nothing to do with it – they had acclaimed Jesus on Palm
Sunday. Thirty years later the Gospel Writers got a
lot of facts right but could not understand the political underplay. |
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