The consequences of anti-Semitism

Until today, the only major historical event that I knew of in 1066 was the Battle of Hastings. That was until I learned about the Grenada Massacre. On December 30 of that year:

"A Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada, Spain on this date in 1066, crucified Joseph ibn Naghrela, the Jewish vizier to the Berber king, and massacred more than a thousand Jewish families. According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, "Arabic chroniclers relate that [the vizier] believed neither in the faith of his fathers nor in any other faith," and that he "controlled" the King and "surrounded him with spies." The most bitter of his enemies was Abu Ishaq of Elvira, who wrote a maliciously anti-Semitic poem that helped spark the pogrom..."

The exact number of deaths is unknown, but it is possible that up to 4000 people were killed. 

https://jewishcurrents.org/jewdayo-grid/december-30-the-grenada-massacre/

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6855-granada

http://jspacenews.com/december-30-1066-granada-massacre/

More spiritual snakeoil

Via Facebook, a past acquaintance of mine invited me to an event with American televangelist, Jesse Duplantis. I strongly but politely declined the invitation. There's no way known I'm going to see him. Let me explain why.

Firstly, I have a big problem with his hyper spirituality. These evangelists who claim to have special teaching or extra-biblical revelations trouble me. Duplantis claims that he was caught up in the Spirit and visited heaven, where he met Abraham, King David, Jesus himself, and the apostle Paul. It's interesting that he should meet Paul, because Paul also had a vision of heaven. Does Duplantis see himself as being a modern day version of Paul? Unlike Duplantis, Paul didn't share his vision of heaven to make himself look good. When he described his apostolic credentials in his letters, it wasn't to impress people, but to defend himself against his opponents, the so called super apostles, who undermined him.

Secondly, Duplantis is a well known prosperity preacher. He lives in a lavish mansion, and earlier in the year, made headlines when he allegedly asked his supporters to help him buy a private jet, to be used for ministry purposes. Again, he says that God wanted him to have it, but on the face of it, it looks like he's manipulating people, and that he thinks that travelling around on commercial flights is beneath him.

That Duplantis has such a huge following shows a lack of discernment amongst Christians. I'm disappointed that an Australian church is directly supporting his work. Count me out. So many of these celebrity pastors eventually fall off the pedestals their followers put them on.

Linguistic totalitarianism

PETA, the well known animal rights activist group, wants to stop people from using what it terms as "anti-animal language." It has prepared a helpful chart to give examples of phrases that it deems to be offensive.

The whole thing is ridiculous. Why should it stop there. Using the same logic, you could argue that saying, "That takes the cake" is offensive to diabetics, or "Don't cry over spilt milk" is offensive to people who are lactose intolerant.

I am a Christian. I could quite easily start a campaign to eradicate the use of the name of Jesus as a swear word. Just yesterday, hundreds of frustrated train commuters were left stranded by a signal fault. It was a hot day. Replacement buses were organised, but it took hours for the crowds to dissipate. At least one of these passengers used that phrase to express his frustration.

If I was a theocratic dictator, my first act would be to enact a decree to outlaw the use of swear words, and all forms of blasphemy. I am being facetious, but it's not that far removed from what PETA is proposing.