Saturday, October 18, 2014

fuck. every time i look into the precise nature of these squabbles, i'm just appalled by how idiotic they always are.

it took me five minutes to learn that the site is neither the tomb of david nor the site of the last supper. it was a byzantine church. they found a tomb in it during renovations and decided for no compelling reason that the tomb must be david's. nobody's ever opened it to find out what's in there. so, you're dealing with two entirely contrived narratives...

....but it's religion. nobody expects it to actually be true. it's symbolic in both cases. so, why hold so ridiculously to the symbols?

then, you listen to the explanations and they're just astounding. what kind of remarkable doublethink is this, where jews are banned from entering a place of idolatry in order to pray to an idol? for what is praying at the tomb of david, that is only a symbol, if not idolatry in the first place?

i can't help but question the premise. if your religion is so intolerant that you can't enter the same building as people of other faiths, your religion needs to evolve. and, if your religion will not evolve, it must be eradicated - because that kind of extremism is a threat to others.

but look at what they fight over: competing false claims. i've seen more worthwhile arguments in a kindergarten class....