Second Temple pilgrimage route uncovered

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:02:59 +0200

La scoperta questa volta - come spesso accade - è opera di Roni Reich:

Archaeologists have uncovered a section of a stone-paved street with stairs which connected the Temple Mount with the Pool of Shiloach (Siloam). The section is about 550 meters south of the Temple Mount, and is believed to be the point at which pilgrims began to ascend by foot to the Temple during Second Temple times (516 BCE – 70 CE).

Per altri particolari della scoperta e un’altra foto seguite il link.

Neaples, world capital of blood relics

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:04:53 +0200

In Neaples and its surrounding area you can find about 200 reliquaries with blood, or blood particles, or reddish liquids, which are kept and shown to the churchgoers. Most of these blood relics are said to belong to medieval and ancient (legendary) saints. But there’s also some blood of John the Baptist kept in the church of Sant’Arcangelo a Baiano. Details on these amazing 200 blood relics are here.

Philip Davies on the Merneptah Stele

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:15:32 +0200

Anche a me risulta un’assoluta novità, scrive Philip Davies nel suo ultimo libro:

After mentioning Canaan, and three Canaanite cities of Ashkelon, Gezer, and Yanoam, it runs, “Israel (?) is wasted, its seed is not.” Assuming we have Merneptah’s dates correctly as 1213-1203, and that the reading “Israel” is correct, the reference places an Israel in Palestine in the thirteenth century. The word read (probably correctly) as “Israel” also has a sign indicating a people and not a place. That makes the alternative reading “Jezreel” less likely — though Hebrew “s” and “z” could both be represented by the same Egyptian letter; also, since “Jezreel” is partly made up of the word for “seed,” the inscription could be a pun by a Semitic speaking scribe. It might also be considered that Merneptah would find it easier to fight in the plain of Jezreel than in the highlands. (pp. 90-91).

Una lettura alternativa: davvero interessante. Qui le considerazioni di Neil Godfrey.

Ricostruzione della facciata del Tempio di Erode

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:33:19 +0200

Anche grazie alla recente scoperta di monete dell’epoca della rivolta di Bar Kokhba, Leen Ritmeyer mostra sul sito la ricostruzione della facciata del tempio fatto costruire da Erode il Grande. Questo il link.

Earliest known depiction of Second Temple lamp uncovered

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:02:21 +0200

Si tratta dei resti di una sinagoga del primo secolo - la più antica mai trovata - scoperta nel pressi di Magdala:

An artist who visited the Second Temple returned to his Galilee home some 2,000 years ago amazed by what he'd seen. In a synagogue on Lake Kinneret's shores, he carved the candelabra he'd seen into a rock. The stone and other discoveries were recently uncovered by an Israel Antiquities Authority dig near Moshava Migdal. The dig uncovered the earliest known synagogue dated to the days of the Second Temple. The dig is intended as a salvage operation ahead of the construction of a hotel on a site owned by the Franciscan church. The uncovered synagogue dates to 50 BC to 100 AD, and at its center the engraving of the seven-branched lamp, or menorah, "unlike any ever seen" according to workers at the site.

Scoperta unica nel suo genere:

"This is a very exciting and unique discovery, this is the first time a lamp engraving from the Second Temple age has been uncovered, the earliest lamp in a Jewish context, dated to the beginning of the Roman period," site director Dina Avshalom-Gorni said.

Il resto è su Ha’aretz e le foto sono qui.

[Via ANE2]

Church where people strip naked

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:12:42 +0200

Certo che di culti bizzarri ce ne sono a bizzeffe in giro per il pianeta. Ma questo è forse il più incredibile:

However, a twist was said to have been introduced into doctrines of the church after the wife of the late Pastor Emeka, Prophetess Felicia Okafor, formed a separate ministry under the same church and named it "Ministry of Sacrifice". This, she did, after she reportedly returned from a fasting and praying exercise on an unnamed mountain of God. The Ministry which underwent metamorphosis from the original 'Sacrifice' to 'Separation' and then 'Raising the Dead' was for specific members of the church who were ready to sacrifice all they had, including separating from their respective spouses.

Ed ecco la rivelazione che le ha fatto Dio in persona: dove avevano fallito Adamo ed Eva nel Giardino dell’Eden sarebbe riuscito a lei:

Smarting from the mountain of God, the prophetess was said to have called members of her ministry to tell them that God revealed to her that what could not be achieved by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden would be fulfilled in her.

Tutti fratelli e sorelle. Quindi, nulla da nascondere: via i vestiti:

She was reported to have told the congregation that members were now brothers and sisters and therefore, there was nothing to hide from each other. To buttress her claims, she allegedly stripped herself naked before the congregation and instructed each member to follow suit. The implication was that all of them are now one. In addition, a married female member from that day on was barred from having anything to do with her husband sexually.

E poi, visto che la carne è debole, la penitenza:

She was allegedly stripped naked as is the custom, flogged severally and grinded pepper poured into her private part for confessing that she fornicated with her husband.

Se non capite l’inglese fareste meglio a tradurlo. Tanto per farvi due risate. E vedere fin dove si può spingere la follia cristiana.

Lost book of Manicheans on display for first time

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:16:29 +0200

Mostra che si annuncia unica per i manoscritti del VI secolo che saranno lì esibiti:

It could be the trailer for a new 'Indiana Jones' film, or the blurb for the latest Dan Brown book. "They were remnants of a lost-world religion. Buried for 1,500 years in the dusty sands of Egypt before being accidentally discovered, and brought to Nazi Germany."And then they were lost again, the priceless artefacts looted by the Russians and taken across the Iron Curtain. But now, they're back, and in Dublin."

I quattromila fogli manoscritti sono il clou della mostra:

Manichaean, which combined the teachings of Jesus, Buddha and others, is believed to have almost replaced Christianity in some regions, and spread across much of the world. But Mani was executed and his followers widely persecuted before the religion died out around 1200AD. Its sacred books, however, survived, buried in the Nile Valley for more than 1,500 years before they were discovered during the early part of the last century.

I manichei sono estinti. Almeno così pare. Religioni che vanno e vengono.

Clergy sexual advances studied

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:57:39 +0200

Uno studio scientifico sulle avances sessuali da parte di uomini di chiesa alle donne:

One in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader, according to a survey released Wednesday. The study, by researchers at Baylor University, found that the problem is so pervasive that it almost certainly involves a wide range of denominations and religious traditions and a wide range of spiritual leaders.

Magari i problemi fossero solo questi. Purtroppo, da quello che ho capito, lo studio non ha toccato la pedofilia: il peggior cancro della chiesa cattolica (e non solo).

La fonte è il Washington Post.