“You cannot have it both ways. If you claim the right to pick and choose the nice bits of the Bible and sweep the nasty bits under the carpet, you have sold the pass. You have admitted that you do not, as a matter of fact, get your values from an ancient and authoritative holy book.You are demonstrably getting your values from some modern source, some contemporary liberal consensus or whatever it is. Otherwise by what criterion do you choose the good bits of the Bible while rejecting, say, Deuteronomy’s clear injunction to stone non-virgin brides to death?
Wherever this contemporary liberal consensus may come from, I am entitled to appeal to it when I explicitly reject the authority of my ancient text - the DNA - just as you are entitled to appeal to it when you implicitly reject your - rather less ancient - texts from human scriptures. We can all sit down together and work out the values we want to follow. Whether we are talking about four-thousand-year-old parchment scrolls, or four-thousand-million-year-old DNA, we are all entitled to throw off the tyranny of the texts.”
Paintings from the Ajanta Caves, India, dating from about the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD. The works these caves contain are considered to be masterpieces of Buddhist religious art.
В моих фантазиях я изучаю древнегреческий эпос в огромной тёмной библиотеке старинного замка, окружённого зачарованным туманом. Он подкрадывается к тяжелым дубовым дверям, щекочет окна костлявыми узловатыми пальцами и поёт жуткие колыбельные.
Но мне некогда спать. Я в упоении читаю легенды о монстрах, кровавых битвах и страшных родовых проклятиях. Я представляю себя в роли разъярённого бога, храброго героя или кровожадного чудовища, охраняющего узкий пролив.
Читая, я примеряю тысячу лиц и проживаю тысячу жизней.
Known these days as the “Tower of Hercules” (previously known as Farum Brigantium), this lighthouse was built in 1st century AD by the Romans, and is considered the most preserved ancient Roman lighthouse in the world. Historians say that it most likely was built during Emperor Trajan’s reign, over an older structure that is believed to have been Phoenecian. Read more
Fairgoers in new-model cars ride through displays of Earth’s history at the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens, New York. Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic
Talking about how humans have always been humans, here is one of the archeological finds that makes me cry. Like, tears rolling down the face as I’m typing this.
They posed the little boy like he was sleeping. They covered him in a shroud and placed a pillow under his head before they buried him. 78000 years ago they put time and effort and love into tucking their baby in for the last time. We still bury our loved ones like they are sleeping. We place pillows under their heads.
