Sorry, I got swallowed by a whale
It was a rough three days, but now I’m back. Covered in stomach juices, it’s true, and far wiser about the digestive tracts of cetaceans than I ever expected to be.
By the way, have you ever read the Book of Jonah? Really read it, in modern translation? It’s a comedy. A pretty good one, too. Jonah is a buffoon and the whole thing is a comic satire on his meanness and lack of charity. It’s full of jokes, absurdities, and punch lines. When God calls Jonah to go preach in Nineveh, the angry little prophet immediately runs in the opposite direction. God brings him back — the whole episode with the ship, Jonah getting thrown overboard, the whale — and forces him to go to Nineveh. But Jonah doesn’t want the Ninevites to be converted; he wants them to die! He wants God to fry ‘em up! But God keeps pestering him, so finally Jonah pokes his head inside the city walls and says, “Repent or in forty days you’ll be destroyed, okay I’m outta here.” Upon hearing this exceptionally brief sermon (all of five words in Hebrew) the entire city of a million people instantly repents and dons sackcloth and ashes. Even the animals put on sackcloth and ashes. Jonah is pissed! Goddamnit, he wants the Ninevites to roast! Surely God won’t spare the city after all its perfidy and sin, will He? So Jonah plops himself down on the hillside in a funk and waits for the firestorm to ensue. God, whose persona in the book is not unlike a wry Jeeves, makes Jonah comfortable by growing a giant plant over his head to shade him, and so forth. The whole thing is a comic masterpiece.
So how can people read Jonah and not get the joke? It’s because of what I call Magic Book Syndrome. The literature that comprises the Hebrew Bible is no longer recognized by naive Christians as literature, which of course it is: history, myth, fables, romances, love poems, proverbs, humor. To Christian fundamentalists — which, up until a couple of centuries ago, was all Christians — none of these categories exist. Everything in the Bible is the word of God. The book itself isn’t even a book in the normal sense of the word: it’s a holy communiqué from God to us. It’s magic.
Protestants suffer from Magic Book Syndrome far more than Catholics do, for the simple reason that Protestantism is actually based on the primacy of the book — sola scriptura — and the concomitant rejection of Church tradition as a parallel fount of authority. Protestants have nothing but the book. Whereas Catholics have the apostolic succession, the Pope, the councils, and the whole magisterium of the Church.
Magic Book Syndrome also occurs with Jewish sects, of course, and is a fricking epidemic among Muslims, who have taken book-worship to an even higher level than Christians. Mormons have it too. It seems to be a potential of all book-based revealed religions.
And so we have intelligent Christians with Ph.D.s (though not in zoology, I think) earnestly discussing what kind of whale or fish or sea monster might have hosted Jonah for three days. You might as well speculate on what kind of wolf Little Red Riding Hood encountered that was able to speak human language and disguise itself as an old woman.
70 Responses to “Sorry, I got swallowed by a whale”
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kenoshaMarge says:
I have seen the “Magic Book Syndrome” for many years. I just didn’t know what to call it. Thanks for giving me a title. Things are so much easier understood with a good “descriptive” title.
“Magic Book Syndrome” works wonderfully well for me. Thank you.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:02 am EST -
samanthasmom says:
Since both you and Jonah (and Pinocchio, too) were returned to us safely, one might guess that you were swallowed by a whale from the sub-order mysticeti, the baleen whales. One of the things that I miss from classroom teaching is my annual whale watch field trip. I can and do still treat myself to a trip out every season, but without seeing the pure amazement on their faces the first time the kids saw the whales up close, the trip just isn’t the same. I can’t wait to take the grandkid this year. I took him to the Mystic Aquarium in CT this past summer, and we had such a fine day petting the rays and watching the belugas.
When approached as literature, the Bible is a fun read – full of gratuitous sex and violence and fraught with humor. The Song of Solomon is one of the most erotic things I’ve read. As a non-believer I am always surprised at how few Christians have actually read it. -
Yanni Znaio says:
A most delightful exegesis, and accurate, I might add.
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riverdaughter says:
Ok, I’m stumped. There’s a message here somewhere but I am not braining today. Is it that Americans are going to get saved anyway no matter how bad Obama is for them? Is it that we actually *want* them to suffer? Is it that you’ve had some harrowing experience that you can’t talk about yet? Is it that your relatives are as nutty as mine and insist that the bible is the infallible word of GAWD and you should repent before your are smited? Smitten? (This last one seems most likely if your Thanksgiving weekend was spent in the company of a fundy family)
BTW, have you ever read The Brick Testament? -
Violet says:
No, there is no message. I just started to explain why I’ve been gone for a few days (swallowed by a whale, unexplored pun there on the projects sucking up my time, etc.), and got distracted by religion.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
I, too, like the Magic Book Syndrome title for that particular ailment.
I thought you would have been on the back of the whale, a la Whale Rider, and not examining the digestive tract of said cetacean. Nevertheless, glad to have you back!
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salth2o says:
As a teenager- when I got bored in Church, we’d read the Songs of Solomon for entertainment.
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Violet says:
The Song of Solomon is hot. Comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love.
Theory about that: it’s been observed that the meter, style, and content of the Song bear a striking resemblance to 19th century Palestinian or Syrian wedding songs. There’s a few millennia difference there, but things like that tend to be conservative in a culture. It’s thought that the Song of Solomon may be an ancient wedding song.
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votermom says:
The Veggie Tales version of Jonah is pretty funny — I think it’s the asparagus with the monocle who plays Jonah, and he’s wonderfully priggish.
And I think there’s a lot of random fish-slapping, iirc. -
quixote says:
“Comfort me with apples”? APPLES?? Sorry, but if things are so bad that love is no good, it’ll take a lot more than apples to bring me round.
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votermom says:
In some translations it is “For I am sick from love” — meaning lovesick, not disgusted with love.
Got to keep the strength up, if you know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, eh? -
Sis says:
As a teenager, in Church, I and the others (hallowed cookie selling group) played strip poker in the kitchen pantry.
What modern version of the Bible?
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Violet says:
Yes, it means sick “from” love, but we use prepositions differently now. But the old translation is so poetic.
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roofingbird says:
lol-hydrous ruminations for the bibically erudite!
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yttik says:
I always thought the magic in the bible was that it did use myth, humor, romance, fables, to try and communicate the word of God? No easy task since people are terribly hard of hearing and suffer from major reading comprehension problems.
Look at “thou shalt not kill”, pretty clear, pretty simple, not much you can read between the lines, but oh do we! Killing in war is okay, state sanctioned executions, animals for food, killing in self defense, etc, etc. We’ve taken four short words and written elaborate legalese defining it. Then we broke it down into subtexts, so each religious branch can have it’s own personal definition. And then we debate over the original word, was it “kill” or was it really just “murder”? But still no problem, if it doesn’t fit our current needs at the time we just disregard the text entirely. In Islam you are absolutely forbidden to target women and children, civilians, in acts of violence. Oh well. In Christianity, there are all sorts of rules about not bearing false witness against your neighbors and invading small countries. Oh well.
But you should totally ignore me. I personally have about 8 differant religious groups coming to my door in a desperate attempt to save my soul. And I now live in a country with a leader who is also out to rescue and save me. So apparently I am in desperate need of fixin. I am absolutely certain if I were to walk into a church again I would immediately be transformed into a pilar of salt. Best not to stand too close to me.
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m Andrea says:
This was hilarious, thank you. But I really came here to be off topic.
Throughout the election, Obama’s meme was “Hillary was unqualified”. Um, the Messiah appointed her Secretary of State! I’m sure you all noticed the discreptancy already…
Most excellent book(s) on the bible are by Pulitzer prize winner and Jesuit theologian Jack Miles, who wrote God: A Biography. He goes through the bible, analyizing it as if it’s a work of fiction and God is merely another protangonist who possesses all the “depths, contradictions, and ambiguities of Hamlet”.
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m Andrea says:
Oh, there is a strategic reason for continuing to call him the Messiah. With one word, it’s a constant reminder of all his pre-election hyperbole and the blind obediance of his followers, both of which will be repudiated quite nicely when his sure-to-follow hypocritical policies destroy the Obama fantasy construct.
His supporters will have nothing left to cling to but their bile, which they shall claim is manna from heaven. Because if things don’t turn out the way you hope, make believe the poo pile is a rose bush.
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samanthasmom says:
m Andrea,
I read the Bible in an intercession course called, “Just for the Hell of It”.
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sister of ye says:
About 20 years back I found myself, to my own surprise, taking classes at the local Catholic seminary. I had a wonderful time. It was before the post-Vatican II retrenchment completely took hold. Plus ny Hebrew Scriptures instructor was distinguished enough that he didn’t care if the ultraconservative students tattled on him to the archbishop.
Though I’m not much of a believer anymore, I still find biblical topics fascinating. I’ve seen some great programs on both History Channel and Discovery. The upshot is that, like with Troy, archeology seems to be confirming that a lot of events in the bible (obvious lit like Jonah aside) seemed to be based on fact.
But changing languages and cultures, vagaries in translations, and the press to conform interpretation to doctrine – now and over the thousands of years – mean that what really went on is probably a lot different than what we think we know, and often a hell of a lot more interesting.
Besides, there’s something wonderfully absurd about a god whose measure of acceptability (for important he-men of course) is whether or not you cut a little piece of skin off your dick.
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Anna Belle says:
I have no idea about the whale, but if god was actually funny, the vine would be wisteria. No vine grows as fast, provides as much shade, or fucks with type As quite so effectively. Trust me on this.
~Anna Belle
Resident Gardner -
Anna Belle says:
Awww man, tripped the modwire again…I’ve got to cultivate grace…
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Violet says:
I’ve seen some great programs on both History Channel and Discovery. The upshot is that, like with Troy, archeology seems to be confirming that a lot of events in the bible (obvious lit like Jonah aside) seemed to be based on fact.
I think that is the impression that the History channel likes to give, because they assume that the people watching the documentaries are religious types who want to find out that the Bible is true. So even when they do a halfway decent documentary, the spin is positive.
Here’s a summary I wrote of where archaeology currently stands:
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madamab says:
Hmmmm….sounds like you should have watched “Finding Nemo” and taken lessons in whale speech before the holidays!
;-)
Great post. Biblical literalism makes me laugh, until people pretend it gives them power over my uterus.
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ElleR says:
Violet, I’m so glad you are reading your bible — and I went back and read your earlier post concerning biblical sources, etc. I, too, am not a believer, but am fascinated as to how and why these particular stories have so much power in our culture, so much so that I went to divinity school — a liberal divinity school –to test out my theories. It was one of the most fun things I have ever done — but hard work!
One of the sad things for me, being a post Christian, and believing that the patriarchal symbol God is wreaking so much havoc in our cultural consciousness, is that I can’t really enthusiastically enjoy Handel’s Messiah any more. So much beautiful music is religiously inspired. I mean, I love Bach and the St. Matthew Passion, but… Oh, well.
On a slightly different topic, as Sister of ye says, “there’s something wonderfully absurd about a god whose measure of acceptability (for important he-men of course) is whether or not you cut a little piece of skin off your dick.”
This strange custom has perplexed me for years. I have researched it exhaustively and really have come up with no reasonable explanation, so I have supplied my own: because circumcision is the sign God requires of his followers, it means that only male followers really count — as females cannot be circumcised in that particular way. It means that the JC God has a special relationship with men. That women just don’t measure up (or out, or whatever).
Also, while I was researching this topic, I ran across some literature on female circumcision among Somalis, I think, which explained it as making a woman fully female, i.e., cutting off the clitoris was cutting off the offending “maleness.” Then in the same article, it was suggested that male circumcision was cutting off the femaleness — as if the foreskin somehow is a vestigial vagina as the clitoris is a vestigial penis. I can’t give anyone a citation right now, but it was from some scholarly journal on female circumcision.
A little off topic from whales, but that’s the way my mind works.
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ElleR says:
Oh, and I forgot to say, I love your illustration! Where did you find it?
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Sandra S. says:
Interestingly, many of the stories told in the bible are variations on earlier stories. The great flood recounted in the bible is pretty damn close to the one told in the epic of Gilgamesh.
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Sis says:
I wish they’d get the term right, these scholarly people. It’s Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Calling it circumcision when done to women is writing out the torture, hiding it in euphemizm and minimizing the mutilation that is done. FGM is not analagous to sniping a thread attached to the foreskin. I’m not going to apologize to men reading this for this clarification. Period.
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orlando says:
Did they have apples in that region at that time? I have spent a lot of time telling undergratuates that the fruit of the garden of Eden was most likely a quince or pomegranate.
Sandra S. – yes, it’s great fun to trace the details for a kind of anthropological map. Moses, for instance, was floated in a basket sealed with pitch, which places the myth as from Syria, not Egypt (where they didn’t have pitch).
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Sis says:
Maybe they traded something they had which Syria didn’t, for the pitch.
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Northwest rain says:
It would be a hoot if the bible were taught in schools — as literature, and then seeing how the writers of the bible borrowed from earlier classics. But I suspect that the religious right would have a fit — can’t allow a rational examination of the bible.
The last bible I read was the Woman’s Bible — by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
http://www.sacred-texts.com/wmn/wb/index.htmI’ve discarded all other copies of bibles my religious ding-a-ling relatives have given me.
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Yanni Znaio says:
I got to attend a presentation on the Indian festival of Dimali, which most of the major religions over there celebrate.
Funny thing is, its mythology shares the “old man driving out/killing a demon” with the Lunar New Year mythology of the Chinese.
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orlando says:
And the St George and the dragon ritual the medieval English mummers performed at yuletide.
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slythwolf says:
My brain is wanting to make a connection between Magic Book Syndrome and how these groups are constantly freaking out about any other books that might seem to promote something slightly different from what they personally believe, i.e. the Harry Potter books and how they all seem to want to ban them. Maybe they think all books have the potential to be seen as this OMG WORD OF GOD? Or something. Like, kids will read Harry Potter and not know that it’s supposed to be different to the Bible. ONOZ!
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purplefinn says:
This post is so liberating and funny. I believe that there are many paths to “god”. My current favorite is “mindfulness” – I like Jon-Kabat Zinn’s take on it. It also reminds me of what Joseph Campbell said in an interview with Bill Moyers: “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive.”
So many people seem to find one of the established religious beliefs meaningful. I just don’t get it myself. Although, I certainly have had moments of magical thinking” that are pretty well based on wishful thinking and superstition.
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simply wondered says:
number one son returned from school in a bad mood:
‘who do we believe in?’
‘sorry?’
‘who do we believe in? everyone else believes in someone and i’m the only one who doesn’t believe in someone. it’s so unfair’
‘beleive in dale winton – he’s as good as anyone else’
that shut him up. of course i’ll be sorry when the godless heathen has to be collected from the police station because he has no moral compass. still, maybe i can get dale winton to do that as well.
sorry if this bypasses readers in the us – i’m sure you can find out who he is if you want. -
InsightAnalytical-GRL says:
There is a new “magic book” co-written by a Ms. Vine who writes for the Times (UK). She’s the one who thinks we all want to have Martinis with Michelle and advises girls at her site/book on how to do a “stage faint.” Seriously, I’m not a drinker, but am about to start…
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
simply wondered – if your godless heathen hasn’t already read the “His Dark Materials” trilogy, he might enjoy it and maintain his moral compass to boot. I love those books.
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Sis says:
TOD I’m wanting to derail a young male sci-fi reader away from such authors as Ray Kurziwell (sp?). Would this His Dark Materials trilogy be non-sexist and literate?
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votermom says:
Sis, The first book of His Dark Materials by Pullman is The Golden Compass, which was made into a movie. I’m a big fan myself. Except for the end of the 3rd book. It was written sort of as an argument to the Narnia books, I think.
Definitely non-sexist and subversive. -
TheOtherDelphyne says:
Sis:
http://www.philip-pullman.com/.....?PageID=36
I love the Dark Materials books because they are so subversive! It’s definitely non sexist; the “heroine” is a young girl whose character is – well, you should read them, too! The Golden Compass (or The Northern Lights in the UK) was made into a movie, but the book is so much better.
Votermom – what was it about the end of the 3rd book that you didn’t like?
I read this trilogy a couple of years because my then 12 year old niece was in love with them – she lived in England for 3 years and was introduced to them here. I just may reread them – I need a break from the “reality” of sexism, war and politics.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
Sis: I did reply, but am in the belly of the moderation beast.
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Sis says:
Oh I’ve heard of the Golden Compass, brief glimpse of the movie poster and a faviourable comment on some blog or other. I looked it up. I understand from Dickapedia that some of the protaganist’s sexuality aspects were edited out of the NA books, where it’s primarily directed to the kid market. But if it’s well enough written I never make that distinction for any book.
Thanks both of you. I’ll look at Chapters/Indigo books.
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madamab says:
You want some really great sci-fi that is non-sexist?
Octavia Butler. Ursula K. LeGuin. Great and very thought-provoking.
Honestly, I was extremely underwhelmed by “His Dark Materials.” I did not think it was well-written at all. But I am a real sci-fi geek!
:-)
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Yanni Znaio says:
InsightAnalytical-GRL:
Great post.
They’re not drinking the Kool-Aid® any more.
They’re eating it straight out of the packet.
Best regards,
YZ
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Violet says:
Did they have apples in that region at that time? I have spent a lot of time telling undergratuates that the fruit of the garden of Eden was most likely a quince or pomegranate.
Well, the Sumerians were growing apples — there are many references to apple growing in their accounts and remains of dried apples in their graves (see Daniel Potts, Mesopotamian civilization: the material foundations, 1997).
Genesis just uses the word “fruit,” so it’s up to interpreters to speculate on the type of fruit. Rabbis have had fun with that over the years, as have Christian interpreters, and for various reasons quinces, pomegranates, figs, olives (!), and many other possibilities have been proposed. Personally I think the olive introduces a rather hilarious note.
But you know, this is still talking about what breed of wolf Little Red Riding Hood met up with.
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Sis says:
This young man is not a very developed reader. He has a learning disability. The Golden Compass will suit him I hope and that’s what I bought. I also bought Dog something Nightime for someone else who is 12.
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samanthasmom says:
Sis,
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? It’s a wonderful book. Quirky and fun, and offers some insight into the world of Aspergers. -
Sis says:
I returned it after I had a cup of coffee and read in it here and there. There’s a theme there I think would upset him. His mother died a couple years ago. Sometimes books are good in hard life sits, but giving them as a gift not. So it’s The Golden Compass then. In the meantime, I had a rough look at what passes for sci fi ‘literature’. And have permanent teeth marks in my tongue. What women-hating dreck. I did see an amazing annotated Alice, and another of Frankenstein. Gee I wanted to get him the Frankenstein!
Also saw some great graphic novels that I would love, but couldn’t be sure. So didn’t buy for him.
Persepolis, by an Iranian woman about her family under the Shah and the coup. And Riel, about the Metis leader of the war in the west. Canadian west, of course. Couple others.
What an exciting genre that looks to be.
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djmm says:
Wonderful post!! I would love to hear your ideas on the Book of Job.
djmm
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parallel says:
Sis, the Windsinger (Wind on Fire ) trilogy by William Nicholson is a good read for kids. Much easier going than Pullman.
Also possibly Terry Pratchet’s stuff ? Not feminist as such, but not woman-hating either.
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votermom says:
Sis, I was annoyed at the not happy-ever-after in the end.
For YA books that are exciting and easy to read, for a boy, I’d recommend Diane Duane’s So You Want to Be Wizard series. I don’t recall it being sexist, though it’s been a while, and it’s got both boy & girl protagonists who are 12 or 13, iirc. It maye be a bit dated though being pub. in 1983.
If he likes space opera (military sf) I recommend Elizabeth Moon. She’s an ex-marine who writes about kick-ass women soldiers in space, and she’s pretty PG. She also has a very thought-rpovoking literary near-future novel about autism called Speed of Dark which I often rec to adults who don’t usually read sf.
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Sis says:
Ok, thanks everyone, I’ll take another tour through the bookstore this weekend, so many interesting suggestions, so many other tempting books in there. Very dangerous to be in a bookstore this time of year.
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votermom says:
That’s why I stick to the library for myself. I’m not safe to let loose in a bookstore.
(Currently reading Anne Perry’s Inspector Monk series)
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Sis says:
Yes me too with the library, but this was for a gift.
I’ve got this waiting for me:
http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com.....em/497671/Also:
Arranged
http://www.arrangedthemovie.com/And I’ll be watching Antonia’s Line again sometime between Xmas and New Year’s. Again. I love so many things about that movie: Antonia’s curse on the man who raped her grand-daughter raises goose bumps. Such a powerful women’s vengence.
http://bostonreview.net/BR21.3/Stone.html -
AM says:
Sis says:
“This young man is not a very developed reader. He has a learning disability. The Golden Compass will suit him I hope and that’s what I bought.”
The Pullman trilogy is great, but not, I think, for the not very developed reader. (And btw, the Vatican went totally ballistic about them. And even as an ex-catholic I was OMG this is the ultimate sin against the Holy Ghost. Speaking of which: isn’t Father, Son, and Holy Ghost rather peculiar when one stops to think about it?)
I would recommend the Redwall books: they are about Redwall Abbey, run by brave and good mice, who wear monks robes and protect the area from predators.
There is no concept of a god, the word god is never uttered, and there are no humans.
The author, Brian Jacques, started these tales when he began reading to blind children.
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orlando says:
If different breeds of wolf symbolised different things it would be the same thing, but a pomegranate – ah! that is full of significance. You see, when you cut into them, they bleed. It makes the garden of Eden myth basically the same as the Persephone myth of the Greeks: a verdant, idyllic but fundamentally stagnant world experiences a breech of virginity that propells it into a world of death, but which is also cyclic, and therefore contains the possibility of rebirth. Just since we’re all on a myths kick here.
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Sis says:
I have a couple posts in purgatory. Yes. Links. Sorry I forgot.
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Yanni Znaio says:
I have no idea about the whale, but if god was actually funny, the vine would be wisteria. No vine grows as fast, provides as much shade, or fucks with type As quite so effectively. Trust me on this.
~Anna Belle
Resident GardnerClearly you’ve never spent any time around kudzu.
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AniEm says:
This is one of the most interesting posts I’ve read on the web, and the comments and suggestions are wonderful as well.
Somewhere in time, humanity traded off wisdom for knowledge and I don’t think either the New or Old Testaments can be understood until we recover that wisdom
I’d like to recommend “Out of the Garden: Women Writers on the Bible” to help recapture feminine perspectives on a religion that has been crippled by fundamentalism, by dogmatism, and by shutting out women.
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Anna Belle says:
But you know, this is still talking about what breed of wolf Little Red Riding Hood met up with.
Probably Arctic Wolf. I mean it is theater of the absurd, right? Or maybe an Ethiopian Wolf, if we’re going for humor instead of mere absurdity…
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Anna Belle says:
Well, that was supposed to be in quotes…that first line. I guess I just don’t get the code here…
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Yanni Znaio says:
AniEm says:
This is one of the most interesting posts I’ve read on the web, and the comments and suggestions are wonderful as well.
Concur. See my first comment on this thread containing the word “exegesis”.
Somewhere in time, humanity traded off wisdom for knowledge and I don’t think either the New or Old Testaments can be understood until we recover that wisdom
I’d like to recommend “Out of the Garden: Women Writers on the Bible” to help recapture feminine perspectives on a religion that has been crippled by fundamentalism, by dogmatism, and by shutting out women.
I’ll have to ask my pitiful local library if they can order it on interlibrary loan.
Thank you for the suggestion.
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Violet says:
Anna Belle, I fixed it for you.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
Sis – thanks for the links. I loved reading the review of Antonia’s Line – I never saw the film and it is now on my list.
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Yanni Znaio says:
It’s a movie, but the protagonist in The Secret of Roan Inish is a girl.
And it’s a WONDERFUL movie.
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Sis says:
I watched *Arranged* last night. (See link above). It’s just lovely, gentle, funny, heartwarming.
Another: Marion Bridge–sisters in their 30s returning home to Nova Scotia to be with their dying mother. Not sad, thoughtful, affirming. http://www.tribute.ca/movies/Marion+Bridge/6583
I booked Roan Inish idontknow.
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TheOtherDelphyne says:
I love The Secret of Roan Inish, Yanni, so much so that I bought my own copy of it to watch whenever the mood strikes.
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Sis says:
I mostly watch movies now that my reading widget left. It goes with the estrogen. Read now women, read lots. Write Vi, write. That’s affected too.
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Yanni Znaio says:
TheOtherDelphyne says:
I love The Secret of Roan Inish, Yanni, so much so that I bought my own copy of it to watch whenever the mood strikes.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:02 am EST
You made smile.
And I really needed it today. Thanks.
YZ
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YogaforCynics says:
I really am gonna have to reread the story of Jonah….
Of course the great irony in believers in Magic Books is that, since such books are all mishmashes from countless different sources, no matter how literalist or fundamentalist a person claims to be, you still have to pick and choose….Love thy neighbor or all that stuff about smiting, stoning, and abominations? Alas the fundies almost always seem to choose the latter…..
