Scratch, Second Annual Bake Sale Benefit

CATCHING UP ( April)

In April we had a small group of just five yet managed to enthusiastically discuss the history of Christianity into the AM hours. Thanks mainly to Brian and Nate who have their own special history with religion, and an astounding wealth of knowledge concerning this subject. I will do my best to outline some highlights of what we talked about.

Nate filled us in on the story of Jacob, Joseph, and Moses
Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac. As the story goes Jacob, feeling very hungry asks his twin brother for some of his stew and Esau agrees with the caveat that Jacob give him his birthright. Jacob flees and works 7 years for Laban in order to gain his daughter Rachel. Laban changes his mind and gives Jacob Leah instead. Jacob then works another 7 years to acquire Rachel. During this long period of work Jacob discovers selective breeding. With this great knowledge he returns to Canaan with his two wives. Esau welcomes his brother back. The 12 sons of Jacob become the 12 tribes of Israel.

Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob and due to jealously his brother sold him into slavery. In Egypt he wins the favor of the Pharaoh. Joseph creates grain silos to protect against famine. He welcomes his brothers to Egypt forgiving them and sharing his wealth. Eventually they become oppressed which is where Moses comes in. Baby Moses was put in a basket and sent down the river where he then was discovered by royalty and raised in the palace. Moses discovers "the people" and takes them back to Canaan.


Bryon discussed
saints and their attributes
1766 Butler publish The Lives of the Saints. in 1486 there were 2865 saints.
Beatified Saints, blessed, the third of four steps of cannonization.
Saint Polycarp was the first venerated saint. The process of becoming a saint involves the bishop looking into your life, 2 miracles are necessary for you to be sainted.


Visser discussed the three classes of relics and helped us all to understand faith. I presented on general history in Catholicism and the structure of the church. Amy added important insight
into every discussion, as we are not all rehearsed in Bible histories and should always stay objective. It was a lovely evening.

&review

Last night Bryon and I attended a talk / presentation for a wonderful new publication just starting out called &review. I find it satisfyingly similar to my favorite major quarterly The Paris Review. &review may not be interviewing legends like Gay Talese or Hemingway, but judging from its first free edition it shows great promise. Three contributors presented their work last night at the Liberty Glass. One of the artists was Jeff Guay who presented a project called Ghost. He paired his own film footage from the 99 New Carissa wreck with his own narrative. Using the indelible wrecked ship as a kind of personification for his unsteady connection with an ex girlfriend.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more about this auspicious little publication. They are working on their 2nd issue and always seeking good contributions, that means all of you. For more information please check out http://andreview.com/ Rachel Pedderson is the Portland contact that I am acquainted with.

The Return of the Salon, a few random thoughts as well

In honor of the season I found myself late last night watching a PBS documentary on King David and the Israelites. The program drew from a variety of resources interviewing historians as well as several Rabbis. I think it made a very good point about the question of truth, which I grapple with from time to time. The historians did not attempt to dismantle arguments in favor of God nor did the Rabbis try to explain away all logic in favor of faith. All parties knowing that archeology has dismissed many biblical stories into just that, stories, fiction, gave credence to the history of the writing above all. Two tropes for one belief: the importance of documentation. The Bible was written to influence a certain people. It aimed to give them strength and unity. In turn it influenced the entire world, for the good is a major argument. The stories give believers something to stand on and give historians something to jump off from. I think of all of this and more because as I was watching these reenactments of Moses and Bathsheba when I decided to look up a map of the Euphrates River. Once I clicked on the Google image it came up on its original page entitled "HeavenAwaits" a zealous, Old Testament driven warning of the Apocalyptic destruction of all the unholy. Needless to say I did have nightmares last night. The woman who writes the blog seems like a nice person, really, except that she sees life through a pin hole. She is diligent with her writing and it made me think about this blog and how terrible I have been about keeping up. I have no gospel to preach except for the passion of history. In theme with all of these random thoughts I would like to propose that the next Salon (maybe 2) delve into the history of western religion. Paganism to Christianity and then to the Romans, Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans. I want to know all of it, so badly! Before "Heaven Awaits' " Apocalypse is upon us. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Albrecht Durer

Napoleon's Law of Women

So it appears that women were definitely given the short end of the stick when he came into rule. The French Revolution under Napoleon did bring much needed stability after two decades of civil war, but many basic rights were taken in exchange. In theory the Napoleonic code upheld the revolutionary idea that all citizens were created equal, except women. They were no longer allowed to testify in a courtroom or sell property without a husbands approval, they became a nothing more than property of their fathers or husbands. During the second to last stage of the French Revolution called the Directory, just prior to Napoleons coup d'etat, women were invited to take petitions and have their voice heard, even if not allowed to vote yet. But this was all taken away after Napoleonic Code came into place.
Pretty interesting after hearing what a hopeless romantic he was. He was said to have had an attitude towards women as "tender and uncomplicated as a schoolboy". Women's tears and supplications would send him into a frenzy of generosity and kindness.
Now it seems that we can break down this quote from Napoleon a bit further. "The ivy winds its tendrils around the first tree it encounters and that, in brief, is the story of love". Women were a living, breathing, grasping thing to him, something to wind himself up with, not much more. But oh how he wanted such a tendril to twist in its way.