The Carceral State

The United States has many distinctions, but one we probably should not be proud of is that we incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than all but a few countries we probably don't want to be compared to. We aren't quite number one, but we aren't in proud company. Here are the top six:

 

 

 

Okay, North Korea would probably be on there if we had reliable data, but that's scant comfort. And just looking at comparable countries, we're totally off the charts:

 

 

 And I hope the next picture doesn't come as a big surprise.

 

 

 

Welllll, you might say, maybe we have an exceptionally high crime rate. No, we don't. However, that's rather complicated. I'll take up the question of crime rates next.

Smart on Crime

I stole the title or this post from an essay by Mark A.R. Kleinman, in the journal Democracy, from which I pull this quote:

 

“Conservatives, who want to fight crime by hurting people who commit it, have a natural rhetorical advantage over liberals, whose tendency is to fight crime by helping those who have committed it or might do so.”

Mark A.R. Kleiman*

* Democracy. 28. 2013

 

I'm going to present a series of posts, based on a talk I gave recently. As you must know, the perception is widespread that crime in the U.S. has been increasing, that it constitutes a crisis, and that it's all the fault of bleeding heart liberals. None of this is actually true, but nowadays that doesn't matter. I'll discuss the reality of crime in the U.S., including statistics, the nature of the problem, and what we ought to do about it. Here are my next two slides:

 

 

 

 

 It probably won't surprise you that I'm somewhat more sympathetic to the first set of propositions than I am to the second, but they both need some criticizing. We'll embark on that journey next.

 

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Deepitude

A deepitude is a saying that may seem profound or wise at first glance, but turns out to be shallow or nonsensical. I believe it has been applied specifically to Deepak Choprah, but Matthew 13 is pretty much the quintessence of deepitude. JC clothes the simplest of ideas in elaborate allegories, avowedly for the purpose of making them difficult to understand. It also turns out that the people who know him best -- the neighbors he grew up with -- think he's a charlatan. Hmm.

 

Oh yeah, he has brothers and sisters. So Mary must not be a virgin. Just sayin'.

 

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
    they hardly hear with their ears,
    and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’^[a]

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds^[b] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. ³⁵ So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables,
    I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”^[c]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

⁵² He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

A Prophet Without Honor

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 13:15 Isaiah 6:9,10 (see Septuagint)
2. Matthew 13:33 Or about 27 kilograms
3. Matthew 13:35 Psalm 78:2

 

 

 

Sunday Sermonette: Jesus apparently hadn't read the Bible either

Matthew 12 is full of stuff that gets quoted a lot, but it's actually largely gibberish. I'll let you largely decide for yourself if I'm right about that, but I will point out a couple of issues. In verse 4, JC refers to "David and his companions" eating consecrated bread. This is apparently a reference to 1 Samuel 21, when David was on the run, and went to the priest Ahimelek and asked for bread. Here is what happened:

 

⁴ But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.”

⁵ David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever^[b] I set out. The men’s bodies are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” ⁶ So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence.

There is no intimation that it was unlawful for the men to eat the bread, as JC asserts.

When Jesus quotes Isaiah starting in verse 18, the reference is to Isaiah 42. But the Isaiah's "servant" is not a person, certainly not Jesus, it is the nation of Israel. Jesus apparently believes literally in the book of Jonah, and says he will be entombed for three days and three nights, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for that long. But one thing the gospels agree on is that Jesus was entombed for one day and two nights.

 

As for the rest of it, as I say, judge for yourself. 

 

 

12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. ² When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

³ He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. ⁵ Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? ⁶ I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷ If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a] you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵ Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. ¹⁶ He warned them not to tell others about him. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
²¹     In his name the nations will put their hope.”^[b]

Jesus and Beelzebul

²² Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. ²³ All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

²⁵ Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

²⁹ “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

³⁰ “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³² Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

⁴⁸ He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Footnotes

1. Matthew 12:7 Hosea 6:6
2. Matthew 12:21 Isaiah 42:1-4

 

Idle speculation

 I confess that my thinking about the whole Epstein thing has evolved, pretty much along the same lines as Betty Cracker's.  I'll mostly just outsource the discussion, but there is something in there that the Great Pumpkin very much does not want you to know, and he sure as hell is doing an excellent imitation of a guilty man.

 

The problem remains that Christopher Wray and Merrick Garland, along with quite a few FBI agents and DoJ attorneys, also know the information, and knew it while Joe Biden was president. Now, if none of it is prosecutable, then institutionalist Merrick Garland would indeed have sat on it out of principle. But a lot of people know it who, given the current state of the union, would be motivated to leak it, and so far that hasn't happened. So that is a puzzle. Feel free to speculate.

Wednesday Bible Study: Stop making sense

Matthew 11 is full of strangeness. I don't want to bore you by enumerating all of it, but let's start with a couple of obvious oddities. John the Baptist, who is imprisoned (without explanation)  sends a messenger to ask if Jesus is "the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" He's evidently pretty dense, because in Chapter 3, he baptized Jesus and heard the voice of God say "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Jesus also makes an odd remark in the following verse, "From the days of John the Baptist until now . . ." since John is still alive. 

Jesus says that John is a reincarnation of Elijah, which the other synoptic gospels support in different words. However, the Gospel of John rejects the claim: "This is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? ... And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not." (John 1:19). 

Jesus prophecies the destruction of several towns, including his home town of Capernaum, but this never happened. 

The bottom line is that these are all rather poorly edited compilations of oral tradition. They contain innumerable contradictions and nonsensical passages. As I have said many times, the people who believe in the Bible most fervently have not read it. Tufts Professor Daniel Dennett published a book with Linda LaScola in 2013 titled "Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind." They interviewed numerous clergy, who had the revelatory experience of actually reading and studying the Bible in the seminary and discovering that it is a total pile of bullshit. They became secret atheists, but because being Christian ministers was their only marketable skill, they stayed on the job, rationalizing that they were providing comfort for people. Really. Of course, a lot of them just do it for the big bucks.

 

 

11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.^[a]

² When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

⁷ As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’^[c]

¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,^[d] and violent people have been raiding it. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ Whoever has ears, let them hear.

¹⁶ “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

¹⁷ “‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

Woe on Unrepentant Towns

²⁰ Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.^[e] For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

The Father Revealed in the Son

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

²⁷ “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Footnotes

1. Matthew 11:1 Greek in their towns
2. Matthew 11:5 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
3. Matthew 11:10 Mal. 3:1
4. Matthew 11:12 Or been forcefully advancing
5. Matthew 11:23 That is, the realm of the dead

 

Insanitocracy

I should probably focus more here on the ongoing destruction of the public health and biomedical research infrastructure, but I've been there quite a lot and just repeating the bottom line -- they're trying to kill you and your children -- is where we'd keep ending up. (Here's a gift link to Danielle Ofri in the NYT saying it all yet again.) But what neither she nor I can tell you is why they are doing this. It obviously has nothing to do with any recognizable version of conservative ideology. I mean okay, we already know that some radical libertarians don't want government to fund scientific research, but they don't want government to actively promote disinformation either. How does this benefit the Republican party's billionaire donors or its neo-Confederate base?

 

But I'd like to focus on the whole tariff thing today, because it's equally if not more puzzling. Here's Krugthulu on the deal with Japan.  Supposedly the whole idea behind the tariff crusade is to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. This is not actually a good idea -- low skill manufacturing jobs are about the worst jobs there are, picking crops is actually more fun and pays better -- but the deal won't even achieve that, just the opposite in fact: it will make it cheaper to buy cars made in Japan than cars made in North America. It will give Japanese car manufacturers a huge advantage in the U.S. market. 

 

[W]hy are U.S. manufacturers so upset with the Japan deal? Because in combination with Trump’s other tariffs this deal actually leaves many U.S. manufacturers worse off than they were before Trump began his trade war.  ...  Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on all automotive imports, supposedly on national security grounds. This includes imports from Canada and Mexico. And here’s the thing: Canadian and Mexican auto products generally have substantial U.S. “content” — that is, they contain parts made in America. Japanese cars generally don’t. But now cars from Japan will pay only a 15 percent tariff, that is, less than cars from Canada and Mexico.

OK, it’s not quite that straightforward, because imports from Canada and Mexico receive a partial exemption based on the share of their value that comes from the United States. Yes, it’s getting complicated. But we may nonetheless now be in a situation where cars whose production doesn’t create U.S. manufacturing jobs will pay a lower tariff rate than cars whose production does.

Wait, there’s more. Trump has also imposed 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, which are of course important parts of the cost of a car. Japanese manufacturers don’t pay those tariffs. Overall, the interaction between this Japan deal and Trump’s other tariffs probably tilts the playing field between U.S. and Japanese producers of cars, and perhaps other products, in Japan’s favor.  If this sounds incredibly stupid, that’s because it is.

 

Again,  there is no conceivable interpretation of conservative ideology -- in this case especially the libertarian version -- that could possibly justify this. And now there's the supposed "deal" with the EU (not really a deal because the member countries have to approve it and they won't) that is utterly delusional and would only harm U.S. businesses and consumers if it did take effect.

 

Why is the U.S. making these insane deals? Because the president of the United States is ignorant and insane, he thinks he's brilliant, and he has an idee fixe about tariffs, so his lackeys go along with it. The corporate media are too cowardly to tell the truth, and most of their reporters are incompetent to understand this anyway, so it gets presented as a "win" for Mr. Dump. When consumer prices skyrocket, who will the voters blame?

 

And I'll just add this from Digby:  

 

So 15% tariffs are just great now? Higher than we've had in since the 1930s but since Trump said a couple of months ago that he'd put 50% tariffs that means this is really great. This is why people think Trump is such a magical figure. He has made every elite in the country into a moron. 

 

Sunday Sermonette: Door-to-door Christians

Sorry I've been scarce lately. I had a funeral to attend on Friday, a two hour drive in each direction and of course I got lost going and coming. It's an interesting experience for me being in church, which rarely happens. The last wedding I attended was actually a Jewish wedding, and it was out doors. The funeral happened at a very fancy, very old church in Cambridge, Massachusetts with plaques commemorating such late congregants as Henry Cabot Lodge. Out of respect of course I stood and sat on cue, just as I covered my head at the Jewish wedding, but I didn't recite the mumbo jumbo.  

 

Christianity, unlike many religions including Judaism (generally), is distinctive in that it proselytizes. Most religious groups are content to remain within themselves, in fact they value their religion as a marker of ethnic identity and are not interested in accepting converts. In fact in the Torah conversion is strongly discouraged, although in the Book of Ruth it is accepted, specifically for the purpose of marriage, and this is largely how it stands with contemporary Judaism. Actually the wedding I attended was of a Christian cousin who converted to Judaism in order to marry. But otherwise Jewish sects rarely actively seek converts.

 

Which brings us to Chapter 10. Jesus sends his disciples out to try to convert Jews to his cult, but he orders them to stay away from the Gentile and the Samaritans. Gentiles simply means non-Jews, but the Samaritans at this time were a breakaway group from the main body of Judaism. It's a complicated story and their own understanding of the history is a bit different from that of the Rabbinical Jews, but it doesn't much matter. The point is that for now, Jesus is only interested in preaching to the Jews. However, he changes his mind in Chapter 28, as we shall eventually see, and the disciples after his death began to proselytize among anyone who would listen. That's been the fundamental nature of Christianity ever since. Among other historical consequences, of course, is the form taken by European imperialism.

 

A couple of specific notes. The roster of the 12 apostles is slightly different in the various gospels and in Acts. The prophecy that following Jesus will rip families apart is one I can confirm has come true. Otherwise, you can make what you will of the various assertions and images in the latter part of this chapter. It mostly seems like gibberish to me but people interpret it all however they will.

 

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶ Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷ As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

⁹ “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— ¹⁰ no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. ¹² As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³ If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.^{[b] 30} And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
³⁶     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

Footnotes

1. Matthew 10:8 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
2. Matthew 10:29 Or will; or knowledge
3. Matthew 10:36 Micah 7:6

 

Wednesday Bible Study: If it sounds like a quack

My post yesterday was timely, as it turns out, because Chapter 9 is where JC gets heavily into faith healing, including raising the dead. (For some reason this incident is less famous than Lazarus, but it's the same idea.) One of the protagonists in Hongoltz-Hetling's book that I discussed yesterday is Dale Neumann, a Pentacostal preacher whose daughter dies of diabetic ketoacidosis because he and his wife are convinced they can heal her by prayer. They even go on believing she will be resurrected for several days after her death. So, they read this crap and they believed it, and they ended up murdering their daughter.

 

A couple of small additional points about chapter 9. Jesus's answer in verse 16, as to why he and his disciples don't fast, is completely nonsensical. Think about it. It seems to be a total non-sequitur. Regarding verse 9, the man named Matthew is obviously not the author of this document. As a matter of fact, in Mark and Luke, his name is Levi. 

 

In verse 13, Jesus quotes Hosea, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Okay, so what is the point of Jesus's sacrifice? 

 

9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ² Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ Then the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

The Calling of Matthew

⁹ As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’^[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

¹⁶ “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. ¹⁷ Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman

¹⁸ While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

²⁰ Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. ²¹ She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

²² Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

²³ When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, ²⁴ he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. ²⁵ After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. ²⁶ News of this spread through all that region.

Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute

²⁷ As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

²⁸ When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; ³⁰ and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” ³¹ But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

³² While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. ³³ And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

The Workers Are Few

³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Footnotes

1. Matthew 9:13 Hosea 6:6

 

 

 

A sinister alliance

As I believe I mentioned on Sunday, my Internet was out, due to a broken cable as it turns out, and so was my TV. Not having TV was a good thing because it meant I did a lot of reading, including "If it Sounds Like a Quack" by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling. It appears they had trouble figuring out how to get "quack" into the title, which doesn't actually make sense because the book is about quacks, not ducks. Be that as it may the book does tell an important story. 

 

The book is largely structured as the interlaced stories of 7 con artists/snake oil salesmen, most of whom probably believed their own bullshit, but that's typical of con artists. (Actually two of them worked as a team so there are really only 6 stories.) That makes it fun to read but the important history and analysis ends up getting buried in the interstices of the anecdotes. Still, it's there.

 

MHH presents the horrifying tale of how we got where we are today, with a lunatic running the Department of Health and Human Services, biomedical research and health insurance being gutted, and the federal government pushing phony miracle cures and pseudo-science. It all developed out of an alliance between libertarians and classical social conservatives, i.e. racists and misogynists and Christian nationalists. 

 

Part One is the so-called Medical Freedom Movement. As the FDA started to crack down on phony miracle cures, the industry rallied under the banner of consumer rights. As MMH tells it, "As sellers of One True Cures were converted into medical freedom advocates, a side effect was the creation of a political space that welcomed the fringe actors remaining in the anti-vaccine movement." They joined up with Ayn Rand-style libertarians. The 2000 platform of the Libertarian Party called for "a complete separation of medicine from the state. We oppose any government restriction or funding of medical or scientific research . . . . We support an end to government-provided health insurance and health care." 

 

Libertarianism, despite some contradictions, found a home in the Republican party. And so did the snake oil industry. Right-wing radio programs and podcasts largely supported themselves with advertising and promoting it (along with phony investments), and the candidates for president, from Mike Huckabee to Rand Paul were into it as well. But the most important candidate is the one who actually won the nomination in 1996, and he was the most enthusiastic. We know what has happened since.

Sunday Sermonette: Technical difficulties

In case you're wondering where I've been, my Internet service went out Saturday morning, and the ISP isn't going to send a technician until tomorrow. So I'm at a neighbor's house right now trying to catch up o my Intertubing. Hopefully I'll have a chance to make a post about public health and/or politics today, but if not, you know why.

 

So, turning now to Matthew 8, this is where JC starts to perform miracles. I think this is all perfectly ridiculous, obviously,  but at least half the country doesn't agree with me. Miracles have apparently become much less common over the past 2,000 years, and they have a way of being debunked. As a matter of fact, for those of us who explore the world scientifically, they have entirely disappeared. People have actually tried randomized controlled trials of prayer, and it doesn't work. Nature works according to discoverable mechanisms and principles. Physicians nowadays, unlike those of 150 years ago, can often but not always cure the sick. But that's because they understand what diseases are and how they work.

 

Just a couple of specific notes on chapter 8. Why does Jesus tell the man cured of leprosy not to tell anyone about it, since it happened in front of a large crowd? Note that he also tells the man to go to the priest and offer a sacrifice -- the old laws are still in effect. Second, the centurion's "servant" is of course in fact a slave. Jesus has many opportunities to denounce slavery, but it's just peachy keen with him. Finally, why couldn't he drive out the demons without gratuitously killing a herd of pigs? Evidently his powers are limited.

 

8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ² A man with leprosy^[a] came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus Heals Many

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.”^[b]

The Cost of Following Jesus

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men

²⁸ When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,^[c] two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³ Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 8:2 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
2. Matthew 8:17 Isaiah 53:4 (see Septuagint)
3. Matthew 8:28 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; other manuscripts Gerasenes

 

Wednesday Bible Study: What is this really?

As I noted previously, and promised to expand on, this document implies by its very existence that Jesus had a stenographer who wrote down this sermon, and Matthew had a copy. Much of it is also in Luke, so either Luke copied it from Matthew, or they both had a lost source (that scholars, interestingly, call Q). While the stenographer is not inconceivable -- there were scribes who took dictation -- it's highly unlikely. The disciples certainly would not have had that rare capability, and the people who did worked for high ranking officials. What really happened is that this is a tradition that developed over time, before being codified by Matthew or Q.

 

Assuming Jesus existed,* presumably he said similar things on multiple occasions, and the stories, proverbs and admonitions would have become familiar to his followers. However, as with any oral tradition, the corpus would have continued to develop after his death. In the comparable case of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, there is no doubt about that. Buddhists generally accept that the accounts of his teachings and his sermons were written down after his death and are likely not verbatim records of anything he said. A very important difference is that Buddha did not claim to be a God, nor that he would be resurrected.† On the contrary, he emphasized that he was just an ordinary person and that anyone could achieve his insights and state of being by following his advice.‡ That Jesus is supposed to be God makes these literal words more important, and obviously as a commenter has already pointed out they aren't always credible. For example, verses 7 through 9 very obviously aren't true.

 

* I actually don't think it matters. Sure there were itinerant preachers running around Judea at that time, there certainly could have been one named Jesus. But since he was not God and did not perform miracles it's a category error to ask if this was the same person depicted in the Gospels. Obviously not.

† Sadly, some Buddhist traditions have made him into a sort of God, and even developed whole pantheons of lesser deities. This seems to be a common human tendency. But most traditions agree with the earliest sources, that he was just a wise and talented person.

‡ People at that time and place believed in reincarnation, that is that after death all sentient beings -- animals as well as people -- would live a new life, perhaps as a different kind of creature. However, ordinarily we would not be able to identify them as the same entity. This belief actually sits very awkwardly within Buddhism because one of Siddhartha Gautama's core teachings was that the self is an illusion. So what exactly is being reincarnated? In any event, Buddha's goal was to escape the cycle of reincarnation. Many modern Buddhists dispense with the idea and the philosophy is actually more coherent without it.

 

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

True and False Prophets

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

True and False Disciples

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.