Oedipus Ax

When we attended -- and later taught -- Sunday school back in the day, our Unitarian Church in Exeter, New Hampshire was more into revealing the wonders of creation to young minds through the study of animals and plants and such rather than Bible study. We still look to nature -- "the most alive is the wildest," in Thoreau's words -- but now find informal Bible study most revealing as well. Bible Gateway is a great online resource. Tiny, above, in the usual manner of cats, sees things we don't.

"The Jews are the descendants of Isaac, the Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael," writes Jerry Bowyer at TCS, explaining for those of us who studied snowflakes and leaves in Sunday School -- we were brought up Unitarian before it succumbed to the siren song of political correctness -- instead of Scripture, the Biblical source of an ancient wound that festers to this day. The subject is on the front burner today as the words "Ismail Ax" were apparently scrawled in red ink on the arm of school shooter Cho, while the differently spelled but similar "A Ishmael" was entered into the "sender" space on the USPS form the young psychopath filled out when he sent off his "manifesto" to CBS between murdering sprees. The blogosphere is aflutter about what it might all mean, of course. Did Cho have Islamist ties? As an English major, did he see himself as Melville's anchorless Ishmael? At least one blogger suggested an incoherent mix of Ismail, Ishmael, the South Korean flik "Old Boy," video games and whatever. That sounds about right. But as for us chatterers who read into things, we are a mythmaking species, and a mass killing sets our creative juices flowing, each interpreting momentous events through our own template. Back to Bowyer's template, as he recounts the founding of the families:

The story starts with a man named Abraham. He is the father of the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians. He was born in Iraq, the son of a wealthy idol manufacturer. He came to believe that there was only one true God and, according to tradition, took up his ax and destroyed his father's idols. [It's a guy thing.]

Eventually he left Iraq and moved to what is now known as Israel. He had a son with his concubine whom she named Ishmael. The Muslim world prefers the Arabic spelling of the name: Ismail. Eventually Abraham had a son by his rightful wife and named the son Isaac. Ishmael and his mother were disinherited and sent out into what is now Saudi Arabia. Isaac became the heir.

Baby is the true faithful descendant of Sluggo, father of the Chelsea Grays. Above he draws a bead on Tuck's dinner in a bowl.

No wonder the People of the Book are upset. Fathers and sons. Oy, vey. Here's the part of the ancient tale that even we remember:

Eventually, God decided to test Abraham by telling him to kill his son, Isaac. Abraham took up the knife, but God stopped him at the last moment. Isaac lived and eventually became a man of great wealth. Ishmael became a desert warrior chieftain.

So it WAS written, then. But there's more:

In the 7th Century, Muhammad, the founder of Islam, re-wrote the story, claiming that Ismail was the true faithful descendant of Abraham and that it was he, not Isaac, who God told Abraham to sacrifice. Ismail was the one saved. For Muslims, Ismail (not Isaac) was the true 'Son of Sacrifice.' In the original version of the story, Abraham used a knife, in some of the later Muslim versions, he used an Ax.

No wonder those folks can't get along with the sons and daughters of Isaac. Oedipus Ax, anyone?

Comments

[goomp]

Jeff Jacoby writes today " Do we really need religion." His answer is we can't do without it. Atheists drift with no uniform guide as to how to conduct life. He concludes that evil has been done in the name of all religions but that the Judeo-Christian beliefs have led to the most successful civilizations. It is rather strange that I personally am a non believer but agree with you and with him.

[Gayle Miller]

At some point we have to stop accepting justifications for this foolishness and start holding people directly and terminally accountable.

What would Tiny and Baby do?

Given my overwhelming passion for both of them, what they would do - I advocate as well!

Actually - if anyone threatened me, my Sammy would irreparably tear them some new orifices! And then Tim would probably yell at them (he's a Siamese - it's what he does).

Cats are the BEST!

[Gayle Miller]

Please hug those beautiful creatures: Baby and Tiny from me, would you? I absolutely love each and every bit of both of them.

I spent the whole weekend feeling kind of blah and only started feeling better when I started permitting the extraordinary cats who permit me to live with them to minister to me. There's a lot to be said for the healing powers of a kitty kiss! And a Sammy purr can cure the worst blues!