Book of Mercy #16-19
While it may be interesting that Leonard knows a bunch of literary and religious stuff, and can draw on all of that stuff when he's writing, what would be more interesting to me is your own take on what he's saying. If you tell me what you take from the prayer, you won't be wrong, and I'll want to know that more than what biblical or literary referances may apply. You won't be wrong, love, that's impossible. Won't you share yourself? Analyze it, synthesize it, assimilate it. Please? Oh, won't you be naked for me?
I still hope for more input on I.17, but in order to keep things going, I’ll introduce the next BoM chapter now.
The atmosphere seems to be either Mediterranean or Balkan. The people in it may be Greek, Italian, Bulgarian… take your pick. They can most certainly be Jews, in any of these or other places. I think he is actually speaking about Jews, but this does not exclude the other options.
“They know me at this café.” – The first thought leads to Hydra, but it can be anywhere else in the world, at least in places where vines are grown.
“As a sign of respect I take off my sunglasses whenever I speak to the proprietress.” – Oh, that proprietress… can you see her? Plump and not pretty, but not past her prime yet, attractive in a very earthly way, embodying the very essence of wondering on a distant road and coming to a place of rest that welcomes you with open friendliness (sorry, I know I’ve been carried away, but I’m having an association to a certain other poet).
“Here I can reflect on the Romans, their triumph, and the tiny thorn in their side that we represent.” – It seems quite obvious that the “Romans” here means the Christian Church, and the “we” are the Jews, whose continued existence has been a stumble-block for the Church for many centuries. How come they still survive after the glorious victory of the Church in spite of their failure to recognize Christ? This was a difficult theological question, to which different explanations were given (some information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiani ... i-Semitism). BUT, as I’ve said again and again, other interpretations are possible, and the “Romans” may represent many other victorious, arrogant powers (including the historical Romans themselves).
“The owners are exiles too, scattered people, as are their customers, who all seem to wear dark suits and flash gold teeth behind their cigarette-holders.” – If we forget the vineyards for a moment, this scene can very well take place in Montreal, or any other place in the New World. And again we find here the theme of exile, which we have already encountered in BoM, here perhaps concretized more than ever before.
“Our children go to the Roman schools.” – Here he speaks from personal experience. LC grew up as a Jew in a Christian society, and went to schools that had majority of Christian students. Indeed, this was in a Western, modern, relatively tolerant society, but remember, for example, that in “Memories” he had to pin “an Iron Cross at my lapel” in order to approach “the tallest and the blondest girl” at the dance (he is probably talking about his high-school time – “Jezebel” was a hit in 1951, when he was 17). And I’m quite sure he is not making things up. Refer also to some chapters of The Favourite Game. Still, he was able to absorb, and later relate to, elements of Christianity in a favorable way, and even as part of his own spiritual world, as many of his poems and songs, including his first and most famous one, indicate. Had he grown up in Eastern Europe, for example, his attitude towards Christianity would probably be more hostile, reflecting the hostility of Christian society there towards Jews. As it were, he was able to regard Christianity as less menacing, although the Christian society was not totally inclusive. So here he reflects once again on the experience of being “the tiny thorn in their side”.
“We drink coffee, and some kind of powerful fruit brandy,” – I would imagine he refers either to Slivovitz (cheers, Tom!) or Tuica (I don’t know of a Greek variety, by the way).
“and we hope that the grandchildren will return to us.” – This is very typical to immigrant societies, almost everywhere in the world. The first generation, immigrating as adults, work hard, but cannot fully assimilate into their new society. Their children want very much to assimilate, want nothing to do with their parents’ heritage, and are even ashamed of their habits and of the broken way they speak the local language. The grandchildren are already total natives of the new country, but if the grandparents are still around as relics from the Old Country, they may take some interest in learning about their heritage. This pattern can be shown for dozens and dozens of immigrant groups in different countries (I even found it in the writings of third generation Japanese authors in North America, mostly women), although there are also different patterns of immigration, such as avoiding assimilation altogether (especially among orthodox religious groups).
“…joining them in their incomprehensible affirmation” – Why is it “incomprehensible”? There is a certain feeling in this text that the narrator does not really belong on the scene. He is a semi-outsider, not one of the locals. He wears sun glasses like a tourist (so he must have been to the vineyards not to work there, but for other purposes). This may reflect LC’s feelings when living in Greece, for example, especially when he first got there. From another angle this may reflect his experience as a native of Canada, watching the first-generation immigrants, and not being totally familiar with their ways and language.
“Take heart, you who were born in captivity of a fixed predicament; and tremble, you kings of certainty: your iron has become like glass, and the word has been uttered that will shatter it.” – Here we come to the final line that the whole anecdote has been leading to, although it is not quite clear how. It is a message of hope for the suffering, and a warning to the strong and arrogant. But where dose the hope come from, and what constitutes the warning? Is it simply there in the everyday life of the café, the drinking, card-playing old immigrants going about their business as from days of old? This points again at what we have seen throughout BoM: the affirmation of one’s own tradition, the maintaining of it and the passing of it on from one generation to the next. And here tradition is represented by the most mundane item: the playing cards that are so familiar that no one needs actually to show his hand; in another context it could have been the prayer book or the scriptures, that every one of the old-timers knows by heart. Tradition is stronger than any revolution, which LC often seems to distrust in his writings, although he did give it a chance now and then. But by now he seems to have given it up. By sticking to our own tradition, we triumph, he seems to tell us here.
Well, this has been a particularly long posting, for which I bag your pardon. I hope other people will illuminate this text with insights of their own.
This one is different than everything we’ve seen so far. Recently we’ve been referring to the individual chapters (or “sections”, as I used to call them when we started) as “prayers”, but can this one be called a “prayer”? Hardly. Nor can it be called a short story. It’s a kind of pseudo-autobiographical anecdote, with certain political overtones. Perhaps someone can come up with a better definition. Anyhow, unlike other sections, there doesn’t seem to be a mystical subtext here (sorry, Mat). But as usual, there can be several interpretations or ways of understanding this text.I.18
They know me at this café. When I come in from the vineyards they put a drink in front of me. As a sign of respect I take off my sunglasses whenever I speak to the proprietress. Here I can reflect on the Romans, their triumph, and the tiny thorn in their side that we represent. The owners are exiles too, scattered people, as are their customers, who all seem to wear dark suits and flash gold teeth behind their cigarette-holders. Our children go to the Roman schools. We drink coffee, and some kind of powerful fruit brandy, and we hope that the grandchildren will return to us. Our hope is in the distant seed. Occasionally the card-players in the corner lift little glasses in a toast, and I lift mine, joining them in their incomprehensible affirmation. The cards fly between their fingers and the mica table-top, old cards, so familiar they hardly have to turn them over to see who has won the hand. Take heart, you who were born in captivity of a fixed predicament; and tremble, you kings of certainty: your iron has become like glass, and the word has been uttered that will shatter it.
The atmosphere seems to be either Mediterranean or Balkan. The people in it may be Greek, Italian, Bulgarian… take your pick. They can most certainly be Jews, in any of these or other places. I think he is actually speaking about Jews, but this does not exclude the other options.
“They know me at this café.” – The first thought leads to Hydra, but it can be anywhere else in the world, at least in places where vines are grown.
“As a sign of respect I take off my sunglasses whenever I speak to the proprietress.” – Oh, that proprietress… can you see her? Plump and not pretty, but not past her prime yet, attractive in a very earthly way, embodying the very essence of wondering on a distant road and coming to a place of rest that welcomes you with open friendliness (sorry, I know I’ve been carried away, but I’m having an association to a certain other poet).
“Here I can reflect on the Romans, their triumph, and the tiny thorn in their side that we represent.” – It seems quite obvious that the “Romans” here means the Christian Church, and the “we” are the Jews, whose continued existence has been a stumble-block for the Church for many centuries. How come they still survive after the glorious victory of the Church in spite of their failure to recognize Christ? This was a difficult theological question, to which different explanations were given (some information can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiani ... i-Semitism). BUT, as I’ve said again and again, other interpretations are possible, and the “Romans” may represent many other victorious, arrogant powers (including the historical Romans themselves).
“The owners are exiles too, scattered people, as are their customers, who all seem to wear dark suits and flash gold teeth behind their cigarette-holders.” – If we forget the vineyards for a moment, this scene can very well take place in Montreal, or any other place in the New World. And again we find here the theme of exile, which we have already encountered in BoM, here perhaps concretized more than ever before.
“Our children go to the Roman schools.” – Here he speaks from personal experience. LC grew up as a Jew in a Christian society, and went to schools that had majority of Christian students. Indeed, this was in a Western, modern, relatively tolerant society, but remember, for example, that in “Memories” he had to pin “an Iron Cross at my lapel” in order to approach “the tallest and the blondest girl” at the dance (he is probably talking about his high-school time – “Jezebel” was a hit in 1951, when he was 17). And I’m quite sure he is not making things up. Refer also to some chapters of The Favourite Game. Still, he was able to absorb, and later relate to, elements of Christianity in a favorable way, and even as part of his own spiritual world, as many of his poems and songs, including his first and most famous one, indicate. Had he grown up in Eastern Europe, for example, his attitude towards Christianity would probably be more hostile, reflecting the hostility of Christian society there towards Jews. As it were, he was able to regard Christianity as less menacing, although the Christian society was not totally inclusive. So here he reflects once again on the experience of being “the tiny thorn in their side”.
“We drink coffee, and some kind of powerful fruit brandy,” – I would imagine he refers either to Slivovitz (cheers, Tom!) or Tuica (I don’t know of a Greek variety, by the way).
“and we hope that the grandchildren will return to us.” – This is very typical to immigrant societies, almost everywhere in the world. The first generation, immigrating as adults, work hard, but cannot fully assimilate into their new society. Their children want very much to assimilate, want nothing to do with their parents’ heritage, and are even ashamed of their habits and of the broken way they speak the local language. The grandchildren are already total natives of the new country, but if the grandparents are still around as relics from the Old Country, they may take some interest in learning about their heritage. This pattern can be shown for dozens and dozens of immigrant groups in different countries (I even found it in the writings of third generation Japanese authors in North America, mostly women), although there are also different patterns of immigration, such as avoiding assimilation altogether (especially among orthodox religious groups).
“…joining them in their incomprehensible affirmation” – Why is it “incomprehensible”? There is a certain feeling in this text that the narrator does not really belong on the scene. He is a semi-outsider, not one of the locals. He wears sun glasses like a tourist (so he must have been to the vineyards not to work there, but for other purposes). This may reflect LC’s feelings when living in Greece, for example, especially when he first got there. From another angle this may reflect his experience as a native of Canada, watching the first-generation immigrants, and not being totally familiar with their ways and language.
“Take heart, you who were born in captivity of a fixed predicament; and tremble, you kings of certainty: your iron has become like glass, and the word has been uttered that will shatter it.” – Here we come to the final line that the whole anecdote has been leading to, although it is not quite clear how. It is a message of hope for the suffering, and a warning to the strong and arrogant. But where dose the hope come from, and what constitutes the warning? Is it simply there in the everyday life of the café, the drinking, card-playing old immigrants going about their business as from days of old? This points again at what we have seen throughout BoM: the affirmation of one’s own tradition, the maintaining of it and the passing of it on from one generation to the next. And here tradition is represented by the most mundane item: the playing cards that are so familiar that no one needs actually to show his hand; in another context it could have been the prayer book or the scriptures, that every one of the old-timers knows by heart. Tradition is stronger than any revolution, which LC often seems to distrust in his writings, although he did give it a chance now and then. But by now he seems to have given it up. By sticking to our own tradition, we triumph, he seems to tell us here.
Well, this has been a particularly long posting, for which I bag your pardon. I hope other people will illuminate this text with insights of their own.
Very comforting.They know me at this café.
They "know" me also implies a degree of acceptance from both parties.
Intriguing how Leonard becomes one with the shop owners in this sentence. He is no longer talking about "they" but "We".We drink coffee, and some kind of powerful fruit brandy, and we hope that the grandchildren will return to us.
I suspect the gold teeth also point to the Jewish connection.
His reflections by now are of the universal emigrant. The Diaspora.Our hope is in the distant seed.
There is freedom and familiarity in these reflections of Leonard. I love it.
DB, I enjoyed your thorough "intro" to this verse. And yes, I can find no Mystical union in these current lines. But there is a sense of belonging and "siblinghood".
And that is good enough for me, any-time.
Regards and thanks for the posting.
Keep up the good work. Mat.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
And now for something completely different…
Political, indeed.
It’s not a prayer?
Oh, contraire.
Maybe it is, or has that potential. I’m sure you’re familiar with The Psalms. There are many that go something like this, except that they mention God a lot more. They go something like, “Oh, God, help us win this war. We are your servants, blah blah blah. We must have been bad because we lost the last one. We love you, God, so help us win the war, ok? We’ll do our raping and pillaging in your name, amen.”
(Sorry, I’m just a little put off from reading any more Psalms, and it’s put a damper on my progress of reading the Bible. I had to take some time out for some fiction, almost finished with The Road, Cormac McCarthy. Good gravy, what a book! Every paragraph – a poem. Oh, look, some more blah blah blah. Sorry, sorry, tangent spewer shutting up.)
I guess my point is that just because it involves politics doesn’t mean that it isn’t a prayer. Just because it doesn’t seem to be addressed to God, doesn’t mean that it isn’t, or that it couldn’t be. Try ending it with Amen.
I have been playing with the idea that God should be in everything I do. I think David had that idea too. For me, it came from my meditations, which have been interesting. I noticed that when I allowed my breath to not be controlled by my conscious self, that it was more appropriate. I could take over, and I didn’t hurt anything, but it was better when I let the automatic process go. I have been wondering if I can have a relation with God in a similar way. There are things I can control, I can take over, but it might be better if I let God do it. And if I pay attention to God doing it, then maybe I can get an idea of how to do things better, or I can just enjoy the presence. I don’t know. Is it God that controls my breath when I’m not paying attention? It's hard to pay attention and not take over; it's hard to know if I'm only paying attention.
So, I guess Leonard has the option of having that thought too - that God should be in everything he does, including trying to understand people. Especially trying to understand people.
If he’s seeing certain things in the way people behave – some toast that he doesn’t know what’s being toasted, but he plays along anyway, the future is in the children, the hopes, the endless, predictabe card game. They all are biding their time. They all seem to have this shared knowledge of something, something, something, and they are biding their time. Maybe he’s trying to figure people out, and that’s prayerful. He tells all us regular lowly folk to not worry about our predicament, and that the high and mighty will tomorrow be the ash from which we make our bread. Well, sort of. Maybe it's a bit preacherly.
Hope is always a prayer.
A warning is also a prayer.
Political, indeed.
It’s not a prayer?
Oh, contraire.
Maybe it is, or has that potential. I’m sure you’re familiar with The Psalms. There are many that go something like this, except that they mention God a lot more. They go something like, “Oh, God, help us win this war. We are your servants, blah blah blah. We must have been bad because we lost the last one. We love you, God, so help us win the war, ok? We’ll do our raping and pillaging in your name, amen.”
(Sorry, I’m just a little put off from reading any more Psalms, and it’s put a damper on my progress of reading the Bible. I had to take some time out for some fiction, almost finished with The Road, Cormac McCarthy. Good gravy, what a book! Every paragraph – a poem. Oh, look, some more blah blah blah. Sorry, sorry, tangent spewer shutting up.)
I guess my point is that just because it involves politics doesn’t mean that it isn’t a prayer. Just because it doesn’t seem to be addressed to God, doesn’t mean that it isn’t, or that it couldn’t be. Try ending it with Amen.
I have been playing with the idea that God should be in everything I do. I think David had that idea too. For me, it came from my meditations, which have been interesting. I noticed that when I allowed my breath to not be controlled by my conscious self, that it was more appropriate. I could take over, and I didn’t hurt anything, but it was better when I let the automatic process go. I have been wondering if I can have a relation with God in a similar way. There are things I can control, I can take over, but it might be better if I let God do it. And if I pay attention to God doing it, then maybe I can get an idea of how to do things better, or I can just enjoy the presence. I don’t know. Is it God that controls my breath when I’m not paying attention? It's hard to pay attention and not take over; it's hard to know if I'm only paying attention.
So, I guess Leonard has the option of having that thought too - that God should be in everything he does, including trying to understand people. Especially trying to understand people.
If he’s seeing certain things in the way people behave – some toast that he doesn’t know what’s being toasted, but he plays along anyway, the future is in the children, the hopes, the endless, predictabe card game. They all are biding their time. They all seem to have this shared knowledge of something, something, something, and they are biding their time. Maybe he’s trying to figure people out, and that’s prayerful. He tells all us regular lowly folk to not worry about our predicament, and that the high and mighty will tomorrow be the ash from which we make our bread. Well, sort of. Maybe it's a bit preacherly.
Hope is always a prayer.
A warning is also a prayer.
Well, yes, of course. I've been feeling very selfish lately in general. Please forgive me. I guess it's more fun for me to see what I get from it than to see what Leonard put into it. A gift is given, and a gift is received, you see? I was trying to find a way through my oft-scatterbrained head to say that this is indeed a prayer, to my little nerves.
My "Psalm-like" bit is the only part I feel very bad about, and that is doubled because it may be the most important thing I wrote. The stupid thing... oh, nevermind. Just that a war is coming, and that "we" want to win. We always think we'll win.
My promise for you: no more violence. I am writing myself a large-lettered note to hang on the corkboard above my desk (along with various other very important things not to be forgotten). NO MORE VIOLENCE.
The other tangents arose while I was writing, and at the time I saw no harm in letting them stay. They don't matter, and I hope that if they're in your way, you can find a way around them.
ps. Please don't use the word "at" like that. It hurts.
My "Psalm-like" bit is the only part I feel very bad about, and that is doubled because it may be the most important thing I wrote. The stupid thing... oh, nevermind. Just that a war is coming, and that "we" want to win. We always think we'll win.
My promise for you: no more violence. I am writing myself a large-lettered note to hang on the corkboard above my desk (along with various other very important things not to be forgotten). NO MORE VIOLENCE.
The other tangents arose while I was writing, and at the time I saw no harm in letting them stay. They don't matter, and I hope that if they're in your way, you can find a way around them.
ps. Please don't use the word "at" like that. It hurts.
MannaMy "Psalm-like" bit is the only part I feel very bad about, and that is doubled because it may be the most important thing I wrote. The stupid thing... oh, nevermind.
I didn't mean to put you on the defence Manna. I was responding to "you".
I don't tend to be polite; particularly if that polite-ness gets in the way of objectivity/honesty.
Say what you think.
I'll do the same.
Matj
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
I had put a quote here about Hong Kong recently
considering censoring the Bible. But that's silly stuff.
So I moved it to the bottom. So never mind that.
This, on the other hand:
reminded me of the famous Daoist story of "Ding the Butcher".
And I've put a quote about it, below.
But then that reminded me of "Beautiful Minds: A Voyage Into the Brain,"
which was a very interesting 3 part series recently run
on "National Geographic Presents."
And now here is a link to an audio clip that I made
of the most enlightening section of the 2nd part of
the series (which is called "Struck by Genius")
http://relay.twoshakesofalambstail.com/ ... _Minds.mp3
(about 3 meg)
It is very well worth listening to!
So please do!
(ignore the weird sounds. they make a little more sense
with the video. But the video is pretty irrelevant.)
(I'm sorry I don't feel like making a transcript of it.
I did find a badly hacked partial transcript of the DVD of the series
here: http://www.icbe.ie/Documents/Beautiful_Minds_DVD.pdf
- but I wouldn't bother with that if I were you.
And of course there is something on youtube about it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfIHdUNImo
But i don't know what it is, because i don't let
those things run on my computer.
And here's one more random link about the series:
http://www.colourfield.de/expedition/in ... minds.html
-which you might not want to bother with either.
)
The important thing is to listen to that mp3!
~~~~~~~~~~~
And now here's the quote I promised about the Butcher.
Which may not seem to be related at first.
But these things are deeply related.
I just don't feel like spelling it out.
~~
considering censoring the Bible. But that's silly stuff.
So I moved it to the bottom. So never mind that.
This, on the other hand:
and everything Manna said,Occasionally the card-players in the corner lift little glasses in a toast,
and I lift mine, joining them in their incomprehensible affirmation.
The cards fly between their fingers and the mica table-top, old cards,
so familiar they hardly have to turn them over to see who has won the hand.
Take heart, you who were born in captivity of a fixed predicament; and tremble,
you kings of certainty: your iron has become like glass, and the word
has been uttered that will shatter it.
-LC
reminded me of the famous Daoist story of "Ding the Butcher".
And I've put a quote about it, below.
But then that reminded me of "Beautiful Minds: A Voyage Into the Brain,"
which was a very interesting 3 part series recently run
on "National Geographic Presents."
And now here is a link to an audio clip that I made
of the most enlightening section of the 2nd part of
the series (which is called "Struck by Genius")
http://relay.twoshakesofalambstail.com/ ... _Minds.mp3
(about 3 meg)
It is very well worth listening to!
So please do!
(ignore the weird sounds. they make a little more sense
with the video. But the video is pretty irrelevant.)
(I'm sorry I don't feel like making a transcript of it.
I did find a badly hacked partial transcript of the DVD of the series
here: http://www.icbe.ie/Documents/Beautiful_Minds_DVD.pdf
- but I wouldn't bother with that if I were you.
And of course there is something on youtube about it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfIHdUNImo
But i don't know what it is, because i don't let
those things run on my computer.
And here's one more random link about the series:
http://www.colourfield.de/expedition/in ... minds.html
-which you might not want to bother with either.
)
The important thing is to listen to that mp3!
~~~~~~~~~~~
And now here's the quote I promised about the Butcher.
Which may not seem to be related at first.
But these things are deeply related.
I just don't feel like spelling it out.
source: http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/daoism.htm
...
7. Basic Concepts in the Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi taught that a set of practices, including meditation, helped one achieve
unity with the dao and become a "true person" (zhen ren). The way to this state is
not the result of a withdrawal from life. However, it does require a disengagement
from conventional values and the demarcations made by society. In Chapter 23 of
the Zhuangzi, a character inquiring of Laozi about the solution to his life's worries
was answered promptly: "Why did you come with all this crowd of people?" The
man looked around and confirmed he was standing alone, but Laozi meant that his
problems were the result of all the baggage of ideas and conventional opinions he
lugged about with him. This baggage must be discarded before anyone can be zhen
ren. As we see in this case, the Zhuangzi often employs apparently nonsensical
remarks and questions, as well as humor to make its points.
Like the DDJ, Zhuangzi also valorizes wu wei. For his examples of such living
Zhuangzi turns to analogies of craftsmen, athletes (swimmers), woodcarvers, and
even butchers. One of the most famous stories in the text is that of Ding the Butcher,
who learned what it means to wu wei through the perfection of his craft. When asked
about his great skill, Ding says, "What I care about is dao, which goes beyond skill.
When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years
I no longer saw the whole ox. And now-now I go at it by spirit and don't look with
my eyes. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and spirit moves where
it wants. I go along with the natural makeup, strike in the big hollows, guide the knife
through the big openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest
ligament or tendon, much less a main joint. A good cook changes his knife once a
year-because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his knife once a month-because
he hacks. I've had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I've cut up thousands of
oxen with it, and yet the blade is as good as though it had just come from the
grindstone. There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of the knife has really
no thickness.. move the knife with the greatest subtlety, until-flop! The whole
thing comes apart like a clod of earth crumbling to the ground." (Ch. 3, The Secret of
Caring for Life)
Persons who exemplify such understanding are called sages, zhen ren, and
immortals. Zhuangzi describes the Daoist sage in such a way as to suggest that he
possesses extraordinary powers. This is the result of a way of living that cannot be
dichotomized into philosophical and religious categories. Early Daoism makes no
such demarcation. Being able to have union with the dao means to see from the
viewpoint of the dao, and not by the limits of the conceptual and sensory apparatus
that confines us (the way Ding moves his knife through the meat without looking).
~~
A flood of over 1,400 complaints against the Bible, alleging that it peddles pornography,
and condones rape, incest and bestiality, among other unspeakable horrors,
have been received by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA),
which oversees the publishing industry in Hong Kong. This follows the initiation
of a signature campaign by a Chinese-language website ( http://www.truthbible.net ),
which claims that it wishes to “lay bare the truth about the Bible” before the public.
The website cites graphic passages from the Bible as ‘evidence’ that the Bible
qualifies to be classified as an ‘indecent publication’ in Hong Kong under the
Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance. If it is classified as such,
only adults over age 18 can read the Bible, and in fact copies will have to be sold
in sealed packs (like sex magazines), with a statutory warning that the contents
are of an adult nature.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1097338
At last the prayer comes from a unitified heart, at last the man who
was last seen hanging from a thread has called on Her who does not
write the history books and has found his place in the world. His
prayer speaks from the ordinary, the holy places where the races meet.
For the rest of my post go to:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.musi ... 2a5b7f0a34
was last seen hanging from a thread has called on Her who does not
write the history books and has found his place in the world. His
prayer speaks from the ordinary, the holy places where the races meet.
For the rest of my post go to:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.musi ... 2a5b7f0a34