If God were to put pen to paper, this is the story he would tell.
“Peshitta” is a collection of books by various authors, each recounting their efforts to obey a brutal, fickle and yet absolute magician father who commands the prophet (king). This is the story of an ethnic group, roving and marauding through deserts and grasslands. It follows the genealogy of the prophets (kings) and their perpetual struggles to make peace both with their people and the father for whom they spoke.
Warning: This book is not for the faint of heart; it is rife with ethnocentrism and xenophobia. It actually attempts to justify genocide, arguing both the utilitarian and religious thought process of exterminating an entire people, right down to butchering their children — all because they were different, and lived in a city that happen to be on their war-path.
What’s more is the story is so well presented you genuinely believe it may have occurred.
Then it happens, the cracked out paradigm shift. About halfway through the book, when the father’s decisions finally make sense, everything changes.
Father’s character develops unexpectedly as he goes through a midlife crisis of sorts. He quits his xenophobic mass murder campaign and instead chooses the life of a mendicant. He tells people to love one another, even their enemies, allowing everyone (even those of other ethnicities) to follow him.
It’s like the father saw the light, abandoning the harsh exclusivity of his previous self and pushing for a communist revolution and extremist pacifism.
But when the father finally leads them in a good direction, the prophets (kings) want the old one and act as the old one would — by killing him.
But then, like a phoenix from the ashes, or the gods Horus and Mithra, he comes back.
Then the father must confront his past and make some difficult decisions as to how to lead his people.
Be sure to pick up a copy of “Peshitta” and read it; then read it again. It teaches valuable lessons of the best and worst of humanity, from genocide to unconditional love and acceptance. And best of all, both of them are portrayed as an ideal, and you must decide for yourself which you want to follow.
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cowd3769 2 years, 1 month ago
Sounds like a bunch of ignorant, uninformed anti-Christian trash that knows nothing of 1) the magnitude of human sin and its relationship to sovereign mercy 2) the relationship between ancient mythology and Christian history 3)progressive revelation and redemption.
Fictional satire still should be based on well-grounded fact and scrutinizing study rather than the simplistic portraits of popular caricature.
leimapapa 2 years, 1 month ago
Your next column should be in the opinion column where it belongs with the "bread" in the title. It could be about how eating bread helps you cope with the fact that nobody wants to hear your tired, rehashed "insights" on things that matter.
By the way, lazy sarcasm does not a satire make. There are obviously people that will agree with your viewpoint and judge this article to be good because of it, but don't let that fool you. This article is nowhere near the level that you've shown you're capable of in the past.