Chapters 8-10

These few chapters managed to keep me engaged out of pure curiosity for the history of a faith I thought I knew so well. 

First off, these chapters surprised and delighted me with the first mentions of women actively changing the history of faith, a breath of fresh air from the lists upon lists of men we have encountered thus far.  Helena, Melania, and Egeria made powerful impacts on history, and it makes me curious as to whether their influence during the early stages of Christianity contributed to later legends and cults surrounding Mary.

I see modern Christianity incorporating both the ideas pushed by Eusbius and the Jerusalem cult.  From the early days, I was taught that God is everywhere- there is no place in the universe that does not contain his presence.  In addition, I was taught that the body of the Christian is the “Temple” of Christ, rather than a physical place.  However, Christians also place high significance in holy places.  Jerusalem is still seen as a treasure on earth, and there are behaviors that are simply not permitted in any church building.  In high school I read a very cool, very strange, Old English poem that described the death of Christ from the perspective of the actual wooden cross, reflecting ancient Christian obsession with holy objects and places.

I was disturbed (although, sadly, not surprised) by the way that Christianity was first implemented.  The early believers seemed to think that the only way that growth and legitimacy of their faith could be established was by first desecrating and undermining the previous existing faith, which in Jerusalem’s case, was Judaism.  The mentality stuck.  This pattern has been repeated almost everywhere else in the world that Christianity has been introduced over the centuries.  Even in the Midwest US, the land I grew up in, Jesuit missionaries who came into contact with native peoples in the1600’s struggled to convince them that their understanding of the sacred was backwards and hopelessly flawed.  This has caused many conflicts, persecutions, and bloody wars throughout the history of the faith that blackens its reputation as a peaceful way to seek God.  I wonder how history would have been different if early Christians had not looked at their faith as a “defeat” of Judaism. 

Journal 2: قصة من طفولتي

For a short time during my elementary and middle school years I attended a very conservative church that occasionally got very political.  My parents decided to attend because it was very geographically close to home, and a good number of our close friends from school and work also attended as their “home” church community.  I found out quickly that the style and focus of this church disagreed with my personality and particular sensitivities greatly, and it sort of became a catalyst for later “rebellious” years, which is not at all what the focus of this journal will be.

My intention behind saying this is that during those years (before my family felt they had had enough and moved to another church community) I was fed a lot of strongly-held, politically-charged beliefs which seemed to be universally accepted by the church as scripturally supported, and not all of which I agreed with.  The topics ranged from the evolution debate, to assumptions about the LGBT community, to modern-day Israel- a country “called into existence by God.”  I know now that the existence and legitimacy of this nation is an emotional issue that is much, much more complex than this church would make it seem.

My childhood vision of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was molded around the story of Abraham, a man from Canaan who was promised a son.  But seeing as both he and his wife were about 100 years old (which I always found pretty gross), Abraham gave up on God’s promise and had one of his servants bear him a son instead (Ishmael).  Well, then God got mad and Abraham kicked the two of them out and his wife did end of having a son, after all, named Isaac.  The Sunday-school moral of this story is, “God always keeps his promises.”

This story, and the interpretation that this particular group held to, had a profound impact on how this church community felt about the modern-day conflict over Jerusalem and the lands surrounding it.  The descendents of Ishmael, I was told, were a result of Abraham’s mistrust, and thus were condemned to be in constant conflict with the descendents of his promised son, Isaac.  According to their worldview, the Israeli- Palestinian conflict had no hope of being resolved, because it was a spiritual battle, and a lesson to us all about trusting God.  Either way, they emphasized, it was in the Christians’ best interest to support the nation of Israel, the home of God’s Chosen People.

Phew, just typing this stuff out gives me ulcers.  I know how emotionally charged the question of Jerusalem is, how much these ancient names mean to people, and the extent to which meanings can be misconstrued.  Needless to say, the views of this old community I was once a part of are not my views today, and when I started taking classes in college and learning about the facts of the modern-day conflict, I felt very resentful of and a little bit furious with many of the teachings I absorbed as a child.  I hope that in relaying this history that it will not be offensive to readers, but rather that it will point out this viewpoint exists and is believed my many Americans today.

Chapters 5-7

While reading chapter five, I had to stifle a few laughs.
I spent my first year in college at Miami University, and I spent a good amount of that time that year as a part of an organization it would have never previously occurred to me to join: Miami Hillel.  My friends, upon hearing this, have always wondered what could have possibly possessed a then- halfheartedly practicing Christian freshman to become actively involved in the Jewish club, and my answer is academic.  That autumn semester, I took a cultural anthropology course that required us to spend time with a group of people not immediately in our circle of friends or comfort.  We were to carefully observe their behaviors, and, when asked, behave in the same manner.  At the end of the course, we would write a rather lengthy paper on what we learned from this experience.

My time at Hillel was a learning experience that never left me with a shortage of close friends, a home away from home, and delicious food.  However, I made a few devastating, and often embarrassing, mistakes which would have me learn the hard way about Jewish traditions.  For example, I remembered one evening on my way back from the gym that I had planned to observe the Yom Kippur service.  When I stumbled in part-way through, fully fed and well-exercised, dressed in bright blue sweatpants and a t-shirt, I knew instantly that I had made a big mistake.  Learning about the origins of this ceremony, as well as the Sukkoth huts, brought back a lot of warm and funny memories.  It also provided insight as to why some of the students clung to tradition so closely, even if they no longer believed in the religious doctrine. 

"Antioch in Judea" somehow struck my interest, and I was able to read the entire chapter smoothly (while staying focused!).  I have never considered the Greek influence on Jerusalem, and would never have imagined them setting up an arena in the city for the Olympics.  Yet, now that I think back on it, I am aware that by the time the gospels were written, Greek was the lingua franca of the land, and much of Jesus' teaching appealed to Greek thought.  It was very cool to see how the Greek concept of education was employed, keeping Jerusalem a progressive city.  I am pretty taken with the ancient Greeks, so I appreciated learning this history.

The title of chapter seven, "Destruction," was at once appropriate and strange to me, since this is the period of history in which Jesus lived and died.  I sense a certain irony in the title, since it involves the coming of a man who promised to bring unity and peace.  I was surprised to hear about the positive legacy of King Herod, who is cemented in my mind as an evil baby killer.  The details of the Temple he built sound nothing short of awe-inspiring, and I am looking forward to seeing the walls that remain! 

Introduction- Chapter 4

Within a few minutes of reading, I knew I was really going to learn a lot from Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths (Karen Armstrong).  Especially enlightening to me was the introduction to this book.  It summed up for me the mystery surrounding the importance of a city.  I have gathered from other readings that the city’s significance is religious in nature rather than geographic or economic, but this book immediately made it clear that this is a common phenomenon that all humans have experienced in some way or another.  The divine/ sacred is a concept that is a part of all human cultures, and the devotion to a holy cite is one of the most ancient forms of expressing this.

I mentioned in my previous blog post that the Jerusalem that people defend and fight for seems more of a symbol to me than an actual city.  This is both confirmed and expanded upon when Armstrong speaks of the “inner geography” which is not necessarily associated with the immediate physical world, but which seeks to satisfy a spiritual human need.  It is, for us, a way of making the intangible reality tangible.  This really helped me to understand why there are so many people, including some of my fellow classmates, who care so passionately about this place.

Throughout this detailed account of the very ancient Jerusalem, I saw a lot of familiar names, whose reality for me, up until now, existed only in legend.  The reading laid out for me a more holistic examination of historical events, which before had been myths I was told as a child.  Armstrong is careful not to undermine these myths’ validity, however, as she repeatedly points out that the human experience has never been documented in a completely unbiased and mundane manner, recording only the observable human and environmental interactions.  Instead, these have always been interpreted and expanded upon by those who find their identity within them.

I have always been curious about the character of the ancient King David, who was first introduced to me in my childhood as a boy giant-slayer.  Beyond this famous legend, however, both biblical and outside historical records have portrayed a multi-dimensional person, with both many talents and many flaws.  Yet David has somehow managed to rise above his significant moral imperfections and emerge with spiritual significance as a “man close to God’s heart.”  Central to this idea is the fact that David was always repentant of his mistakes (even if deception and murder were on that list), and sort of made up for all that with all of the good deeds he did. 

The accounts of Judah were a bit more foreign to me.  I had heard of the Israel/ Judah split after Solomon, but the details were lost to me until now.  Now I can see this is probably because the kingdom under which the elements of the modern monotheistic faiths had been weakened considerably, and so the cultural legends had no room to thrive.  I was interested by a quote on page 58 about the notion of “evil empires,” which evokes images of today’s “war on terror,” as some in our country would call it.  History indeed has a way of showing patterns of human attitudes like that.

Journal 1: الفصل

I took this class having signed up for the trip to Jerusalem in May.  As a student of Arabic, I had been looking for a short-term study abroad opportunity that would give me some insight, any insight, into the daily lives of people in the Middle East.  I believe that language and culture go hand in hand, and thus I cannot fully know a language without having some concept of the way its speakers live. 

The class was not entirely what I expected it to be, albeit for the most part, that is a good thing.  The class being entirely discussion-based in a laid-back environment, rather than a series of lectures and assignments, really shows respect for the opinions and beliefs of the students and helps us dive further into the tough issues surrounding the city.  I underestimated greatly how touchy this topic can be and my own level of discomfort in hearing some of my classmates’ strong opinions.  This past class session, in particular, left me a bit exhausted from all that tension.  I think it would help for me to keep everything in perspective and not get hypersensitive about things.  I don’t feel informed enough to have any strong opinion on the occupation, etc., but I can recognize that the situation is emotional for some, and understandably so.

All that being said, I am very excited for this course.  I am already learning a great deal about the history of Jerusalem and why it has been a contested item for centuries.  I am looking forward to learning more about my classmates and their perspectives, which can differ greatly, and also having a greater understanding of the three monotheistic faiths that find a home in Jerusalem.  Most of all, I am excited for the trip, which will be a life-changing experience.  At the rate we are going, I will have more than sufficient background knowledge to see the things we discuss in class actually played out in the lives of Jerusalem’s civilians.  That is not to say that I will ever fully grasp the scope of these issues, but I will have a foundation to build upon as we observe the daily activities of the people of Jerusalem.  As the film we watched last week stated, these people live ordinary lives under extraordinary circumstances.

Reading Response 2

The more I read, the more I come to think of Jerusalem as a symbol, rather than a piece of contested land.  A Jerusalem worth wanting seems to be an ideological home for the devout and the hopeful, not the geographical reality of the location itself.  This is emphasized in the Dumper reading, which gave me my first real overview of the physical layout of the land.  Its inhabitance is as ancient as it comes, yet the area has a remarkable deficit of clean water.  This has historically accounted for the ebb and flow of the population as much as the overwhelming changes in who controlled the city in each era.  Jerusalem has never had any remarkable economic power, considering that the surrounding area does not have sufficient trade-worthy natural recourses for this.

Still, I have heard about Jerusalem all my life.  Growing up, I was very in-tune with (or at least mildly aware of) current events, as my parents had the news on at 6:30 promptly every evening, and dinner on the table by 7.  My earliest pictures of the modern-day Jerusalem were of street fighters throwing grenades through shop windows.  My parents informed me that this fight was “as old as Abraham.”  Clearly, there is a reason that Jerusalem is contested for and sought after so badly.  This reason, though, must lie outside the realm of geographic practicality.

The article uses the term “frenetic,” but looking at the timeline of the history of Jerusalem-a relentless series of conquests, revivals, pillages, and exchanges of power- I have more of a “hectic” picture in my mind.   It seems as if a  “brief history of Jerusalem” is an oxymoron.  It is fascinating to see how so many different groups of people have at one time been in control of the city, leaving behind traces of their distinct cultures and traditions.  Having almost no prior knowledge of this, I am still getting used to the vocabulary.  For instance, I am confused as to what the term “Old City” refers to.  Any insight from fellow classmates are welcome.

Reading Response 1

Today, I learned that the east side of the city of Jerusalem is considered to be the Arab side, while the west side is referred to as “Jewish Jerusalem” in Suad Amiry’s reflection on a folklore festival that never happened.  Before reading any of these articles I had next to no academic experience dealing with the Israeli- Palestinian conflict (I could not even tell you the basic details of the Oslo agreement, who was involved, and the immediate results before coming to class).   It is true that my background knowledge of this modern-day city and its political implications is rather lacking, but my hope is that this may help me to soak in the information with less of a bias.

My decision to study in Jerusalem is uncomplicated in the sense that I am an Arabic language student, and I wish to learn about cultures and beliefs that differ from my own.  Yet as Albert’s quote in the Amiry article states, we each carry our own mirror when we look at Jerusalem.  My mirror contains cultural assumptions and tales from my upbringing concerning a city that, in truth, I know very little about.  I was raised in a Christian home, and have always considered Jerusalem to be a place that is somehow meaningful to me, at least symbolically.  My goal for this class and upcoming trip is to respect and learn from the other mirrors around me.

About me

Hello everyone!  My name is Elizabeth, and I grew up right here in the heart of Ohio.  I am an adventurous spirit, and have always wanted to travel and experience the world.  I am a 3^rd year OSU student majoring in Linguistics and Spanish.  I am also currently taking my fourth course in Arabic at OSU. 

Jerusalem is a fascinating city of historic and modern-day importance.  I am only beginning to catch a glimpse of what this city means to so many different people, and I look forward to having the privilege to see the "Living Jerusalem" this May.