Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Bok

This is what I found on the link Suley left --it is a very good, brief and to the point flash presentation about well not just Sudan, but slavery. Clicl where it says about the lifestory of Bok.

Don't pass it by...
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1 comment:

suleyman said...

Bok is an interesting and - at the risk of sounding cliche - inspiring individual.

I am back from the roadtrip. I have been for some time now. The posts are merely an account based upon notes I took, and memories.

My Sudan paper was about the civil war and (at that time) what chances existed that a cease fire might be reached. The accompanying report was well received.

As far as Balaam, I remembered some of the story from Old Testament class, but I had to go back and look at it again. Balaam's curse is related to the state of religion in those days. Many of the Jews practiced the ways laid down by Yahweh , while others began to slip back into the ways of baal worship as practiced by the moabites and others within the land who were not jews. Balaam's curse is to have the moabite women seduce the Israelite men and take them away from their wives. This is related to the cult of Baal worship.

Baal worship involved cult prostitutes, who offered their services as a function of paying homage to Baal (or Dagon), which was supposedly necessary to ensure the fertility of animals and crops. Israelite men began to engage in this practice (it's referred to elsewhere in the OT, prophets talk about it constantly), which is what Balaam's curse is supposed to be. The Moabite women are seducing the Israelite men and taking them away not only physically from their wives, but spiritually as brides of Yahweh (if you wanna get theological wid it). Soooo, Balaam puts this curse on the Israelites to destroy their society at it's root: man and wife.

One day, while Balaam is going along, the angel of God appears before Balaam, but only his donkey can see the angel. Then the angel tells Balaam to go up and do the bidding of Yahweh. When he is told to curse Israel, he can only bless it. The spirit of the Lord is upon him and he cannot curse Israel.

That's what I remember. Balaam is also viewed as an old form of anti-Semite.

As far as this girl, perhaps you are right. I have noticed that my view of someone changes as soon as they open their mouth. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. But, she had the look of someone who was wellspoken and bright. Perhaps I am blinded by this image I create in my mind. Perhaps I will never know. It's the not knowing that I impose upon myself out of fear. Actively not knowing is an act of fear, I think. And that's what makes me a loser.

And I have never traveled outside of the U.S. Why? I don't know. I think it might be a refusal to allow myself to enjoy anything. Never pursued study abroad. I always regarded it as a chance to party and nothing more. I'm a bit of cynic.

-Suley

12:16 PM

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