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As a follower of an ancient religion that is slowly reconstituting itself, despite great odds, I was dismayed by the Taliban's destruction of the Buddha statues in Afghanistan in early 2001. I saw these priceless works of antiquity in something of the same light as I see the Sagas from Iceland (for the Buddhist, of course). Reflections of faith from across the ages. But I wondered - where was the expression of outrage? Oh, to be sure, there was a "tempest in a teapot" kind of wailing that went up, but nothing like the prolonged gnashing of teeth that accompanied the destruction of Native America religious sites by the Park Service several years ago. And no outpouring of art from our esteemed arts community, always ready to slam Catholics for their stance on gays, for example.

This explains alot ...

It's a question of relative fear, of the (perceived or real) difference between facing an angry Catholic activist and an angry Muslim one. "Christians can take it," Anderson said.

10:18:30 PM     comment []

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If this find is accurate, it could be a very big piece of news indeed. We're talking about human religious impulses from over a quarter of a million years ago - about, oh, say 5 to 10 times longer than previously suspected.

...the axe could be the first evidence of ritual behaviour and symbolism in a human species... We conclude it could be from a funeral rite.

2:20:45 AM     comment []