Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’
Mr Deity and the Magic – Part Deux
December 25th, 2009Teach the Bible? Hell yes!
December 22nd, 2009So, Tony Abbott, the new leader of the opposition, would like to see compulsory Bible classes in schools. I’m tempted to agree with him.
We’re approaching Christmas which is, supposedly, a celebration of Jesus’s birth. I suspect few are really familiar with the Biblical account, so here’s an exercise that could be in Abbott’s lesson plan:
The Births of the Jesuses
- Step 1. Go through the Birth Narrative in the Gospel of Matthew, and write out the outline in dot points.
- Step 2. Go through the Birth Narrative in the Gospel of Luke, and write out the outline in dot points.
- Step 3. Compare the two dot point accounts. How do they differ?
- Step 4. Go through the standard commercial Christmas Story, marking which bits come from which narrative.
Here are some other lessons that might be included:
- By the Rivers of Babylon: Plagiarism of ancient Babylonian myths, including an introduction to the Gilgamesh Epic.
- How many gods? Introducing Asherah, Yahweh’s wife/concubine
- Documentary vs Fragmentary: How many Genesis stories are there? How many sets of Ten Commandments?
- Genocide – A Biblical Guide: How to slaughter your enemy and rape his daughter without incurring God’s wrath.
- Nail that sucker up: Get to know the conflicting crucifiction stories.
- Uh oh! That shouldn’t be there: Late additions to the Gospels such as the Comma Johanneum and the story of the adulterous woman.
- WTFDJD? An introduction to non-canonical gospels, including stories of Jesus killing people and consuming his own semen.
- Gnosis: Was Jesus sent by another god to save us from the Jewish one?
I wonder if the Commonwealth Government could get a good deal on books by Bart Ehrman so they could be given to all students.
24: The Christmas Episode
December 18th, 2009Via Greg Laden
Santa needs a better union
December 5th, 2009I went to Smithfield this morning for my usual breakfast at Café Soul, grocery shopping, and looking for a book to read. Outside Café Soul the Zinc radio crew were broadcasting from an open walled tent. Next to them was another tent in which some poor soul was dressed in a Santa costume posing for photos with children. In 30°+ temperatures they have that fellow in his fur trimmed costume…
What does Santa want for Christmas? An air conditioned smegging office!
Happy northern European mid-winter solstice!
December 25th, 2008Christmas to me is an ancient pagan festival kidnapped by Christianity, and then kidnapped again and forced into prostitution by corporations. Helping the hordes cram into Cairns Central this week reinforced what Christmas is really about – spending money. I decided a long time ago to give the day a miss. If you have decided to participate, I hope you have an enjoyable day and the stress and panic haven’t been too great.
I’m having my traditional non-Christmas – a day trapped in Yorkeys Knob due to the buses not running. It tends to be a pretty slack day for me, and I almost certainly won’t get the intended cleaning done. I had a sleep in, did some work constructing a stand for my new home-made marine trickle filter, and caught up on the news online. I thought about getting out for some golf this morning, but I really felt like sleeping in. This afternoon, I’ll probably crash on the beach for a bit. Oh, and my Christmas dinner will be satay chicken.
Tomorrow is the big day for me – the opening day of the Boxing Day Test Match. It’s the most important day’s cricket of the year, and I’ll be plonked in front of the TV throughout. I’m thinking I’ll set up the TV in the fish room so I can have air conditioning on the day.
I’m not sure why, but I always make sure to have rum and raisin ice cream in the freezer for the big day. Unfortunately Sara Lee stopped making Bundaberg Rum ‘n’ Raisin ice cream a few years ago, so I now get Baskin-Robbins ice cream from the Esplanade instead. It seems that Woolworths and Coles don’t stock rum ‘n’ raisin ice cream any more. You can get Coles home brand apricot and macadamia crunch (or something like that) but not the good old rum ‘n’ raisin. It’s a little disappointing.
I have some triple smoked ham and Jarlsberg cheese slices for toasted sandwiches at lunch time, and some Johnnie Walker and Cola and Midori Splice (pineapple flavour, Midori and coconut rum) to sip.
Yes, the Boxing Day Test Match… ’tis my reason for the season.
Aussie Aussie Aussie!
OI! OI! OI!
Spendmas approaches, a shopping fatality, and Santa unmasked
November 29th, 2008
Click image for source
Winter is setting in in the northern hemisphere. Cold winds blow down from the north, the reindeer migrate south, and the few Lapps that still practice their ancestral ways bury their tents in the snow, entering and departing via a hole in the roof which doubles as a chimney. At times, reindeer will wander across their roofs.
The annual festival of Spendmas Christmas approaches. Children will be regaled with stories of Santa Claus coming from the North Pole, driving reindeer before him, landing the reindeer on the roof, and leaping down the chimney. Who is this fellow? Saint Niklaus or the pagan Old Man Winter?
The shops seem to have broken out the decorations a little later this year, though only by a week or two – though I could be mistaken. The “sales” have started, and in America a salesperson was killed in a stampede of shoppers on the traditional start of the shopping season.
I’ll be having my traditional non-Christmas this year. No gluttony or gifts, just a day relaxing and chilling out – though that’s not an unusual day for me at the moment. I’ll be trapped in Yorkeys Knob due to the buses not running (Good Friday is the other day they fail to provide their service). Perhaps you could call it a stripped down Festivus.
Oh yes, I almost forgot. Bah humbug! Wow, it’s still November and I’ve managed my first “Bah humbug!”.
