[MD] Barbarian attack

[Arlo J. Bensinger]

Greetings SA,

[You wrote]
Arlo the literalization of what Christ had to say would have been turn the other
cheek, which is a contradiction of what you were trying to point out about
Christ (not Christianity, but Christ).

[Arlo]
This isn't really what I had meant by "literalization of the message". The
meaning, as you point out, is clear. What happens is that the meaning (the
metaphor) becomes secondary (if it retains value at all) to the "literal
delivery of the message". That is, it is MORE important that JESUS said "don't
kill" to a PARTICULAR TRIBE at a PARTICULAR GEOGRAPHICAL POINT, than what he,
in fact, said.

The same is true for the literalization of any "message". In other words, we
focus on WHO delivered it and TO WHO. In other words, the message ceases to be
"an analogy" and becomes "the truth". Once this happens, what the message
actually was doesn't matter so much as upholding the truth of WHO brought it.
This is what I mean by "literalization", the "story" becomes fact, and the
meaning is lost.

Does it really matter (this is a rhetorical question) WHO said "don't kill",
Jesus or Mohammed or White Buffalo Calf Woman or Quan Yin or anyone else?
Shouldn't our focus be on the message, and not the messenger? To so many on
this little ball of militant right-wingism, it does matter... more than
anything else.

Arlo