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If you read widely in ancient literature - even in English
translations - I think you will find that ancient authors had no
worries about 'racial profiling', or even using stereotypes that
even then were probably known to be inaccurate. Objectivity and
avoidance of offence are modern concerns, and are practically absent
from most of history. Even religious literature is filled with such
things. Developments in our own history have made us squeamish
about such things, but we should not project that squeamishness back
onto ancient - or medieval or even early modern - writers. There
are still places in the world where telling blatant untruths about
'the other' is considered good rhetorical technique. I believe the context - literary and cultural - of Ezekiel 16 makes the euphemistic and 'racial profiling' reading the most likely. Israel is, after all, being likened rather graphically to a prostitute. Sexual references and innuendo are hardly foreign to such a context. Kevin Riley On 11/01/2013 12:37 PM, Norman Cohn
wrote:
1357868273.33513.YahooMailNeo AT web142306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com" type="cite"> |
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