Controversies

Controversies

Should Freemasonry Be Considered Controversial?

Freemasonry Lodge in Vienna, 1789 (courtesy of Wienmuseum) By Pauline Chakmakjian – My publisher Markosia in the UK recently released my trilogy: The Sphinxing Rabbit: Her Sovereign Majesty, The Sphinxing Rabbit: Book of Hours and The Sphinxing Rabbit: Clubs and Societies.  All three books in the series from a publisher noted for graphic novels make […]

Artifacts of Material History Controversies

Possible Chinese Silk in Bronze Age or Iron Age Jericho: the “Babylonish” Garment from Shin’ar in Joshua 7 ?

By Patrick Hunt –  One of the more intriguing passages of the Hebrew Bible, Joshua 7: 10-23 & ff. describes the sin of Achan and his “accursed” secret purloined material spoliation after the taking of Jericho by the Israelites, a narrative with controversial historicity. Regardless of when it can be […]

Controversies

The Demagogues of Ancient Athens

The phenomenon of unscrupulous politicians stoking tensions in society for their own ends is as old as democracy itself. By John Leonard – “[T]he main cause of the overthrow of democracies is the outrageous behavior of demagogues.’  Aristotle, Politics I.1304b.20 As ancient Athens moved away from kingship and Archaic-era tyranny […]

Controversies

Gehenna: Hell as Metaphor? What and Where was it?

By Patrick Hunt –  Gehenna is an old Hebrew toponym (place name) that began as a literal, physical location – the Valley of Hinnom – and gradually transformed into a metaphor for hell through various processes including religious defilement. One of the immediate problems of any hermeneutics about Gehenna is […]

Artifacts of Material History Controversies

Paleopathology and the Destruction of Sennacherib’s Army Besieging Jerusalem in II Chronicles 32, II Kings 19

By Patrick Hunt – Historians know disease often stalks armies in history. [1] The specter of invisible pathogens haunting ancient warfare may have at times seemed instead like a punitive deity taking sides. Sometimes it’s merely a much simpler question of contagion and the inability to protect against it. While […]

Controversies

Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Woman Beyond Her Time 

Marriage of Eleanor and Louis VII and Louis Leaving for Crusade, 15th c., Chroniques de St. Denis (image public domain)                    By Emmanuel Zilber –  Defying so many male imposed status quo “rules”, Eleanor of Aquitaine (ca. 1124-1204) was remarkable, but not only for […]

Controversies

Paleolithic Instincts and Insights?

Bison painting, Chauvet Cave, Ardeche France, ca 32,000 BP (Image public domain) By Patrick Hunt –  How much human behavior can be quantitatively attributed to instinct is largely arguable and untested, especially since we are usually inclined to believe we are rationally able to rise above any such deeper-than-cognitive triggers […]