The Last Space Shuttle Launch

23 August 2011

We took this photo of the space shuttle in December 2010. It shows the last space shuttle getting ready for the last launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. We we there in December 2010 to see it on the launch pad. Sadly we didn't get to see it launched live. We were a few months too early for that. NASA has discontinued the space shuttle program. By a strange twist of fate since the Cold War, the USA is currently getting Russia to launch the things they want into space.

Nasca Geoglyphs and the origin of an afterlife.

13 August 2011

Last night, we watched a documentary about the massive Nasca images in the desert of Peru. They are called Geoglyphs – as in geography and as distinct from hieroglyphs like in Egypt. They had quite a bit of information about the people's agricultural way of life and the religious function of the lines. People placated their gods in ceremonies walking on the lines. Broken pieces of pottery from the ceremonies are found along the lines. The mummies, like the one in the photo, were carefully prepared so as to help the person into an afterlife. Fascinating stuff!

What struck me while watching the documentary was that the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) only had hints of the concept of an afterlife (eg Psalm 49:15) until late in the OT when Daniel 12:2-3 makes it explicit. Even by the New Testament, the Sadducees in Acts 23:8 are described as not believing in the general resurrection of all people. It was the Pharisees who believed in the general resurrection. The doctrine of hell arose between the OT and the NT so that Jesus doesn't introduce the idea but takes it as a given.

A number of ancient cultures have written history and ancient artifacts that are earlier than those of the Israelite people, such as in Egypt. In their histories and artifacts they show that people were being prepared for the afterlife thousands of years before the book of Daniel clarified to Israel that there was an afterlife. This is an interesting dimension to progressive revelation.

Altruism or patriarchy?

03 August 2011

One thing that fascinates me is the behaviour of our dogs. They adopted us in 2010 as their masters – just turned up at our house wanting attention. They turned out to have been owned by a man who had died.

Our male dog just sits back and gets groomed by the two female dogs. He, however, doesn't seem to reciprocate the favour. Our male dog is called BYLO  which is short for Bite Your Leg Off  – it was a joke that just stuck.

Recently, in July 2011, he was very excited about going for a morning walk. He ran into a corner on a metal frame and tore his back open. Amber, the female dog in the photo attends to his wound every day by licking it. Again, I doubt that BYLO would reciprocate for Amber. Is what we are seeing altruism or patriarchy: is it kindness without expectation of return or a subservience of the females? Then maybe its just a dog's life for some!