Myth, History, and Norman O. Brown

[alice wellintown]

Fairly disturbing portrait of N O B. What's with the weeping? Maybe I
missed the tongue and cheek of it, the author's descriptions of a
professor who suffers from what we might call ADDW or Acute Discursive
Digressions Weeping are, if acurate, the kind of lectures that today's
students, many of who will find themselves heavy with debt, occupying
the streets, wouldn't put up with. The Jesus History-Myth story adds
little to convince us of anything but that the author, lie the
professor who inspired him to write, can't resist a trite temptation.


In any event, does remind me of one of the works I'm about these days:
_The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist_


Here, an excerpt:

On his way home, in accordance with his usual custom, Slyme called at
the Post Office to put some of his wages in the bank. Like most other
'Christians', he believed in taking thought for the morrow, what he
should eat and drink and wherewithal he was to be clothed. He thought
it wise to layup for himself as much treasure upon earth as possible.
The fact that Jesus said that His disciples were not to do these
things made no more difference to Slyme's conduct than it does to the
conduct of any other 'Christian'. They are all agreed that when Jesus
said this He meant something else: and all the other inconvenient
things that Jesus said are disposed of in the same way. For instance,
these 'disciples' assure us that when Jesus said, 'Resist not evil',
'If a man smite thee upon he right cheek turn unto him also the left',
He really meant 'Turn on to him a Maxim gun; disembowel him with a
bayonet or batter in his skull with the butt end of a rifle!' When He
said, 'If one take thy coat, give him thy cloak also,' the
'Christians' say that what He really meant was: 'If one take thy coat,
give him six months' hard labour. A few of the followers of Jesus
admit that He really did mean just what He said, but they say that the
world would never be able to go on if they followed out His teachings!
That is true. It is probably the effect that Jesus intended His
teachings to produce. It is altogether improbable that He wished the
world to continue along its present lines. But, if these pretended
followers really think--as they say that they do--that the teachings
of Jesus are ridiculous and impracticable, why continue the
hypocritical farce of calling themselves 'Christians' when they don't
really believe in or follow Him at all?

As Jesus himself pointed out, there's no sense in calling Him 'Lord,
Lord' when they do not the things that He said. (225 Oxford W C Paper)


On 7/21/13, Monte Davis <montedavis at verizon.net> wrote:
> http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/03/25/myth-history-and-norman-o-brown/
>
>