Thoughts on the Judas gospel

As an archaeologist, people seem to think that I must have some strong feelings about the Gospel of Judas, which was recently published in part by National Geographic. At first I pointed out that I'm not a biblical scholar and the gospel was not excavated so I really don't have much to say about it. But having been asked numerous times now, I suppose I have to take a position. But it's not so easy as some may think. There is the whole ethical question.

What ethical question?

The gospel has a very questionable past and it smacks of black-market antiquities deals which archaeologists abhor. We make our livelihood by excavating things in situ and the black-market is the biggest threat to our jobs, let alone the destruction of sites eradicates the usefulness of most artifacts.

But note that I say "most" artifacts.

Yes, I may be an archaeologist, but I'd like to think that I'm also a realist. There are some things that are still useful even without archaeological context and texts are one of those things. The gospel can be dated without statigraphy and what is written is more important that the pottery that may have gone with it. GASP!

So do I think that the AIA and ASOR are correct in refusing to publish all unproven artifacts? Er. Lets not get into that right now, you were asking about the Gospel of Judas.

Is it is real? Yes. But, and it is a big BUT, it is not the actual writings of Judas Iscariot. Honestly people, when was he supposed to write a gospel? The man purportedly hung himself after Jesus was arrested, I doubt he stopped to dictate his memoirs. What we have here is a gnostic gospel written by an observant gnostic Christian in the spirit of Judas. What? you say. Yes, it has happened before - well obviously since the thing is over a thousand years old. The gnostics were an interesting group of Christians that felt that you could, in fact, not only understand God, but all of the characters involved in the Bible, through prayer and possibly several other mystical and now lost practices.

If you are curious, read E. Pagels "The Gnostic Gospels" available through Amazon and wherever such books are sold.

This of course raises a curious question, are any of the accepted gospels other "in-the-spirit-of-the-disciple X"? But that is another discussion all together and one for biblical scholars to debate. I am just a lowly archaeologist, digging in the dirt for her provenienced artifacts.

The 10 day forcast

I swear I may have to rethink this whole "living in the north by the sea" concept. The 10 day forcast for my little corner of Denmark is rain. Ten days of nothing but rain. And the temp will not get above 60`F, it will hover, instead, at about 57`. Ugh. I am starting to think longingly about the American southwest. Maybe a compromise, I'll go live in southern california where it is sunny and warm and I can finally get some decent Mexican food.

Spring arrives

Well its finally here - Spring! It hasn't snowed in a while, in fact, most of the snow has gone away. I say only "most" though because there are still patches lurcking by the motorway. Crocuses have been seen, and in Aarhus the purple and white ones have errupted and formed a beautiful display (carefully planted at some point they have been hiding the entire time I've been in Denmark, so it was quite a surprise to find them). The sun has been getting up earlier and staying up later. Which we'd all go bask in if it wasn't so cold and if it didn't rain too much. Yes, spring in Denmark is wet. And warm in the sense that you can finally go outside without long-underwear and not die. When its sunny it's actually quite pleasant and you can take off the knit cap. But "warm"? Not really. And the trees are not fooled because not a single one has produced buds. So it may snow a bit more, but that's typical of Danish spring, or so I'm told.

Hope the weather is pleasant wherever you happen to be!

An American in Denmark

Whew, where do I begin with Denmark? First you must understand that with the creation of the EU, Danes have become increasingly worried that they will lose their national identity. People already think that Denmark is the capital of Sweden and Germany has invaded it at least once almost every 50 years (and for some reason, after each war, including WWI, Germany ended up with MORE Danish land rather than less). Danes have become increasingly protective of their "danishness". So during the past 25 years or so the surge in refuges from arab countries have made Danes increasingly nervous because these immigrants have often not seamlessly integrated into Danish society. Not that Danes make it easy, they will fight to the death to insure that you have the same rights as the next person, but if you break tradition, beware! But for many arabs who came to Denmark for political or religious freedom, the idea of conforming seems contrary to that goal. They will happily learn Danish, get whatever job they can, and be a productive member of society, but they won't give up their religion or dress. And this bothers many Danes, who view this as a rejection of their hospitality. So just as in France, there has been rising resentment on both sides. A political party has been formed whose sole purpose is to prevent the building of any mosques in Denmark. They have been remarkably successful. Honestly, the way California treats Mexican migrant laborers is better than Denmark's current attitude toward arab immigrants. There is a contract you have to sign when you apply for residency (residency! not citizenship!) where you promise to raise your child according to Danish standards, in Danish schools, with Danish as a primary language. Because Denmark is concerned about your child's well-being, your child's name must be on the state approved list of baby names UNLESS you can prove that the name you are giving your child is a common name from your homeland. Oh yes, and the current slang term for Danish-Arab is "Mohammedane".

Now, add to this the declining number of people who read Jyllands-Posten (the newspaper in question) and you may begin to see what happened.

The JP wanted to start a lively debate regarding the current Islamaphobia, so they asked all the famous cartoonists to draw Mohammed. And then they published them in September or October. (We don't get that newspaper because it's... well, it's the Washington Post to the New York Times, most of the time, it's full of crap.) Apparently it takes a while for people to get upset around here. Anyway, in Denmark at least there was a lot of discussion about the cartoons. At the time both my boyfriend and I thought, well, that's a dumb thing to do, but there didn't seem to be a lot of outcry from Danish muslims. And suddenly there is.

The newspaper has apologized for the fuss, but stands by it's right to freedom of speech (which is a very strong freedom in Denmark, you can say just about anything to anyone at any time). The point that has been made by a lot of Danish arab journalists is that the countries who are fussing the most are the ones who do not have freedom of speech and have a government controlled press. The government of Denmark can do nothing to the newspaper. The company that has been boycotted all over the arab world can do nothing to the newspaper. The publication of politically incorrect cartoons in a newspaper read by MAYBE 300,000 has gotten a reaction way out of proportion to the incident.

As a person who comes from a country whose flag gets torched all the time and who constantly finds herself having to explain America's foreign policy to everyone I meet, I find myself surprised at how upset Danes are getting over the reaction of the middle-east. But I'm used to being universally disliked and mistrusted for being an American, Danes are used to everyone loving them. Or not even realizing they are a country. For them it is a shock and they have no idea how to solve this problem. Like the JP should fire the culture editor, or he should resign or retire. The prime minister and the queen could keep talking about how disappointed they are with the newspaper to print such blatantly inflammatory cartoons. The parliament could lift the ban on mosque building and finally let muslims build an adequate mosque in Copenhagen (hey, maybe they could have two!). But I don't think they will. Danes are very stubborn people, and when they feel their rights are threatened they will not give in; currently they are viewing this as a show down on freedom of press. So expect very little.

But if I could reach out to all the Danes who are currently worried about how much the world hates them, I would tell them, "fear not, my friends, next week we Americans will do something far worse to take the burden of infamy from your shoulders!" At least we can count of that!

And on a related note: how ironic it is that Syria, Libya, et. al are calling for a UN resolution regarding freedom and respect for religion? I say we pass the damn thing just for the look on their faces when we slap them with a whateverthehellyoucallthem for statements made against Judaism. Heh heh heh.

Ah, and for continuing coverage including some very well written opinion pieces, check out the International Hearld Tribune.

Welcome to Denmark: Closed for July

I know people have to take a vacation, but why does it seem that everyone is doing it NOW? Yesterday Thomas and I decided that we really needed some restaurant quality grub, so we went out into Aarhus to find it. Every restaurant (except for a few pizza joints, so not *every*) was closed for holiday. It was surreal. Friday night, 8pm, and very few souls to be seen on the street. What gives? Where are all the Danes? Turns out that it is a domino effect. As a few places close for holidays, people realize nothing will be open, so they go on holiday. As more and more people go on holiday, shops and restaurants discover that business drops, so it becomes the perfect time to go on holiday. Where do they go? Summer homes (very small homes pressed together in specially zoned areas, most Danes can afford them) for the most part. Or they spend a few weeks around the house, fixing things. Meanwhile, those of us who foolishly decided to stay in Denmark in July are left buying ready-to-eat meals in the supermarket. Sigh. They really ought to put a sign at the boarder, "Welcome to Denmark: closed for July".

Musings of a conspiracy nut

I love my boyfriend. He is the light of my life, apple of my eye, and the conspiracy nut in my mixed-nut can. As an avid terrorist watcher (hey, some people watch royals, others keep up on terrorist bombings) he has noticed that certain groups tend to "commemorate" special days by blowing themselves and other people up. It's not just him doing this noticing, it is a national pastime in Israel. So of course, with the most recent bombing in London, the pattern loving half of his brain began calculating. The following is the revised (do you really expect me to remember verbatim?) transcript of the conversation.
T: There is a pattern between bombings, groups like this are obsessed with numbers.
E: What?
T: Really, there is a thousand days between 9/11 and the Madrid bombings.
(delay as Erin does some math)
E: No, there are 912 days.
T: See! Wait, not 911?
E: There would have been 911, but 2004 was a leap year, you have to add an extra day in Feb.
T: So there were 911 days between the two attacks.
E: Or if the so-called mastermind behind it wasn't smart enough to add that extra day, he would have thought that 3/11/04 *was* 911 days later.
T: Um-hm, see. There is a pattern. Now how many days were between Madrid and London.
(delay as Erin does some more math)
E: 455.
T: Ah-ha, and if you divide 911 in two what do you get? (Thomas is much faster at math then me)
(delay as Erin uses her calculator)
E: 455.5... Oh weird.
T: Ah ha, see!
E: Okay, so it is weird.
T: So if it is half of 911, then what is half of that?
(again with this math stuff)
E: 227-228 days, meaning that the next bombing, assuming that your conspiracy theory is right...
T: I'm not saying it is right, what if they set up a pattern so we all get hyped up and then they strike on a different day!?
E: (long look)
T: (innocent look of someone convinced that "they" are up to no good, but glad he knows that "they" are up to no good)
E: February 19 or 20 2006. (sudden dismay) Oh that's no good.
T: What?
E: That falls during the winter Olympics. Which this year, is being held in northern Italy. Italy, coalition member.
(meanwhile on news they mention the Bali bombing)
T: And what are the days between all of those bombings.
E: (grumbles) Wait a minute, this is hard. (muttering) Thirty days have September....
(long delay as Erin does math)
E: 397 days between 9/11 and Bali. Or one year, one month, and one day as previously noted on the news. 515 days between Bali and Madrid. No pattern.
T: Yeah, but one year, one month and one day? That was definitely by design.

So conspiracy? Are mathematician Islamic extremists hard at work cranking out numbers to make their explosions more meaningful? What about the G-8 conference in Scotland and the announcement that London would host the 2012 Olympics, is it just a coincidence that these things just happened to come at the same time as this mathematical equation demands a bombing? Or are we, pattern seeking creatures of habit, desperate to find a pattern, to be able to predict the next wave of horror?

Alas, since I live with a believer, we shall not be going to Copenhagen those days in Feb. or is it likely we'll go to the Olympics. But then, as my devils advocate side argues, does not going validate the terrorists plan to strike fear in the hearts of the common person? Does not going because of a crazy whim (aka complicated mathematical formula) let the terrorists win?

I am at a loss.

Meanwhile, would anyone like to open a macabre betting pool: Where and when will the next terror attack in Europe take place?

Anyone?

Regarding "Something Rotten..."

As a blogger, it is up to me to correct myself when I am wrong. So I must update my previous blog - there was apparently a much larger protest in Aarhus. An eyewitness's account was 30,000 people. News reports say "hundreds." I saw 5 people with banners and 2 news cameras. In the end it doesn't really matter because Bush saw zero people holding zero banners. And I can't seem to find out where to get those really awesome anti-Bush t-shirts! Grrrr.

Something rotten in the state of Denmark...

Sorry for the bad Shakespeare, but since this will not likely show up in American news, I thought ya'll might be interested. Dubya made his first trip to Denmark yesterday (he will stay throughout today and tomorrow head off to the G-8 summit in Edinburgh). This makes him the second office-holding president to visit (Reagan visited after his two terms, Clinton visited mid second term [to rave reviews, I might add]). The joyousness of this occasion was illustrated in a minute by minute report on DR 1 (one of Denmark's main channels). It covered from the minute Air Force One landed to when the Pres. arrived at the Prime Minister's home a half-hour's helicopter flight north. DR 1 reporters had flown the same route earlier so they could show exactly what the Pres. could see ("look, Lars, he can see our house!"). They then did a lovely second by second commentary on the landing of the first helicopter ("and now we see the tree branches moving due to the wind caused by Marine One!") only to discover the first helicopter was a decoy, Dubya landed in the second. There was a band and lots of reporters, but not a regular Dane (think Lars Svendsen aka John Smith) in the crowd. All well-wishers or otherwise were kept to the town and away from the manor house. As per usual, Bush will not be exposed to people who may actually disagree with him.

While most Danes are either moderately for or against Bush; more against, but without a great deal of hatred, this visit is important to Danes because Denmark is involved in the war in Iraq. Also, as a small country, it is always nice to be recognized by the so-called leader of the free world. And despite what looked like hero-worship on DR1, a hard-hitting reporter did grill Dubya on many of the issues Danes are worried about. Namely the war. Which gave Dubya a chance to AGAIN play the 9/11 card. Anyway, there *were* a few protests to the Bush visit. Thomas and I were lucky to catch the Aarhus protest. Five angry Danes, followed by two news cameras, walked around the pedestrian-only streets waving banners and chanting. This was in turn ignored by most people.

For the most part, Danes follow the adage: love the people, dislike (or even really really dislike) the war-crazed leader those idiots re-elected. As an American, I am often called to comment on American politics. But this is done without malice or disdain. They seem to recognize that not all Americans voted for this turkey and even recognize that the general American public was lied to regarding the war, resulting in people voting for rather than against Dubya. Perhaps because they too were talked into this futile war. Or perhaps because Denmark has very strong ties to the US. It is Denmark, tiny and often ignored, who holds the record for oldest and biggest American Independence Day celebration held outside of the US.

So the Danes shake their heads and continue to welcome American visitors with open arms. Viewing the US as that crazy younger sibling who gets up to no good from time to time, but gosh, you still have to love them, they're family after all.

CPR is more than cardio-pulmonary resuscitation!

Denmark - the welfare state. For those of you who have been begging the US for national health care, no one does it like the Danes. Take for instance my case. I am in Denmark on a student visa for a year. Well, if you are going to be in the country for that long and you have a visa you can sign up for a CPR number, which is like our social security number, but way more cool. Your CPR number allows you to check books out of the library, get a bank account, and gives you access to free health care. Yes, FREE health care. I don't pay taxes, I could vote if I wanted to (another perk of the CPR number), and should I break my leg I am fully covered. Thomas points out, with just a hint of sarcasm, that this is what his 50% income tax goes toward, insuring poor guest students, among other things. Me, I am just so proud to be part of this welfare state, where I don't have to put anything in to get something out! Of course, Denmark will not be able to keep doing this forever, more than half of the population doesn't work (that's not a 50% unemployment rate; this includes children and retired persons) - meaning that one half supports the other half. Eventually something will have to give. But until that day happens I will relax knowing that my ass is covered, for the moment.

Quotable Quotes

So every now and then something gets said that should really be repeated, because it is really funny or just so horrible I have to tell someone about it. Here are three (hopefully I can add more to this list, I just never remember to write this stuff down).

"...no you are thinking of John, who said he was BETTER than Jesus. And that would be Lennon, not the apostle."
- Erin to Fokion during a discussion about religion 11/8/04

"You should really feed your brain hamster"
- Violet to Erin after hearing that Erin's brain was run by hamsters 11/22/04

"The Pharisees killed Jesus because he was taking away their church members."*
* There are so many things wrong with this statement I really just couldn't do a thing about it other than shake my head and go back to sleep
- Dumb girl on the bus from Boston to equally dumb boy 11/23/04

Just flew back from San Antonio and boy are my arms tired...

So I went to the ASOR conference this last week and had a great time. Nothing like a bunch of archaeologists getting together to make for some fun times. We drink a lot of beer and talk about dirt; you have no idea how much fun that is! And there were some good papers and some bad papers and some so bad you wanted to slit your wrists (and some of these guys are professors, it makes my blood curdle). Then there was my favorite paper. A lovely guy by the name of Eric Cline gave a talk about how the past is used/abused in today's political hot spots, ie Israel and Iraq. It was HILARIOUS. Since most of us know our ancient history and current political situation, the quotes Cline used were gut busters. An example of this would be Saddam Hussein and his obsession with Nebuchadnezzar. Neb. was the leader of the Babylonians who came in and sacked Jerusalem and carried off the Jews in, oh, 598 BC. SH had himself depicted as good ol' Neb in various paintings in Baghdad and even had a reconstruction of Neb's chariot as a parade vehicle. Cline had pictures. Oh, boy were they funny! Anyway, Thomas's paper went well and he headed back to Denmark relieved and excited about writing his thesis.

And for those of you who want to know, yes, I visited the Alamo, or as it is called "the shrine of Texas liberty" and you must dress appropriately, speak in hushed tones, and if you wonder about the Mexicans who lost their lives, forget it, they aren't mentioned. In fact, nothing is really mentioned about the Mexicans, other than that they outnumbered the Texians (which is apparently bad form) and that they finally killed all the men (however, there is a grudging note that the women and children survived, but they DID surrender [how dare they!]) and in the end, they lost Texas to the US. To me the Alamo is a shrine to Stupid White Men and the Stupid Heroics that they can get themselves into. It is really a very small building set in a very lush almost tropical town (rather than the American West desert most people imagine). San Antonio itself is a rather nice town (well, downtown) with a river system that has been turned into a riverwalk were you can eat right on the banks or even take a boat ride. It was a pleasant stay in a pretty liberal area, no I VOTE FOR BUSH signs anywhere. So that was my trip. Good times, good food (for the most part).

Be Well

So this is what blogging is all about...

Well, I finally decided that in order to keep everyone updated as to what I am doing I had to do one of two things:
1) stop doing stuff so that I wouldn't have anything to keep you all posted about.
2) make a blog.
So I took direction from my dearest friend Laura and made me a blog. I will now try to keep it up to date (har).
But don't think that this will only be for updates on my life, I will also blog other oddities that happen and generally try to amuse you, dear reader. I will probably only amuse myself, but eh, c'est la vie!

So what am I doing these days? Well, I am in my fourth year of grad school, I passed my German exam (the first person to write to me in German will be shot) and am now studying for my comprehensive exams which are even scarier than they sound. I am involved in a pro-Israel/pro-Palestine/pro-peace group called Tikkun which gives me an outlet for my general frustrations. I am enjoying my boyfriend's company, since he flew out from Denmark for two weeks, and we'll be going to the American School of Oriental Research annual meeting in a few days. Think lots of archaeologists and lots of alcohol. Good times. Thomas (that would be my boyfriend for those of you who are really behind) will be giving a paper this year, if he finishes in time (he will, I just like to tease him). Meanwhile I study study study and not much else.