Religious Stories

[thestrangequark]

It's hard to share American Indian stories, because in most tribes the stories are handed down orally, and as such, are considered owned by the teller. I don't own any of them, so there aren't many I could tell -- I guess the best way to describe it is that telling a story one doesn't have the right to tell is like plagiarism. Many of the Raven stories are well-known, though, and Raven is one of my favorite characters, so here is a good one that some of you may already know:

When the creator first made the earth, the animals, and humans, Raven was a bird with feathers so white they glowed, and his beauty was admired by every kind. Raven himself admired humans above all, because they were clever and lovely, but mostly because he loved the sound of their laughter. Sadly, at that time people did not laugh often, and were not often seen. All was dark, all the time, because the greedy Eagle kept the sun hidden away in a box, so that only he could admire it. People were aways depressed in the dark, so Raven, who was very clever, enchanted Eagle's daughter with his glorious white plumage and charmed his way into Eagle's home. He deduced the secret location of the hidden sun, and stole it from its box. He carried it in his beak up to the sky where all could enjoy it equally, on the way singeing his beautiful white feathers black. Raven doesn't mind, however, because now the people are happy, and he can watch them and laugh.

I did a painting of Raven a couple of years ago, with the sun in his beak:

[Miss Chicken]

I recently watched the episode of Raven Tales that told that story

[thestrangequark]

^I'd never heard of "Raven Tales'" before! Is it any good?

There's a scene in Northern Exposure that actually does a really beautiful telling of this particular Raven story. I like this scene a lot, in part because the actors doing the Raven story actually are Pacific Northwest Indians (thought the show took place in Alaska, it was filmed in Washington State, and a lot of the Natives were from there):

[Miss Chicken]

I have only watched the first episode. I enjoyed it but haven't got around to downloading any more episodes from iTunes.

I have never watched "Northern Exposure". I might put it on my list of shows to look at in the future.

Edited to add - the 6th episode of Raven Tales, "Bald Eagle" is on YouTube.

[thestrangequark]

^Northern Exposure's a good show. It's a semi-surrealist comedy drama from the early 90s about a snobby young doctor who's just graduated from medica school in NYC and is forced to start up his practice in a tiny town in rural Alaska. It is one of the few shows/movies that doesn't rely entirely on trite stereotypes when it comes to Native American characters, and has a few notable Indian actors in it.

[Hunter X]

When it comes to OT stories, I have trouble sometimes connecting with them because
a. I associate them too much with their Sunday School simplifications, and
b. Hebrew narrative is pretty terse, meaning readers were expected to do a bit more work than I'm used to as a lazy Westerner just wanting to be entertained/enthralled.

However, I do love the story of David, especially the drama with Absolom. His lines, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!” upon finding out about his son's death, the son who was trying to kill David and usurp his throne, are heart-rending every time. Especially when David's general calls him out on being thankless to the men who were defending him, and the grieving father has stand up out of that and be a king once again. Powerful, very human stuff.

[Miss Chicken]

I just spotted this on Conservapedia under the topic "The Post-Diluvian Diaspora".

The Post-Noachian Flood Volcano Theory comes from the example of Krakatoa, which, in 1883, erupted and destroyed most of the island, thus remaining lifeless for many years. Still the same life that was there before the eruption eventually came back. It is possible that volcanoes in the Mount Ararat region were able to transport the smaller animals over much greater distances than the animals could get just by walking

SOURCE

That must be the most stupidest thing I have ever read.

[Captrek]

My favorite religious story is probably Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. I'm pathetic, aren't I?

I also really like The Prince of Egypt, a surprisingly intelligent and mature adaptation of the story of the Exodus. It particularly impresses me with the bold creative decision to make Pharaoh a sympathetic character.

There's also my signature about the monoanthropic cycle. Take it for what it's worth, or more.

[st.barthgirl]

Fico Ventilatory on the MonoAnthropic Cycle, Please? Read it, have heard similar... how does this theory account for changes in Population? Can souls be Split, or merge? if it's anthropic- do we only reincarnate as Humans, and does Sentience Matter? only Homo Sapiens- or could we reincarnate as Neandertals or Homo Erectus or Floresiensis or Denisovan or Any in the Human Family Tree? Do we have any Choice in the Matter?

And if Spock is Half Vulcan/ half human- will he come back on Earth, or on Vulcan?

Umm, i'm honestly Curious, not giving you a hard time...

[trekkiebaggio]

I always liked the Tower of Babel story. Humans uniting and building a great structure. Once completed it will mean nothing will be beyond our grasp. Then God comes down, inspects it and thinks 'Nah, can't be having that,' and scatters humans across the world.

I also like the Nativity story as in the Bible, I actually wrote a play version because I got bored of the same old 5 minute skits at carol services.

[Chemahkuu]

[Drago-Kazov]

How many times did this happened in the OT:

Israel was occupied because they turned away from God. Then a chosen one liberated them. Then they turned away from God again, you know the drill.

[EmoBorg]

Drago-Kazov wrote:

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How many times did this happened in the OT:

Israel was occupied because they turned away from God. Then a chosen one liberated them. Then they turned away from God again, you know the drill.

The Jews were persecuted because they kept on rejecting false religions and false prophets. From the ancient Egyptians, Romans, Christians and Muslims, have tried to impose their version of god or gods on the Jews and the Jews rejected those attempts and suffered enormous persecutions as a result. The Jews did not stray from their God. They kept the covenant with their God since the days of Moses.

[st.barthgirl]

trekkiebaggio wrote:

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I also like the Nativity story as in the Bible, I actually wrote a play version because I got bored of the same old 5 minute skits at carol services.

Cool that you wrote a play! Which Nativity Story did you write about? There are Conflicting stories in the New Testament: Even the Synoptic Gospels don't agree...

and what of the Apocrypha?

Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In a house.
Luke 2:7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In a manger. There was no room in the inn.

[thestrangequark]

I am no expert in Hinduism, and I know there is at least one person here who can speak with more knowledge and authority than I (so please correct me if I get anything wrong), but there is a bit of imagery from a story about Krishna that has always stuck with me. My friend, Sonia, who is Hindu, told me the story, and one scene always stood out. Apparently, Krishna was a trouble-maker as a child, and would often sneak away and eat all the butter. One day, he lied to his mother about eating the butter, and so she took him by the chin and opened his mouth, but when she looked inside, she saw the universe. That was when she knew he was a god.

It’s just a really cool image and idea: that the universe would exist inside a god.