Tuesday

he was a real person and he never said

The film was in color, and the picture was of a young man bathing in a river or lake or sea, there was a lot of sky in the background and the area seemed dry. He was dressed more like John the Baptist than a young Jesus with a rather dark brown tunic and a wide belt. The film talked about him casually, how people had known him in what is now called the Holy Land.

He was engaging with a sense of humor. His only activity was talking to people who, after an afternoon with him remembered him.

It wasn't a very long film: he died penniless with nothing in the picture about a crucifixion; he was buried by the History Guild. A couple of centuries later his life was reinvented in stories that made him seem super-human and suitable as an object of worship.

But I don't think he would have deigned to be called a God.

Some people think the act of worship is the highest form of flattery, but to someone who has a deep sense and faith in the dignity of man it is an act of self abnegation and something abusive of one of the most precious gifts given to man.

Mountain Village Cobblestone Streets

Imagine a village in the mountains somewhere.  Cobblestone streets, so I'm thinking Europe. It's hilly, and the street is narrow. ...