New Jerusalem - Ch. 9

Whereas the Jews perceived the destruction of the Temple to be a punishment for not living up to expectations of Hashem, early Christians saw it as a sign that G-d had no use for sacrificial ritual. With Emperor Constantine, the new faith became the Roman state religion and the world changed forever. Armstrong claims that Constantine wished Christianity would become a "cohesive force" for his gigantic empire (p. 174). Yet the singular Great Church with a single rule of faith descended into the same problems that had plagued Judaism for 1000 years already. I find the fracturing of Christianity fascinating and I always learns something new when I read about this history.  Internal divisions continue to hamper all parties involved, whether religious or political. 

On page 175 I find (I think) the earliest example in this book that Abraham is claimed to have been a straight up monotheist, who's faith had been corrupted. Jews think he's the first Jew, Muslims insist he's the first Muslim. I never knew Christians regarded him as the first Christian. Whatever, these divisions will never be solved. I can't harp on them any longer or my head will explode. 

She's starting to focus on the other religions, so I have less of a critical view on these chapters...THANK GOODNESS. Having Karent Armstrong tell you about your own religion is like...I dunno something really horrible. I can't really think of any good metaphors. I'm sure someone could. I think Armstrong gets the holiness and the meaning behind the infinite number of symbols for all faiths. She just misses the point and tries to be all poetic about it. Talking about how the tomb of Jesus rose from the dead just like Christ himself? Please. Just stick to the facts, ma'am. 

We see Christians start to establish their very own sacred geography, even as they proclaimed to be a "purely spiritual faith that was not dependent upon shrines and holy places" (183). I don't get this. First of all, what kind of faiths aren't spiritual? And does believing in holy places make a faith unspiritual? What the crap. Pg 185.

She also says something about the Jewish-Christian myth that Adam was buried at Golgotha. Except Jewish tradition puts Adam's burial place at The Cave of Machpela, purchased by Abraham as a burial plot for his wife Sarah. She fails to expound on this point, like many many others throughout the book.