On the subject of our "Christian Heritage". Well, heck it's true. We're fricking soaked in unconscious christianity in this country, like most of the Western World that we receive the majority of our cultural influences from. How many of us, everyday, invoke the christian deities accidentally when we make an exclaimation - "My God!", "Jesus Christ!", "Sweet Zombie Jesus!", etc.
What is less clear is why this heritage should be deemed important, or indeed what we are obliged to do about it. Conceivably this could get quite complicated, since, to be entirely true to our heritage we would have to acknowledge all of our heritages - Judaism for a start, since Christianity is at least 50% jewish. We would need a bit of Mesopotamian heritage in there too, since the Jews probably stole their flood myth from there (not to mention our way of telling time - thank you Sumerians for the 12 month year and 60 minute hour). Add on top of these we also overlay our Greek, Roman and English heritage (English heritage further splitting into the thousands of different groups that at one point or another invaded the English, or who the English invaded and then stole their words in an effort to make English the hardest damn language to learn) ... you'll see where his might get a little confusing.
Then comes to problem of how we go about reflecting our combined heritage. Christianity seems pretty easy, we just retain the prayer opening in Parliament, although we might want to insert something in there about how we deplore all those dirty heathens that seem to be infesting the place these days (yes Catholics, we mean you. Bloody papists). But how do we adequately reflect our Roman heritage? Conquer most of Western Europe, build some roads, and cap it all off by having a bunch of orgies? Tempting, I know. But there are also some darker periods in our history - cannibalism anyone? I don't just mean among Maori - go back far enough and I suspect everyone's ancestors have partaken of a slice of juicy long-pig. But let's look on the bright side - at least we would finally be able to put to rest that age-old question that has stumped philosophers far, far wiser than I: to wit, do we taste like chicken, or pork?
Hands up who's surprised?
Movie piracy claims more fiction than fact Well I, for one, am shocked.
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Not that it's especially important, but there are some important differences between the Jewish Deluge myth and the Sumerian...one not need be related to or stolen from the other, however, since nearly every ancient culture contains a remarkably similar myth--not just Mesopotamian: the Polynesians, Chinese and Maya, for example, all have "flood myths". Also, although the names of the months on the Hebrew calendar are predominantly names of Mesopotamian gods, the Hebrew calendar has 13 months 7 years in every 19, not 12.
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