“When He
had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: Not
what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this
defiles a man.” Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees
were offended when they heard this saying?” Matthew 15:10-12
Before
Jesus had come to the Earth the people who ran the show were the Pharisees.
They were the leaders of the church and they told the people what the Bible
said, or implied what the Bible might say. Basically they manipulated people
who were illiterate in the ancient Greek or Latin languages that the Bible was written in and had them succumb
to the plot of tradition and not actual Biblical principles. Skip ahead several
hundred years the same methods are being reproduced in Western Europe. The Pope
would hear ‘records’ of people doing barbaric things like kissing animals on
the behind as well as men kissing men and the Devil being adored. After hearing
these instances he would unleash his authority in the form of inquisitors who
would uncover their answers in a non-educated man. The more people they
captured as these brutal Devil worshipers the more power they could gain over
the rest of the land. Applying this sort of manipulation to our world now in
the twenty first century my mind automatically goes towards the Presidential
power. However, I am not politically adequate so that could be misconstrued… Do you think that as people of the United
States of America we are being manipulated by some larger power?
Interesting post. I would definitely have to agree that the majority of Americans are being swayed by larger powers. I'm not sure that it is solely the president, but there is much to be said about the way that our government operates, with corruption abounding. It also must be noted that mass media and instantaneous news coverage has a big role in manipulating public opinion. Thus we find ourselves in similar shows to the ones that the populace found themselves in those centuries ago. Hopefully we will not allow ourselves to be swayed as easily, especially when the consequences are so grave... Thanks again for the post!
ReplyDeleteJenaLee, your post raises some interesting points. The reference to a connection between the authority of the Pharisees and the later authority of the Pope, then further linking it to the President today demonstrates a unique consciousness of traditions of authority and power. However, I wonder if your transition to questions of presidential power totally relates to your other examples or if the overall connections are clearly explored.
ReplyDeleteTo answer directly, I don't think we are under the same kind of power and influence as the type you mentioned in the past. With every government there are issues that arise with fairness. Since we are a relatively new country, our system is not perfect, but has a fundamental design that allows change to take place and authority to be used in a primarily fair manner. I would say that, while there are injustices and, as a whole, Americans have their regional man hunts for the next new problem, the President could not be placed as the figurehead for such occurrences. I think Dylan's point about public opinion, however, relates more closely to the type of power we saw the Pharisee and the Pope wield in the past, but perhaps with lessened repercussions.
ReplyDelete