"strike up the band and make the fireflies dance"

Kiss me
out on the bearded barley
Nightly,
beside the green, green grass
Swing, swing,
swing the spinning step
You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress.

[Chorus:]
Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me

Kiss me down by the broken tree house
Swing me upon its hanging tire
Bring, bring,
bring your flowered hat
We'll take the trail marked on your father's map

JenerallyxSpeaking:



angelax33:



insaneelaine (the flute is approximately 4x too loud toward the end, though):



bethxx5 (Bethany Mann and Tom Rowland):



earBLind69 (Kristen Mariano):



studiocupino:



Bluesky00p:




I am deighted and amazed by people with talent. Especially musical talent. And I have always (well, not always, but at least for the last decade or so ...) appreciated the simple, pretty, lighter than air quality of the 1999 popular hit "Kiss Me," by the Christian-crossover band Sixpence None the Richer. (The song reached #1 in Australia, #2 in the US and #4 in the UK.)

Of course when I randomly discovered two really well done ukulele covers of the song on youtube, I had to find more! The only trouble was, I could not find any more (key words: "really", "well", "done"). So I settled (in the end quite happily) for a number of other acoustic covers. It really is amazing how much talent there is in the world. Although it's a little less amazing if you look at all the other covers of "Kiss Me" on youtube. Trust me.

Today as I came back from my morning walk I saw a bug crawling on my front porch. It was a lightning bug!!

Oh, and I know it's supposedly "out of the bearded barley," but I like "on" better.

And the picture at the top of the post is by jerry8448 at deviantart.com

Stoic Theology: A Resource Guide for the Curious and the Brave (Children of the Gods, Part Two)

Preamble:
The good news is that starting with Zeno of Citium (334-262 BC), the Stoics articulated a very systematic Pagan Theology, or at least as systematic as theology can be among polytheists. It could be (but really needn't be) misleading to call this "a" Theology, since no two Stoics agreed on their theology, nor are the concepts of "heresy" or "orthodoxy" even coherent within a Stoic, indeed, within any genuinely philosophical, context. But that, obviously, is a good thing, and, in particular, makes for a much superior, in every way, manner of theologizing than can be found among the heretic-hunting creed-mongers, who are the natural enemies of all Truth and Reason.

The bad news is that very little remains of the theological writings of the great founders of Stoicism: Zeno, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus. In fact, of the three only one complete work of any kind comes down to us, and this, thank the Gods, is Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus (of which a complete translation along with accompanying commentary can be found in Meijer's book below). But puzzling out the surviving fragments of the early Stoics, along with other important materials including the works of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, as well as Cicero's redaction of Stoic theology in his De Natura Deorum, and much else, is a far from impossible, and even further from thankless, task. At least for the sufficiently curious and brave.

What follows are some suggestions from one seeker to other seekers. It does not even amount to "guidance" although I do call it a "resource guide", for lack of a better phrase to describe it. The following eight works are, in my opinion, the core materials available in the English language that are essential for anyone who wants to gain an understanding of Stoic Theology. Several other works, including a whole sub-section on Divination and Astrology, will be listed in a follow-up post.

What Is Ancient Philosophy?
by Pierre Hadot
It is simply impossible to understand Stoicism in isolation as "a philosophy" without a solid grounding in philosophy itself, that is, ancient philosophy as a whole. Fortunately, there is Pierre Hadot's great masterwork, What Is Ancient Philosophy?
Googlebooks online version of Hadot's book
Notre Dame Philosophy Reviews review of What Is Ancient Philosophy?
Bryn Mawr Classical Review review of What Is Ancient Philosophy?
New York Times review of What Is Ancient Philosophy?
Essays In Philosophy (Humboldt State University) review of What Is Ancient Philosophy?
First Things (a conservative Christian Journal) reivew of What Is Ancient Philosophy?
"Remembering Pierre Hadot" by Michael Chase

Stoic Theology
by P.A. Meijer
Googlebooks online version of Meijer's book
BMCR (Bryn Mawr Classical Reveiw) review of Meijer's book
Excerpt from BMCR review (by Marcelo D. Boeri):

It is a very well known fact that the works of the Older Stoics are lost; their remains, spread and scattered as they are, are so many that the researcher sometimes feels intimidated when attempting to account for some particular issue in their thought. So by gathering in a single book some of the main arguments the Stoics designed to prove the existence of the cosmic god and the traditional gods, Meijer ("M.") has produced a welcome addition to the growing stock of studies devoted to the Stoics. This is a rich book full of appealing suggestions and sometimes provocative readings; given its length (256 pages of small and condensed type), however, I shall limit myself to a brief consideration of some points of detail.

M.'s main purpose is to present "the Stoic arguments and the counter-arguments against the existence of the Stoic cosmic god and the traditional gods put forward by the adversaries of the Stoa" (p. xii). The book also provides three appendixes (a translation and running commentary of Cleanthes' "Hymn to Zeus"; a discussion of whether or not Chrysippus situated the cosmos in the centre of the void; and an examination of Alexinus' mocking parodies of Zeno's arguments), and several indexes (of themes, of names, and of places). Although from the very beginning the discussion is very technical, the introductions to each chapter are quite useful for understanding the focus of the chapter as a whole and the value of each argument within it. The book may thus turn out to be appropriate for undergraduate students interested in the foundations of Stoic theology. However, the work is basically aimed at scholars with a good knowledge of the issues under discussion.

As M. rightly remarks, some of the Stoic proofs involve the existence of a cosmic god, i.e. the cosmos as a rational and wise being. This implies that the Stoics were willing to defend a monotheistic stance, although the alleged proofs for the existence of a cosmic mastermind do not strictly speaking aim at proving the existence of the cosmic god, but rather at proving that the cosmic god is rational, animate, and wise. In fact, one of the major purposes of M's book is to argue that the Stoic arguments presuppose the existence of a cosmic god (cf. p. 11; 24).

M. proceeds to develop his project by a critical exposition of some of the key passages we have for reconstructing the Stoic doctrines. Thus he quotes extensively many passages taken from Sextus Empiricus, Diogenes Laertius, and Cicero, among others. For the most part, he offers the original texts in Greek or Latin along with an English translation in the footnotes.1 M.'s translations are usually very accurate, although I have some doubts about his rendering of logikon by "logical". It seems a little weird to say that the cosmos is a "logical" thing (see Sextus Empiricus, Adv. Math. 9.104; quoted on 2).

Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life
by A.A. Long
Googlebooks online version of Long's book
BMCR review of Long's book
Excerpt:

Up to now scholars have not approached E[pictetus] as author, stylist, educator, and thinker, according to the eminent scholar of Stoicism Tony L[ong]. The aim of this book is to fill precisely this gap. L wants "to provide an accessible guide to reading E, both as a remarkable historical figure and as a thinker whose recipe for a free and satisfying life can engage our modern selves, in spite of our cultural distance from him" (2). This goal is met admirably. Not only does L succeed in presenting E on his own terms, but in the process, he fairly demolishes the view, held by many since Adolf Bonhöffer,1 that E is a sturdy but unoriginal moralist who basically rehashed the same ideas, with an emphasis on practical application, that were articulated in a more sophisticated, theoretically fastidious form by Chrysippus and the early Stoics.

L's translations respect the tone and rhetoric of E's Greek and avoid jarring literalness. Suggestions for further readings and scholarly notes are appended to the end of the introduction and each chapter. Nine chapters comprise the core of the book: 1. Epictetus in his Time and Place; 2. The Discourses; 3. The Socratic Paradigm; 4. Philosophy and Pedagogy; 5. Reading Epictetus; 6. Natures: Divine, Human, Animal; 7. From Theology to Ethics; 8. Autonomy and Integrity; 9. Appropriate Actions and Feelings. These are followed by an epilogue and two appendices non-specialists will find especially user-friendly: a glossary of over seven dozen Greek terms with translations and references to pages in the text where the terms figure prominently, and a 'Who's Who: Stoics and Others'. Ten pages of references, an extensive index of passages cited, and a somewhat abbreviated general index complete the volume. The jacket suggests that the book is intended for the general reader; while parts of the middle chapters will challenge non-specialists, as a whole this work is a wonderfully clear and cogent introduction to E. I will summarize each chapter and the epilogue and offer a few very minor critical remarks.

On the Nature of the Gods
by Marcus Tullius Cicero, translated by P.G. Walsh
Book II of Cicero's De Natura Deorum provides the most complete surviving ancient presentation of Stoic Theology. P.G. Walsh's OUP translation includes a very helpful Introduction, notes and other supporting material.
Googlebooks online version
BMCR review of Walsh's translation
Excerpt:

Peter Walsh offers a new translation of De Natura Deorum [DND] with introduction and notes. The forty-five page introduction concisely covers a sensible range of topics: Cicero's biography as relevant to DND, a summary of his philosophical works which indicates the subjects they treat, traditional Roman views about the gods, Cicero's sources for DND, an outline of the philosophies of the Hellenistic philosophical schools represented in DND (Epicureans, Stoics, and Academics), the literary form of DND and its characters, and an interesting section on the later history of the work through the eighteenth century. The translation, as we would expect from Walsh, reflects a masterful command of Latin and of English style. Walsh translates the fragments and places them after 3.65. Like the introduction, the sixty-nine pages of notes are intended for non-specialists and are in the main uncontroversial and explanatory rather than interpretive.

The Discourses of Epictetus
translated by Robin Hard, revised by J.M. Dent, edited by Christopher Gill
Googlebooks online version
This is my personal favorite translation-wise. And at $9.95 at amazon, the price is right (they even have a used copy in "very good" condition for $2.95 plus shipping!). Two older translations are available online at the Perseus website: George Long's 1888 translation, and also Thomas Wentworth Higginson's 1865 translation. Perseus also has the original koine Greek of Epictetus himself online.

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
I personally prefer the Oxford University Press edition based on A. S. L. Farquharson's 1944 translation. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations offer an unguarded look into the private reflections of a devout Pagan and a sincere follower of the Stoic way.
Googlebooks version of OUP edition
The complete text of George Long's 1862 translation

The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
by Pierre Hadot
Googlebooks online version of Hadot's book
BMCR review of Inner Citadel
Excerpt:

... In The Inner Citadel, Hadot applies to Marcus Aurelius' Meditations his characteristic interpretative approach: treating ancient philosophy as a "way of life," in particular one which provides its students with "spiritual exercises" to enable them to make progress towards wisdom, and treating ancient philosophical texts with attention to the "forms of discourse," or constraints of genre, tradition, and audience that affected their production.¹ Hadot's extended application of this approach to Marcus gives readers an opportunity to evaluate its fruitfulness. Below, I give a brief chapter-by-chapter summary of Hadot's interpretation of Marcus' Meditations, commenting along the way on some general issues in The Inner Citadel: (1) the treatment of Marcus' eclecticism vs. Stoic orthodoxy, (2) the value of indifferents, (3) the Stoics' account of the relationship between the disciplines of logic, physics, and ethics, especially in their theoretical and practical dimensions . . . .

The Inner Citadel is a rich and substantial book and will certainly affect future scholarship on Marcus Aurelius. One wishes the author had engaged more with the English-language scholarship on Stoicism (such as Inwood's work mentioned above) and considered objections and alternatives to his interpretations -- but perhaps that is just wishing that he wrote more in the style of analytically-trained historians of philosophy.

The Morality of Happiness
by Julia Annas
at googlebooks
BMCR review
Ethics and theology are just as inseparable in Paganism as they are in any other religious tradition. In this book, Annas does an excellent job of presenting a thorough and wide-ranging, but also highly readable and engaging, study of ancient ethical theories. The key thing about Annas' book is the way in which she demonstrates that "ancient ethical thought is a recognizable form of moral thought." This is how she explains what she means by that, and why this is important:

That is, the ancient theories are theories of what modern moral theories are theories of; they are not a different, lost form of thought that we can study but have no practical interest in. I have emphasized one failing I hope to avoid: that of seeing ancient ethics as too readily available for our use. But I hope also to avoid the opposite failing: that of seeing it as so fundamentally different from modern moral thought in content and method as to form a disjoint alternative. This is a fairly influential view, and I shall examine the arguments for it in detail in the final section of of the first Part. I shall thus talk of ancient ethics as a form of morality, even though at several places it is necessary to contrast some aspects of it with aspects of modern morality.
[p. 14]

I take a deep breath and I get real high, Part Deux

Lin Yu Chun should really seriously consider doing his next duet with Doda Elecktroda. Really seriously. In the youtube clip below the song itself doesn't start until about 1:35.



And here's a rockin' ukulele cover. It's not very polished, but she is damned good. And I am a sucker for a good ukulele cover:



But to be honest, Fiona Marjorie Breydon is the first artist I have ever seen who has genuinely reinterpreted this song and done something completely original with it (she also does ukulele covers, but not of What's Up. Check out her youtube page):

How Stephen Prothero Mangles The Economics-Politics-Religion Analogy

On the very first page of the Introduction to his book God Is Not One, Stephen Prothero writes that the idea that "all religions are beautiful and true ... is as odd as it is intriguing." To explain this, Prothero observes:

No one argues that different economic systems or political systems are one and the same. Capitalism and socialism are so obviously at odds that their differences hardly bear mentioning. The same goes for democracy and monarchy.

Prothero restates the same basic point nearly word for word in pieces he wrote to promote his book in the Boston Globe and the Wall Street Journal. And in both cases he leaves this "argument" just as sparse and vague as he does in his book. One really does wish that Prothero had bothered to "mention" a little more of his own thinking on these matters.

After all, as I write this, the Queen of England is pondering whom she will approve as the next Prime Minister of the UK. And whomever she chooses we can all rest assured that the Brits will continue to mix their capitalism with very large doses of socialism, and that their democracy will never dare, as it so far never has, go so far as to try to make do without the bloody monarchy. Indeed, the Conservatives and the Liberal-Democrats in the UK are no more likely to call for the dismantling of the socialistic National Health Service than is the Labour Party to come out in favor of regicide.

Not only the UK, but Sweden, Norway and Denmark all have both democracy and monarchy. And those Scandinavian lands are also the iconic examples of the European Social-Democratic "Welfare State" phenomenon in which capitalism and socialism are inextricably entwined.

So on the face of it, Prothero's analogy falls flat upon consideration of real world examples of capitalism, socialism, democracy and monarchy. The bright lines that Prothero wishes to draw starkly dividing economic systems and political ideologies are easily and often crossed, except, it seems, in Prothero's mind.

But there is a far more significant problem with Prothero's analogizing. For there are cases in politics and economics which do call for the drawing of bright lines, and lines that must not be crossed: in particular when it comes to totalitarianism.

Surely if Prothero had wanted to really drive his point home, he should have talked about absolute monarchy, Communist one-party states, Fascism, military dictatorships, forced collectivization, outright slavery, and so forth. (It must be emphasized that these are all very real economic and political phenomena that the West has had very real, and all too recent, experiences with.) Then he would have been saying something.

But Prothero wasn't willing to go there. It would have required him to tell us which religions we are to compare to Nazism, and which we are not. It also would have required that he have some idea of what he is talking about.

[See also: Contra Prothero, Part One & also The Basis Of Universal Spirituality]

"What exactly is it about traditional religion that we fear?"

I know I've been doing this a lot lately, but this is yet another post that mostly consists of something I have cut and pasted from something I found somewhere on teh internets. But what I found this time is really something amazing -- this is what The Internet is for.

Below is a first person account by Ghanaian blogger Esi Cleland of her first direct encounter with Traditional African Religion. Her blog is called What Yo' Mama Never Told You About Ghana. This entry is from August 17 of 2009, and it is titled: Confront Your Fears. Discover Traditional Ghanaian Religion.

Cleland does an excellent job of setting up the story, including explaining her own preconceptions about traditional religion going into this experience. She is writing first and foremost as a Ghanaian for a Ghanaian audience, so I have tried to provide some links [and occasionaly little notes in square brackets] to help provide information about some of the things that won't be familiar to a lot of the readers of my own blog, although toward the end the links (starting with Akonedi and Tigari) are all from Cleland's original blog post.

Confront Your Fears. Discover Traditional Ghanaian Religion.

This weekend, I had an intense personal experience with African traditional religion. Before you freak out, get some perspective.

Though I hold some views that would be considered radical in Ghana, in general, i’m a regular Ghanaian. I work. I take tro-tro. I dream of a better life. I look forward to teaching my children fante. Sometimes I go to church. But unlike many Ghanaians, when it comes to religion, I consider myself a truth seeker so I am open to learning about religions. I tend to think favourably of the Christian faith perhaps, because I was raised Christian and live in a society that largely favors that religion. But I know that I don’t know so I keep myself open to learning. What is ironic is that even though I claim to be exploring different religions, until this weekend, I wanted nothing to do with african traditional religion. Nothing to do with shrines, mmotia [something like fairies], abosom, and libation, and african spirits...I considered them evil.

So when a new acquaintance invited me to the meeting of traditional believers this weekend, this is what went through my mind... I cannot say for sure that African traditional religion is evil. I cannot say for sure that it is good. I know that I have been preconditioned to consider it evil. I also know that I do not know. I would like to find out, but I’m scared of the whole affair. My fear is an irrational fear. It is a fear of the unknown. I wanted to confront that fear. Because every time I confront my fears, I grow. Plus I was curious.
So I went.

The meeting was held at the Accra Cultural centre. Fitting, right? The first thing I noticed was a calabash filled with water, with leaves floating atop. My friend dipped his forefinger into it and touched the middle of his forehead. I refrained from the act. The sound of my heartbeat was deafening. Gboom Gboom Gboom Gboom. Crap. What had I gotten myself into? But it was too late to turn back. I found a seat, and took in my environment. There was a fetish priestess sitting at the back. People sat in a circle, on plastic chairs. There were about 20 people. There was a table, behind which the two men steering the program sat. Spread on the table was a crumpled, dirty-looking Afrikania mission cloth. On top of the cloth sat a Gye Nyame symbol. Appropriate, right? There was also a “I love Ghana” cloth hanging from that same table. And there was a cow switch on the table. In the corner sat another calabash. Oh Greaat! I wondered if i’d pushed things a little too far this time.

It was a truly interactive event. Everyone there seemed to have a role, whether it was translating the message into Ga, Twi, or Ewe, drumming, clapping, or dancing. It was similar to a church service in some respects. For example there were readings from the same text which were then translated. The readings [possibly referring to the prayers used by the Afrikania Mission] were followed by drumming and dancing. But it was also different from regular church. Many of the people took of their shoes. And when they danced, it was not free-style like we do in a church...these dances were traditional Ghanaian dances. Like adowa and agbadza. At one point, we were all encouraged to dance, and I looked so odd...I thought i’d look silly pretending to dance adowa or agbadza so I stuck to my usual church dance. I made a mental note to learn a traditional Ghanaian dance. I’d never had use for it, but now I was found wanting.

Another thing that was different was the instruments. They were all traditional instruments. Drums, rattles, and the gong gong. Then there was the singing. All the songs were indigenous Ghanaian songs. Sometimes they sounded like ebibindwom...other times they sang what I’d consider secular songs like the the fante warrior song:

Oburumankoma ee!, Oburumankoma ee! Oburumankoma Odapagyan ee! Oburumankoma Odapagyan ee! Oson! Oson akyi nyi aboa.

The readings explained some of their faith.They did not believe in the trinity...God as father, son and holy spirit. But they believe in a supreme being who created the earth, and who is both male and female. They believe ancestors, and in calling to their spirits through libation. They see fetishes like the Akonedi and Tigari as a connection between humans and God. Spirits act like angels. They are good spirits, sent to help us by God. God uses them more than he uses us because humans are jealous, deceitful, and belligerent. To learn more about the beliefs, check out the Afrikania Mission website.

The Afrikania Mission was founded by Osɔfo Okɔmfo Damuah who came from Asankragua in the Western region, got a Phd from Howard University, was a catholic priest for many years, and later became an African traditional believer, hence his dual title of Osɔfo and Okɔmfo. He died in 1992. You can read more about him on Wikipedia.

I did not stay till the end of the program.I left after only about an hour to have a lunch of omo tuo made from ebibimo (brown rice) and groundnut soup from a nearby vegetarian restaurant, (Yes, there are vegetarian restaurants in Ghana) called Assase Pa. I also had bissap with ginger in it. And later that evening, I went to watch Ghana's Most Beautiful, a pageant that seeks to educate us on Ghanaian culture. So yesterday was an packed day. Much of it was fun. But questions I had from my religious meeting kept gnawing at me. And I couldn't sleep when I got home. I was spooked. I live alone, you see, and whenever the wind rattled my front gate , I wondered if the spirits were coming for me. Don't laugh:) I hid under the covers.

The experience has left me with many feelings. Many thoughts. Many questions.

For example, what exactly is it about African traditional religion that makes us steer clear of it? What scares us? How is it that I know more about Eastern religions than I know about Ghanaian traditional religion. Even from a purely academic standpoint, whatever happened to intellectual curiosity, to open-mindedness? How had I closed off myself completely from understanding such an important pillar of our tradition and culture? Am I ready to find out?

I told my boss about my experience, and I guess he got to the heart of the issue when he said. "You may not know what it is that scares you, but do you really want to find out?" In addition to that, I’d like to add, am I willing to deal with the consequences, if there are any?

Thoughts, questions, insights? If you're reading this, I'd like to ask you, what experience, if any, do you have with African religion. Should we be exploring these questions, critically examining who we are, or is this a no-go area, better left unexplored? Should I take the next step to visit a shrine? Would you? Why or why not?

Other posts on Traditional African Religions:
"The Destruction of Christianity" (On the situation in Kenya in 1955)
"Why not leave them in peace?"
"Witchcraft holds out against modern age"
200 Million African Pagans
"Togo's Voodoo Fetish Markets Do Brisk Trade"
"Africa became Christian by Submission not by Conversion"
"The first thing Christianity did in Africa . . . ."
You might be Pagan if .... (Part Deux)
You might be a Pagan if ....
Every picture tells a story
More On Traditional African Religions
Traditional African Religions Continue To Thrive
Fela Kuti and Traditional African Religion
Secret Knowledge, Sacred Knowledge (on Candomble)

Sex, Religion, Art, Music & Freedom of Expression in Poland

Until 1989 art, press and television were subject to political censorship in Poland. School curricula were screened to be in line with the voice of the Party. Demonstrations and strikes were pacified; workers and intellectuals were repressed, imprisoned or even murdered. Finally, the Catholic Church, which was generally anti-communist and had a history of criticizing the system and motivating Poles to protest, was constantly under surveillance. Since the collapse of the communist order, Poland has been transformed to resemble a pluralistic democratic society.

So begins Iwona Lepka's 2009 paper on Freedom of Expression in Post-Communist Poland, published in the November issue of Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory (published by Routledge). About one third of Lepka's article focuses on the case of Polish artist and feminist Dorota Nieznalska, whose installation titled Pasja ("Passion") resulted in Nieznalska being sued for insulting religious feelings by a group of conservative activists related to the League of Polish Families.

According to Lepka's article, "Paradoxically, the people whose religious feelings Nieznalska was to have supposedly insulted admitted that they had not seen the exhibition themselves but had familiarized themselves with the issue through extensive media coverage. And so the witch-hunt began."

Here is how Lepka describes the installation itself, and how events unfolded:

Dorota Nieznalska’s installation entitled ‘Passion’ was displayed in the art gallery Wyspa in Gdansk from December 2001 until January 2002. The installation consisted of a Greek metal cross with equal arm lengths, suspended from the ceiling by chains. The photography on the front part of the cross showed the lower part of a male body, namely a stomach, an abdomen, loins and genitalia. In the background, there was a video close-up of the head of a bodybuilder lifting weights. The film showed only the man’s shoulders and face with a genuine grimace of exertion.

The work of art would have probably been long taken off and forgotten had it not been for an extensive material on it broadcast by TVN, a Polish television channel. The program, sensationalist in tone, motivated members of the League of Polish Families to visit the gallery. What is interesting is that the exhibition had ended a few days before and was no longer on display when the delegation of embittered MPs arrived. While ‘Passion’ was being disassembled and preparations for a new exhibition were in progress, the parliamentarians demanded that Nieznalska’s installation be shown to them. They declared that they came to damage the work so that it would be never displayed in other galleries. One of the members of All- Polish Youth, who accompanied the MPs, was reported to have harassed the artist and even threatened to rape her. Nieznalska was insulted and it seems that only the presence of a group of journalists stopped the infuriated rightists from battering her. The incident was later widely shown by various television channels.

In subsequent legal proceedings the art gallery itself was ordered closed, and Nieznalska was convicted, in July 0f 2003, of "offending religious beliefs." As Lepka explains in her article, "Article 196 of the Criminal Code provides that anyone found guilty of insulting religious sentiment through public calumny of an object or place of worship is liable to a fine or maximum two-year prison sentence."

Dorota Nieznalska was sentenced to six months "restricted freedom", and also ordered to perform "public service" under the court's supervision. She appealed her conviction, and in June of 2009, eight and a half years after Pasja was first displayed, Nieznalska was finally acquitted of the charges brought against her.

Poland's Article 196, however, remains in effect, and in order for Nieznalska to win acquittal she had to argue that she did not make use of the cross "as a religious object", but rather it should be "interpreted in the context of masculinity. The installation was an artistic endeavor to articulate the concept of masculinity."

Nieznalska also argued that religion has become enmeshed in modern consumer culture. She called in her defense an art historian, Izabela Kowalczyk, who argued that the themes of masculinity and commercialization are especially clear because of the incorporation of the video of the bodybuilder in the background of the cross, which draws a parallel between churches and gyms as market-oriented enterprises.

One the one hand it is a good thing that Nieznalska was able to win an acquittal, while on the other hand it is chilling to see that the simple principle of freedom of speech had to be "defended" in such a convoluted way.

The other 2/3 of Iwona Lepka's article in the journal Critique deals with (1) religiously inspired discrimination againt LGBT people in Poland, and, in particular, violations of freedom of assembly with respect to demonstrations demanding rights for LGBT people, and (2) Poland's criminal defamation laws and the specific case of a journalist who was convicted and fined (approximately US$6,500) for the "crime" of insulting the Pope. I will summarize what Lepka has to say about these issues below.

The first Pride Parade in Polish history took place on May Day 2001 in Warsaw. Three hundred people attended the little publicized event. Subsequent marches grew to 1,000 and then 4,000 strong in 2002 and 2003. Then in 2004 a Culture of Tolerance Festival was planned for May 6-9 in Cracow.

The Cracow Festival began only a few days after Poland officially joined the European Union. Right-wing groups had objected to joining the EU, and one of their strategies was to use the issue of gay-marriage, which they claimed would be "forced" on Poland by the EU. Those who attended the Festival of Tolerance were physically assaulted by people thowing eggs and bottles, who also screamed "Gas the gays!" and "Faggots go home!"

After the violence in Cracow, the mayor of Warsaw canceled a scheduled Equality Pride March in that city, and he even refused to meet with the organizers of the March, saying, "I am not willing to meet perverts." Activists then called for a March for Equality in Poznan in November of 2004. This march was also attacked by violent thugs.

LGBT rights activists continued to organize public events, but right wing response, both from thugs in the streets and from elected politicians, became ever more homophobic. But activists also fought in the courts, and in January of 2006 the Polish Supreme Court ruled that civic authorities must allow freedom of assembly, and must also guarantee the safety of those who exercise this right.

Since 2006, public LGBT events in Poland "generally pass off peacefully, even though counter- demonstrations by conservative right-wing groups are organized as well. Thus the struggle for equal rights continues in Poland."

Meanwhile, Jerzy Urban published an article in August, 2002, titled "House-to-House Sado-Masochism," a satirical piece aimed at then-Pope John Paul II. To make matters more scandalous, the article mocking the beloved Polish Pope appeared just before his much anticipated visit to his homeland!

Urban pleaded not-guilty and declared that "Looking at the papal cult with the eye of an atheist is just as legal as the ecstasy of devotees." However, prosecutors made use of a Polish law prohibiting any insulting writings directed at foreign heads of state, which technically applies to the Pope as the head of the Vatican. In his defense against that approach, Urban claimed he was not really attacking the Pope personally, but rather the people who were making money from his visit.

Jerzy Urban was convicted in 2005 under Article 236 of the Polish Criminal Code. His sentence was a fine of 20,000 PLN (about US$6,500), and so far the ruling has not been overturned. Urban, who is now over 75 years old, has vowed to fight the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

There have been other important cases involving freedom of expression in Poland, including other high profile attempts to bring prosecutions under Article 196. These include the scandal following infamous 2004 concert by Gorgoroth, a Norwegian Metal Band, in Krakow, which had been publicized in advance as "Black Mass 2004", and the group promised on their website that it would be "an amazing show with lots of pyro, gallons of blood, live crucifixion and nude models." No charges were ever brought against the band itself, which is from Norway, but the concert organizer was fined 10,000 złotys. In 2008 Gorgoroth released the much anticipated "Black Mass in Krakow 2004" DVD.

In 2009 there were calls, including from Lech Walesa himself, for the pre-emptive invokation of Article 196 to prevent Madonna from bringing her Sticky and Sweet tour to Warsaw. But that came to nothing.

In 2008 there had been an attempt to prosecute Adam Darski, aka "Nergal" of the Extreme Metal Band "Behemoth", because of an incident in 2007 in which he desecrated a Bible and declared the Catholic Church to be "the most murderous cult in human history" on stage during a concert. That attempt had been thrown out of court, but then in March of this year the charges reappeared and were formally accepted.

Darski has pleaded not guilty, and has told the court that his performances should be protected because of artistic freedom. The court has heard "expert" testimony from Catholic theologians who claim that every copy of the Bible must be considered a sacred religious icon protected under Polish law. Darski does not deny the allegation that he systematically ripped a Bible to shreds, and then distributed the pieces to members of the audience and requested that these pieces be burned.

And then on April 30, Dorota Rabczewska, one of Poland's most successful pop musicians, and, coincidentally, engaged to be married to one Adam Darski, was also formally charged with violation of Article 196. The court that handed down these charges reportedly heard evidence from linguists and biblical scholars.

The incident in question was a televised interview with Rabczewska, also known as Doda, or Doda Elektroda, in which she stated that her opinion of the Bible is that "it's hard to believe in something written down by someone drunk on wine and smoking some kind of herbs."

Doda won nine awards at the 2010 Viva Comet Awards, which is basically the Polish Grammys (as near as I can make out). She has won Best Video at the Comet Awards three years straight. She also came in second for "Best European Act" in 2009 for the MTV Europe Music Awards.

"The Destruction of Christianity" (On the situation in Kenya in 1955)

"By the time I cut his balls off he had no ears, and his eyeball, the right one, I think, was hanging out of its socket. Too bad, he died before we got much out of him."
[Imperial Reckoning, Caroline Elkins, p. 87]

"I stuck my revolver right in his grinning mouth and I said something, I don’t remember what, and I pulled the trigger. His brains went all over the side of the police station. The other two Mickeys [Mau Mau] were standing there looking blank. I said to them that if they didn’t tell me where to find the rest of the gang I’d kill them too. They didn’t say a word so I shot them both. One wasn’t dead so I shot him in the ear. When the sub-inspector drove up, I told him that the Mickeys tried to escape. He didn’t believe me but all he said was 'bury them and see the wall is cleared up.'''
[Histories of the Hanged, David Anderson, p. 300]

The predominance of Christianity today in Sub-Saharan Africa is a direct legacy European Colonialism. The promotion of Christianity was still very much a central concern of the Colonialists even as Colonialism itself was entering its twilight in Africa and throughout the world, as shown by the following excerpts from the House of Lords debate on February 10, 1955. The entire transcript can be found at the official website for Hansard, the Official Report of debates in Parliament.

Mention is made in this transcript of the practice of "screening". The quotes at the top of this post are first hand accounts from those who conducted these interrogations. Go to this link for a list of reviews of both of the books those quotes are taken from, and other relevant material.

[A nice online resource to learn more about the Mau Mau rebellion is at the section on the Mau Mau Movement at the E-Learning and Teacher Education (ELATE) program, which is administered by Dr. Christopher Mugimu of the Makerere University School of Education in Uganda.]

THE SITUATION IN KENYA
HL Deb 10 February 1955 vol 190 cc1128-204

3.8 p.m.

LORD MILVERTON rose to call attention to the situation in Kenya with particular reference to the recent surrender terms offered to Mau Mau terrorists; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, in rising to move the Motion standing in my name, I am anxious to make it clear from the start that a growing anxiety about the capacity of the Kenya Government would probably never have found public expression, at least so far as I am concerned, had it not been for what I regard as a disastrous gamble with principles—I mean, of course, the recent surrender terms offered to the Mau Mau terrorists. Naturally, one is reluctant to embarrass any Government which is making an attempt to deal with an emergency, but when a Government seems to be gambling with the principles and the public respect upon which its own position must finally rest, then a protest seems to me to become a public duty.

In looking at the situation in Kenya, I propose to confine my comments, in so far as it is possible, to the emergency which was declared in October, 1952, and which is still with us in February, 1955. We pay a lot of attention nowadays to world opinion and it seems to me not unreasonable to pay at least some attention to public opinion in the country where the trouble has occurred. If the Government has not succeeded, or has forfeited public confidence in the country where it functions, then surely it stands condemned. A much clearer picture is possible to-day than in 1952, of the way in which the Mau Mau rebellion was planned and the reason why its aims and objectives have obtained such a hold on the Kikuyu tribe. Leakey and other authorities have made that quite clear. If I may repeat them, the main aims were: to drive out all foreigners; the destruction of Christianity; the seizure of all land for African use; the restoration of ancient customs and independent self-government. There was thrown into those aims a strange one, which was the cessation of soil conservation. In fact, as has been explained, that was a clever appeal to the women of the tribe, because most of the work in relation to the soil conservation is done by the women. It is, of course, easy to see why the destruction of Christianity occupied such a high place in their aims, because any study of this emergency cannot help attracting one's attention to the fact that the core of the resistance amongst the Africans to Mau Mau has been among the African Christians . . . .

4.8 p.m.

THE LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTER-BURY

My Lords, the Motion before us draws particular attention to the surrender terms offered to Mau Mau. On that special topic I do not wish to add anything to what the noble and learned Earl has just said. I entirely subscribe to every word with which he rebutted the observations of the mover of this Motion. The Motion also refers to the general situation in Kenya. It is about that that I should wish to say one or two words, drawing attention to matters of very great importance which have been urged by Christian leaders in Kenya constantly for the last two years.

The noble Lord who moved this Motion said it was essential to take into account the views of the people in Kenya; and, indeed, that must be done. He said that one of the chief motives of Mau Mau was to destroy Christianity. That is also true. It follows that we must give careful heed to the opinion of leaders of Christian communities in Kenya. I may say, in passing, with regard to the amnesty offered to Mau Mau, that so far from regarding it as a surrender of any kind of principle at all, Christian leaders put out a statement that they welcomed it. They welcomed it on a condition to which I shall come, that it is properly followed up—but that is another matter. If I go on in some sense to criticise the Government, I do it not in the least to reproach them but to encourage them to do better what I know is their fundamental principle and purpose. Only on January 28 last, the leaders of the Christian Churches saw the Acting Governor and had a conversation for two and a half hours with him. I mention that to show that there is real contact and co-operation between the Governor and the Christian forces, and an understanding and a true desire on both sides to carry this thing through to a possible conclusion.

The first point I wish to underline is that, again and again, the leaders in Kenya complain that the loyalists among the Kikuyu get no recognition and no encouragement, but are, on the contrary, exposed to continuous injustices—and the noble and learned Earl has indicated what is meant by "an injustice," and how horrid it is. Many of these loyalist Kikuyu who are loyal to law and order, and many of them also because they are loyal to their Christian faith, have suffered martyrdom. One would at once think as a result there would be every kind of encouragement to look after the loyalist Kikuyu; but, in general, they are still made to suffer hardship and injustice. Some members of the Administration forget that there can be such people as loyalist Kikuyu. Some of them assume—I say this on evidence from those who have observed the situation in Kenya—that every member of the Kikuyu is guilty, and they do not look for or accept evidence put forward to show that they are innocent . . . .

I would add only that the Christian Churches are anxious and ready to do anything they can to help bring about the spiritual renewal which is necessary. They have plans for a wide variety of rehabilitation work in prisons, in detention camps, in newly-established villages, in Nairobi and in other towns, among youth, among women—who are not the least important people in this context—and among potential African leaders. That work will cost the Christian Churches a great deal, and doubtless there will, in time, be an appeal to the Christian people of this country to enable that work to be done. But perhaps even more necessary will be the supply from this country to the Government and to the Churches of men and women who can bring with them the healing and constructive spirit without which there can be no future at all for Kenya. Finally, may I say that, regarding it as a sign of our goal and a Sacrament of the Faith with which we pursue it, I look forward, God willing, to consecrating in Uganda in two months' time two Africans, one of whom is a member of the Kikuyu tribe, to be assistant bishops to the Bishop of Mombasa in Kenya.

4.25 p.m.

THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (LORD LLOYD)

. . . . Whether or not the noble Lord calls it a rebellion, it is perfectly clear (and I do not think Her Majesty's Government have ever said anything different) that there has been what amounts virtually to a civil war in Kenya. No police force in the world could protect the public against such a danger. To their great credit, a small part of the Kikuyu tribe, in which Christians have been prominent, has openly stood out against the terrorists; and round this nucleus there has gradually been built up a Home Guard pledged to defend their own homes and to wipe out the Mau Mau. Many 1150 of the loyalists have paid the price of their loyalty—1,300 Africans have been murdered by Mau Mau; but as the movement has gathered strength, they have been able to present real resistance to the terrorists and have stood up to protect their own homes. This has led to a situation approximating to civil war, not only within the Kikuyu but extending beyond the tribe to the British settlers and other communities. The mere containment of this situation is employing not just the whole of the Kenya Police but no fewer than nine battalions of troops—including battalions of the King's African Rifles and the Kenya Regiment—and some 22,000 men of the Kikuyu Home Guard. That is the scale of the emergency. It is in the light of these quite exceptional circumstances that I should like to deal with criticisms of the Kenya Government that have been made in respect of its administration of justice during the emergency . . . .

There are two problems to-day in Kenya which do not exist in this or, so far as I know, in any other civilised country. The first is a problem occasioned by the fact that any member of the Kikuyu tribe who is not known to be your friend may turn out to be your enemy, either through fear or through contamination by the Mau Mau. In a majority of cases it will be impossible to prove in a court of law that a man is associated with Mau Mau, either because of lack of suitable evidence or because witnesses are too frightened to give evidence. The Government, whose main duty, after all, is to protect the loyal elements in the community, and who if they fail in this, their first responsibility—and this is a point I would emphasise—can never hope to rally waverers to their cause, could not well leave these elements at the mercy of men who might well commit a revolting murder without qualm. Hence the necessity, which I think your Lordships have generally accepted, of screening suspects and of detaining those who are shown to be supporters of the movement. As your Lordships are aware, the object of the screening is broadly to separate the sheep from the goats.

Screening involves three categories of people. First, there are the "irreconcilables"—dangerous Mau Mau adherents such as executioners, court officials, oath administrators, and active gang members. Such people are either tried in court for Mau Mau offences, if sufficient evidence is available, or detained under Governor's detention orders. Next, there are the "contaminated" Man Mau supporters, not regarded as sufficiently dangerous to be classed as irreconcilables. They are detained first in detention camps, and are progressively being moved to works camps in the Central Province, where they undergo additional local screening, usually by their own elders, to see whether they can eventually be released, and are given every opportunity to rehabilitate themselves. In this connection I should like to express my gratitude to the most reverend Primate for the tribute he paid to the work that is being done in these camps for irreconcilables, and, in exchange, I should like for my own part to pay tribute to the work which is being done by the Church to help in that task, which is, as he said, the vital one before us in Kenya. Finally there are the "harmless," who are returned either to their employment or to the Reserve, where relief work is provided for those in need . . . .

6.12 p.m.

VISCOUNT ASTOR

. . . . Finally, may I suggest that the problem of the future is going to be what status we can give the educated African in Kenya. Can we give him the proper housing, so that he can live in conditions commensurate with the education he has received, and so that he can raise himself and give some leadership to his own people? It is remarkable what wonderful results have been achieved by the Christian Kikuyu in Kenya. All the people who have sneered at missionaries should bite off their tongues. There is a lot to be gained from seeing how the Belgians have used a very enlightened administration in the Belgian colonies, associating religion with education so that they do not get merely what the Duke of Wellington called "clever devils," but people with a moral foundation for their education. If we are going to encourage the missionaries to take a bigger part in Kenya, so that instead of the debased religion of Mau Mau they can get the benefit of a Christian religion, it behoves Europeans equally to give an example of that Christian religion by abandoning practices such as colour bars which are wholly incompatible with that religion . . . .

House adjourned at twenty-five minutes past seven o'clock.

Doda Elektroda says Bible written by drunks. Which, apparently, is some kind of crime in Poland.

Dorota Rabczewska, a 26 year-old Polish pop-star, has been charged by Warsaw prosecutors with insulting religious feeling for comments she made about the Bible in a television interview a year ago:

"it is hard to believe in something written by people who drank too much wine and smoked herbal cigarettes."

For this, the singer, who is also known as Doda Elektroda, if convicted could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison under Polish law.

There has been at least one high profile conviction under the same law, that of Polish artist Dorota Nieznalska, who was found guilty in 2003 of "offending religious feelings" under article 196 of the Polish Criminal Code.

Responding to her arrest, Ryszard Nowak, chairman of the Committee for the Defence Against Sects, an organisation dedicated to protecting Christian values, said:

"It is clear that Doda thinks that the Bible was written by drunkards and junkies. I believe that she committed a crime and offended the religious feelings of both Christians and Jews."

Doda is engaged to Adam Darski, aka "Nergal", frontman of the Polish Extreme Metal Band Behemoth. Darski is also facing prosecution under the same law for publicly tearing up a Bible during a Behemoth performance and publicly stating "the Catholic Church is the most murderous cult in the history of the human race."

For a little more on Nergal's case and also on the 2003 the case of Dorota Nieznalska, see this previous post.

"Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours."

Submitted for your approval (the following is the full text, unaltered and in it's entirety, of a very educational article from the National Catholic Reporter on Pope Ratzinger's 2009 visit to Angola. The article is no longer available directly at their website, but google has it cached here):

Condemned by pope, witchcraft a reality in Africa
African converts often keep one foot in traditional spirituality
Mar. 21, 2009
By JOHN ALLEN JR., NCR Staff

* Vatican

In Angola yesterday, Benedict XVI stressed social issues readily familiar to Western audiences, such as poverty, war, and human rights. Today, however, the pope turned to another burning concern across much of Africa, albeit one that can seem exotic to foreign ears: Witchcraft.

Many Africans, the pope said, “are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment, they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers.”

Benedict called upon Catholics to “to proclaim that Christ has triumphed over death and all those occult powers.”

The pope made the remarks during a Mass for bishops, priests, religious and catechists at São Paulo Church in Luanda, the Angolan capital.

For many in the Western world, “witchcraft” may seem a benign form of New Age spirituality; the chaplain’s handbook for the U.S. military recognizes “Wicca,” a modern form of witchcraft, as a legitimate religious practice.

Across Africa, however, things look very different. The working assumption is that magical powers are real, but they’re demonic – a conviction that can have devastating consequences.

In Angola, children suffering from diseases such as malaria and AIDS, or street children, are sometimes accused of practicing witchcraft and subjected to abuse. In 2006, a three-year-old HIV-positive child was suspected of placing a curse on his parents, so neighbors abandoned the child in a coop, where chickens pecked out one of his eyes. Between 2001 and 2005, 423 children accused of witchcraft sought refuge at the Santa Child Centre run by the Catholic Church in M'banza Congo, the capital of Zaire Province, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Similar ferment happens in other countries.

In Nigeria, for example, an elderly woman was beheaded in 2007 after she was accused of placing a member of another tribe under a curse. In turn, her murder triggered a spate of inter-ethnic killing that left 80 dead. Secretive cults on Nigeria’s 100 university campuses, with names such as “Black Axes” and “Pyrates,” often practice juju, or black magic, to terrify their rivals, and violent struggles between these cults have left hundreds dead in recent years.

Also in 2007, a gang of villagers in Kenya beat an 81-year-old man to death, suspecting him of having murdered his three grandsons through witchcraft.

Even after converting to Christianity, many Africans keep one foot in this cluster of beliefs and practices rooted in traditional African spirituality.

Fr. Patrick Lafon, former secretary general of the bishops’ conference in Cameroon, said many Catholics may show up for Mass on Sunday, but if there’s sickness in the family, they’ll also consult their tribal medicine man to find out who placed the curse and what they need to do to lift it. He called that evidence of “insufficient catechesis and insufficient inculturation.”

Some critics say the Catholic church in Africa has yet to work out an effective pastoral response.

In February 2007, the Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, held a three-day symposium on witchcraft. Experts warned that witchcraft is “destroying” the Catholic Church in Africa, in part because skeptical, Western-educated clergy don’t take the beliefs behind it seriously.

“It is important for the Church to understand the fears of the people, and not to attribute them to superstition,” said Michael Katola, a lecturer in pastoral theology. “Witchcraft is a reality; it is not a superstition. Many communities know these powers exist.”

Katola warned that inadequate pastoral responses are driving some Africans into Pentecostalism.

“Many of our Christians seek deliverance, healing and exorcism from other denominations because priests do not realize they have redemptive powers,” he said. “If we don’t believe in the existence of witchcraft as Satanism, then we cannot deal with it.”

Sr. Bibiana Munini Ngundo said that the Catholic Church has not paid sufficient attention to “integral healing,” leading people to put their trust in diviners and magicians. Fr. Clement Majawa of Malawi listed 14 categories of witchcraft practiced in Africa, and argued that the Church’s denial “only escalates the problem.”

“Since Christ in the gospels encountered the devil, it is proper for Christians to accept the reality of witchcraft,” Majawa said.

In his remarks today, Benedict XVI alluded to one reason why the church has sometimes been reluctant to challenge witchcraft: an exaggerated “live and let live” spirit of tolerance.

“Someone may object: ‘Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours,’” the pope said.

In the end, Benedict said, such timidity does no one any favors.

“If we are convinced that, without Christ, life lacks something, that something real – indeed, the most real thing of all – is missing, we must also be convinced that we do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them,” the pope said. “Indeed, we must do this. It is our duty to offer everyone this possibility of attaining eternal life.”

The pope returned to more familiar ground for Westerners later in the day, in a massive session for Angolan youth in Luanda’s Dos Coquieros Stadium. Among other things, Benedict alluded to the legacy of Angola’s bloody civil war from 1975 to 2002, which left an estimated 500,000 dead, hundreds of thousands more injured and maimed, and a vast population of refugees and displaced persons.

“Even in our midst, I see some of the many thousands of young Angolans who have been maimed or disabled as a result of the war and the landmines,” the pope said.

“I think of the countless tears that have been shed for the loss of your relatives and friends. It is not hard to imagine the dark clouds that still veil the horizon of your fondest hopes and dreams.”

Facing those “dark clouds,” Benedict told Angolan youth that “the power to shape the future is within you.”

Tomorrow, Benedict will celebrate an open-air Mass in Luanda before meeting in the afternoon with movements involved in fighting for women’s rights. On Monday, Benedict XVI will return to Rome. His next foreign voyage will come in May, when he travels to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Other posts on Traditional African Religions:
"Witchcraft holds out against modern age"
200 Million African Pagans
Togo's Voodoo Fetish Markets Do Brisk Trade
"Africa became Christian by Submission not by Conversion"
"The first thing Christianity did in Africa . . . ."
You might be Pagan if .... (Part Deux)
You might be a Pagan if ....
Every picture tells a story
More On Traditional African Religions
Traditional African Religions Continue To Thrive
Fela Kuti and Traditional African Religion
Secret Knowledge, Sacred Knowledge (on Candomble)