"Jerusalem" Chapters 1-4

CHAPTER 1

"In the ancient world of the Near East and the Mediterranean, settlement and town-planning were regarded as divine enterprises. The Ophel hill would have appealed to the first colonists because of its water supply and its strategic advantages, but the name of the city shows that the initiative cam from the god. At this date, all cities were regarded as holy places, an alien concept for us in the modern West, where the city is often experience as a godforsaken realm in which religion has an increasingly marginal role."

- Ms. Armstrong is pretty brutal with the role of religion in post-Enlightenment times. In the United States, the separation of Church and State does not mean any public area is a 'godforsaken' realm. Additionally, the Bill of Rights does state freedom from religion but also freedom of religion. I can, however, see her point about all cities being regarded as holy places. Up until the modern era, cities and villages grew around religious centers, which served as an anchor for the local society. I think that still holds true but now-a-days cities are more commonly labeled as economic engines and pillars for a pluralistic society.

"Today many people seek this paradisal harmony in art, drugs, or sex; in the ancient world, men and women sought it by living in a place where, they believed, the lost wholeness could be recovered."

- What?! This is an awkward claim to which I disagree with 100%. I think art is the deepest reflection of a society. [Illegal?] drugs are used for various reasons to which you can brainstorm on your own. And sex is a primal instinct ingrained in all humans...

"Jerusalem, which emerges in the 14th century [BCE] as one of the city-states of Canaan."

- I didn't know this...

"Civilization, order, and creativity could be achieved only against great odds. People told stories about the mighty battles fought by gods at the dawn of time which brought light out of darkness and order out of chaos and kept lawless elements of the cosmos within due and manageable bounds."

- Rock n Roll

CHAPTER 2

"In the history of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all found other people in possession. They have all had to cope with the fact that the city and the land have been sacred to the other people before them and the integrity of their tenure will depend in large part upon the way they treat their predecessors."

- I think this falls in line with my statement that Jerusalem is 'everyone's city, and no one's city'.  Any takers?

"Instead of slaying the demonic hordes, like Marduk, Yahweh drowned the Egyptians. As always the new creation depended upon the destruction of others--a motif that would frequently recur in the future history of Jerusalem."

- It's funny how this archaic idea of rising up at the cost of others still resonates in the 21st century.  Is there no hope for mutual gain on both sides?  (I'm taking this out of context of the story I know.)

"David is one of the most complex characters in the Bible. Poet, musician, warrior, rebel, traitor, adulterer, terrorist, he was certainly no paragon, even though--later--he would be revered as Israel's ideal king."

- I had no idea.  I think it's interesting because all of these portray different qualities of humans that differ from 'God-like' perfection.  Even so, David is still revered as an iconic figure.  Maybe this could be seen as hope for humanity to achieve great things even with  regards to the disposition of human imperfection. 

CHAPTER 3

"One of David's first acts was to move the Ark of the Covenant, which was still lodged in Kireath-Jearim on the western border of his kingdom, into Jerusalem."

- Jerusalem gains star status as thee Holy City?

CHAPTER 4

"From their capital, the kings of Assyria, in what is now Iraq, were building an empire of unprecedented power and strength. Their chief ambition was to expand westward towards the Mediterranean coast and, in an attempt to prevent this Assyrian advance, Israel and Damascus stopped fighting each other and united in a coalition with other small states of Anatolia and the steppes."

- I seriously hope it will not take a common enemy to end hostilities.  It reminds me of the film "Watchmen".  Yes, I just made a pop-culture reference.  

"Yahweh wanted no more chanting and strumming on harps; instead, he wished justice to flow like water and integrity to pour forth in an unending stream."

- Great line.

"In the ancient world, the destruction of a royal temple was tantamount to the destruction of the state, which could not survive without a "center" linking it to heaven."

- Very interesting concept to consider.