Monthly Archives: October 2014
Morality concerns in ancient Egypt
In modern Western thought it is far too easy to slip into thinking that moral thinking originated with Jesus or at best the Ten Commandments. This post draws on the Declaration of Innocence in ‘The Judgement of the Dead’, from … Continue reading
What were the ethnic origins of earliest Israel?
It is commonly believed that the establishment of ancient Israel is substantially as presented in the Bible – an invasion of the land of Canaan by Israelite slaves, descended from Jacob and led out of Egypt by Moses. In this … Continue reading
Saudis trash Mecca
Fascinating interview here about the extent to which areas of great heritage significance around the Grand Mosque and Kaaba have been cleared to make way for hotels and shopping malls. The worst of it is a massive hotel complex plonked right … Continue reading
The art of Jenny Sages and Maringka Baker
“The energetic renewal of traditional Aboriginal art, and the emergence of new, contemporary forms – especially rock painting imagery on bark and sand painting designs on canvas – stands in stark contrast to the complex crisis of painting in recent … Continue reading
The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism in Australian Schools
It would be very easy to argue that ‘fundamentalism’ is the most contentious religious issue facing Australian society. Islamic fundamentalism appears daily in the newspapers and constantly occupies the minds of defence and other policymakers. But what makes someone a … Continue reading
‘Salvation’ in Hinduism and Islam
The world’s major religions reveal significant diversity in their approaches to ‘salvation’. In this post, I will explore the knowledge path to moksha and compare it to salvation beliefs in Islam. Two more divergent views of the human condition would … Continue reading
The Annointing of Jesus – How the Gospel writers develop a story
Where the four Gospels all narrate the same story, you can see the fault lines along their particular concerns and themes. The story of Jesus’ anointing features in all four gospels. Of the Synoptics, Matthew follows Mark (the original Gospel … Continue reading
Fundamentalism Part 2 – The War in Gaza
In my last post, I explored the theme of religious fundamentalism in the context of the ongoing war in Syria and Iraq. This post, focusing on the recent war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, takes a somewhat different approach … Continue reading
Fundamentalism Part 1: The war in Syria
This is a follow-up post to the one I put up a few days ago, in response to Karen Armstrong’s new book which tries to separate religion and violence. Specifically, I’m looking here at the link between fundamentalist religion and … Continue reading
What’s with the name?
You might be wondering why this blog is called the Suppository Depository. Well, first and foremost, it’s an ironic allusion to where my ideas come from… as the byline says: from where the sun don’t shine. Second, because suppositories are … Continue reading
the suppository depository 