Posted on 11/01/2003 4:13:59 AM PST by I Am Not A Mod
I found this on Toynbee.
"IN THE LATE FORTIES, TOYNBEE acquired the reputation of being a passionate Arab protagonist and a fierce opponent of the State of Israel; by his own admission he became known as a "Western spokesman for the Arab cause."
That pretty much descredits Toynbee. What else you got?
You have had a very sheltered life. Not only is your grasp of history limited but you display an appalling lack of knowledge of current affairs as well. Toynbee was the greatest historian of his day. Everyone who has ever read any history knows Toynbee. In light of current events Toynbee was clearly correct in his appraisal of the partition of Palestine to create a Jewish homeland. He had extensive knowledge of the effect of the partitions of India and Ireland by the British government. Theft by government mandate is still theft, and oppression always leads to resistance. Hate begets hate and the cycle escalates until there are folks so filled with hate and despair that their only possible response is to become a suicide bomber. Perhaps you are aware that there is today a growing movement within the Israeli military that recognizes the futility of heavy handed oppression of a captive people. Toynbee predicted this almost sixty years ago.
By the way, truth is always stranger than fiction. Everything that I have told you is historically accurate. I simply know more than you do about your religion and its history. You could remedy this by study but you would have to recognize that impartial scholarly investigations must start without preconcieved notions. It also helps if you employ the best sources available and not rely exclusively on children's bedtime story versions of history.
See that was Eve's mistake in the garden. She got two sets of information. One from God and one from the serpent. First thing, Eve caught and corrected the serpent for twisting the words of the Lord. But then she continued to listen to the serpent until eventually he convinced her that the forbidden fruit was not fatal. She should have identified his nature right off and not listened to anything the serpent said.
Same with Toynbee. He is discredited.
Being well read, doesn't necessarily make you smarter. If you don't discriminate about your sources, it just makes you confused.
In every population there are always those who are in denial. They think that everyone shares their values and that there ought to be a way that we can "all just get along". And while I think that's a nice sentiment, it's not realistic, because everyone doesn't share those values.
Arafat turned down a state for the Palestinians. What Arafat says in Arabic after he finishes speaking in English for the rest of the world, reveals his true intent. He intends to drive Israel into the sea. The murderous acts of the terrorists have nothing to do with being oppressed captives and everything to do with hatred of the "infidel".
Your claim that Toynbee is discredited and a "Jew Hater" because you have read one sentence about him (which you didn't understand) is clearly evidence of neurosis.
"Being well read, doesn't necessarily make you smarter. If you don't discriminate about your sources, it just makes you confused." -- DannyTN
Perhaps you get confused. Most people past the age of twelve are pretty capable of handling a diversity of opinions and information without confusion. Not so with True Believers who use mental compartmentalization in order to avoid mixing disparate facts that might lead them to doubt their faith. The mental effort (largely subconscious) required to maintain the compartments often leads to an impaired intelligence. Mixing, after all, is what intelligence is all about.
While your "mixing" you might want to try mixing in a little "discernment" in your pot.
Very funny. Remember to first cast the beam out or your own eye before you remove the mote from you neighbor's eye. If you had any "discernment" at all you would long ago have recognized the difference between ancient myths and actual events.
Yes! Walk in the woods, dig in the earth, observe the animals. Study nature and natural history, don't Myth it!
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