If the lesson is lost, how does it get ritualized?
In the old days, the power structures were organized in such a way that the folks at the top didn't forget. They had the time to think about how to fix the problem, and then they passed the solution down to the masses.
This is where you get the prohibitions against pork rooted in the Middle East. Other people could eat pork and not get sick, so you can't just simply say, "don't eat pork, it'll make you sick," when it obviously doesn't make Egyptians sick. No, the priests had to say, "God doesn't want you eating that. It's unclean."
But if there is no God, then the pigs must not be unclean! we say, and then end up with trichinosis.
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Date: 2008-10-10 09:18 pm (UTC)In the old days, the power structures were organized in such a way that the folks at the top didn't forget. They had the time to think about how to fix the problem, and then they passed the solution down to the masses.
This is where you get the prohibitions against pork rooted in the Middle East. Other people could eat pork and not get sick, so you can't just simply say, "don't eat pork, it'll make you sick," when it obviously doesn't make Egyptians sick. No, the priests had to say, "God doesn't want you eating that. It's unclean."
But if there is no God, then the pigs must not be unclean! we say, and then end up with trichinosis.