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The many prophets of ancient Mari |
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Written by James R. Linville
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Friday, June 26 2009, 8:05 PM |
Most societies throughout history have had prophets of various sorts, select individuals said to communicate with gods, spirits or ancestors about hidden or future matters. One of the oldest collections of ancient prophecy comes from a city called Mari (in modern Syria). Among the thousands of clay tablet documents found, there were approximately 50 letters referring to prophets. Their recipient was King Zimri-Lim, who reigned from around 1775 BCE to 1761 BCE.
These prophets would speak in the name of several deities, including Dagan, Marduk and the goddess Ishtar. They would advise the king about wars, diplomacy, building projects and religious matters. On occasion, the king would be criticized for shirking religious obligations. Prophets might receive their messages through “incubation,” or sleeping in temples to promote dreams. Trances or altered mental states could be induced in other ways, perhaps with the aid of alcohol or other intoxicants.
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Bridging excellence from around the world |
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Written by Derek R. Peddle
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Saturday, June 20 2009, 10:54 AM |
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Next week, we are hosting a professional conference at the University of Lethbridge. The 30th Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing runs Monday-Thursday with over 200 people descending on our fine city from around the world.
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Good news about ecological agriculture |
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Written by Dan Johnson
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Friday, June 12 2009, 11:03 PM |
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It might seem that environmental news is always bad news, and not just lately. The concerns regarding melting of glaciers and sea ice, accompanied by more extreme weather, are not really new.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, June 16 2009, 7:31 AM )
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Role of unemployment insurance in recession |
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Written by Christopher J. Nicol
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Friday, June 05 2009, 9:47 PM |
As Canada moves deeper into recession, a recession which some predict will be worse than any in recent Canadian economic history, more of Canada’s workforce will become dependent on Employment Insurance (EI) for their income, as unemployment numbers rise.
Recent political debate has focused on the eligibility for and duration of EI benefits. It is a curious feature of this program, however, that although characterized as “insurance” (even when it was titled “Unemployment Insurance”), the program does not bear much resemblance to insurance. In effect, the program provides regional income support to the (eligible) unemployed, but has also been tasked to other purposes. For example, women taking maternity leave from the workforce may access EI to replace a proportion of their employment income when on such a leave.
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Many jokes are not a laughing matter |
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Written by Trudy Govier
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Friday, May 29 2009, 7:53 PM |
What’s the difference between Calgary and yogurt?” someone asked.
“Yogurt has culture.”
This joke was told when I was being introduced in Winnipeg as a guest speaker — from Calgary. I was about to give a class for the man who introduced me, and I was hurt and offended.
Who are the targets of hurtful jokes? It’s not usually Calgarians. It’s blacks, Aboriginals, gays, Jews, fat people, Newfies . . . Anyone who can be stereotyped as one of an inferior out-group, in contrast to the speaker’s supposedly superior in-group. When studying philosophical issues of respect and multiculturalism, I’ve discussed hurtful jokes classes and workshops. Reactions were intense; many said they had been hurt by jokes.
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