kriz@skat.usc.edu (Dennis Kriz) (12/17/90)
This is something that has been on my mind for a while now. If one looks up the origins of the word "Jerusalem", one finds that it seems to mean literarily "possession of" or "city of peace" Jerusalem is the intersection point of the three great Abrahamic religious traditions, but clearly has rarely been a city at peace. Is there something more to Jerusalem than merely being a geographic location? Is it a stage, where our human history is played out in microcosm for the rest of creation to watch and draw conclusions from? Is it a challenge from God: that if we can make peace with each other there, we can make peace with each other anywhere? Comments? I know we don't have to believe this, but I've often wondered why God would have Mohammed go up to heaven in all places -- Jerusalem (that's what the Muslims believe). It seems almost perverse. The city already had enough "spiritual traffic" without that. Unless of course it were a challenge to all of us to get along with each other, even if it were not exactly easy. dennis kriz@skat.usc.edu