September 06, 2018 Thursday
Bedtime Story
Why to Read the Bible or the Quran
So that was a brief introduction to the Annunciation.
I take no interest in any sort of religious
preaching and sermons as it is an established fact that no meaningful morality
can be obtained out of any religious epics.
Comfort to some extent yes, but morality
definitely no.
Yet I had to invest two nights into the
story of Anunciation since it had become a subject of interest to us since
Polyptych of Perugia executed by Piero della Francesca depicted this Biblical (and
also Quranical moment).
It can safely be conjectured that perhaps
even the painter himself was unaware that he was painting something that is
also been described in the rival culture of Islam.
As you might have guessed, if you are an
avid reader of my bedtime stories, that I am no fan of religions but at the
same time I take a certain interest in the study of religious books not merely
as works of literature but to understand the comical stories that human apes
(even the most intelligent brains) are capable of believing whole heartedly.
My two greatest heroes (no, there are
neither mathematicians or logicians or physicists or biologists but primarily
stupendous clear-thinking writers) Isaac Asimov and Richard Dawkins both were
incredibly well read with Bible (and perhaps to some extent Quran though I
cannot vouch for that) and in all probabilities understood it better both
historically and literally than most devout Christians.
Asimov witty and humorous as ever – after
mastering the whole of King James version of the Bible - came to the conclusion
that – “Properly read, Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever
conceived.”
Both of them can be called authorities on Bible
with Asimov having written and published a two-volume book ‘Asimov’s Guide to
Bible’ covering the old Testament and the New Testament in the years 1968 and
1969.
Dawkins displayed his complete proficiency
of the knowledge of the Christian scripture in his 2006 best-seller ‘The God
Delusion’.
As personalities, these two men could not
have been more different; while the former was a prodigious writer and a
claustrophile (very opposite of the more commonly encountered claustrophobia)
most comfortable in the confines of his small apartment in the West End Side of
Manhattan of the New York City with a fear of flying and hence seldom
travelling great distances, Dawkins is just the opposite.
Moreover, Asimov as a public speaker was an
extremely polite one never letting his debates go against the sentiments of the
majority.
Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist is a
character in sharp contrast to Asimov travelling and flying all over the world
as a flamboyant speaker being greeted with standing ovations on entry to
lecture halls filled to their maximum capacity.
Both in his writings as well in his public
discourses Dawkins gladly takes on the mantle of an aggressive and a militant
unapologetic atheist vocally stating that atheism is an evidence of a healthy
and independent mind.
Asimov married two times in his life with a
single divorce whereas Dawkins has married three times in his life all the
three ending up either with divorce or separations.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average story storytelling
chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night Mon Ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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