November 2012

Dear friend

In this issue of Understanding the World we include abstracts of two Afrikaans articles that was recently posted on the blog Life in the Universe  - one on Dr Willie Mc Loud's new book Op soek na Abraham en sy God (Griffel, 2012) and one on the conflicting paradigm's of Critical Bible Scholarship and traditional Christianity. We also include a link to an interesting article on the ongoing secret war with Iran and one on the Dead Sea Scrolls..  

Abraham en sy God - koop 'n boek!! 
Willie Mc Loud se nuwe boek getiteld Op soek na Abraham en sy God - 'n studie oor die historisiteit van die Genesis-verhale (Griffel, 2012) het onlangs verskyn. Die volledige inhoudsopgawe word vir die eerste maal hier gepos asook 'n uittreksel van 'n resensie wat in TEO verskyn het.  Die stimulerende lekkerlees trant van die boek maak dit ideale leesstof vir 'n vakansie. Dit is 'n goeie geskenk vir familie en vriende wat in die betroubaarheid van die Bybel belangstel.(Sleutelwoorde: Abraham, Adam, antieke wêreldbeskouing, argeologie, Bybelse inspirasie, El-Elyon, El-Sjaddai, Enmerkar, Etana, Genesis, goderaad, Henog, Nimrod, Satan, Sumerië, taleverwarring, toring van Babel).
Om die artikel te lees klik op Abraham en sy God - koop 'n boek!!

Paradigmas in konflik: Bybelwetenskap vs tradisionalisme
Sedert die wetenskaplike ondersoek na die Bybel jare gelede begin het, het die godsdienstige landskap stadig maar seker ontvou in twee breë godsdienstige strome wat langs mekaar vloei en mekaar grotendeels uitsluit. Daar is baie kerke wat hulleself in die tradisionele stroom van die Christendom bevind wat die legitimiteit van Bybelwetenskap in beginsel ontken. Bybelwetenskaplikes - wat veral in die raamwerk van die gereformeerde teologie 'n tuiste gevind het (alhoewel sommige van hulle selfs daar ongemaklik voel) - is weer van mening dat die eersgenoemde groep 'n pre-wetenskaplike benadering tot die Bybel volg wat in die wetenskaplike tyd waarin ons lewe geen legitimiteit meer het nie. Tussen hierdie pole is daar baie mense wat oor die geldigheid van hierdie paradigmas nadink. 'n Boek soos Hier staan ek... is 'n voorbeeld daarvan (sien bespreking). Uiteindelik gaan dit oor die ruimte wat vir geloof geskep word.(Sleutelwoorde: Bybel wetenskaplikes, Bybelwetenskap, Markplein, Sakkie Spangenberg, wetenskap).
Om die artikel te lees klik op Paradigmas in konflik: Bybelwetenskap vs tradisionalisme


From Sudan to cyber, secret war with Iran grows
From a suspected Israeli airstrike in Sudan to cyber warfare in the Gulf and a drone shot down over Israel, the largely hidden war between Iran and its foes seems heating up and spreading.
To read this article click on From Sudan to cyber, secret war with Iran grows

On archaeology: Ancient scribe penned manuscripts linking Dead Sea Scrolls with writings found at Masada in Israel.

The previous issue of Understanding the World focused on Islam's role in the upcoming world order 

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October 2012

Dear friend

In this issue of Understanding the World we include an abstract of an article on Islam recently posted on the blog Life in the Universe as well as links to other related articles.


Islam's role in the upcoming world order

After the Arab Spring the question is: What role will the countries of the Arab Spring play in the upcoming world order. Will they become true democracies or Islamist states at odds with the West? Will stability return or will militant groups assert themselves in the public space created by the revolutions? What impact will the conflict in Syria have on the wider Middle Eastern situation? Such an inquiry should include some understanding of the main forces at work within those Islamic communities and the goals they aspire to. In this article I focus on the Salafists, the Sufi's, the Muslim Brothers and the Shiites, asking: How will each of these groups try to influence the process of change? And how will the poles of influence in the Middle East amplify these influences. What will the new world order eventually looks like? (Key words:  Al-Qaeda, Arab Spring, Jihad, Muslim Brothers, Muslim caliphate, new world order, Salafists, Shiites, Sufi's, Sunni-Shiite conflict, Turkey).
To read the full article: Islam's role in the upcoming world order 

See also The Priory of Sion is back for another perspective on the above (and a possible connection between the Sufi's and the European Rosicrucians)
and Die Nuwe Toring van Babel for an eschatological interpretation of these developments. 

For current developments in the EU the following article is worth reading: Analysis: Nobel-crowned EU risks future as loveless marriage
On the proto-Elamitic writing (3200-2900 BC) of the ancient Elamites who lived beside the Sumerians: Breakthrough in world's oldest undeciphered writing. The Sumerians are important, not only because they represent the oldest true civilization (the first to write etc), but also because Abraham, the forefather of the Israelites, came from Sumeria. I discuss the Sumerian roots of the book of Genesis in my book Op soek na Abraham en sy God (2012, Griffel).


Understanding the world is a monthly e-letter with abstracts of, and links to, informative articles on a variety of interrelated issues including origins, science, philosophy, faith, archaeology, international affairs (especially the Middle East and the European Union), eschatology (the study of last events).

To subscribe to Understanding the World use Subscribe

To unsubscribe just return the e-letter when mailed to you