ORWELL ON RELIGION

excerpt from Animal Farm:

"... Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker. He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugarcandy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died. It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said. In Sugarcandy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges. The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugarcandy Mountain, and the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place."

"...In the middle of the summer Moses the raven suddenly reappeared on the farm, after an absence of several years. He was quite unchanged, still did no work, and talked in the same strain as ever about Sugarcandy Mountain. He would perch on a stump, flap his black wings, and talk by the hour to anyone who would listen. ‘Up there, comrades,’ he would say solemnly, pointing to the sky with his large beak — ‘up there, just on the other side of that dark cloud that you can see — there it lies, Sugarcandy Mountain, that happy country where we poor animals shall rest for ever from our labours!’ He even claimed to have been there on one of his higher flights, and to have seen the everlasting fields of clover and the linseed cake and lump sugar growing on the hedges. Many of the animals believed him. Their lives now, they reasoned, were hungry and laborious; was it not right and just that a better world should exist somewhere else? A thing that was difficult to determine was the attitude of the pigs towards Moses. They all declared contemptuously that his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain were lies, and yet they allowed him to remain on the farm, not working, with an allowance of a gill of beer a day."

The song BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN was made famous by Burl Ives in the 40s and 50s but it was originally an 1928 hobo song "about that longing for the perfect land and easy living, where everything goes right all the time; just pure, unadulterated joy all the time. Heaven, Nirvana, the Happy Hunting Grounds, Honalee. . .The Big Rock Candy Mountains are just a few of the names of the ideal world of some of humanity’s deepest longings and fondest dreams...There is some confusion over the provenance of the song, Big Rock Candy Mountain. The song is listed as a tradional hobo ballad by many accounts, but many sources also attribute it to Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock, a tramp entertainer and organizer for the "Wobblies," who apparently recorded it sometime around 1928...McClintock himself lost a lawsuit on the issue of copyright and was not allowed to receive royalties from his original recording, as the judge ruled that the lyrics were in the public domain". Orwell probably listened to the original in his hobo days. Read an excerpt from Down & Out in Paris and London describing a typical tramp in England.

All the best,
Jackie Jura


Bush said God said to him: ("George go & fight these terrorists in Iraq & Afghanistan"). Guardian, Oct 6, 2005

THE FOUNDING FATHERS WERE NOT CHRISTIANS

FAMOUS RELIGIOUS SKEPTICS (Abraham Lincoln, American president (1809-1865)
In 2000 Years of Disbelief by James A. Haught, Lincoln is mentioned on pages 125 through 127. From the material presented it would seem that Lincoln as a young man was an avid anti-Christian and most likely an atheist. In his later years, he came to believe in God, but still was anti-religious in the sense that he rejected organized religion. Some selections from Haught:

John T. Stuart, Lincoln's first law partner: "He was an avowed and open infidel, and sometimes bordered on Atheism...He went further against Christian beliefs and doctrines and principles than any man I ever heard."

Joseph Lewis quoting Lincoln in a 1924 speech in New York: "The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma."

Lincoln in a letter to Judge J.S. Wakefield, after the death of Willie Lincoln: "My earlier views of the unsoundness of the Christian scheme of salvation and the human origin of the scriptures have become clearer and stronger with advancing years, and I see no reason for thinking I shall ever change them."

As a young man Lincoln apparently wrote a manuscript that he planned to publish, which vehemently argued against the divine origin of the Bible and the Christian scheme of salvation. Samuel Hill, a friend and mentor, convinced him to drop it, considering the disastrous consequences it would have on his political career.

William H Herndon, a former law partner, wrote a biography on Lincoln titled: The True Story of a Great Life. In it Herndon discusses Lincoln's religious views extensively.

Gordon Leidner has collected some quotations from Lincoln's later years in which he invokes God, and he makes the argument that Lincoln became a sincere believer. It seems to me he did come to believe in God but never accepted organized Christianity.

Ex top Christian attacks Muslims (for believing Mohammed received God's word direct from angels which scribes recorded later). Guardian, Mar 27, 2004. Go to 10.Rulers & 22.Doublethink

THE SPIRIT OF MAN

MEL GIBSON'S BLOODY MESS (2-hour-6-minute snuff movie is protracted exercise in sadomasochism)

Human sacrifice as entertainment (churches taking kids to crucifixion; beating that lasts 45 minutes; cat-o'-nine-tails ripping flesh; hands nailed & arm pulled from socket; body lanced & blood showers down). USA Today, Feb 17, 2004. Go to HUMAN SACRIFICE IN BIBLE

5,000 pastors cheer Mel Gibson's movie. Washington Times, Jan 22, 2004 & 'Passion' and Intrique. WallStreetJournal, Jan 22, 2004 (high priests of Jews & Christians agree "It is as it was" and hope everyone buys ticket for THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST where Mel Gibson lifts the festering scab and shows a human sacrifice of someone they say is God)

Archbishop-designate made honorary Druid (a term for pagan priests who offered human sacrifices and whose members include politicians, actors and Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother). National Post, Aug 6, 2002. Go to 10.The Rulers & 2.Big Brother

Archbishop made honorary druid (The Gorsedd is a creative invention which first gathered at Primrose Hill, London, in 1792, and made its first eisteddfod appearance at Carmarthen in 1819, standing around a circle of stones...Rituals look back to era when Celtic druids - religious professionals - led society...Rowan William's induction has proved controversial, with a national newspaper repeating evangelical concerns he was dabbling in paganism). BBC, Aug 5, 2002

Jackie Jura visits 2. ORWELL'S GRAVE during her HOMAGE TO ORWELL

RAELIAN BIBLE STORY (first humans cloned). Telegraph, May 2, 2003

FRIENDS AT ARMAGEDDON and MOSES MENTIONS MOAB

WINSTON DIES INSIDE

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~

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