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Page 22 THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday Februarys 1991 Religion Biblical myths inescapable Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time February 10 Question Are you afraid of demons Answer Yes I am afraid No I don t believe they even exist 3 Are you kidding We can and will ship Patriot missiles anywhere in the world to pro tect those threatened by the attacks of demons Today Gospel reading occurs at the end of the same sabbath hat we read about last week After the synagogue service Jesus goes with two of his disciples to the home of two other disciples the brothers Simon and Andrew Jesus heals their mother in law and then spends an intimate afternoon in a private home After sundown however the sabbath is over and the people of the town of Capernaum gather outside the door They seek the healing of their illnesses and the exorcism of their possessed friends and relatives This is a common occurence in Mark s Gospel Jesus actions of healing and exorcism are visible signs of his teaching the Kingdom is among you As Jesus heals and exorcises demons the Kingdom Is both demonstrated and brought closer What is demonstrated in his teaching and in his of heal ing and exorcism will be finally and clearly presented in his death of resurrection As to the question of what to make of demons in the Gospel of Mark and in the modem world Religion and Reality by Jim Ryan two responses 1 Northrop Frye has this to say If heaven is all that we desire in life then the demonic is all that we reject life The demonic divine is all that is unmoved by our pleas our reasoning or our best motives The demonic demands sacrifices punishes presumption and en forces obedience to laws as an end in themselves The demonic refers to both a world of nature untouched by human hands the desert is an ex ample as well as to a world of wasted or ruined or useless or foolish human effort the city of Babylon is a classic example of this Both the desert and Babylon are the settings of our current war in the Gulf The ancient city of Babylon is very close to the ty of Baghdad 2 As Joseph Campbell would say we re living out the myths of the heavenly kingdom and the demonic kingdom in our daily lives He notes that what distinguishes the Judaeo Christian myth of Deuteronomy and the Muslin myth from the Lent begins with Shrovetide By REV CAROL SKIDMORE ChichofSt The Martyr Glen Williams As we approach Spring we look toward Lent and Easter Lent for many begins with Shrovetide In Britain Shrove Tuesday is Pancake Day and the Monday is still known in same districts as Collup Monday Both refer to the days when the Lenten fast was more strictly observed and all the meat eggs fat and cream had to be eaten up before the solemn Lenten season began on Ash Wednesday Although the English specialized in making Pancakes the Germans used up the fat by making wonderful doughnuts on Shrove Tuesday With the thought of the forty day fast looming before them Shrovetide has come to be associated with the word Car nival or Mardi Gras A time of fun and feasting before the clock strikes midnight and the beginning of Lent arrives Until that moment great nment and thankfulness is ex pressed in the various forms of Carnival celebrations For some the traditional Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race is a must and is enjoyed as a family event Every woman taking part in the race wears a headscarf and on apron She brings along her best frying pan for the race and pancake batter mixture is placed in the heated fry pan just before WORTH OF BRAND NAME FURNISHINGS AT WHOLESALE PRICES Ontario Chesterfield Wholesalers Bahind Auto Mall Guolph the race begins They line up along the starting line and set off when a whistle is sounded Before reaching heir destination each participant must toss the pan cake three times in honor of the Trinity Failure to do so means disqualification The winner is the first home with the pancake tossed three times and still in the pan Some feel lhat if we begin our Lenten observances feeling cheerful and grateful to God for the good things in life we get Lent started off on a better footing But the pancakes and celebrations do not mean much if they do not take into account the real nature of the feast and its significance and symbolism Some churches have ed Shrovetide as a time when the faithful come to seek forgiveness and the cleansing of one sin as they begin the Lenten season The word to shrive means to pronounce absolution In pre formation England people queued up at church to go to con fession and be shriven as Lent began A bell would be rung on Shrove Tuesday to beckon them to Church It was a sombre realiza tion that the feast would soon end and the fortyday fast would begin Some say cheating to try to have Carnival or even pancikes on Pancake Day without follow ing it up with a meaningful Stored A FRESH SEA SCALLOPS 7 99 LB GREY SOLE FILLETS 4 LB FRESH BLUE POINT OYSTERS 79 MOORE PARK PLAZA Main SIN Georgetown Greek myth is that for both God is viewed as being on only one side while the Greek myths show the gods on both sides of the ear thly battle The war in the Gulf is making clear to us just how inescapable these Biblical myths are for our culture We may assert that we are a secular society that we have turned away from the heat of religion and myth and embraced the cool of the sciences and yet how can we explain that all of our opponents are madmen crazed or demonic A FINAL PROPHECY If Northrop depiction of the battle between good and evil is correct expect to see George Bush undergo an operation or develop a limp in the next few months Mutilation or physical handicap is a sign that the good leader is suffering in order to free his people from evil Endnote Anatomy of Criticism 1973 p I47f Campbell Mythologies of War and Peace from the book Myths to Live By 1982 OFFICE MAGIC FOR ALL YOUR OFFICE STATIONERY NEEDS Guelph St Georgetown Clothing Mens todies Childrens ALTERATIONS REPAIRS 8771598 GIC RATE 10 Rale Subject To Change Without Notice MONEY c CONCEPTS FREE DAY 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