The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> Simo Tries Too Hard

Simo Tries Too Hard
Posted by pancho (Moderator) - Saturday, March 21 2009, 19:24:09 (CET)
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..."atour.com" is back and running after being absent for several years. They didn;t seem to learn much in the interval. Prominently displayed is an article by Simo Parpola, the Eskimo most popular with our nationalists...and it isn't hard to see why. This Assyriologist bends over backwards to link Christianity with the ancient Assyrian religion...why he thinks this is a good thing is anybody's guess. He says the trinity comes from Assyria and neglects to mention Egypt...but what do I know.

Yes, Assyrian influence can be seen all over the place...no, no one said Assyrians completely disappeared....but nowhere in his writing does he address the simple fact that no modern Assyrian remembered anything more about his supposed history than what everybody could read in the bible. So, if Assyrians didn't completely disappear, and no one says they did....why did they have to be taught their history and ancient language and all about their ancient religion by Europeans? How come, as Christians, they knew every detail of Jewish history and Christian history...which is merely the in-depth history of ONE Jew; Jesus? How come they forgot everything else?

And if it's legitimate to forget and now remember...how come only Christians qualify as those who "remember"? Why is it STILL a requirement, even to this son of Nanook, that ALL modern Assyrians can only be Christians? because he begins his article clearly stating that this must be so...some "scientist".

But here's the crux of the whole thing...

"For an outsider who does not know the facts it will be difficult to recognize the link between imperial Assyria and the oppressed and persecuted, Aramaic-speaking Christian Assyrians of today. And if this recognition is lacking, it will be all the more difficult for the Assyrians to regain their lost place among sovereign nations. For this reason it is imperative that the facts establishing the link be systematically collected and presented in a way that will settle the issue definitely."

...wait a minute...."...it is imperative that the facts establishing the link be systematically collected and presented in a way that will SETTLE THE ISSUE DEFINITELY (my emphasis)".???

Why is a scholar so determined to SETTLE THE ISSUE..when the issue isn't academic fact alone but facts-in-service to an obviously desired outcome? Dr Joseph never said the facts HAD TO SETTLE the question of the existence of modern Assyrians....he just explored the facts AND paid a heavy price for following where they led....whereas Parpola has become the darling of the nationalists...even being carted around to AANF conventions, all expenses paid, to bathe and shower in warm praise...and maybe get funded for his Melammu Project...which sounds like it has something to do with the mating habits of Caribo.

Aren't facts supposed to discover the truth...as much as that can be ascertained? Is he just looking for facts that will "SETTLE THE ISSUE DEFINITIVELY"? His goal isn't to find the truth...to determine where the facts lead...he says clearly in the previous sentence that "...if this recognition is lacking, it will be all the more difficult for the Assyrians to regain their lost place etc."

His purpose isn't to find truth...his goal is to PROVE his assumption...stated clearly here:...which is to get the Assyrians what they deserve, politically. He seems to be using his status as a scholar to make something happen...something he deeply believes is the truth...for which he needs to make the facts fit.

He also tips his hand rather badly when, after the usual litany of evidence that Assyrian names etc. can be traced right up to almost modern times....

"Since Late Antiquity, Christianity in its Syriac elaboration has constituted an essential part of Assyrian identity. As I have tried to show elsewhere, conversion to Christianity was easy for the Assyrians, for many of the teachings of the early Church were consonant with the tenets of Assyrian imperial religion."

This is his darling idea....his pet thought which he strokes lovingly and which just happens to give any nationalist a hard-on.

I'm willing to concede all of his claims about Assyrian names and influence...I'll concede that Syria really means Assyria...whatever he wants. I'll go so far as to admit that Christianity came from Ashur...but what I want to know is how does he come to the conclusion that to be a real Assyrian today you HAVE to be Christian? Not once does he broach the idea that at least ONE Assyrian converted to Islam...or that an Assyrian can be of ANY religion and still have the "ethnic" or "national" name of Assyrian?

To make such a bold, one-sided pronouncement, in a region filled almost exclusively with Muslims...Muslims who ALSO live above ancient ruins...(and not to once mention the name of Babylonians who also survive)...but to state that surviving Assyrians must all be Christians...seems more than unacademic or scientific, but downright propagandistic....

What scientific evidence does he have, or not have, that Assyrians only converted to Christianity? Since he painstakingly presents his proof that Assyrians survived all these centuries....where is any evidence that Assyrians di not convert to islam...and indeed in greater numbers? If he thinks the Assyrian religion was but an easy step to Christianity because of the trinity...then where did Assyrians ever get the idea that turning the cheek was sound policy? Isn't Islam far more congenial to Assyrians who knew all about climbing on a horse and riding off to win empires? Monks are the logical extension of the noble Assyrians?

Parpola, baby...you're trying too hard.



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