Torah: "And don't worship the Asherah tree, it is forbidden"
Harvard Divinity School: "At long last, we have created Asherah, as mentioned in the classic text "Don't Worship the Asherah".
Another day in "Weimar America."
While many look at historic hyperinflation as a purely monetary phenomenon, it actually kicked off in the asset markets first, a trend that feels uncomfortably familiar today. The key difference is that the original Weimar Republic existed in a fragile, multipolar world. Today, the lack of peer economic competition has bred a level of institutional and government arrogance and blatant policy overreach that makes the current setup unique.
Compounding this is a staggering concentration of wealth, where a tiny fraction of the population(5,000 boomers) holds the vast majority of assets. This severe inequality actually acts as a temporary dampener on consumer inflation, because the excess liquidity stays trapped at the top rather than chasing everyday goods. The “elite” of policymakers, tech leaders and finance kings knows this math perfectly well, which is why we see zero structural limits placed on institutional greed. But history proves that no system is 100% foolproof, and when a heavily centralized engine finally hits its breaking point, the failure happens at a speed no one is prepared for.
@LeahLibresco I had my seminarians do this - I admittedly didn’t join them - I think your pastor was visiting me when this was happening. Dunno if he got the idea from me but obvi a better pastor than I
“The church is either the body of Christ, or it is nothing.… it can be cut down, pruned back, attacked, slandered, persecuted, mocked, ignored; but it still rises, still persists, still gives signs of life and hope.” NT Wright
Why Only Rich Kids Make It In Music Today https://t.co/xlaDN9M4JT via @YouTube I really relate to this video because I lived it. In the 80s, musicians could live in Oly or Tacoma and still be part of the Seattle scene. Rent was way less expensive outside the big city.
@CascadeParty@YouTube Def gonna watch this. I’ve been thinking also how this affects the venues. So many bands that I like don’t come to seattle or pdx but will go to Boise. I think part of that is demographics but def also cost. Seen this since before covid too.
There is no closeup of Pope Leo in this video, presumably because it would offend the papal dignity to see His Holiness instinctively mouthing “BA BA BAAAAAAAA!”
This u-shaped curve is present in other countries too, e.g. the U.S.
It's clear to me that modernity subdues the desire to reproduce in most people, and the availability of contraception and abortion makes it easy to have sex while avoiding pregnancy. As fewer people have children, we see the gradual collapse of the social infrastructure that both supports parents and also cajoles young adults into becoming parents. Having children comes with trade offs, especially financial, and most modern people just don't care enough about having children to tolerate those trade offs, especially when it comes to having big families.
Three things seem to inoculate against this:
1. Having an unusually strong desire to have children, and a willingness to tolerate the trade offs, usually motivated by a sense of spiritual purpose (@CRPakaluk's book is superb on this).
2. Being a member of a religious subculture that has preserved its pro-natal social infrastructure.
3. Being either so rich that the financial trade offs don't matter very much, or so poor that the welfare state will absorb those trade offs on your behalf. That seems to be what's happening with the u-shaped chart.