March 2008

 

JC Publications & November Publications Ltd

BCM Box 928,

London WC1N 3XX

 

© JC Publications

 

Review copy:

First edition 2007

528 pages

Photos & Prints

 

 

Publisher’s Notes: Religion, as defined by Marxism, is fantastic reality. Fantastic, not in the trite sense that the claims that religion makes about existence are verifiably true, unreal or baseless, but in the sense that nature and society are reflected in exaggerated form, as leaping as shadows, as symbols or inversions.

 

So religion should not be dismissed as mere false consciousness. Religion reflects something of the real; but, as Jack Conrad’s book shows, there is even more to it than that. Religious ideas are not only determined by reality; they can themselves become materially effective. The ideas people have in their heads—especially when mediated through institutions such as churches, mosques and temples—no matter how wrapped up in the godly and seemingly unrelated to the corporeal world, impact on their surroundings.

 

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The author has an incomprehensible writing quirk in that he does not capitalize the first letter of common religious terms. Christian becomes christian, Islam, islam, etc. I can only suppose that this is a deliberate contrivance used to demonstrate a lack of respect for religious concepts in general; but it’s very irritating when you’re commenting on the material & the computer editor is constantly showing the grammatical error—and it is an english (sic) error. He even does this in the title of his own book—and without any apparent rhyme or reason. I’ve tried to maintain some consistency; however, there are times when the editor in me demanded grammatical correctness over maintaining the author’s  inexplicable style.

 

I would also suggest using “Phantastic” in place of “Fantastic” in the title as that would be more of a clarification of the subject—AND would eliminate the need for the rather obscure Publisher’s Notes  above. This also brings up the question: to whom & for whom has this book been written? Of course I know the answer to that: its audience is expected to be Marxist, and even more specifically, members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).

 

The present work reflects background. But most of all it reflects political priorities. Fantastic reality (sic) is not intended to be a mere commentary. It is written from beginning to end to serve as a weapon in the struggle for a better world: i.e., global communism.

 

[P. 47]

 

Well, we shall see…

 

  Gustav Doré Art Images

 

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FANASTIC REALITY (henceforth “FR”) is an extraordinary work in spite of the “spelling thing” and avowed propagandistic orientation. It is one of the best political documents based on Marxist historical materialism that I’ve read in quite some time—if ever.

 

The problem I have with FR is that it’s really like reading 2 books in one, or at least 2 styles in one book. There’s the middle section that is fairly straight up scholastic, incredibly well referenced, revealing & engaging.  I enjoyed this section very much. The more or less neutral tone of this segment is sandwiched between rather strident, polemical material, particularly near the end. While I found this material interesting (it’s always fun to see the groups you strongly disagree with taken down a peg), nonetheless, its  tone is divisive & defensive. This ‘attack all’ mode tendency in the Marxist/anti-capitalist movement is extremely unattractive & I wish the author had avoided it. The book has mainstream potential (i.e. opening up the horizons of people who haven’t already been repulsed by the sectarian warfare that has stigmatized the movement.) Readers of opposing political tendencies may read the book, but I doubt if they would recommend it.  We have an old saying in the States: You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

 

For those readers unfamiliar with the concept of historical materialism: the “orthodox” Marxist term refers to the analysis of history & social movements based solely on materialist factors & class conflict. In other words, one does not factor in religion or subjectivism/individualism/spirituality—or only in so far as these factors reflect historic events and/or the class struggle. For example, FR well demonstrates how religion is USED by class forces in order to achieve political ends. This is an integral theory of Marxism that supposedly results in the political strategy & tactics needed to successfully overthrow the Capitalist Oligarchy (“bourgeoisie”) and replace it with a communist society (“dictatorship of the proletariat.”)

 

Communist playwright Bertolt Brecht incorporated historic materialism in his plays & dark cabaret operas. He called this technique “Epic Theatre.” The characters represented economic & class forces instead of realistic, individualistic characterization. His work frequently parodies Romanticism.

 

See also,

 

“666” & HISTORIC MATERIALISM

 

I’ve made a decision not to comment on the various political tendencies of Marxism in this review, preferring to focus more on the purely scholastic where possible. This can be difficult, because the author often interjects polemics into the book. For example, it is irritating to find in an otherwise engaging Introduction a statement such as:

 

…Those who are serious about changing the world must first of all see it for what it is,

and that means understanding how it came into being…

 

[P. 11]

 

almost immediately cancelled out by:

 

…Stalinism, Maoism and the more and the more outlandish versions of Trotskyism…when they claim to represent Marxism we can only protest.

 

[P. 14]

 

Well, nobody wants to be called a Stalinist, and personally I can relate with more enthusiasm to Trotsky than I can to Lenin.

 

It is interesting to draw a parallel between the lack of political cohesion in the Arab community with that of supposed “revolutionary” Marxist organizations. In the case of Arabs, the divisions are religiously based (or religion used to promote political ends as stated above). Marxism has resulted in a dizzying array of sects, sub-sects & factions & imagined sects & factions—all proclaiming to represent “true” Marxism—and then they proceed to spend most of their time & energy verbally fighting one another. It’s no wonder that the Capitalist Oligarchy feels safe & secure.

 

On the next page of FR the author implies that in a “real” Communist organization, democratic centralism & factional disputes can always be  resolved by the electoral process. I have participated in several Marxist-based organizations, each one claiming to be “the true vanguard” of the “world revolution.” What this more often than not hypothetically boils down to, is that all other groups are denigrated as being “revisionist,” “reactionary,” “sectarian,” etc, and should be “split” or just downright obliterated. When a faction presents a dissenting point of view, the political heresy of free thought or innovation is soon contained as a faction/tendency—and then eventually expelled.

 

 The “Party Question” is troublesome, but fortunately it need not command our attention any further in this review.

 

On page 43 concluding the Introduction, the author seemingly anticipates & negates my concerns about the combative, didactic style of much (but not all) of the material in the book:

 

Fantastic reality (lower case author’s) is not intended to be a mere commentary. It is written from beginning to end in order to serve as a weapon in the struggle for a better world: i.e., global communism.

 

How can you respond to such a statement? You’re either in, or you’re out. A lot of people would just go into an emotional shutdown at this point & not bother reading beyond this—and that would be a shame, because, among other things, FR provides a great analysis of Abrahamic religion.

 

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After we get through the Introduction without being too put out, the material becomes less subjective—and far more interesting as far as I’m concerned.

 

For example in the 1st Chapter: MARX and ENGLES & RELIGION, Jack Conrad presents points of relation—as well as contention—between the early work of Marx, Hegel & the materialist philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (1840-72).

 

In Hegel’s dialectic alienation was a positive & necessary stage in each phase of historical development—Feuerbach, however, sees alienation in an entirely negative light because it inevitably gives rise to an inverted relation between subject and object, which radically distorts man’s self-consciousness…It is not god that who creates humanity in his own image, but humanity who creates god.

 

[P. 51]

 

Of course the last statement applies to the core of Existentialism—but, surprisingly perhaps, can equally be applied to such diverse “spiritual” philosophies as the Thelema of Aleister Crowley, Hermeticism, & perhaps even more particularly to the insightful philosophy of Krishnamurti. Crowley wrote: Humanity loves best the gods it has created.

 

Having never believed in god…Marx was not driven as was Bruno Bauer…to overcompensate for previous religious belief  by violent attacks on Christianity…Marx’s personal opinion…nor was he inclined to engage in cosmological or theological/metaphysical speculations concerning pre-human or pre-social existence.

 

[P. 54]

 

This brings to mind an idea presented in DAIMONIC REALITY by Patrick Harpur: One’s attitude towards any given theological/metaphysical subject can be compared to music appreciation. The professional classical musician finds the limited range of popular music uninteresting. They just don’t relate to it. In another section of FR, the author indicates that this was Marx’s attitude towards metaphysics; he was so intellectually involved with materialism and the worker’s movement, there was no reason to be interested in metaphysics or “spirituality.” Be that as it may, just because Marx chose to ignore the other-than-strictly-materialistic depth of individual experience & perception, doesn’t necessarily mean that said experience and depth is not significant or simply the product psychological compensation.

 

[Note: I’m willing to concede that religion is a defensive reaction to the reality of death & inevitable oblivion of individual personality—and/or sexual dysfunction. I also support the idea—or at least the possibility—of multi-dimensional or parallel universes. Incidentally, the notion that a humble Hebrew girl gave birth via parthenogenesis is really not that far out compared to many proposed constructs of modern astrophysics. ]

 

As the author moves into the range of specific religions, the subject of deism pops up from time. A definition is useful not only  as applied in FR, but can also have significance as it relates to the popular interest in Gnostic philosophy.

 

From Funk & Wagnall: Deism is belief in the existence of a personal God, based solely on the testimony of reason; God created the world according to natural law, but takes no interest in it.

 

The last statement parallels Gnostic creation myths involving Yahweh as the evil Demiurge.

 

See also,

 

COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF GOD

 

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Commenting on the decline of Pagan Rome, we find:

 

…the degraded population pray for a saviour figure. The more someone feels impotent, the more they rely on a miracle or something fantastic to save them. Certain people are commonly believed to possess superhuman powers; preachers are credited to overturn the laws of nature at will; the dead are raised and demons exorcised…

 

[P. 137]

 

This brings to mind 2 eras closer to our own time: World War I and the fall of Autocratic Russia and, closer to our own time, the failure of the US military venture in Vietnam & the Reagan years (seemed more like a century.) These historic periods have some absorbing things in common. The decadent Russian aristocracy was preoccupied with spiritualism and mysticism. This particular form of socially destructive escapism was embodied in the antics of the “Mad Monk” Rasputin. It is well known that Nancy Reagan was obsessed with astrology. The great promises of New Age Liberation only created another form of metaphysical blinders in order to circumvent useful social change, particularly class-based socialist revolution. During the upheavals in Russia, a completely religiously whacked out Czarina relied almost totally on Rasputin as she increasingly took on more State control from her vacillating & weak husband. We may never know if Nancy Reagan did the same thing due to the fact that while still in office her husband may have begun to display symptoms of the Alzheimer’s that eventually killed him.

 

Lately the American mainstream media has been pushing a sort of televised spiritualist (“psychic”) revival in the form of “psychic phenomena” shows and the “paranormal”. These obscure—and highly popular programs—are on a pare with the UFO craze. A gullible and under-educated audience accepts both as being absolute fact, blaming orthodox science & the political establishment for their suppression. What’s really troublesome in this psychological morass & mumbo-jumbo is that these superficial notions keeps people from confronting—and changing—State sponsored terrorism and an increasingly violent, capitalist society.

 

This view is in dialectical alignment with Jack Conrad’s treatise.

 

See also,

 

DOES “SPIRITUALITY” REALLY EXIST?

 

JAMES RANDI PARANORMAL CHALLENGE

 

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Chapter Four: THE ANCIENT JEWS may be of particular interest to readers of Parallel Perspectives. The author questions the authenticity of the Bible’s take on history—as do we—but for possibly different reasons, as well as drawing different conclusions from its analysis.

 

For example, on P. 142 we find:

 

The Israel Antiquities Authority has uncovered well organized archaeology forgery ring, which for 20 years manufactured purportedly ancient objects, reputedly ancient objects, including from Solomon’s temple. The forgers targeted “key spots of interest to Israel at the moment”—there is, of course, a politically driven wish to prove an ancient claim to the land.

 

…(Hebrew tribes-Ed.) shifted between periods of settled agriculture and semi-nomadic pastoralism (sic) depending on economic-political opportunities and ecological vagaries. They lived “between the desert and the sown”. Instead of being thought of outsiders coming in, they should rather be though(t) of as insiders who were forced on occasion to venture.

 

The second statement is a good assessment of the Israel vs. Palestine State Question. It is not in any way anti-Semitic (although counterpoised to Zionism.) It also describes the religious milieu of many Arab groups, up to and including the time of Mohammad.

 

See also,

 

REVIEW: ISLAM

 

Also in this chapter Conrad discuses the Hyksos Semitic kings that ruled in Egypt just prior to the 15th Dynasty. These Semitic invaders were deeply resented by the native Egyptians and came to be metaphysically and/or politically identified with the goat, as well as with the strange, aardvark-headed, god of evil, darkness & chaos, Set. By 1539 BCE the Hyksos were replaced by the fascinating female pharaoh, Hatshepsut. She was usually depicted wearing the false beard that represented the male god of resurrection, Osiris. Of course everybody knew that Hatshepsut was a woman, but her impersonation may have been acceptable because according to the ancient Egyptians ANYBODY was better than a Hyksos. It is well documented that Hatshepsut was a brilliant leader, and no doubt this also enabled her to rule in a position of supreme authority normally taboo for women.

 

[Culture Note: Women in Egypt were more independent than their sisters in other ancient socities.]

 

In this same section Jack Conrad questions the historic existence of Exodus and King Solomon. Our article DOES “SPIRITUALITY” EXIST? linked above, also shows, according to the historic record, that Exodus, indeed, didn’t happen. And if the Exodus didn’t happen, it knocks the central dogma of Judaism off its foundation—and that exposé radiates out to also include Christianity and Islam.

 

Regarding the Babylonia Exile era, Conrad observes:

 

The Hebrew priests were soon aping and adapting from the Babylonians. Many Jewish notions of worship and biblical myths…owe their origins to 50 years of exile.

 

[P. 154]

 

The chapter concludes with revealing insights into the rise of dietary laws, racial purity concepts and hereditary theocracy.

 

The next Chapter 5, JESUS, A MAN OF HIS TIMES, is even closer to our neck-of-the-woods. For example, Jack Conrad seems to approve of A-List scholar Robert Eisenman. Eisenman is controversial in the field of biblical study because he often exposes those fictions & forgeries that were once accepted by mainstream scholastics as historic fact. He has particularly shaken a hornet’s nest by (1) Insisting that the Apostle James “The Just” was one of several of Jesus’ birth siblings. (2) Definitively showing that a conflict existed between James & the Church doctrinaire Paul—a conflict so intense as it culminated in a plot by Paul to kill James. (3) Demonstrating the anti-Semitic nature of Paul’s revisionism.

 

Eisenman at one point even questions the historical existence of Jesus, stating that there is more verifiable documentation to backup the existence of James than there is for his brother Jesus. Naturally this speculation upsets many people. Be that as it may, the historical existence of “Jesus Christ” has recently been seriously challenged.

 

See also,

 

REVIEW: THE NEW TESTAMENT CODE

 

JESUS NEVER EXISTED

 

On P. 175 Conrad suggest a interesting scenario regarding the divinity & miraculous nature of Jesus:

 

Jesus performs many miracles. The blind are giving sight, cripples walk, etc (cities and towns were teaming with professional beggars, no doubt including the professionally crippled and blind.

 

Of course! These actors would have a lot of motivation to play into the divinity scene. Tricking the general populace by strange & supernatural “special effects” was an old game  practiced by the ancient Egyptian & Greek priests & others from time immemorial. The fabled Jesus could have been directly involved in the trickery, or he may have been set up by others including ideological enemies.

 

Conrad concludes the chapter explaining  the military nature of Messianic expectations.

 

See also,

 

REVIEW: THE CRIMSON THREAD

 

Chapter 6, AFTER KING JESUS, the author ties up some Christian-Judaic loose ends, again often referring to Eisenman.

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Next we’re going to look at Chapter 8: ORIGINS OF ISLAM and Chapter 10: MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, then comment on a few entries in other chapters.

 

Jack Conrad’s observations concerning the Mecca pilgrimage and the Ka’ba were instructive.

 

The religious beliefs and practices of the nomadic Bedouin are vague but bear a broad similarity to…the ancient Hebrews…Each tribe equipped itself with its own unique god. Oddly shaped stones…functioned as fetishes…Fetish and tribe formed a single unit.

 

…The unity and regional importance of Mecca found religious expression in the gathering together of many fetish stones and their incorporation into the cube-shaped building called the Ka’ba. Pilgrims would circle the Ka’ba a set number of times, during which they would touch the sacred stones.

 

[Pgs. 268-9]

 

And on P. 276 we find:

 

Yahweh had a special connection with the Jews, Allah…with the Arabs…The Ka’ba in Mecca should be his and his alone…while some elements of Arab tradition were discarded…the black stone housed in the Ka’ba—in all likelihood a meteorite—continued to be regarded with veneration.

 

This is a note worthy supposition. We know that (1) ‘standing stones’ were venerated in Pagan traditions, both East & West (2) Christian churches were built over former Pagan temples (3) many Christian rituals & saints were assimilated from originating Pagan sources. The Ka’ba itself may be a sort of miniature Stonehenge. It is said that originally a ring of 360 statues surrounded the Ka’ba and that they had some connection with astronomy/astrology. Some traditions assert that Mohammed himself destroyed these statues.

See also,

 

KAABA A HINDU TEMPLE?

 

Conrad’s suggestion that the central stone of the Ka’ba is, in fact, a meteorite makes a lot of sense too.  Archaeological evidence indicates that some ancient Greek temples contained a dinosaur bone that was venerated as a sacred relic. This practice may have been the root of the Early Church practice of having a relic, usually the bone of a saint, enshrined in the altar.

 

As per the dinosaur bones, sources have attributed the many tales of superhuman giants & dragon myths to their discovery.

 

 

[NOTE: In the course of researching for this project, I came upon the subject of “The Incorruptibles.”  This refers to one condition a deceased person needs to meet in order to be considered worthy of canonization in the Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox Church. Many of these conditions can be reasonably explained either as pure hoax or by natural conditions. In many cases the requirement merely stipulates that the skeleton has remained intact. In the case of St. Bernadette, a wax face mask  & hands enclose the remains. However, I was amazed at viewing the remains of St. Silvan (pictured above & below) one of the bodies illustrating the linked site. The body is supposedly 1,600 years old—and  I imagine this object must have been on view first in Rome, later Croatia, for centuries.  I want to find out how this trick was achieved—and it must be a trick, or else…?]

 

Saint Silvan was killed in 400CE, making his corpse 1,600 years old.

 

The photographer calls this a “statue.”

 

Now this is more likely—and

suggests the other views are tricks of light & photography.

Be that as it may, this has got to be one of the strangest

religious artifacts I’ve seen.

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Returning to our review, on the same page Jack Conrad moves on to more mundane issues:

 

No Muslims could make a peace with unbelievers. Where before there had been loyalty of tribe, there was now to be a sense of community based on religion. Blood ties are replaced by confessional solidarity. In the same manner the mutual aid of the tribe and the obligatory generosity expected towards those in need were transferred to the religious community itself. From an early stage Muhammad’s muslim (sic) party began to build political structures and social services which could substitute for those of the tribe.

 

On P. 280 the author includes a very lucid—and lengthy—paragraph specifically discussing the geographical orientations of Judaic & Islamic spiritual practice. It wouldn’t do to attempt to truncate this paragraph for reprinting—let’s just say it’s really good.

 

Conrad concludes the Origins of Islam chapter with an astute analysis of the contradictions in the Arab Community:

 

The Arab-muslim (sic) enlightenment never happens. Endemic dynastic disputes, constant religious schism, Christian crusades…leading, inevitably, to the growing militarization of Islamic society. All available resource is channeled  into the army…intellectual life undergoes marked regression. A counterreformation before there was a reformation. Toleration can no longer be tolerated. Dangerous thoughts are repressed. Reaction triumphs in every sphere of life. Innovation and science flicker out.

 

Many of the propagandists of the 19th western imperialism invented their own self-justifying ‘clash of civilization’ thesis. They insisted that islam (sic) is naturally intolerant and benighted…nothing could be further from the truth…What flowered in the 9th century was a culture based on a rediscovered past. The subsequent decadence of the 12th and 13th centuries cannot be blamed on islam (sic) as a religion. Rather its cause is to be found in the structural limits inherent in any military-tribute system.

 

[Pgs. 294-5]

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Chapter 10 aptly explains the origin & goals of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

 

The Society of Muslim Brothers (al-Ikhwan al-Muslemoon), was founded in 1928  by Hassan al-Banna…His initial aim was the moral revival of islam (sic). Islam was pictured as corrupted over the course of many centuries, a process culminating in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the occupation and administration of Egypt by the British infidels…

 

The Brotherhood began by setting up supplementary or parallel educational institutions which would give its male members jihadia training…prelude for an explicitly theocratic state…Each national branch of the Brotherhood is obliged to draw up programs for the “islamising” of government…

 

[P. 328]

 

On P. 329 Jack Conrad continues his perceptive analysis of The Brotherhood:

 

The Brotherhood claims to believe that it would be too risky to rule over a society which does not willingly accept islamic (sic) law… in order to come to power Islamic culture must be spread via the media, parliament, mosques, charity work and organizations such as Islamic trade unions, student societies, women’s groups, etc.

 

Hmm. This sounds very similar to the many “front” groups & strategies  of Communist organizations.

 

Conrad continues,

 

So MB is not a traditionalist  Islamic organization. All attempts to return to the past are in fact about radically refashioning social realities in the here and now…Its revivalist ideology is…neo-fundamentalist…MB combines cure-all promises of a 7th century with the politics needed for building or triggering, mass mobilizations—ultimately carried out in the heavily disguised interests of those classes and strata in Egypt which both opposed  British imperialism and feared proletarian socialism.

 

[P. 329]

 

And what of unionization & class struggle?

 

…The Brotherhood has acted as a government spy and strike-breaking force…Muslim trade unions are…established and pitted against secular and united with Muslim employers. Workers and employers are told that they have mutual rights and obligations…strikes against muslim employers are condemned as haram (forbidden by Islamic law). Class unity is thereby broken, while leaving religious and state structures intact. The Brotherhood has insisted from the beginning that islam  “does not tolerate divided loyalty, since its very nature is that of total unity.”

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And now for a few random observations:

 

It is the…the limitedness and contingency of humankind as individuals that is primarily responsible for driving us to seek religion in the first place. [P.52]

 

In his The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit, Joseph Chilton Pearce demonstrates how both science & religion are based on the apparent human need for prediction and control. Personally I have become convinced in the validity of Pearce’s argument—and see how it applies to the “orthodox,” “Scientific Socialism” of Marxism as well. Traditional Marxism is called “Scientific Socialism” because it is (primarily) based on the theory of class struggle (prediction) and its realization  in the socialist revolution resulting in the “dictatorship of the proletariat” (control). The overthrow of the Bourgeoisie (State Capitalist Oligarchy) and achievement of a near perfect, stateless communism is as much based on the religious principle as is Mormonism (and, unfortunately, Mormonism has a better chance of actual realization than Marxist-Leninism.) Incidentally, terms like “bourgeois” and “proletariat” are loaded with negative baggage that only serve to further alienate the working class from forming a mass, anti-capitalist movement to topple the Oligarchy. The vast majority of American workers basically equate Communism with sheer Evil—either that, or they don’t know anything about it at all…and just don’t like it.

 

On Page 87, Jack Conrad makes a sweeping generalization regarding Americans,

 

…often sadly rootless…they live in constant fear of their neighbors, ill-health, joblessness, and now terrorism.

 

I question if Conrad is familiar with American small towns & even medium size cities. They still form “the backbone of America” and people living in them are anything but rootless & living in fear of their neighbors. As a matter of fact, I find their Christian certainty of reality & their place in it rather tiresome. The American sense of “community” may be based on ideological shifting sands, but it is a powerful & objective reality that will not easily be transformed. One of the worst political consequences of 9/11 is that it cemented even more firmly the foundations of reaction & jingoism in the United States.

 

Regarding “New Age” spirituality, Comrade James states:

 

…A clear majority is still convinced of the existence of some vague divinity or spiritual power. And sadly astrology, healing crystals, tarot-reading, self-development and other such witchery fills the vacuum by the decline of the established church, not socialism. Indeed, amongst academic ‘Marxists’ there has been a fair crop that has discovered the divine…in 2000 the ‘critical realist’, Roy Bhaskar, revealed his 15 former lives—beginning with the with the prophet Moses—to stunned devotees. He was not being inconsistent. Shorn of nature, history, and the class struggle, all that remains of the dialectic is idealism—methodologically more than  prone to arrive at religious destinations.

 

[P. 89]

 

Guilty as charged.

 

Good points all.

         

Regarding the decline of  the Roman Empire, the author notes:

 

Another indication of decline can be seen in the visual arts, especially painting. As the Emperor rises to the status of a god and then, with Constantine…perspective…a rigorous artistic tool invented by the Greeks becomes politically unacceptable…The third dimension falls into confusion. Shadows—and they appear—are cast in all directions. Physical objectivity disappears and individuality is replaced by hierarchy. The emperor, like the pharaohs, must be “magnified.” In the Byzantine period, status and the psychological approach dominates. Severe, almost cataleptic faces stare out to the viewer from icons and murals.

 

[P. 136]

 

[A short cultural note: The art of iconography is making a spectacular revival. The Orthodox Christians who revere icons describe them as “windows into heaven.” I prefer to see them   as windows into the Mind.]