Repost from an earlier entry on MLK day. King isn't the only prophet who safely dead and can't speak for himself.
Now
that he is safely dead
Let
us praise him.
Build
monuments to his glory
Sing
hosannas to his name
Dead
men make such safe,
Convenient
heroes:
They
cannot rise to challenge the images
We
would fashion from their lives.
And
besides,
It
is easier to build monuments
Than
to build a better world.
So,
now that he is safely dead
We,
with eased consciences
Will
teach our children
That
he was a great man…knowing
That
the cause he lived for
Is
still a cause. And that the dream
For
which he died is still a dream.
A
dead man’s dream.
Carl
Wendell Hines Jr. in Drum Major for a Dream
This
piece was written in memory of MLK Jr. However it could also describe
the fate of the teachings of a certain footsore rabbi who came a
cropper when he went against the combined power of Rome and the
Jerusalem power structure.
We
don’t know what HE taught. He didn’t write anything down. People
with their own agendas did write things down and out of those
writings at least one author has identified eight distinct
theologies. And he believed that seven of those were wrong.
Now
that He is safely out of the way we can make just about anything we
want out of the scraps that were allowed into the accepted canon and
proceed to beat each other over the head with them and build fences
with safely locked gates. Above those gates are the words Keep Out.
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