Sunday, July 25, 2010

"Wise" King Solomon

If someone suggested that you chop a baby in half, would you consider him wise?

6 comments:

  1. oh come on. You know that the wisdom didn't lie in the suggestion to cut the baby in half per se; it was in his knowledge of human nature. You're just being difficult. :)

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  2. What were the Israelites, anyway? Had they no morals? Here were two women who wanted to keep and raise a child, and one of them supposedly consented to have the child sliced in two? I couldn't imagine a more ridiculous and ineffective proposition.

    Perhaps Solomon really was wise, but I can't imagine this particular story being anything more than an invention.

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  3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Solomon

    I was not aware that one of the women had recently lost a child of her own. Throwing survivors guilt and postpartum depression (read 'hormone induced insanity') into the mix adds a level of believability.

    One needs not have the wisdom of Solomon to discern when a woman is acting irrationally...

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  4. Uh huh... "survivors guilt" caused the woman to agree to infanticide.

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  5. I agree with the first comment - his wisdom was in his understanding of human nature that lead to a quick and easy discovery of who the true mother was. A true mother would do anything for her child - even giving it up to save his/her life. One that was not the mother and wanted the baby out of pure selfishness would rather have no one have it than loose it for herself. Look at the examples in society today - where women murder expecting mothers in order to take the child from the womb and claim it for their own. (http://www.lifenews.com/state3396.html, for example)
    I do not think for even a moment that Solomon would ever have carried out the act - he knew the true mother would be presented instantly at the suggestion.

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  6. Of course he wouldn't have cut the baby in half.

    Maybe you are right - Solomon perceived that one woman was stark, raving mad and decided to try an experiment to verify it.

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