The Culture of Make Believe

The way the ink settles on the fibers of each page in Jensen’s book irk me because his words mislead us. They rattle my insides. Nowhere more obviously does this come to light than in his interpretation of the altercation between Noah and Ham. Jensen wants to coddle Ham, understand him, and see his perspective, while painting Noah as a power hungry hegemonist. If Jensen knew the truth, he wouldn’t be so quick to root for Ham. I’ll explain, but let’s go over the easy part first. Nowhere in the book of Genesis—or any other book of Hebrew scripture—does Noah curse Ham. I wouldn’t blame childhood-Jensen for this common mistake. I’ve heard preachers on the pulpit commit the same error. Adult-Jensen, on the other hand, should not be so quick to accept the fallacy of “Ham getting cursed by Noah” (Jensen, p. 57). While perhaps a technicality, the actual narrative found in Genesis 9:20-27 places Canaan—Ham’s fourth son—on the receiving end of the curse—not Ham: “24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”While some may find this irrelevant, granting that Noah’s curse on Ham’s lineage may count as a curse on Ham, the actual person Noah curses matters in this case because it implies something more sinister about Ham’s actions. You don’t need a degree in religious studies—though I happen to have one—to understand that reading thousands-year-old text based on even older oral tradition requires disconnecting from our modernized Western culture and an attempt at understanding the historical and social context in which the author writes. Because of how far removed we are from that time period, it might actually help to get the opinion of commentators living closer to when and where the text was written. Fortunately, a ton of these exist! What we learn is that Rabbi’s living millennia ago ran into the same problem some of us do when reading this passage of scripture. Jensen words the dilemma this way: “I always wondered what was so wrong with what Ham did. What was he supposed to not look at, and why was he supposed to not talk?” (p. 58). For centuries, biblical scholars have suggested that Ham seeing the “nakedness” of his father is actually a euphemism for something much more disturbing. The Talmud—an ancient collection of Jewish commentaries on scripture originally passed down through oral tradition—gives only two likely scenarios for Noah’s drastic actions: 1) Ham either castrated Noah (the more likely scenario) or 2) Ham sodomized (i.e., raped) Noah. In support of the castration theory is the fact that Noah curses Canaan. You see, Ham was Noah’s third son. By castrating him, Noah can no longer have a fourth son. In response, Noah symbolically curses Ham’s fourth son, Canaan, which supports the castration theory. Still, regardless of which of these generally agreed upon possibilities we accept (i.e., castration or sodomy), they paint a different picture of what actually happened. The implication of both is the same: Ham wants to exert dominance over his father and his father’s lineage. These acts would have rendered Noah “unfit” to carry out the priestly and biological responsibilities to grow the family tribe. Not being the eldest son, Ham would reasonably expect less of an inheritance than the oldest brother. By showing power over his father during a religious festival Ham sends a clear message: He will violently oppress people into submission for his name’s sake. This brings us back to Jensen who aims to provoke us against the oppressors of the world. What does he do at the very end of a 605-page ramble? He tells us it’s okay for Ham, the oppressor, to do what he did. To leave a people whom he destroyed spiritually, physically, and morally, to “never return” (p. 605), and “walk easier” (p. 604), avoiding accountability—not even by his own conscience—for his heinous actions. I can’t help but take offense at Jensen for doing such shoddy research, basing his arguments on misleading ideas. For doing so, Jensen becomes at best an incompetent preacher and at worst a misleading manipulator. Even if all he did was do a quick Internet search on the story of Noah and Ham, he would have found enough information on the first page to reconsider his approach. For being an author who wants me to see the truth about the world around us, he does a very poor job honoring truth. How does he expect us to know which of his arguments are real and which are make believe?

I'm about halfway through this book, and I just can't put it down. It's very compelling stuff, and in fact, if you do read it carefully and allow for a very loose style of "story building", you'll see that Jensen is doing just that - building his story, his case, and tightening it up chapter by chapter. It's best not to skip over anything, you can miss important pieces of the fabric that he weaves.I read "A Language Older Than Words" a couple years ago, with similar anticipation toward a complex unity of purpose in Jensen's reasoning, and I took my time slowly digesting its richness. I'm trying to do the same with this book. I am once again enthralled, but I also see major flaws in Jensen's proposition.He provides a multitude of (verifiable) anecdotal/historical evidence of how Western civilization has grown even more destructive and inhumane over the course of its history. In Derrick Jensen's view, nothing of moral or eco-value has come from Western civilization. In strong contrast, he posits that all indigenous cultures have been/are morally superior, as demonstrated by their lack of social/political/narcissistic/eco crimes, corruption and terror.Since Western civilization=bad and indigenous cultures=good, I'd like to know how Jensen would explain:1) how/why the Native American Pawnee (Plains tribe), prior to Western contact, developed the ritual of kidnapping young girls from other tribes to use as human sacrifices for ensuring the robustness of their agricultural crops?2) how/why the Japanese culture (non-western), independently developed into a "medieval" civilization from their own indigenous populations, becoming no less conquest-hungry or aggression-based than the West(and other Asian dynasties, as well);3)How even some of our closest primate relatives, e.g., chimpanzees, have been observed joining together in gangs to commit the premeditated ambush and murder of a single victim, for no apparent reason (threat to resources, dominance challenge, etc)?I think that the author's scope of thinking is too limited, and in fact, the source of the problem lies with basic human nature (i.e., biology). Our species is flawed, and western culture has been and is far worse than others, but that's not the ultimate problem. Our culture is a by-product of our biology and environment, so given enough time and change, humanity will still have the proclivity to burn down its' own house.

I have purchased this book twice to give away as presents to people whom I believed would benefit from reading it. I plan to purchase a third copy just to have but I think everyone needs to read this book. This book changed my whole outlook on life but the information, truth and knowledge therein is emotionally hard to swallow. I mean to say that it's "deep" is the understatement of the year. Being in the military, I am doing my little part to keep this mad spectacle of civilization going. Jensen points out that it's kinda hopeless to change the world at this point. And I've tried my best even though I am cynical, to believe that we can still turn things around and save ourselves but it's pretty hopeless.I would rate this book as being more important than the Bible. I say this not to be sacreligious or crass, but as an honest heartfelt statement. Jenson attempted to discover the origin of hate, to analyze the condition of hatred as manisfested throughout American History. I really can't describe the impact of this book. It's highly recommended.

I've only read two of Derrick Jensen's books, but after reading A Language Older Than Words I was a big enough fan to go on to this one. I am a truth seeker and found more than I bargained for when delving into the thoughts and facts that Derrick Jensen has written. Weeks after finishing the second book, and months after finishing the first, I am still talking about things he said. I can't help but wonder, if everyone read this book with an open mind, and courageously faced the way we allow/support production to come before people (say nothing of the natural world), if maybe just maybe, we might be able to start turning things around on this planet.

This was a great product. I really liked it a lot. It arrived as advertised. It came very quickly. I would buy from this seller again. I recommend it to anyone.

Shocking, distressing, detailed account of inhumanity and cruelty against the despised "Other" which lies at the heart of the foundation of Western "civilisation". This knowledge is sobering and eye-opening. Once you have read this book, old doctrines start to shift in your head and you may find that you are changing towards the suffering of all of your fellow human beings.

Worth for Money

If you have to read one book in your lifetime,this is it.A must read and weep with anger afterwards.Buy It!