[ExI] the anti-Jews

[MB]

>
>> The old women in black were a bit discouraging though, all huddled up.
>
> They creeped me out (especially when then knelt down and continually bonged
> their heads on the floor after crossing themselves, over and over again).

Ah yes, you were in "the mother church" - not the American copy. There were pews in
the church I attended, and those old women huddled in them all bowed up. They didn't
bong their heads on anything that I saw, but they darn near prostrated themselves to
the priest.  He did look impressive in his golden robes and all, but I was never
tempted to fall down before him! ;) To me it was costume.

>
>> I didn't realize the Orthodox church supported the Nazis too. :(
>
> It's difficult to separate the church from the culture (and during the
> Bolshevik years, it was just as difficult to separate the Communist regime
> from the culture). I only recently started delving into this:
>
> http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521845122

Oooh. :(  That will be depressing reading I think.

I think our original emails in this thread were confusing culture with religion.  As
you say, it's often hard to separate them.  Asimov was culturally a Jew and he said
as much in the joke book spike and I referenced.

Regards,
MB