The oath Israeli soldiers take, "Masada shall not fall again," [ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/masada.html ] is based on a mass suicide-assisted suicide incident involving 960 men, women and children in 74 ce, when Roman troops were completing the capture of the fortress.
http://atheism.about.com/od/bibleplacescities/p/Masada.htm
Similarly, Rev. Jim Jones assisted in the suicide of all his followers when the walls began closing in on the Jonestown settlement.
The striking contrast between Israeli veneration for Masada and the shudder most modern people experience concerning Jonestown suggests something is fundamentally different about the two self-slaughterings.
This might involve a 'free pass' being given because Masada involved Biblical zealots, whereas Jones arrived too late to qualify.
Or maybe, some zealots who kill their kids are okay, and others just aren't.
Are some zealots more equal than others?
2007-07-29
17:31:39
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5 answers
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asked by
Jack P
7
in
Religion & Spirituality