46
16. "Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen
traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one
but the Jews only." Acts 11:19. "The original apostles... at first... were of no mind
even to consort with the Gentiles." Roland H. Bainton, Christianity, p.50.
17. According to The Acts of the Apostles, shortly after Jesus' death, his disciple
Peter made a stirring speech. In it, the apostle spoke of the Lord's promise to
"make Your enemies Your footstool" and declared that "the promise is to you [the
house of Israel and to your children...." (Acts 2:34-39.)
18. Here's how the Acts of the Apostles put it: "the Jews...opposed the things
spoken by Paul. Then Paul... grew bold and said, 'It was necessary that the word
of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves
unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.'" (Acts 13:45-46.)
19. Sources for the story of Paul: Acts of the Apostles 8-13; Joseph Klausner, From
Jesus To Paul, trans. W.F. Stinespring, Macmillan, New York, 1943; A. Powell
Davies, The First Christian, Mentor Books, New York, 1959; Roland H. Bainton,
Christianity, pp. 48-54; H. G. Wells, The Outline of History, p. 332. For a map of
St. Paul's extensive travels in search of converts, see Robert Jewett, "Saint Paul,"
Academic American Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, p. 117.
20. Alexander the Great also deserves a certain amount of credit for freeing memes
from genes. Though Alexander did not force Greek gods down the throats of all
who fell under his power, in the fourth century B.C. he carried Hellenic ideas to the
old empires of Persia, Egypt and India, hopscotching over genetic boundaries as he
went. A few hundred years later, the Romans would do the same with their
concepts. And in the east, K'ung-Fu-tsu--Confucius--fashioned a gene-free
philosophy as early as 500 B.C.
21. Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken and Stanley Schachter, When Prophecy
Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the
Destruction of the World, Harper Torchbooks, New York, 1966. See also the
summaries and descriptions of the background behind Festinger, Riecken and
Schachter's study in: Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D., Influence, pp. 121-127; and Bertram
H. Raven and Jeffrey Z. Rubin, Social Psychology, pp. 6-12.
22. There is considerable disagreement among historians about the dates Miller
predicted for the world's demise. I've used those given in the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1986 edition, Volume 8, p. 136. My remaining sources for the story of
<< < GO > >>