Well, I did a search on the U. email system, and that's where I came up with my guess. Google might be worth a shot.

Edit: Nah, that didn't work. His name is too generic. It's like I'm not sure if the Jack I know is John Smith or Jackson Jones, but I know it's something along those lines! Hmph. Have sent out email queries.

So, I just got fired. I knew it was coming, but it still sucked. (Unsurprisingly)

I think JZ and I go out to dinner tonight.

Would a just God put Abraham through the process of deciding to kill his son and making all of the preparations?

Possibly, if the culture (and thus Abraham) were so steeped in the notion of human sacrifice that the lesson that 'this one's different' needed to be presented that forcefully.

Though I'd imagine Isaac would be in therapy forever. And when I read 'allthe preparations', I hear "with all the trimmings!" Mmm, dat's good Isaac.

Sorry, David. Even expected, it still sucks. Go out to dinner and have several cocktails.

Ah, damn, Hec.

I think there should be martinis at dinner.

What Jesse said. That sucks!

I look forward to the day in Natter 56 when the topic of discussion is "Remember the night that Hec became a full-time writer? Look how great that turned out." Then someone will go and Nilly post 7429 of Natter 43. That will be cool.

My take on the God and Abraham and Isaac misery is less practical joke, more... err, I'm not even quite sure exactly how to put it. Closer to the whole thing between V and Evey in V for Vendetta, only less fucked up. God knew that Abraham was loyal enough to God and trusting enough of God's goodness to be able to follow this awful command and trust that somehow it would turn out all right, but Abraham didn't know it, until that challenge was given. Which was a horrid challenge, but, as Cindy says, not totally inconceivable in the context of his own time and culture. And what ultimately happened was that the horrid challenge was nullified -- when he showed himself willing to lose all he had and jump into that abyss, God declared that now and forever, that abyss no longer existed. No more human sacrifice, no more sacrifice of one's beloveds, never again (except, much later, for God's own child, by his own choice, but that's not part of this story).

Not that any of that is intended to convince anyone else on the planet. It's what works for me, but I'm weird and twisty.

Though I think I'm now slightly in love with the notion of God as V.

That sucks, Hec. They way the lying bastards handled it is beyond the pall. Go get drunk.

So, come to find out, the guy does NOT have a Smith-or-Jones type name after all! Good thing I asked.