Caught between the two extremes...

The trend over the last several weeks seems to have been of bouncing between subjects either sacred or profane. There’s no discernible cause for this that I am aware of other than the fact we are all more than we appear to be (or what others would believe us to be).

In any event, I was doing some exploration in conjunction with trying to find out the name of the program on the history of Judaism which I had seen on PBS and I came across some other information which I found fascinating and thought I would pass along...

Samaritanism is a religion related to Judaism in that it accepts the Torah as its holy book, though there are differences in the version accepted. Samaritanists consider Jewish thinkers after the Torah as having been led astray while they themselves stayed to the true religion. Their temple was at Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem. Very few followers remain today: about 500 living near Mt. Gerizim.

further...

Like the Jews, the Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group. Ethnically, they are descended from the inhabitants of Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian era. Religiously, they are the adherents of Samaritanism which resembles Temple or pre-rabbinical Judaism.

Which ties into this...

This parable is one of the most famous in the Bible and its influence is such that to be called a Samaritan in Western culture today is to be described as a generous person who is ready to provide aid to people in distress without hesitation. In many English-speaking countries, a Good Samaritan law exists to protect from liability those who choose to aid people who are seriously ill or injured.

It is important to note that Samaritans were despised as apostates by the story’s target audience. Thus the parable, as told originally, had a significant theme of non-discrimination and interracial harmony. But as the Samaritan population dwindled to near-extinction, this aspect of the parable became less and less discernible: fewer and fewer people ever met or interacted with Samaritans, or even heard of them in any context other than this one.