Moses Was High on Drugs, Israeli Researcher Says
Psychedelic Cocktail May Explain Vision of the Burning Bush, Professor Says
By SIMON MCGREGOR-WOOD
JERUSALEM, March 5, 2008 —
Moses and the Israelites were on drugs, says Benny Shanon, an Israeli professor of cognitive philosophy.
Writing in the British Journal Time and Mind, he claims Moses was probably on psychedelic drugs when he received the Ten Commandments from God.
The assertions give a whole new meaning to Moses being "high" on Mount Sinai.
According to Shanon, a professor at Hebrew University, two naturally existing plants in the Sinai Peninsula have the same psychoactive components as ones found in the Amazon jungle and are well-known for their mind-altering capabilities. The drugs are usually combined in a drink called ayahuasca.
"As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effects of narcotics," he told Israel Radio in an interview Tuesday.
The description in The Book of Exodus of thunder, lightening and a blaring trumpet, according to Shanon, are the classic imaginings of people under the influence of drugs.
As for the vision of the burning bush, well obviously that too was a drug-fueled hallucination, according to Shanon.
"In advanced forms of ayahuasca inebriation," he wrote, "the seeing of light is accompanied by profound religious and spiritual feelings."
Shanon admits he took some of these drugs while in the Amazon in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," he said.
The initial reaction to this controversial theory from Israel's religiously orthodox community and the powerful rabbis who lead it was less than enthusiastic.
Orthodox rabbi Yuval Sherlow, quoted by Reuters speaking on Israel radio, said: "The Bible is trying to convey a very profound event. We have to fear not for the fate of the biblical Moses, but for the fate of science."
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Psychedelic Cocktail May Explain Vision of the Burning Bush, Professor Says
By SIMON MCGREGOR-WOOD
JERUSALEM, March 5, 2008 —
Moses and the Israelites were on drugs, says Benny Shanon, an Israeli professor of cognitive philosophy.
Writing in the British Journal Time and Mind, he claims Moses was probably on psychedelic drugs when he received the Ten Commandments from God.
The assertions give a whole new meaning to Moses being "high" on Mount Sinai.
According to Shanon, a professor at Hebrew University, two naturally existing plants in the Sinai Peninsula have the same psychoactive components as ones found in the Amazon jungle and are well-known for their mind-altering capabilities. The drugs are usually combined in a drink called ayahuasca.
"As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effects of narcotics," he told Israel Radio in an interview Tuesday.
The description in The Book of Exodus of thunder, lightening and a blaring trumpet, according to Shanon, are the classic imaginings of people under the influence of drugs.
As for the vision of the burning bush, well obviously that too was a drug-fueled hallucination, according to Shanon.
"In advanced forms of ayahuasca inebriation," he wrote, "the seeing of light is accompanied by profound religious and spiritual feelings."
Shanon admits he took some of these drugs while in the Amazon in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," he said.
The initial reaction to this controversial theory from Israel's religiously orthodox community and the powerful rabbis who lead it was less than enthusiastic.
Orthodox rabbi Yuval Sherlow, quoted by Reuters speaking on Israel radio, said: "The Bible is trying to convey a very profound event. We have to fear not for the fate of the biblical Moses, but for the fate of science."
Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures
Didn't watch it, but of course know it almost by heart on accounta my parents were devoted to watching it every year during my childhood
SheBar and I shared a meditation session early this morning reviewing Jewish and Christian components of Passover and Easter
Ruefully concurred yet again that the whole "Exodus" saga is one of the more outrageous representations of God going.
1) Do what I tell you or I will murder every first born child in non-Jewish households
2) Oh, I'm supposedly omnipotent, but my agent - The Angel of Death - needs your help in properly identifying which houses to stop into during his bloody mission. So put the proper sigil over your doorway so he doesn't eff up and murder your good Jewish baby too.
---
Thankfully, Christ - among many other Master Teachers before and since - helped deliver the message that God is not a Killer God and that redemption is assured for all mankind. The life force is eternal and no one ever need fear being cut off from God because you didn't have the proper decorations around your (self) or your doorways.
SheBar and I shared a meditation session early this morning reviewing Jewish and Christian components of Passover and Easter
Ruefully concurred yet again that the whole "Exodus" saga is one of the more outrageous representations of God going.
1) Do what I tell you or I will murder every first born child in non-Jewish households
2) Oh, I'm supposedly omnipotent, but my agent - The Angel of Death - needs your help in properly identifying which houses to stop into during his bloody mission. So put the proper sigil over your doorway so he doesn't eff up and murder your good Jewish baby too.
---
Thankfully, Christ - among many other Master Teachers before and since - helped deliver the message that God is not a Killer God and that redemption is assured for all mankind. The life force is eternal and no one ever need fear being cut off from God because you didn't have the proper decorations around your (self) or your doorways.
You know there were originally 15 commandments
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