Christians: a Bunch of Spaced-Out Potheads
Whoa! A certain Israeli researcher had better watch his back. Let’s just say that what Salman Rushdie is to millions of enraged Moslems, Benny Shanon is to their Christian counterparts.
Nobody likes to have the rug pulled out from under them. And for millions of gung ho Christians — especially the ones who use the Bible as an excuse for the War on Drugs — the proverbial rug has been yanked. Wheee! Going Down!
If you're a devout Christian AND you think that people who use illegal drugs should be locked up and thrown away — sit down and take a deep breath before reading any further. Would you believe …[drumroll]…Moses was high on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments. Fuckin’ Hippie!!!
Benny Shanon is a professor of cognitive psychology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He writes:
“As far 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 effect of narcotics.”
Shanon thinks Moses was also high on psychedelics when he saw the burning bush.
OUCH!
In the Amazon rainforest, people use psychedelic drugs (i.e. Ayahuasca) in their religious ceremonies; and these drugs can induce people to “see” music. Shanon says: “The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a clasic phenomenon.”
In the Middle East, acacia bark has these same psychedelic qualities. And acacia is frequently mentioned in the Bible.
Oh. My. God.
The above information is not true. It CANNOT be true. NOOO!!!!! I’m going to bury my head in the sand until it goes away.
Then I'm going to go to church and pray and pray and pray. And when I come home I'm gonna write to my congressman and tell him we need a big crackdown on DRUGS!
cross-posted at Bring It On!
Labels: acacia Bible psychedelic, ayahuasca, Benny Shanon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Moses psychedelic drugs, Salman Rushdie
posted by Tom Harper @ 11:06 AM
19 Comments:
Fascinating! This is something I had never considered. And here all along I was feeling bad that God never spoke to me directly. Apparently that is because I never took psychedelic drugs. Who knew!?
Mauigirl: I agree, that article was really fascinating. It makes sense though. From what I've read, Jesus' teachings had a lot in common with the older Eastern religions and the pagan beliefs of that era. Then around the 4th or 5th century, the Christian Powers That Be got together and deleted everything in the Bible that wasn't authoritarian or hateful enough. And the remainder is the "word of God" that we're stuck with.
Gives a whole new meaning to stoning, doesn't it?
With all the heavy sarcasm aside, it was still an interesting study and certainly could explain many biblical phenomenon. I mean, could any sober/straight person have REALLY written Revelations?
Candace: LOL. I hadn't thought of that.
Rockync: Whether this guy's theory is true or not, it's quite possible and makes sense. Psychedelic plants grow in just about every region of the world, and people have been using them for thousands of years. A burning bush -- Moses must have had some good shit :)
they are potheads ????wow....must not be very good pot....and what Maui said....I guess there is a reason that God never spoke to me....who knew it came down to a medicinal issue....
just jokin'......
okay on a more serious now. really interesting read...sorry I have not been over much.....
on another note...hmm, maybe it does explain Laura Bush.....
It's a plausible explanation.
Alot of the 'laws' also just made common sense at the time such as not eating pork because it wasn't safe to it.
However, the easiest way to get people to follow a law is to say 'Because God Said So!' then you take advantage of every thunderstorm, earthquake, plague, disease, death, etc to say it's God's Wraith for not following the rules. That way, people will shape up.
No doubt Moses was a smart guy and likely gained insights from what in effect could have been LSD trips.
Administering the drug to his followers would have also given them a feeling of powerful insight and contact with the divine thus making that much more receptive to believe.
Enigma4ever: Yup, pretty ironic. They do all this teetotaling and anti-drug paranoia in the name of God and the Bible, and it turns out their religion might have been borne out of somebody's psychedelic drug trip. As far as Laura Bush goes, I don't know what possible explanation there could be.
PoliShifter: That's true, a lot of those Biblical prohibitions were based on health conditions and social customs of that era. And then retroactively they turn into the "Word of God." Like you said, that's the easiest way to get people to do what you want -- "the Bible says..."
I agree with Rockync. I always figured that John of Patmos must have been tripping when he had his visions from which came the Book of Revelation. That stuff is just too... well... psychedelic to not be the result of the author having ingested hallucinogens.
But it never occurred to me to think that Moses might have also been using some kind of herbal/medicinal substance in order to be closer to his "god".
Drug Cults of the Ancients! I love it. Let's get some real proof in ancient writings that these people were ingesting hallucinogens. The writings are almost proof enough in themselves, eh.
Candace is right about "stoning"!
That's hilarious...Moses being stoned. If he lived in America today, he would be 1 out of the 100Americans in prison.
Jo
Snave: If Moses was stoned, that also explains why he dropped and broke that 3rd stone tablet with Commandments XI through XV written on them (a little inside joke for people who saw History of the World Part I).
Jo: No doubt, Moses and all the rest of those ragtag hippies would be locked up for the good of society.
Funny how those same simpletons who think drug users should be in jail forever have no problem forgiving right-wing public servants for lying to or ripping off We the People. The hypocrisy maddens me further every day.
Carlos: Yup, the hypocrisy is pretty F'in' maddening. If you're a CEO who steals billions from your customers and employees -- hold out your wrist, I'm gonna slap it. Smoking marijuana -- ten years, and we're confiscating your house and your life savings.
What Would Jesus Smoke?
And here I thought it was the desert heat. Silly me.
Randal: I guess that depends on where he wandered off to during that long mystery period. Maybe he went to Afghanistan and smoked some of their legendary hash. That would explain why he was missing so long.
JR: Probably a combination of the 2. Being on a psychedelic trip while it's a hundred and thirty degrees outside -- you could hallucinate some kickass gods.
From an anthropological standpoint, that actually makes a heck of a lot of sense.
I'll let my mother know so she can spread the word tomorrow at the morning devotion and prayer time at the evangelical non-profit where she works. Maybe a new and fresh topic for a devotional? ;)
KG: I agree, this theory makes a lot of sense. I guess we'll never know, but this theory is as valid as any.
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