Makes you think!
Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher
High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week.
Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.
“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 told Israeli public radio on Tuesday.
Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the “burning bush,” suggested Shanon, who said he himself has dabbled with such substances.
“The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a clasic phenomenon,” he said citing the example of religious ceremonies in the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to “see music.”
He mentioned his own experience when he used ayahuasca, a powerful psychotropic plant, during a religious ceremony in Brazil’s Amazon forest in 1991. “I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations,” Shanon said.
He said the psychedelic effects of ayahuasca were comparable to those produced by concoctions based on bark of the acacia tree, that is frequently mentioned in the Bible.
You know, I must not have been there the day in Sunday School when they talked about this….
Hawk Sr. said,
March 5, 2008 at 7:37 am
I need some remedial training in this aspect of visioning!
feralbrown said,
March 9, 2008 at 2:56 am
Hi,
Thought you might like to see the actual work this is referring to…
I don’t know if you saw my post, but you might find some of the other info in it interesting, too…
http://shamanism.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/shanon_article_moses.pdf
adreampuppet said,
March 9, 2008 at 7:17 am
Many thanks… Shannon, is that you? I saved the pdf to disc so I can read it all the way through. I did not see your blog post — do you have a link for that, as well? I appreciate you stopping by — really, really interesting, as I’m reading through the Books of Moses right now. Sheds a whole new light, I can say that for sure…
feralbrown said,
March 11, 2008 at 1:09 am
Hi,
No, this isn’t Shannon…
http://www.feralbrown.wordpress.com
I hope you find some of the other links in the “10 Commandments” post interesting and/or illuminating.
I must admit that some of the hypotheses I’ve linked to are a bit extreme, but it’s all food for thought. No offence or deceit is intended to anybody. Feel free to drop a comment, positive or negative. I don’t believe in censorship and am open to discussions and opinions from all people of all walks of life!
much love,
Rog(FB)
feralbrown said,
March 11, 2008 at 1:10 am
PS- seems we’re very similar people!
from blog layout to content and interests!
adreampuppet said,
March 11, 2008 at 9:52 am
I’m going to add your site to my blogrool, Rog. And I appreciate you coming ’round to comment — the more the merrier!
As for censorship… I’ve had a difficult time with an abusive commenter recently, and have had to take steps to filter him out. He says that I am “censoring” him. I say that this is a personal blog and I have no obligation to let just anyone run roughshod over it — he can start his own blog, and I’m sure he’ll attract all sorts of devoted readers.
That said, I’ve never had to take such steps with anyoneone else, ever. I find that most folks are hungry for this type of dialogue and are not interested in causing problems.