High on Mount Sinai
Derek Beres
While the academic sometimes goes to great extremes to “prove” the obvious, there is something endearing about professors bucking trends and putting forth new ideas — even if many of us knew the reality of the situation. Such is the case of Hebrew University professor Benny Shanon, when he put forth the idea that Moses was tripping on some serious drink when he declared the Torah while standing high on Mount Sinai. All we can ask academia is: What took you so long to realize that?
While journalists label the theory “provocative” after its publication surfaced in the philosophy journal Time and Mind, the realization that the father of three major world religious traditions was under the influence while reciting what would become the most quoted passages in history is not groundbreaking to those of us who’ve tasted similar fruit. In fact, it was Shanon’s own experiences with ayahuasca and a drink made from the bark of the acacia tree -- a hallucinogenic mixture based on a tree often mentioned in the Bible -- that led him to his conclusions.
It remains to be seen how Shanon’s theories will be greeted. He is honest in saying that there is no direct proof of his interpretation, but given the evidence, is it that far a stretch? The reality is that no one has direct proof that Moses even existed, much less that he was completely sober or “God inspired” off plant mixtures during his thundering evenings.
Peering back into the religious texts, there are generally two major characteristics that define our prophets: those serene and poised in meditation, and wild, raving lunatics. The West has been consistent in providing the latter. One contemplates the world, the other transforms it; one dreams existence into being, the other recreates through an unwillingness to conform. Both are deservedly heralded, but we have to recognize the root of their discontent. In fact, we need look no further than our own planet, at this moment, to get into the minds and hearts of our prophets. We are them deconstructing and rebuilding anew.
The dead are easy to misconstrue, for they no longer fend for themselves. What is alive on our planet now is entwined with the same consciousness as three thousand or so years past, which from an evolutionary standpoint is just the blink of an eye. If we access new and bold realities through plant and drink today, then it is of no shock that the man behind the Western religious soul might have dabbled freely. Remember, Moses was a pagan nomad, and such men see much on their journeys. Perhaps we just need more men willing to walk that path today, and not need the safety of history to realize their visions.
Creative Commons Image: "Moses" by Mickelodeon on Flickr.
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Religions of Fear
there is something endearing about professors bucking trends and putting forth new ideas — even if many of us knew the reality of the situation.
what "reality" is that? " The reality is that no one has direct proof that Moses even existed" ?
He is honest in saying that there is no direct proof of his interpretation,
There is no direct proof, therefore this isn't academic, it is faith for popular consumption. Similar theories have been proposed about Christianity's origins in the past.
I find this speculation utterly execrable, both on its own and as an attempt to validate the patriarchic Religions of Fear.
Yes, there are SO many reports of people drinking ayahuasca analogues and encountering angry old yahveh giving orders and delivering rewards and punishments, Moses MUST have been on the jungle juice. . . After all, Judaism and the amazonian ayahuasca traditions are SO similar, they MUST have come from the same source!
There are hundreds of Acacia species, and only maybe 3-4 of them are known to be effective and safe to consume. None of these has been documented to occur in the middle east.
Derek Beres writes " The reality is that no one has direct proof that Moses even existed"
And shortly after : "Remember, Moses was a pagan nomad"
Remember what?
Judaism and Christianity came from ayahuasca? Excuse me while I retch, this cup is especially nauseating.
I suppose ol'Moses could have had a pre-existing pathological condition that just became acute when he had his cup of tea and he got a rather sever case of mania?
Nah, wrong. Wrongest thing i've seen since last week's latest massacre (one in a long and continuing series) of palestinian women and children in Gaza by people who are supposed to be following their God's Law. (maybe they are?)
Thanks yahveh, remind us that might is right, and that you rule, we need it.
well Moses
documentation
an altered state of consciousness
I think this is a fascinating article. Whether its true or not that Moses chowed something, I think it's safe to say that the prophetic traditions of the Hebrews, Israelites, on and on up to Christ were filled with visionaries. Perhaps dmt was excreted in their brains naturally during their fasting and wandering in the deserts and on the mountains? Perhaps not. I'm tired of people who lump all of the Old Testament traditions and texts together and then blast them saying they are ALL patriarchal and fear based. The truth is that the spiritual traditions were evolving from Eden to Abraham to Moses to David, on and on. To label the history of Judaism as simply "dark," to me, is to read the Bible and history just as idylically as fundamentalist Christians who take it to all be the literal truth of God. Sheesh---there are tons of amazing bits of evolution in Judaism from start to Christ. No need to hate! Eco--is it possible to say all that you feel without sounding so angry and mean? I don't want to censor what you write or think that anyone shouldn't have a voice, but it's like....comon man. We need to love while we have these talks, right?
Adam Elenbaas
let me see
there was the Song of Songs, but yeah a lot of the names in the old Testament are messed up, switched around, not to mention that they spoke Aramaic in those days and that language gives a different perspective on the stories, like the garden of eden, ect.
oh, and the whole Moses story, is another very doctored version of real events, that reflect like the whole story of Isis and Osiris.
-
The mystical path...
I once heard a "guru" say to me that one should follow the mystical part of any religion: Kabbalah vs Judaism, Sufi vs Muslim, Gnostic vs Christianity, etc. Some of the wisest words I ever heard.
Kabbalah with it's divine union of the dark and the light, feminine and masculine is a far cry from Yaweh's vengeances.... Perhaps he is wrathful because he is missing his consort? But that is another post....
Puzzle pieces
Actually...
maybe what could be done
Okay, but to what end.
Darwin, you bring up Darwin
You got that right.
As I understand it, survival of the fittest is just one piece of the pie. This, along with random mutations, the theory of dissipative structures, autopoiesis, as well as morphic resonance are all contributing factors. Rent anything good?
rented not
actually, i went into this small store, to find about a book written by Eric Burdon, because i was told that the store owner had some copies as Eric lives in the area.I ended up talking to the store owner for almost three hours on his time because i went in just about the time he would have closed.It turned out he went to the same high school i went to and he was two years younger then me, but we knew some of the same people , and we both saw some of the same late 60's bands.It was by some fluke that the topic of evolution came up, i told him i talk to people on the internet about all these kind of subjects.But for almost three hours we reminisced about the music and the energy that came out of the late 60's, also i told him i wrote a book about my experiences in those wild freaky late 60's, and i recalled to him that Eric had been friends with Jimi Hendrix, as he well knew because he talks to Eric and it seems he also read the book.And we were wondering about the messages of the music and where it has come and gone.We both agreed that revolution was part of the topic, and then evolution.But it was a little spacy as we relived those times for what seemed like a time warp, and looking around at all the old and new movies on the shelves.So if Eric brings a copy of his book to the store i'm in luck.
Hendrix fan, are you?
Me too. I started playing guitar at age 13. He was a huge influence, and not just musically. To this day, I still find myself playing Hendrixian licks, almost unconsciously. He leeked into my psyche, or something. I guess it makes sense that Jimi was friends with Eric Burdon. They probably met through Chas Chandler, no?
As an aside, my wife and I were watching this show a few months back - some cable channel on a Sunday afternoon or something - it was called 'Pop Music', or some such nonsense. It was from 1966 and it was basically like a 'Top of the Pops' kinda show. In any event, there were a bunch of one hit wonders, and The Animals. To say that The Animals were far and away the best band is a supreme understatement. They lip-synched to House of the Rising Sun and We Gotta Get Out of This Place (if I remember correctly). Obviously, this is seen through the lens of the last 40 some-odd years, where we know that The Animals were a hugely influencial band, but still. It must have been obvious to someone watching back then, as well.
Hendrix in the House
I think the house of the rising sun, was the song in my memory that was the hub from were all the rest of the music spun off from, it's like i see that song, and then i see Dylan, Donovan, Stones, Beatles, Byrds, and Yardbirds, then everything just built, until the Doors, Cream, and Hendrix.ect.
but Jimi was on another level altogether, with the guitar magic, and his vision.Jim Morrison kind of mirrored that with his vision.
a kind of psychedelic Moses, with lyrics chiseled in stony.
well not really.Just sonic discovery with language that puts the writing on the wall.
oops i spelt survival
hey CJ
Cj---you should check out Douglas Rushkoff's "Testament" graphic novel/comic book series. I did an interview with him a while back. They are super cool reimaginings of biblical myths with other religious deities, etc.
You might dig it?!
Adam Elenbaas
yeah
i like Rushkoff, i have read a lot of his articles, cool
i dig!
Man or Myth??
or
Moses and the Mountain
we always hear about the mountain
Isn't that a song
i'm not sure surrealist
i suppose i became a surrealist by default, i was reading some poetry, i was a young hippie cat, but you know i wanted to change the world.I ran into a crazy surfer dood that was a writer from L.A. he had a lot of books of famous poets, i was hooked over night.About that time i met this crazy lady wino and we had a fling she was a bit older then me, she happened to have a copy of the San Francisco surrealist poet published by City Lights books, his name was Philip Lamantia, i was drinking some cheap vino at her pad one night, and i found a copy of Philip's 'Touch of the Marvelous', the first poem blew me away, the first line was " The mermaids are coming to the desert" so i called Philip on the phone one night and he blew what was left of me away.So i began the journey to "do the impossible" as Philip said and i began reading all of the surrealists, and my surfer poet buddy had language skills in spanish and french and he translated what we could not find in english.
WE ran into Jack Hirschman a Frisco poet that had been a professor one day in front of City Lights and he smiled and said to us " are you guys some kind of psychedelic surrealists'?" and he mocked us a tad like poets will do, and my surfer poet pal and i looked back at him, and then we looked at each other, and shook our heads.
signed....plum out of bliss balls
Hippie Cat
40 day and nites
The Circle of Life Squared
40...I am born, I pass from the universal to the earth. with my first breath and cry I square the circle. The Circle has 36 decans, I am the missing 4 decans, the self is the 13th decan...to find the self, to know the self is to reunite the earth back to the universal. Every life born, holds this mystery.
it doesnt matter
Download the Complete Paper
You can get a PDF of Benny Shannon's paper, "Biblical Entheogens: a Speculative Hypothesis," here: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/berg/tmdj/2008/00000001/00000001/a...