Moses was high on drugs

[Friends of Alfred]

Linky

"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.

So the Ten Commandments were a narcotics induced halluciation? Better get them out of those courthouses and schools then.

[Cyrano]

I have a much more likely explanation (if Moses ever existed):

How would Moses have looked like if he'd come down the mountain shouting: "People of Israel, I, Moses, your Leader, give you clever laws I've been thinking of recently".

Not so good, I guess.

Moses being a clever leader, he knew that his (quite clever indeed) laws would have much more "punch" - and much more chances to be followed - if he'd present them as God-given. So, he told the Hebrews a tall story about a flaming bush and a mighty voice.

No need for narcotics, really.

The whole thing reminds me of an old jewish joke:

" Aaron comes rushing to the rabbi's home:

Rabbi, Rabbi!! - he shouts - Jacob just told me that God spoke to him this morning!

The Rabbi smiles and says: Well, Aaron, as I know Jacob, I'd say he's a liar.

Then, Aaron: B...but, Rabbi - do you really think God would speak to a liar?"

[hoitoider]

One explanation I heard was after Moses murdered the Egyptian (Ex. 2:12) and fled to the desert he carried the guilt of the unpunished crime with him. The guilt grew & festered over the next 40 years until it burned inside him. Then he couldn't contain the guilt anymore and the burning sensation became external, on a bush.

[diddy]

Originally Posted by hoitoider

One explanation I heard was after Moses murdered the Egyptian (Ex. 2:12) and fled to the desert he carried the guilt of the unpunished crime with him. The guilt grew & festered over the next 40 years until it burned inside him. Then he couldn't contain the guilt anymore and the burning sensation became external, on a bush.

1) Wasn't the whole burning bush event before the exodus itself and the plagues?
2) It was God that killed the Egyptians, not Moses.
3) Guilt cannot cause fires.

In short the proposal requires God anyway.

[Cyrano]

I guess Hoitroider means when Moses killed that Egyptian who was whipping a Hebrew slave to death.

[Thera]

Originally Posted by diddy

1) Wasn't the whole burning bush event before the exodus itself and the plagues?
2) It was God that killed the Egyptians, not Moses.
3) Guilt cannot cause fires.

In short the proposal requires God anyway.

1. Yes.
2. Moses killed an Egyptian way before that.
3. It's symbolic.

I find it interesting that despite what the bible says Moses means, the names of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are all perfectly good Egyptian names already.

[diddy]

Originally Posted by Thera

1. Yes.
2. Moses killed an Egyptian way before that.
3. It's symbolic.

I find it interesting that despite what the bible says Moses means, the names of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are all perfectly good Egyptian names already.

1) Thought so
2) I honestly forgot that.
3) Even so, it only covers one part of Exodus but not the whole 10 plagues or the fact that the Bible is clear that Hebrews escaping. If your going to argue that a major part of Exodus didn't happen, we should probably just discount moses all together.

[hoitoider]

Originally Posted by Cyrano

I guess Hoitroider means when Moses killed that Egyptian who was whipping a Hebrew slave to death.

You're going by the Hollywood version.

One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

The word 'death' isn't mentioned. A slave could be beaten for punishment w/out any intent of killing him.

[Ali Infree]

Does this explain that 40 years of wandering in the desert?

No, allow me,

Ali "or how they could eat manna that long?" Infree

[Furienna]

That's true. Just beating someone up can't have been more than a minor offence. Killing someone, on the other hand, can have been bad enough to cause Moses to go into exile.

[Furienna]

And yes, I have to say two more things.

1: I don't think Moses was high on drugs. That's just stupid. Anf if he was on drugs, so was Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed and veerybody. You don't have to be high on drugs to have a religious experience.

2: Moses, Aaron and Miriam probably were Egyptian names. And it makes sense too, since they came from Egypt.

[Lady Luzhin]

Originally Posted by Furienna

You don't have to be high on drugs to have a religious experience.

Then explain the Book of Revlation to me. Clearly, St. John was tripping. Or insane. Or tipping and insane.

Thank God I'm a Buddhist.

[Floater]

Originally Posted by Lady Luzhin

Then explain the Book of Revlation to me. Clearly, St. John was tripping. Or insane. Or tipping and insane.

After all, the US way of tipping is quite insane to a lot of non Uessians.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Lady Luzhin

Then explain the Book of Revlation to me. Clearly, St. John was tripping. Or insane. Or tipping and insane.

He was on a Greek island. He was probably waiting for a ferry and bored.

[Seburiel]

Originally Posted by Lady Luzhin

Then explain the Book of Revlation to me. Clearly, St. John was tripping. Or insane. Or tipping and insane.

Thank God I'm a Buddhist.

Yeah, well, Buddha wasn't exactly the sanest guy on the block

[Ieuan ab Arthur]

Hi All:

Of course, this would explain why Moses supposes his toeses are roses.

I'll get it

Ta ra 'wan,

Ieuan "All together now" ab Arthur

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Ieuan ab Arthur

Hi All:

Of course, this would explain why Moses supposes his toeses are roses.

I'll get it

Ta ra 'wan,

Ieuan "All together now" ab Arthur

But nobody's toeses are posies of roses!

[zman977]

Originally Posted by Furienna

And yes, I have to say two more things.

1: I don't think Moses was high on drugs. That's just stupid. .

If someone came down from a mountain and said they had talked to someone though a burning bush and said the bush gave them a bunch of laws I had to follow, I'd have thought they were on drugs. That does not seem stupid to me.

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Originally Posted by zman977

If someone came down from a mountain and said they had talked to someone though a burning bush and said the bush gave them a bunch of laws I had to follow, I'd have thought they were on drugs. That does not seem stupid to me.

It seems a silly explanation to me: didn't people at the time know the effects of drugs? Instead of saying, "Lo! He hath spoken with God!" they'd say, "Oh, for goodness sake, look at him! He's been into the 'shrooms again. Come on, someone, brew up some strong tea while I try to talk him down."

To me, the "drugs" notion is too close to C.S. Lewis' false forced trichotomy in "Liar, Lunatic, or LORD!" It leaves out what I think is most likely: personal idealistic inspiration. Moses had some ideas that he believed in very strongly, and found ways to express them.

Was Joseph Smith high on drugs? Was Joan of Arc flying on acid? Did Mao Tse Tung's power come from the barrel, not of a gun, but of cheap gin?

"I have no need of that hypothesis."

Silas

[SmallTownKid]

Originally Posted by Ieuan ab Arthur

Hi All:

Of course, this would explain why Moses supposes his toeses are roses.

I'll get it

Ta ra 'wan,

Ieuan "All together now" ab Arthur

"Moses, Moses, Moses! I think your Moses should have been a fool!"

Far too many musicals reference Moses; whenever he comes up in conversation I can't resist the reference.