‘Thou Shalt Not Bogart the Doobage’: Moses High on Drugs, Says Professor
Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, claims that Moses was high on psychedelic drugs on Mount Sinai when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments.
Let’s see… Honor your father and mother, don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t covet your neighbor’s wife, don’t commit adultery, remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (”Sabbath” refers to Sunday, and not Black Sabbath, I presume), don’t covet (including crashing in) your neighbors house, etc.
No hard drug user I’ve ever known would push principles like that. No mention of hitting God up for 20 bucks at 3 o’clock in the morning? No mention of free love? No mention of snowboarding down Mt. Sinai? No “acacia goggles” (”Hey Mary, are those space pants you’re wearing, ’cause your ass is out of this world”)?
Shanon claims the story of the creation is unbelievable, but his explanation is way more far-fetched.
By the way, this professor claims he’s done drugs before as well — so how do we know that he didn’t hallucinate this “Moses did drugs” story?
“Aloha, Mr. God!”
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March 4th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Any reasonably literate person, especially one with some psychology education would not read any indications of drugged behaviour from Moses. They might however draw a reasonable conclusion that he didn’t have a GPS with him.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
One word: Idiot.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
[...] Israeli Academic says Moses was Tripping Controversy! Could it be that one of the most definitive moments in the spiritual and religious evolution of Judeo-Christian man took place in the presence of plant psychedelics? Can one well-placed scholar claim for his own an assertion that has doubtlessly been made by millions of teenagers in the throes of altered states? In light of the news that Moses may have been intoxicated by a psychedelic acacia tree, is it impossible to avoid a Pink Floyd reference? I can only offer an answer to one of these questions: Yes. Impossible. [...]
March 6th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Doug Powers,
Your article mentioned “acacia” tree, which according to Wikipedia grows in Negev Desert. I had never heard of it and one medicinal use according to Wikipedia was to prevent premature ejaculation, hardly psychodelic.
[edit] Medicinal uses
Many Acacia species have important uses in traditional medicine. Most all of the uses have been shown to have a scientific basis, since chemical compounds found in the various species have medicinal effects. In Ayurvedic medicine, Acacia nilotica is considered a remedy that is helpful for treating premature ejaculation.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:39 am
I didn’t claim the acacia tree (the bark) was used as a psychodelic — the professor making the claim in the story I linked to did.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
5. Doug Powers.
I apologize. My intend was focused on acacia, and my failing to point that out about original article. It was quote about original article by the professor.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Just another attempt to claim that religion is some kind of madness. Ignore it unless otherwise brought up.