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Moses...High on God, or Just Plain High?

WEDNESDAY MARCH 5 2008 6:30 PM

Submitted by thefreak. Edited By Fatality.

TAGS: Moses, religion, drugs, odd news

When the man played famously by Charlton Heston witnessed the Plagues, parted the Red Sea, and fought all those damn dirty apes, they may not have been acts of the Lord, but Moses simply tripping balls.

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.

The marriage of drugs and religion is nothing new. In 2003, the BBC reported that Jesus and the Apostles used cannabis to heal the crippled. Many Hindus use pot in worship of Shiva, who is said to have sought shade under a marijuana plant and then gave the plant to mankind as thanks.

"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.

Shanon noted Moses being stoned on a Biblical scale is plausible, given the goods available as well as the professor's own personal experiences.

...two naturally existing plants in the Sinai Peninsula have the same psychoactive components as ones found in the Amazon jungle and are well-known for their mind-altering capabilities. The drugs are usually combined in a drink called ayahuasca.

...

The description in The Book of Exodus of thunder, lightening [sic] and a blaring trumpet, according to Shanon, are the classic imaginings of people under the influence of drugs.

...

Shanon admits he took some of these drugs while in the Amazon in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," he said.

Of course, the narcs of the Orthodox Jewish community were not amused by this claim.

Orthodox rabbi Yuval Sherlow, quoted by Reuters speaking on Israel radio, said: "The Bible is trying to convey a very profound event. We have to fear not for the fate of the biblical Moses, but for the fate of science."

All in all, it gives new credence to the little known 11th Commandment:

"Thou shalt not get high on thy own supply."

The closest thefreak ever got to seeing God while high was watching Tron.

35 Comments

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Fatality

SUICIDEGIRL

Connecticut, USA

MAR 06, 2008 06:18 AM

I'm sure people think that all the time...I mean it's not that odd of a hypothesis at all. I think it's just worth noting because of the source.

erleichda

Germany

May 2003

MAR 06, 2008 06:24 AM

I thought the eleventh commandment was "Don't get caught!"

sitar

Philadelphia, PA

June 2004

MAR 06, 2008 06:41 AM

the manna from the book of exodus were mushrooms.
the entire tribe ate psychedelic mushrooms for 40 days.

MisterLinguist

Birmingham, AL

October 2005

MAR 06, 2008 07:00 AM

Moses was a shamanic guy. Of course he got high. However, getting high does not negate being able to communicate with the divine. It actually helps you comprehend its message(s).