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The Whale

Registered: 11/01/10
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The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease)
#14125659 - 03/15/11 04:00 PM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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In case some of you haven't heard of this, it's an interesting take.
Biblical Entheogens: a Speculative Hypothesis
A speculative hypothesis is presented according to which the ancient Israelite religion was associated with the use of entheogens (mind-altering plants used in sacramental contexts). The hypothesis is based on a new look at texts of the Old Testament pertaining to the life of Moses. The ideas entertained here were primarily based on the fact that in the arid areas of the Sinai peninsula and Southern Israel there grow two plants containing the same psychoactive molecules found in the plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew Ayahuasca is prepared. The two plants are species of Acacia tree and the bush Peganum harmala. The hypothesis is corroborated by comparative experiential-phenomenological observations, linguistic considerations, exegesis of old Jewish texts and other ancient Mideastern traditions, anthropological lore, and ethnobotanical data.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/berg/tmdj/2008/00000001/00000001/art00004
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MarkostheGnostic
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Re: The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease) [Re: The Whale]
#14129785 - 03/16/11 09:46 AM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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The problem with Entheogenic Enthusiasts, particularly those with a howsoever subtle, but nevertheless materialistic mind-set, is that they cannot imagine people having visionary experiences without the use of Entheogens. I am not defending the historicity of 1) Moses, 2) the historicity of Moses on Mt. Sinai, 3) the Kabbalistic interpretation of the burning bush as the manifestation of an angelic being - Seraphim, for example, are ostensibly beings of holy fire which dwell in closest 'proximity' to God.
The theophanies of the Tenach (OT for non-Jews), should probably be thought of as midrash, and not taken as historical events. To take them historically, and arrive at an Entheogenic theory is to miss the mark entirely. It is taking Moses as a historical figure, which is a materialistic literalism no different than the fundamentalist notion of Resurrection as a semi-physical resusitation of a dead man. Then, with an already false premise of a historical Moses, one attempts to demythologize the supernatural event, and replace it with what Ken Wilber would say is an Upper Right Quadrant explanation - chemicals and neurophysiology. This kind of thinking is reminiscent of The Chariot of the Gods idea - attributing visionary experiences, or midrashic writings to physical, mechanical phenomena from 'another world' - but a physical world.
Midrash can relate very important insights (like God is pure Identity, pure Consciousness, "I AM," or more precisely, "I Will Be What I Will Be"), without there being any historical basis for such writings, but this is another discussion.
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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Lion
Decadent Flower Magnate


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Re: The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease) [Re: MarkostheGnostic]
#14131213 - 03/16/11 01:59 PM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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I Will Be What I Will Be?
I've never heard this. Could you elaborate further on the distinction between this and "I Am That I Am"?
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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The Whale

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Re: The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease) [Re: Lion]
#14131280 - 03/16/11 02:12 PM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Then, with an already false premise of a historical Moses, one attempts to demythologize the supernatural event, and replace it with what Ken Wilber would say is an Upper Right Quadrant explanation - chemicals and neurophysiology.
Neurotheology or neo-shamanism attempts to reduce esoteric insights and experiences to origins of material phenomena. But does Ken Wilber debate the centrality of "entheogens?"
http://jhp.sagepub.com/content/42/1/71.short
Abstract:
"The word entheogen was coined to denote psychedelic chemicals and botanicals that engender the experience of god within. Drawing on William James, Charles Tart, and Ken Wilber, the authors claim that a complete study of religion must include entheogens, and they propose topics leading toward an entheogen research agenda:(a) the spiritual nature of the human mind, (b) the dispute over the authenticity of entheogen-assisted religious experiences, (c) pastoral counseling, (d) experimental mysticism, (e) entheogenic origins of religion, and (f) policy issues in freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. The authors conclude with seven recommendations to churches, religious orders, seminaries, and scholarly and scientific professional groups for actions they can take to promote entheogenic research."
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deCypher



Registered: 02/10/08
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Re: The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease) [Re: Lion]
#14131671 - 03/16/11 03:15 PM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Lion said: I Will Be What I Will Be?
I've never heard this. Could you elaborate further on the distinction between this and "I Am That I Am"?
I just read this actually in another book: that "I Will Be What I Will Be" is what God actually called Himself rather than the present tense form of the statement. You could interpret it in that God in His immanent form is in the process of becoming (He literally is the process of Being/Becoming), and the end result of this process (after an infinite amount of time) will be God in His transcendent form a la Teilhard de Chardin's Omega Point.
-------------------- We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
 
Edited by deCypher (03/16/11 03:20 PM)
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Lion
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Re: The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease) [Re: deCypher] 1
#14131694 - 03/16/11 03:19 PM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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Let the good times roll.
-------------------- “Strengthened by contemplation and study, I will not fear my passions like a coward. My body I will give to pleasures, to diversions that I’ve dreamed of, to the most daring erotic desires, to the lustful impulses of my blood, without any fear at all, for whenever I will— and I will have the will, strengthened as I’ll be with contemplation and study— at the crucial moments I’ll recover my spirit as was before: ascetic.”
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The Whale

Registered: 11/01/10
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Re: The Burning Bush (not the venereal disease) [Re: Lion]
#14131764 - 03/16/11 03:32 PM (12 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
"I Will Be What I Will Be"
Such malleability is also essential to the evolution of our interpretations of psychedelic experiences, from earlier shamanic models to current neuropsychpharmacological models.
It's similar to a sponge that absorbs, or a blackboard that can be added to and/or erased, emphasizing impermanence and transience.
To use another quote:
"All i can do is be myself whoever that is." - Bob Dylan
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