March 06, 2008
Moses on high article available online:
Thanks to Debbie from the My Mind on Books blog who managed to track down the original academic article from psychologist Benny Shanon who argues that Moses' experiences on Mount Sinai may have been due to a hallucinogenic experience.
Shannon suggests that a mixture prepared from the acacia tree and the bush peganum harmala could have been responsible.
The article is freely available so you can read it in detail for yourself. As well as Shanon's main idea, it also contains a wealth of information about the use of psychedelic plants in the ancient world.
Link to article 'Biblical Entheogens: a Speculative Hypothesis'.
—Vaughan.
Posted at March 6, 2008 10:00 PM
I don't know why exactly you think this whole thing to be so much on the fring.
Usually in bible studies the "burning bush" Moses saw is identified as an Acacia bush, which is exactly the psychedelic plant people used to brew DMT-containing hallucinogenic tea back then. In less drug-crazy countries the use of hallucinogens in spiritual connections is widely acknowledged, so I'm finding it hard to believe christianity to be exempted from that rule, and especially with all these hallucinogenic plants playing such a notable role in the bible to be a coincidence.
Comment posted at March 7, 2008 03:48 PM
The ingenta site isn't allowing me to download the article, or even connect to the site anymore, but I found the .pdf on another blog in case anybody else wants it:
http://shamanism.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/ayahuasca-moses-and-the-ten-commandments-biblical-entheogens-speculative-hypothesis-original-text/
Comment posted at March 8, 2008 10:36 PM
