Post by DPost by Leonard BlaisdellYesterday, a young woman lost control of her Subaru, near here, and this
happened. She was the only occupant.
<https://postimg.cc/5jfxP6tW>
Here is what the interior of the car looked like after the crash.
<https://postimg.cc/XXKrJRr4>
She suffered moderate injuries and was talking about her experience,
from a local hospital, on the news.
She may not have nine lives, but she certainly has two!
leo
Good! Miracles happen! =)
There are no "miracles," and gods are purely mythological. Here's a few
articles by Michael R. Burch:
*****
THE BIBLE’S COPYCATTED MYTHS
by Michael R. Burch
The bible is a collection of myths, many of them plagiarized or
copycatted from other religions. Such copycatted myths appear in both in
the Old Testament and the New Testament.
EVE WAS NOT THE FIRST “LADY OF THE RIB”
My favorite creation myth, which is far older than the Bible’s, reveals
that Eve was not the first “Lady of the Rib” …
The first “Lady of the Rib” who was also the “Lady who gives Life” was
not Eve, but the Sumerian goddess Ninti in the creation account of Enki
and Ninhursag.
The ancient Sumerian creation myth of Enki and Ninhursag is an obvious
source of the bible’s much later Garden of Eden story. The parallels are
too many and too strong to be mere coincidence. In fact, the Sumerian
creation myth even takes place in the same location! The myth of Enki
and Ninhursag takes place in the paradisal garden of Dilmun, which, like
Eden, was located at the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers!
PARALLELS OF DILMUN TO EDEN
Dilmun is the site where creation occurred, as was Eden.
Dilmun was described as being Edenic: “pure,” “virginal” and
“pristine.”
Dilmun was perfect because “The lion did not slay, the wolf was not
carrying off lambs, etc.” Also there were no eye diseases or headaches
and no one grew old. There were no laments, no one wailing, no sad
songs, etc.
Dilmun lay at the "mouth of the rivers" said to have been the union
of the Tigris and Euphrates at Qurnah. The bible says Eden lay near the
headwaters of the same rivers.
Like the biblical god, the creator-god Enki spoke things into
being: rivers, lakes, precious stones, etc.
Goddesses gave birth in nine days rather than nine months, making
human women seem cursed, as they were said to be in the biblical version.
In this intriguing creation myth the creator-god Enki, also known as Ea,
and his consort the goddess Ninhursag, who was also known as Nintur and
Ninmah, lived in an Eden-like paradisal garden where there was no
suffering and no death.
Enki was associated with wisdom and creativity. Ninhursag, the earth
goddess, was the mother of all living beings, and was revered for
nurturing and sustaining life.
However, Enki was a callous brute who seduced his daughters and
granddaughters, had sex with them, got them pregnant, then abandoned
them. Enki brought “forbidden fruit” to seduce one granddaughter, and
the forbidden fruit included apples, a probably source of the idea that
Eve ate an apple.
Enki was also a glutton who ate forbidden flowers rather than letting
them grow, and thus became deathly ill. Even though Enki had betrayed
his wife by having sex with their daughters, the compassionate Ninhursag
forgave him, and created goddesses to heal the various failing parts of
his body. Ninhursag created the goddess Ninti to heal the dying Enki’s
rib. Ninti's name is a pun on the Sumerian word ti, which means both
"rib" and "to make live." Thus her name translates to both "Lady of the
Rib" and "Lady who makes Live."
In the bible the account was changed to make the male god “perfect” and
have the “Lady of the Rib” and the “Mother who makes humans live” eat
the forbidden fruit.
And so we have solved the mystery of why Eve was created from a rib!
Here are other examples, out of many I could cite…
Creation Myth — In the Enuma Elish, there are seven tablets of
Creation. The first tablet begins with a deep, formless, watery abyss.
The seventh tablet ends with a day for rest for the gods. The first day
of Genesis begins with a dark, formless, watery abyss. The Hebrew word
for the deep abyss is Tehom, which is cognate with Tiamat, the
primordial Sumerian water goddess. The bible’s seventh day of creation
is a day of rest.
Jesus ben Ananias — Did the author of Mark base his Jesus on Jesus
ben Ananias, who appears in The Jewish War of the famous Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus? Parallels include:
They were both named Jesus.
They both came from the lower classes. Jesus ben Ananias was
described as an “illiterate peasant.” Jesus Christ was described as a
builder or handyman (tekton) and he never wrote anything himself,
suggesting illiteracy.
They were both assumed to be mad, the bible’s Jesus by his own
family!
When they came to Jerusalem, they both headed straight for the
temple.
They both made prophetic declarations about the destruction of
the Jerusalem temple, Jerusalem itself, and the Jews as a people.
They both spoke about brides and bridegrooms.
They were both were arrested by Jewish authorities, the leaders
of the Sanhedrin.
They both remained silent during their trials and refused to
defend themselves.
They were both beaten by the Jewish authorities.
After being interrogated and flogged by the Jewish authorities,
they were brought to the Roman procurator.
They were both asked to identify themselves by the Roman
procurator.
They were both flogged by the Roman Procurator and did not cry
out during the flogging.
The Roman Procurator deemed them both mad and wanted to release
them. Here, Mark diverges from Josephus, since he needed his Jesus to
die right away, while Jesus ben Ananias was released, then died during
the destruction of Jerusalem.
Their last words were both statements of despair about their
own fates.
They were both were killed by the Romans.
When Jesus ben Ananias died, he “gave up the ghost.”
Did the authors of Mark and Acts borrow other things from Josephus?
Josephus’s full name was Joseph bar Matthias and Joseph of
Arimathea may be a slightly changed version of that name.
Josephus related a story about having three men being taken
down from the cross, one of whom survived; in the bible three men are
crucified and one is taken down by Joseph of Arimathea and continued to
live.
It was Ananias who helped Paul “see the light” and receive the
Holy Ghost in Acts 9:10-17 after Paul had been blinded.
At least eight passages in Mark relate to passages in Josephus,
and sometimes the wording is the same or very similar.
1. Mark 12: …built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen
2. Mark 9:5: …let us make three tabernacles
3. Mark 13:27: …shall gather together his elect from the four winds
4. Mark 2:19: …while the bridegroom is with them
5. Mark 15:1: …carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate
6. Mark 14:21: ..woe unto that man…
7. Mark 5:5: …cutting himself with stones; Mark 16:4: …stone is
rolled back
8. Mark 15:37: …gave up the ghost
The Fish God Oannes — The fish god Oannes was an ancient Chaldean
deity who emerged from the sea to give a prophecy to the Chaldeans.
Oannes had an Assyrian equivalent called Dagon, who appears in the
bible. The book of Jonah clearly borrows from this myth. In fact, Jonah
is a translation of Oannes. Jonah emerges from the sea to give a
prophecy to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
Feet Anointed — In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus finally makes it home
and has his feet anointed by Eurycleia of Ithaca, whose name means "far
and wide" in Greek. Jesus has his feet anointed at Bethany by Mary, and
he says she will be remembered far and wide for what she has done. This
is a clear pun on the name of Eurycleia of Ithaca.
The Zombie Apocalypse — According to Virgil's Georgics, the sky
grew dark, the earth quaked and graves were opened when Julius Caesar
was murdered. The same story is told by Matthew about the crucifixion of
Jesus.
Virgil said the sun “veiled its radiance in gloom and darkness and
a godless age feared everlasting night” — which is what would have
happened during the three-hour eclipse Matthew describes. Virgil said
“the Alps rocked with earthquakes” and Matthew describes an earthquake
so powerful it “rent” rocks. But of course rocks have more structural
integrity than first-century houses, so such an earthquake would have
leveled Jerusalem. Virgil said the earth “opened” and “phantoms of
unearthly pallor were seen in the falling darkness” and Matthew said the
dead rose from their graves in the darkness. Plutarch and Ovid also
mention ghosts appearing at the time of Caesar’s death.
The “Only Begotten Son” — Philo of Byblos related an ancient
Phoenician myth of the god Kronos/Chronos/Elus/El offering his only
begotten son on an altar. This seems to be retold in Genesis when
Abraham offers up his son Isaac on an altar.
Eusebius in his Praeparatio Evangelica said Philo of Byblos wrote
of sacrifice among the gods:
“It was a custom of the ancients in great crises of danger for the
rulers of a city or nation, in order to avert the common ruin, to give
up the most beloved of their children for sacrifice as a ransom to the
avenging daemons; and those who were thus given up were sacrificed with
mystic rites. Kronos then, whom the Phoenicians call Elus, who was king
of the country and subsequently, after his decease, was deified as the
star Saturn, had by a nymph of the country named Anobret an only
begotten son, whom they on this account called Iedud [or El Ieoud], the
only begotten being still so called among the Phoenicians; and when very
great dangers from war had beset the country, he arrayed his son in
royal apparel, and prepared an altar, and sacrificed him.”
Elus or El (the latter the name of the oldest god in the bible and
later equated with Yahweh) sacrificed his only begotten son to put an
end to the “very great dangers from war that had beset the country.” The
same motif is found in the Bible where King Mesha also offered “his
first-born son, who was to succeed him as king” to end the siege of his
city. (2 Kings 3:27)
Tempted by the Devil in the Wilderness — In the Zend Avesta,
Zoroaster is tempted by Angra Mainyu to denounce his worship of the good
laws of Ahura Mazda; if he does, he will rule all nations. Jesus is
tempted by Satan, to worship him rather than God, and he will rule all
the nations.
Set Adrift in a Basket — King Sargon the Great of Akkad was born of
a slave woman who set her baby adrift in a basket on the Euphrates
River, where he was found and adopted by a princess who makes him the
Cup Bearer to the King of Kish. Moses was born of a slave woman who set
him adrift in a basket on the Nile river, where he found and adopted by
a princess who made him the Cup-Bearer to the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Begotten by God — In the ancient Alexander Romance, Alexander goes
into the desert in search of the Oasis at Siwa, where the god Ammon
tells Alexander that he is the Son of God. Jesus goes into the desert
where John the Baptist baptizes him, and he hears God tell him that He
has been begotten as the Son of God.
The Great Flood — In Greek mythology, Deucalion, the son of
Prometheus, is told to build an ark to survive the coming flood sent by
Zeus. In the even more ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim
builds an ark to survive a global flood sent by Anu. At the end of the
flood, the ark settles on a mountain and Utnapishtim sends out birds to
find dry land. Noah’s ark also settles on a mountain and he sends out
birds to find dry land.
Resurrection on the Third Day — In the ancient Myth of Inanna's
Descent into the Underworld, she goes down to Hell, dies, hangs on a
hook for three days, then on the fourth day she rises and brings the
Resurrection of the Dead with her. This is the earth’s oldest “dying and
rising Savior” myth.
There are strong parallels to the bible’s book of Esther:
The three-day motif.
Both Inanna and Esther had to remove articles clothing.
Both Inanna and Esther had two maids to help them.
Inanna saved Tammuz and her people; Esther saved Mordecai and
her people.
OTHER PARALLELS
Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three
nights, then saved Nineveh.
Jesus was in the grave or Hell for three days and three nights,
then rose on the next day and is said to resurrect the dead.
by Michael R. Burch
_________________________
HAGAR IN THE DESERT
by Michael R. Burch
Of course “god” had nothing to do with Sarah owning Hagar as a slave and
abusing her, to the point of almost killing poor Hagar, by casting her
alone with her son Ishmael into the desert, with the complicity of
Sarah’s husband Abraham.
How could an enlightened god come up with the bible’s satanic commandments?
The bible commands the stoning to death of children for
misdemeanors and non-sins like girls being raped and child brides not
bleeding on their wedding nights, in the satanic 22nd chapter of
Deuteronomy.
The bible says fathers can sell their own daughters as sex slaves
with the option to buy them back if they don’t “please” their new masters.
The bible says “men of god” can mass-murder women and male
children, toddlers, infants and babies (“little ones”), keeping only the
virgin girls alive, as sex slaves. (Numbers 31)
The bible says slaveowners can beat their slaves within an inch of
their lives, as long as they don’t die within a day or two. Why? Because
slaves are possessions, like money. In fact, the bible says the slave is
the slaveowner’s “money”:
“And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he
die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he
continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.”
(Exodus 21:20-21)
If a slave manages to survive a savage beating for two days, there
is no crime. So if Hagar and Ishmael managed to live two days in the
desert, then died of thirst, all was groovy according to the satanic
commandment of Exodus 21:20-21.
The bible was written by primitive men who stoned their own children to
death. These primitive men, who did not value the lives of women and
children, created an evil god in their own image. Thus their evil god
did not value the lives of women and children.
Then these primitive men made up stories to support their evil ideas, in
which their pretend “god” acted the way they would have acted — raping
slaves, then casting them into the desert to die with the children of
the rapists.
by Michael R. Burch
SLAVES, OBEY YOUR MASTERS!
by Michael R. Burch
First, it must be noted that Titus is considered a forgery rather than
an authentic letter of the apostle Paul, by the majority of bible scholars.
Second, no one can “justify” Titus 2:9-10, although christian apologists
will continue to try. Here on Quora they routinely defend satanic bible
verses that command the horrific stoning to death of child brides and
rape victims (Deuteronomy chapter 22).
Christian apologists also routinely defend satanic bible verses that
command the worst crimes known to mankind: slavery, sex slavery,
genocide, infanticide, matricide and ethnic cleansing.
Someone who can defend such grotesque injustices can defend anything.
What does Titus 2:9-10 say?
9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please
them well in all things; not answering again; 10 Not purloining, but
shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour in all things.
Over and over the bible commands slaves to obey their masters without
resisting or talking back. Thus female slaves and their daughters who
are being raped should obey, “please them well in all things” and not
resist or “talk back.”
Were such verses inspired by a wise, just God, or the Other Guy?
Titus also engages in the nastiest sort of antisemitism (Titus 1:10-16)
and misogyny (Titus 2:3-5), in addition to supporting slavery.
Like so much of the bible, in Titus we find evil and ignorance
masquerading as the “wisdom of god.”
by Michael R. Burch
NEVER TRUST THE BOOK OF ACTS!
by Michael R. Burch
*****
Should we believe what Paul said himself about his conversion to
christianity in his epistles, or should we believe the lie-filled book
of Acts?
You can probably guess which way I’m leaning.
I agree with Dick Harfield, who observed: “There is no deception on the
part of Paul, because he did not write Acts of the Apostles. In his
epistles, Paul makes no mention of this dramatic conversion event.”
And nothing said in the book of Acts should be taken with a grain of salt.
Here’s why…
According to both christian tradition and the preambles to the books
themselves, the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were written by the
same person. While there is no reason to believe the author in question
was a “physician” named Luke who was a traveling companion of Paul, I
will call the author Luke for the sake of convenience.
First, I will give a brief summary of the outrageous lies in Luke and
Acts, then go on to provide conclusive details…
THE OUTRAGEOUS, CONTRADICTORY LIES OF LUKE AND ACTS
The “ascension” accounts of Luke and Acts are completely
contradictory even though Luke wrote both books. That means Acts was
“enhanced” by a forger, which means we never know when we are reading
what Luke wrote originally.
The “virgin birth” narrative of Luke was composed in a different
writing style than the rest of the gospel and was obviously grafted in
later. How much later? The loopy “virgin birth” was never mentioned
until Justin Martyr circa 150 AD.
Luke contains a fake genealogy for Jesus that completely
contradicts the fake genealogy in Matthew.
Acts say the apostle Peter healed all the sick people in Jerusalem
and surrounding cities with his freakin’ shadow. If that were true,
Peter would have been the most famous person in Judea, but no
contemporary wrote a single word about him. More hot air.
The account of Paul’s conversion on the Road to Damascus in Acts
seems like more blatant lying.
Paul never mentioned being named Saul.
Paul never mentioned being from Tarsus.
The Sanhedrin had no authority to arrest people in Damascus.
Nor does Paul in Galatians 1:11-24 say anything about going to
Damasus with the authority of the Sanhedrin to arrest anyone. It seems a
redactor of Acts probably read Paul’s account of his conversion and add
a number of “enhancements.”
In any case, Paul never described his conversion as it appears
in Acts.
Paul never mentioned being blinded, or anyone else being around
when he had his revelation, and hearing and/or seeing anything that
confirmed his experience. What Paul described sounds like an inner
revelation of some sort, perhaps a vision.
If there had been such a startling conversion, why didn’t Paul
ever mention it himself? After all he talked about himself quite a bit
in his epistles. Why not the most stunning event of his life?
Paul mentioned nothing about a christian named Ananias
restoring his sight or giving him the Holy Ghost. Rather, Paul said he
received whatever he received directly from god. Paul said that after
receiving his revelation, “immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood.” (Galatians 1:16) There is a blatant contradiction here.
Acts 22:17 says Paul went from Damascus back to Jerusalem, and
Acts 26:20 agrees, but Paul said himself in Galatians 1:17, very
specifically, that he did not go to Jerusalem, but went to Arabia, then
to Damascus, and that it was at least three years (depending on how long
he spent in Arabia and Damascus) before he returned to Jerusalem.
Why did Acts have Paul go to Damascus first? Because in the
more fanciful story Paul had been blinded and would have been in no
condition to travel to Arabia.
If he had returned to Jerusalem immediately and had joined the
christian church there, which was under the aegis of Peter and James
according to the bible, Paul would have undoubtedly learned from them,
but Paul adamantly insisted that he was not taught by any man, but only
by Jesus Christ himself. (Galatians 1:11-12)
In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul said that he knew
immediately that his assignment was to preach to Gentiles. But in Acts
he immediately began preaching in Jewish synagogues.
Paul swore, before god, that he was not lying: "Now the things
which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not." (Galatians 1:20)
Well, if Paul was telling the truth, either Luke or one his
redactors was lying.
If Luke wrote anything honestly, we don’t know what it was.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
A pertinent question is this: If god can reveal himself and so
easily convert a former persecutor of christians like Saul/Paul, why
doesn’t he do it for everyone? Is god a respecter of persons, after all?
Is he letting billions of people go to “hell” because he just doesn’t
care? Or have his superpowers been greatly exaggerated?
DETAILS: THE “ASCENSION”
Despite being written by the same author, Luke and Acts completely
contradict each other on the most marvelous thing ever witnessed by
human eyes and ears, if it actually happened, that event being the
Superman-like ascension of Jesus into the clouds while two angels
preached a sermon!
At least this is the ascension story of Acts, with Jesus ascending into
heaven from Jerusalem or the nearby Mount of Olives, with a crowd of
around a hundred followers as witnesses. But please notice how the
“witnesses” to Jesus appearing post-alleged-resurrection kept growing:
0 — in the first gospel, Mark
11 disciples — in Matthew
12 disciples — according to Paul, meaning Judas was still alive
11 disciples plus Mary Magdalene and two mystery men on the Road to
Emmaus — in Luke
~100 followers — in Acts
more than 500 people — 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
Notice how the number keeps mysteriously growing?
In any case, the ascension accounts of Luke and Acts cannot be
reconciled, even though they were written by the same author!
Why?
Because Luke says Jesus ascended from Bethany, not Jerusalem, on the
same day he was resurrected, accompanied only by his disciples, with no
angels preaching sermons.
Acts says the resurrected Jesus spent the biblical 40 days in Jerusalem,
teaching around 100 disciples the mysteries of the kingdom of god (and
yet no one recorded a single word!), then ascended into the clouds
before a crowd of witnesses from Jerusalem or the nearby Mount of
Olives, with two angels preaching a sermon.
Someone obviously “enhanced” the book of Acts, if Luke originally wrote it.
How can we trust anything Acts says, with that sort of outrageous,
shameless, lie-filled forgery?
And then there is Peter healing entire cities with his freakin’ shadow!
Such rubbish!
CONCLUSION
In the Bible, there are two, quite different accounts of Paul’s
conversion. One is in Acts of the Apostles, where it says that he had a
vision while on the road to Damascus and was converted as a result of
that vision. The other is in Paul’s own account, which is in Galatians
1:15 ff, in which he believed he received a revelation from God and was
converted as a result of that inner revelation. Paul’s account is
probably the more reliable, although most Christians seem to know only
the account in Acts.
*****
What is the reason for the restriction on leaving Egypt during Passover
(Exodus)?
According to the bible the reason the Israelites were restricted from
leaving Egypt is that the diabolical biblical god Yahweh kept hardening
the pharaoh’s heart, so that the pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave.
Why?
So that Yahweh would have an excuse to mass-murder children, toddlers,
infants, babies and multitudes of innocent animals.
Lovely fellow, that Yahweh!
The hardening of the pharaoh's heart is discussed in:
Exodus 4:21 — “I will harden his heart so that he will not let the
people go.”
Exodus 7:3 — “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.” Why? In order for
Yahweh to multiply his “signs” and “wonders.” What were those signs and
wonders? Slaughtering animals, children and babies by the multitudes.
Exodus 10:27 — “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was
not willing to let them go.”
Exodus 11:10 — “Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before
Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the
Israelites go out of his country.”
Exodus 14:4 — “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will
pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all
his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the
Israelites did this.” Once again, Yahweh gains personal “glory” by
mass-murdering human beings and animals.
Exodus 14:8 — “The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of
Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.”
Exodus 14:17 — “I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that
they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and
all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.”
Of course this was a minor genocide compared to the trillions of animals
and millions of children, toddlers, infants, babies and unborns that
Yahweh murdered in the Great Flood of Noah.
by Michael R. Burch
*****
Mike Burch
·
Follow
Owner at Alpha Omega Consulting Group (company) (1980–present)4h
Why did Paul write his letters in code to avoid persecution? Was he
afraid of getting caught with them even though they were inspired by God?
As my regular readers know, I’m not a fan of the bible, but I think the
apostle Paul was straightforward in what he wrote (no “code”) except
where he was contradicted by redactors — frauds who pretended to be Paul
to lend authority to what they believed, or, more likely, to what they
wanted other people to believe.
Examples of redactors pretending to speak for Paul include:
Whoever said he didn’t allow women to talk in church, since in the
same epistle Paul had discussed women covering their hair when they
prayed and prophesied in church “because of the angels.” Also, Paul said
Junia was prominent among the apostles.
Whoever said it’s a “shame” for a man to have long hair. Paul would
have known better because in the bible men consecrated to god—such as
Samson and the prophet Samuel—never cut their hair. Also, at one point
Paul took a Nazarite vow himself, according to the bible, and would not
have cut his hair while under the vow.
Entire epistles like Colossians and Ephesians.
These are just a few quick examples, off the top of my head.
In conclusion, I don’t think Paul was speaking in code. I chalk up most
of the confusion to other people pretending to speak for Paul.
And the bible’s many forgeries should give readers pause: Can a true
religion be based on lies?
by Michael R. Burch
*****
What is the significance of Moses writing down all these words in
Deuteronomy 31:24?
It’s extremely doubtful that Moses wrote Deuteronomy, or any of the
books of the Torah.
Rather, Levite scribes a thousand years later were writing Deuteronomy
and pretending to be Moses.
Why?
In order to lend the weight of authority to their satanic commandments to:
Stone boys to death for being stubborn and eating too much.
(Deuteronomy chapter 21)
Stone child brides to death for not “proving” their virginity by
bleeding on their wedding nights. (Deuteronomy chapter 22)
Stone girls who have been raped to death. (Deuteronomy chapter 22)
Enslave the people of other tribes. (Deuteronomy chapter 20)
Mass-murder the men of other tribes if they resist, taking the
women and children as plunder. (Deuteronomy chapter 20)
However, completely destroy [genocide] the Hittites, Amorites,
Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—”as the Lord your God has
commanded you.” Of course what this actually means is, “as we lying
scribes have commanded you.” This was a commandment to mass-murder
children, infants, babies and their mothers. Also the livestock. Only
the fruit-bearing trees were to spared. (Deuteronomy chapter 20)
Female prisoners of war can be forced to “marry” (i.e. raped) and
if the rapist tires of his sex slave, he can put her on the street
without any provisions. (Deuteronomy chapter 21)
Men can have more than one wife. Did a perfect, unchanging god
change his mind, or did the Levites make this up? How many sex slaves
could men have, based on the satanic commandment above? (Deuteronomy
chapter 21)
Break a heifer’s neck if someone is found dead and the reason is
unknown. Why kill an innocent animal because a possible murder can’t be
solved? (Deuteronomy chapter 21)
Obviously nothing above is the wisdom of an enlightened god, nor of an
enlightened leader.
by Michael R. Burch
*****
Did the Bible copy the Epic of Gilgamesh?
Yes, the bible copied the Great Flood of Noah from the far-more-ancient
Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh…
The parallels are too many and too strong to be coincidences, and the
events unfold in the same order, making it the same story with changes
in the details here and there…
The gods are angry with human beings for their behavior. The
biggest change in the story is that there is only one god in the
biblical version, so he does everything done by the Sumerian gods.
The god(s) decide to destroy life on earth with a global flood.
One god warns a human being about the coming flood. I will call him
the captain. In the bible the captain is Noah, in Gilgamesh the captain
is Utnapishtim.
The captain is selected to be saved because he is righteous.
The captain complained about his predicament.
God gives the captain the dimensions of a life-saving ark. The
dimensions are given in cubits and are very specific.
The ark is made of wood.
The ark is sealed with pitch or bitumen.
The ark has multiple decks or stories.
The ark has many compartments.
The ark has only one door.
The ark has a window.
The ark has a roof.
The ark is square or rectangular, an odd shape for a large boat.
Two of all earth’s animals are taken onto the ark, in order to save
their species. How this is done is not explained.
The captain’s families also board the ark.
Supplies are brought aboard the ark.
The door of the ark is closed.
There is a global flood.
The flood waters cover the highest mountains.
When the rains end, both arks land on a mountain.
Both captains release birds to see if they can find dry land.
The last bird does not return, meaning it is now safe to disembark
from the ark.
In both stories the birds released include ravens and doves.
On dry land animals are sacrificed to the god(s).
The Epic of Gilgamesh mentions the “sweet savor” of the offerings,
a term used in the bible in regard to burnt offerings.
The god(s) are pleased with the sacrifices.
The god(s) speak to the captains and bless them.
There are differences in the details, some for theological purposes, but
the stores are essentially the same and unravel in the same order.
by Michael R. Burch
*****
YAHWEH AND HIS ASHERAH
by Michael R. Burch
This may come as a surprise, but at one time god had a wife!
Multiple archeological artifacts have been found with the inscription
“Yahweh and his Asherah” including the one above. And the bible admits,
unhappily, that Yahweh and Asherah were worshipped together in King
Solomon’s famous temple, and elsewhere, including Bethel, which means
“the house of god.”
We are told in 2 Kings 23:7 that women were doing ritual weaving for
Asherah inside the Jerusalem temple! The verse is quoted in the list of
Asherah verses at the end of this answer.
There is more confirmation in 2 Kings 23:4, also quoted.
The bible confirms that Asherah was worshipped as a god, like Yahweh’s
main rival, Baal. This confirmation can be found in Judges 3:7, also
quoted in the verse list.
How often was Asherah mentioned in the bible?
A lot.
The bible refers to Asherah by different names, so getting an exact
count is a bit tricky, but 40 seems to be the most common answer.
Asherah may appear in the various bible translations as:
Asherah
Ashtoreth
Asherim
To further complicate things, the KJV often translates references to
Asherah as a “grove” or “groves.”
It’s hard to say whether this was deliberate subterfuge or due to
confusion about Asherah being worshiped in groves and with trees and
Asherah poles.
Worship of Asherah in Israel
This information comes from the Jewish Women's Archive website:
Despite biblical references “associating Asherah with apostasy (for
example, Exod 34:13; Deut 7:5; 12:3; Judg 3:7; 1 Kgs 18:19), and despite
the fact that the Israelites are explicitly forbidden in Deut 16:21 to
erect one of Asherah’s sacred poles beside an altar of YHWH, there are
multiple indications in biblical tradition that many in ancient Israel
did regard Asherah’s cult icon as an appropriate sacred symbol within
the religion of YHWH. For example, one of Asherah’s sacred poles stood
next to YHWH’s altar at Bethel, one of the two great cult sites of the
northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 23:15). Another of Asherah’s sacred
poles stood in that kingdom’s capital city, Samaria. The sacred pole of
Samaria, moreover, which was erected during the reign of King Ahab
(reigned 873–852 B.C.E.), was allowed to remain standing by the reformer
King Jehu (1 Kgs 16:33; 2 Kgs 13:6), even though Jehu was generally at
pains to remove all non-Yahwistic cults and cult imagery from the land.
This fact suggests that Jehu perceived the sacred pole as appropriate in
the worship of YHWH.”
“Archaeological discoveries from the late 1970s and early 1980s have
further indicated that, at least in the opinion of some ancient
Israelites, YHWH and Asherah were appropriately worshipped as a pair.
From the site of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, in the eastern Sinai, come three
ninth- or eighth-century B.C.E. inscriptions that mention YHWH and “his
Asherah” (meaning YHWH’s companion [consort?], the goddess Asherah) or
“his asherah” (meaning YHWH’s sacred pole that represents the goddess
Asherah and that sits in his temple or beside his altar). An
eighth-century B.C.E. inscription from Khirbet el-Qom, about twenty-five
miles southwest of Jerusalem, contains similar language in 1 Kgs 15:13
and 2 Kgs 18:4, 21:7, and 23:6 (with parallels in 2 Chronicles) indicate
that at least during certain points in the ninth, eighth, and seventh
centuries B.C.E., Asherah’s sacred pole was perceived as an appropriate
icon to erect in Jerusalem, even in YHWH’s temple. Also, vessels in the
temple were used to make sacrifices to Asherah (2 Kgs 23:4), and in a
compound within the temple’s walls, women cult functionaries wove
garments used to clothe Asherah’s cult statue (2 Kgs 23:7). Thus it
appears that, although generally the biblical writers—especially certain
prophets (Isa 17:8; 27:9; Jer 17:2; Mic 5:14) and the authors
responsible for Deuteronomy, Judges, 1 and 2 Kings, and 2
Chronicles—regarded Asherah worship as inappropriate, at least some and
possibly many in ancient Israel incorporated the goddess’s cult imagery
and ritual into the cult of YHWH.”
Bible passages that refer to Asherah include:
Exodus 34:13 — Thus we know Asherah was popular at the time of
Moses; this is her first mention in the bible.
Deuteronomy 7:5
Deuteronomy 12:3
Deuteronomy 16:21
Judges 2:13
Judges 3:7 — Baal was a god, so this verse confirms that Asherah
was more than just a pole or grove: “The Israelites did evil in the eyes
of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the
Asherahs.”
Judges 6:25
Judges 6:26
Judges 6:28
Judges 6:30 — Asherah was so popular that a mob wanted to kill
Joash’s son for cutting down her pole: “The people of the town demanded
of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down
Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”
1 Kings 15:13 — The queen mother was deposed for worshiping Asherah!
1 Kings 16:33
1 Kings 18:19 — How popular was Asherah? She had four hundred
prophets eating at the queen’s table!
2 Kings 13:6
2 Kings 17:10 — Asherah was very popular in Israel: “They set up
sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every
spreading tree.”
2 Kings 17:16
2 Kings 18:4
2 Kings 21:3
2 Kings 21:7
2 Kings 23:7
2 Kings 23:4 — There were articles devoted to Asherah in the
Jerusalem temple: “The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests
next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord
all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He
burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and
took the ashes to Bethel.”
2 Kings 23:6
2 Kings 23:7 — Women were doing ritual weaving for Asherah inside
the Jerusalem temple: “He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine
prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where
women did weaving for Asherah.”
2 Kings 23:14
2 Kings 23:15 — “Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by
Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and
high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to
powder, and burned the Asherah pole also.”
by Michael R. Burch
*****
Where does the book of job fall on the biblical timeline?
It turns out that the bible is not nearly as old as was once believed.
In fact, there is no evidence of some of the “laws of Moses” being known
or followed in Judea until the second century BCE, more than a thousand
years after the alleged lifetime of Moses, circa 1400 BCE. Such
unknown/unfollowed laws include strict monotheism, strict sabbath
observance, “no graven images” and prohibitions against “unclean” meats.
As further evidence, Moses was never mentioned outside the bible for
around a thousand years.
But if Moses had led a ragtag group of weaponless slaves to an
astounding victory over the mighty Egyptian Empire, he would have been
the talk of the ancient world and Egypt’s enemies would have been
mocking the Pharaoh in question, and we’d know his name.
However, Job does appear to be one of the bible’s older books.
How old?
According to experts Job was likely written in the 5th or 6th century
BCE. The book's language and context suggest that it was written during
the Persian era (540-330 BCE).
Why?
The book's Hebrew prose was written in a post-Babylonian style,
indicating that it was written sometime after 540 BCE.
The book's poetic core is written in highly literate Hebrew, and
employs Aramaic words and grammatical structures.
Furthermore, the book of Job appears to be polytheistic, with the first
chapter taking place during a Divine Council of the Elohim, the 70 sons
of the supreme Canaanite god El.
Satan is not the “fallen angel” of later mythology, but waltzes into
heaven and has a friendly chat with god, leading to their diabolical wager.
by Michael R. Burch
*****
--
--Bryan
For your safety and protection, this sig. has been thoroughly
tested on laboratory animals.
"Most of the food described here is nauseating.
We're just too courteous to say so."
-- Cindy Hamilton