Posts by HowTheBibleWasCreated

12

Meditation linked to increased age, health, and smarts?

by EndofMysteries in

i recently read how advanced meditation increases the brains waves, higher frequency alpha waves which is linked to higher state of consciousness and intelligence.

now i saw this article, http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/10/health/can-meditation-really-slow-aging/index.html?hpt=hp_c3 that it also increases life and health, etc.

i haven't really read or researched meditation but i was wondering if anybody has got into it, into a 'non religious' aspect of it.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

I should do this more. I am a lucid dreamer and thus find my meditation in nightly dreams.

(To be honest I am spritual though an athiest)

52

reading COC for the first time

by This is my tigersuit in

HowTheBibleWasCreated

I read it but unlike others I was not overly impressed. I will explain why. I was Agnostic when I read it.

Nothing pi$$es me off more then a 'christian' trying to convert a JW. That is what half the book is in a way.

The other half though is life experiances and the governing body structure and issues. This DID impress me.

I would give it a 7/10. By contrast The God Delusion is 9/10

How The Bible Was Invented 10. Prophecy in the Northern Kingdom-Local Seers

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

one of the most overlooked role in history may be that of the local seer.. .

in the hebrew bible many seers/prophets are shown (besides the 'literary prophets').

historically these seers were no different from any other middle eastern nation.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

One of the most overlooked role in history may be that of the local seer.

In the Hebrew Bible many seers/prophets are shown (Besides the 'literary prophets')

Historically these seers were no different from any other middle eastern nation.
The book of Jeremiah tells us alot about disagreements within seers even prophesing for the same diety!

One referance however prior to this shows up:

'Sons of the prophets'.

Who were thse guys? 2 Kings tell us they lived in Bethel. This makes sense as worship to El was carried out in Dan, Bethel and as shown in the following paragraphs Shiloh.

If we ignore everything prior to the Omrides we are left with two very odd preachers. Elijah and Elisha. However the text tells us these guys preached among an already existing group:

'Sons of the prophet's. Who are these guys?

What is even more interesting is that almost every preacher from this group has a name ending or starting with El. These were not even originally Yahweh prophets. (Elijah might be an exception but if his name is a title all it means his he felt Yahweh was El)

Moving back in the text and sorting through what is likely unhistorical... Nathan.. Gad etc we arrive at Samuel. And where does he grow up? Shiloh. An priest of Eli. (My El- see footnote on Eli)*

Indeed Samuel was likely a founder of a group of seers. But they were likely El seers. Yahweh was thought of as a war god.

So why did Elijah-Elisha preach to the Omrides? First we need to realize the text makes a fine line between the two!

Elijah preaches to the Omrides.

Elisha to the House of Jehu. (The first time you see him actually preaching to a king (besides Hazael) is to Jehu.) Even more disturbing for Elisha is that if he truly supported Hazael and Jehu then he would have been highly favored by the later editors. And he was! He preformed double Elijah's miricles in the texts!

Thus for my case Elijah was likely one of the seers from Bethel that Ahab consulted. Not a runaway as portrayed in later texts.

Elisha was NOT!. He might have even been Syrian.** (see footnote)

This being said a seer was simply an advisor to the deities will. A brief account in 1 Samuel 9 is in order here:

9:5When they had come to the land of Zuph,
Saul said to his servant who was with him,
“Come, and let us return, lest my father stop
caring about the donkeys, and be anxious for
us.”
9:6He said to him, “ See now, there is in this
city a man of God, and he is a man who is held
in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass.
Now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us
concerning our journey whereon we go.”
9:7Then Saul said to his servant, “But, behold,
if we go, what shall we bring the man?
For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there
is not a present to bring to the man of God.
What do we have?”
9:8The servant answered Saul again, and
said, “Behold, I have inmy hand the fourth part
of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man
of God, to tell us our way.” 9:9(In earlier times
in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God,
thus he said, “Come, and let us go to the seer”;
for he who is now called a prophet was before
called a Seer.)
9:10Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said.
Come, let us go.” So they went to the citywhere
the man of God was. 9:11As they went up the
ascent to the city, they found young maidens
going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is
the seer here?”
9:12They answered them, and said, “He is.
Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he
has come today into the city; for the people
have a sacrifice today in the high place.

The tradition preserved in these late texts is known to be somewhat authentic. If so it is likely, in fact probable, that seers were more or less prophecy-whores.

What I mean by that is you would find a seer for a certian deity in many cities. But to get a prophecy in your favor took money. If so then the 'sons of the prophets' in Bethel were a group of seers likely favored by Ahab.

Thus when reading the Elijah-Elisha stories, although we have no proof these men existed, if they did their roles were much different then the text would have us believe.

Note I am NOT dealing with Judean prophets***. Isaiah and other prophets in Jerusalem preached in the royal house. Such was not the case in Israel.

Sadly Israel was about to be overthrown by a Syrian officer. However before dealing with this lets see what happened to Ahab and his 2 sons.

Footnotes

* I doubt Eli was a historical person. The sons of Eli Hopni and Phinehus have Egyptian names. And their names are similar to some of Aaron's sons. Thus I think a story about Aaron's sons dying might be authentic however it is repeated twice in the texts.
As for the Shiloh preisthood it is likely Jeremiah came from their decendents later.

** Elisha's first prophecy concern Syrian issues and a Syrian overthrow which the text apoligizes for! (Smothering Ben-Hadad to sleep is likely not historical but it is humerous)
If he was a servant of Hazael then his following actions in commisioning Jehu is not suprising as Jehu whiped out from the house of Ahab all who pissesth againt a wall! Futher if the Tel Dan Steele is authentic the Hazael commisioned Jehu to wipe out Isreal's dynesty.
Indeed Jehu joins himself in the text to Hazael.
By all account Elisha if he existed was Syrian.

***Amos was NOT Judean contrary to the opening.

2

How The Bible Was Invented 9. THE HOUSE OF DAVID (Not really)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

the name david means beloved in hebrew.. .

in 1993 in tel dan a stele was uncovered naming the judean king as being from the 'house of david'.

the stele is likely from hazael of syria and mentions jehoram of israel and jehu of israel as well.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

I've never heard of the Tel Dan or Mesha Steeles being forgeres. As far as most secular sources go it's be regarded as authenic. If you have some source that says they are forgery please show me. I like seeing all sides of the issues.

7

How The Bible Was Invented- 7.A Royal Marriage - Ahab and Jezebel (Psalm 45)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

just to recap .. 1. the house of omri establishes the first kingdom of israel after overthrowing zimri.. 2. omri expands his kingdom and builds a new capital at samaria.. 3. omri dies and his son ahab rules.. .

ahab likely had many wives.

before dealing with the psalm we need to know where it was written and who it was written for.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

Crazy could you show me a link to research on the theories you provided?

Keep in mind my book is in drafts. I have only speculated the research I have seen so far which in this case in mostly Finkelstien and Dever.

3

How The Bible Was Invented- 8. The Tribe of Judah (Or was it?)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

the blessing of jacob was likely judean written as a retraction to the former in the late 700s.. .

33:22of dan he said,.

the judean text (blessing of jacob) says about dan:.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

I am using numerous sources.

Try this: The House of David

2

How The Bible Was Invented 9. THE HOUSE OF DAVID (Not really)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

the name david means beloved in hebrew.. .

in 1993 in tel dan a stele was uncovered naming the judean king as being from the 'house of david'.

the stele is likely from hazael of syria and mentions jehoram of israel and jehu of israel as well.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

The name David means Beloved in Hebrew.

In 1993 in Tel Dan a Stele was uncovered naming the Judean King as being from the 'House of David'. The Stele is likely from Hazael of Syria and mentions Jehoram of Israel and Jehu of Israel as well. Judah is an afterthought. Not only that it is connected to the house of Omri.

Earlier the term House of David was found on the Mesha Stele in Moab (It was broken but a rubbing had been taken previous).
A quick glance at the prophetic tetxts show the first half of Isaiah uses 2 terms for the Judean rulars.

1. House of DVD

2. Throne of DVD

Hmmm Isaiah didn't know of David as a person. Even the famous Isaish 9:6 only mentions 'throne of David'.

Jeremiah later is not much better. 'Throne of David'.

Of the minor prophets Michah cannot be considered since the places it mentions Davis as a person is a late addition.

Amos is curious. Amos 6:4-6:

6:4Who lie on beds of ivory,
and stretch themselves on their couches,
and eat the lambs out of the flock,
and the calves out of themidst of the stall;
6:5who strum on the strings of a harp;
who invent for themselves instruments of
music, like David;
6:6who drink wine in bowls,
and anoint themselves with the best oils;
but they are not grieved for the affliction
of Joseph.

The problem is Amos is describing Israel.. David or the ruling class of Judah are an afterthought.

Indeed in Ezekiel David is personified however Ezekiel is a MAJOR problem for schoolars in the 21st century. 95% of the book is commentary on one or two lines from a historical Ezekiel and thus Ezekiel needs to be thrown out.

There is the Acts of David's mightty ment in 2 Samuel 23 but even this is likely from the 7th century BCE.

Indeed the only thing we can say is that AFTER the marriage into the house of Omri the ruling class of Judah became the 'House of the Beloved'.
Need I state the obvious?

House of the Beloved Daughter: Athaliah.

Before we deal with the downfall of the House of Omri we need to deal with prophecy in ancient Israel as well as the historicity of Elijah and Elisha. This will be the topic of the next chapter.

7

How The Bible Was Invented- 7.A Royal Marriage - Ahab and Jezebel (Psalm 45)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

just to recap .. 1. the house of omri establishes the first kingdom of israel after overthrowing zimri.. 2. omri expands his kingdom and builds a new capital at samaria.. 3. omri dies and his son ahab rules.. .

ahab likely had many wives.

before dealing with the psalm we need to know where it was written and who it was written for.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

One thing I need to mention on here:

The WT article on this (Ps 45) a few months ago was utter crap and 100% out of context

62

Roll call of those of us stuck in for our spouse or whos spouse is still in!

by BU2B in

jw
friends

i just wanted to get a feel for how many here have awakened to ttatt but are still carrying on some jw activities to pacify them and keep the peace.

also trying to hear from those who have left, but whose spouse has stayed in the wt and in the marriage.. for me it comes down to my own mental anguish.

i am mentally tortured by attending the meetings, yet i feel compelled to because my wife would kill me with her personality if i had her drag 2 small girls by herself there.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

I'm still in due to my wife. However at this point (with all the changes) I would still go just to humerously see what they are really trying. I expect:

1. The Governing Body gets $$$

2. JW's become an E-religion in less then 5 years.

3

How The Bible Was Invented- 8. The Tribe of Judah (Or was it?)

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

the blessing of jacob was likely judean written as a retraction to the former in the late 700s.. .

33:22of dan he said,.

the judean text (blessing of jacob) says about dan:.

HowTheBibleWasCreated

For those that have noticed I have seemed to neglect the Tribe of Judah until now.

I haven't.

In the Song of Deborah Judah (as well as Levi and Simeon) did not exist.

Levi was previously explained as joined priests of Egypt to the house of 'Aaron'.

Simeon will be dealt with in a later chapter on Hezekiah.

Judah of course deserves special treatment.

The two early texts that mention Judah are the Blessing of Moses (Dt. 33) and the Blessing of Jacob. (Gen. 49)
I believe the blessing of Moses was written in the early 700s BCE in Israel. The Blessing of Jacob was likely Judean written as a retraction to the former in the late 700s.

I will deal with both these texts when we come to them chronologically but for now lets see what they tell us about Judah.

Dt 33:
33:7This is for Judah. He said,
“Hear, Yahweh, the voice of Judah.
Bring him in to his people.
With his hands he contended for himself.
You shall be a help against his adversaries.”

Judah seems to be a nobody. Simply a helper.

Gen 49:
49:8“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your
enemies.Your father’s sons will bow down before
you.
49:9Judah is a lion’s cub.
From the prey,my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down, he crouched as a lion,
as a lioness.
Who will rouse him up?
49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff frombetween his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs.
To him will the obedience of the peoples
be.
49:11Binding his foal to the vine,
his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
he has washed his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
49:12His eyes will be red with wine,
his teeth white with milk.

This text is a retraction to the Blessing of Moses and potrays Judah as the best rularship ever. However a quick glance at Dt 33 again is SHOCKING!

33:22Of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub
that leaps out of Bashan.”

A lion cub?

Why did the Judeans use a line ascribed to Dan?

The Judean text (Blessing of Jacob) says about Dan:

49:16“Dan will judge his people,
as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17Dan will be a serpent in the way,
an adder in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
so that his rider falls backward.

We previously noted that the Danites were a sea people that landed in Israel. (Denyens)

Why is Judah getting the same blessing as Dan had previously and more important why is Dan portrayed as a highwaymen?

The answer might be in a boring list contained in the book of Joshua. According to Joshua the Danites lived by the sea. (Already established) and later moved out and conquered a city in the far north.

What is more curious though is that the location borders Judah to the west. A territory later ascribed to the Sea people (Philistines)
Putting this all together we see a slow picture:

1. Denyan(Danites) land on the coast of Israel in both the north and south.

2. In the North they will later conquer Laish and form the city of Dan.

3. In the South they will either become or more likely intigrate into Philistine tribes.

4. In the 1000-900 BCE period they move to the highlands. The form a new tribe. 'The Lauders' (Judah)under a rular named Asa

5. Local Cheiftians are established with the neighbouring Jebusites in Jerusalem and other smaller tribes by 870 BCE under a rular who was likely named Jehoshaphat in later years (assuming he shared Yahweh worship )

6. Ahab, while in war with the Syrians sees advantage in marrying his daughter to this Dynesty the son of Jehosaphat, Jehoram.

From this point on this provance of the Omrites would become known by a new name. 'House of the Beloved'.
The next chapter will deal with this marriage and origins of the so-called House of David.