Exodus 19-21
Mar. 3rd, 2010 09:33 pmThe rules are laid down by God via Moses
* The SAB compares the elaborate way that Moses talks to God and passes the messages on with the Wizard of Oz. Noone apart from Moses (or his brother Aaron!) is allowed to go and speak to God and bring back the commandments and other rules, the rest of his people (and the livestock!) are threatened with death if they even touch the Mount, and God is hidden amongst the smoke. Seems like Moses went out of his way to make his people believe he was talking to God, but there's not much proof of that.
* God's rules are either totally silly, totally patriarchal or actually plain common sense. And as the previous book and the first 18 chapters of this book don't really sell the bible as a foundation for a moral code there doesn't seem to be much reason to treat it as such now just because a few of the commandments make a bit of sense. Besides, it's all ruined immediately after with the list of things you can stone people (and animals!) for and instructions on how to own slaves.
And anyway, I prefer George Carlin's version:
* The SAB compares the elaborate way that Moses talks to God and passes the messages on with the Wizard of Oz. Noone apart from Moses (or his brother Aaron!) is allowed to go and speak to God and bring back the commandments and other rules, the rest of his people (and the livestock!) are threatened with death if they even touch the Mount, and God is hidden amongst the smoke. Seems like Moses went out of his way to make his people believe he was talking to God, but there's not much proof of that.
* God's rules are either totally silly, totally patriarchal or actually plain common sense. And as the previous book and the first 18 chapters of this book don't really sell the bible as a foundation for a moral code there doesn't seem to be much reason to treat it as such now just because a few of the commandments make a bit of sense. Besides, it's all ruined immediately after with the list of things you can stone people (and animals!) for and instructions on how to own slaves.
And anyway, I prefer George Carlin's version:
no subject
Date: 2010-03-04 01:48 am (UTC)Now I am no bible expert, but I know a thing or two. This sounds precisely like the origins of Joseph Smith and the LDS (Mormons).
no subject
Date: 2010-03-04 04:02 pm (UTC)