High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published last week.
Such mind-altering substances formed an important part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.
"As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don't believe, or a legend, which I don't believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics," Shanon told Israeli public radio last week.
PHOTO: EPA
Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the "burning bush," suggested Shanon, who said he himself has used such substances.
"The Bible says people see sounds, and that is a classic phenomenon," he said, citing the example of religious ceremonies in the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to "see music."
He mentioned his own experience when he used ayahuasca, a powerful psychotropic plant, during a religious ceremony in Brazil's Amazon forest in 1991. "I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations," Shanon said.
He said the psychedelic effects of ayahuasca were similar to those produced by drugs based on the bark of the acacia tree, which is frequently mentioned in the Bible.(AFP)
一位以色列學者在上週公佈的一項研究中聲稱，摩西在西奈山上領受耶和華十誡時，是處於用藥後的迷幻狀態。
耶路撒冷希伯來大學教授班尼．項農在哲學期刊《時間和精神》撰及，這類會擾人神智的藥物，在聖經時期的以色列宗教儀式中佔有重要地位。
項農上週向以色列公共廣播電台表示：「關於摩西在西乃山上領受的神蹟，有可能是超自然的宇宙現象，也可能是一則傳說，但以上兩種說法我都不相信；另外一個極有可能的情況，就是摩西和同行的以色列人都受到迷幻藥物的影響。」
項農說，摩西看到「荊棘裡火焰」八成也是受到迷幻藥的影響；項農說他本人也有服用過類似的迷幻藥物。
他說：「聖經中提到人們『看見聲響』，這就是用藥的典型反應。」他並舉例說，在亞馬遜地區的宗教儀式中，也會使用迷幻藥讓人可以「看見樂聲」。
他提到自己一九九一年到巴西亞馬遜雨林參加一場宗教儀式的經驗，當時他服用了具迷幻強效的巴西藤蔓 ayahuasca；項農說：「我當時體驗到具精神宗教意涵的幻覺。」
他說，這種巴西藤蔓的藥效和其他刺槐樹皮提煉的藥物差不多；刺槐樹皮經常出現在聖經中。
（法新社�翻譯：袁星塵）
Warning: Taking drugs can damage your health.
警告：吸毒有害健康。
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