Egypt knew no Pharaoh nor israelites

By Ezzat

I was reading this book that makes some very wild claims concerning bible stories, especially the old testament variety.

The thesis is that the stories might have taken place but the geographical location is Yemen and Arabia not Egypt nor Palestine. That the Egyptian geography is a fraud by the scribes who translated the Hebrew Bible to Greek.

He also argues that Egypt was the land of the Copts not Misr/ Mizrain ( all Arabic names). In his view, to do justice to the Torah, it should be returned to its true site, that’s Arabia. He even says the reason the Quran’s seeming similarity with the Torah is not because Mo copied but because they share the same cultural origins: violence, tribalism and slavery that’s why these themes take prominent stage in these books.

On the other hand, the land of the pyramids knew no slaves. And no prolonged droughts. Nor is it conceivable that in 400 years, the Egyptians were not affected by these goat herders. Egypt makes no mention of these goat herders and even the exodus is unknown to Egypt.

It seems to me, a lot of work needs to go into verifying this thesis. Maybe if this happens, those guys fighting may learn to live in peace given they share the same cultural heritage.


Extracts from Eve’s Diary

by Mark Twain,

Anyone who has read these essays of M.T has in someway pondered over how life would have been for Adam and Eve, had they been the first personages on earth.

Where did the first lion get the meat to eat if all animals were created at the same instant? Or maybe, lions were first vegetarians, just like tigers and leopards and only started to eat meat after the fall. And it is after the fall also that all animals lost their innocence and started copulating.

Have you heard of the law of fluid precipitation? Well, Twain made it up. But imagine the first person to notice that water flows downhill.

Then think about that command of not eating fruit of some tree or else you shall die. They have no idea of what death is. They have not seen any death already. And here, Twain arrives at one of his truisms

a person can’t think when he has no material to think with.

The first pair decide the best way to find our what to die means is to eat the fruit, then they shall die, and will know what it is, and not have any more bother about it. If you believe the bible is true, we are still dying from this desire for knowledge.

It’s morning here, go ponder the rest.

was Luke Paul’s close companion?

Walter Cassels in his work, Supernatural Religion notes

As a general rule, any document so full of miraculous episodes and supernatural occurrences would, without hesitation, be characterized as fabulous and incredible, and would not, by any sober-minded reader, be for a moment accepted as historical. There is no other testimony for these miracles. Let the reader endeavour to form some conception of the nature and amount of evidence necessary to establish the truth of statements antecedently so incredible, and compare it with the testimony of this solitary and anonymous document, the character and value of which we shall now proceed more closely to examine.

it is with this background that we consider whether Luke was, first, an eyewitness to Jesus life, a companion of Paul ad the author of Acts.

As to the first point, Luke was no eyewitness. He says so himself in the first verse. HE is compiling what has come down to him from other eyewitnesses. Can his work be considered historical? I think to the extent that he writes about angels and other supernatural occurrences, that work cannot be historical.

As to whether Luke was the author of Acts, Cassels writes

After examining all the early Christian literature, and taking every passage which is referred to as indicating the use of the book, we see that there is no certain trace even of its existence till towards the
end of the second century; and, whilst the writing itself is anonymous, we find no authority but late tradition assigning it to Luke or to any other author.

And as to the final question, whether the author of Acts was a companion of Paul, the verdict, again, is negative. We cite this example, though plenty are provided for the student who wants to discover more for themselves

According to Paul himself (Gal. i. 16—18), after his conversion, he communicated not with flesh and blood, neither went up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before him, but immediately went
away into Arabia, and returned to Damascus, and only after three years he went up to Jerusalem to visit Kephas, and abode with him fifteen days, during which visit none other of the Apostles did he see “save
James, the brother of the Lord.” If assurance of the correctness of these details were required, Paul gives it by adding (v. 20): “Now the things which I am writing to you, behold before God I lie not.”

According to Acts (ix. 19—30), however, the facts are quite different. Paul immediately begins to preach in Damascus, does not visit Arabia at all, but, on the contrary, goes to Jerusalem, where, under the
protection of Barnabas (v. 26, 27), he is introduced to the Apostles, and “was with them going in and out.”

According to Paul (Gal. i. 22), his face was after that unknown unto the churches of Judaea, whereas, according to Acts, not only was he “going in and out” at Jerusalem with the Apostles, but (ix. 29) preached boldly in the name of the Lord, and (Acts xxvi. 20) “in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judaea,” he urged to repentance.

According to Paul (Gal. ii. 1 ff.), after fourteen years he went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, “according to a revelation,” and “privately” communicated his Gospel “to those who seemed to be something,” as, with some irony, he calls the Apostles. In words still breathing irritation and determined
independence, Paul relates to the Galatians the particulars of that visit—how great pressure had been exerted to compel Titus, though a Greek, to be circumcised, “that they might bring us into bondage,” to
whom, “not even for an hour did we yield the required subjection.”

Given this background, where does my new friend, pastor blue jeans get his evidence for the claim that Luke was a physician, evangelist, author of acts and close companion of Paul?

About the city of Ai

And Joshua burned Ai and made it a mound forever, a desolation to this day And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until the evening, and when the sun set Joshua have a command, and they threw his corpse down from the tree and three it down at the entrance of the city’s gate and set up a big pile of stones over him to this day

If any one has an idea where Ai is and whether archaeologists have found the bones of the king, let me know. I want to visit Ai.

The good book

Here Nan has an excellent post that there is nothing yours truly can add to. But borrowing from her line of thought, how do the people who take the bible as god inspired deal with the injustice in it?

Take for example Isaac’s blessing to Jacob. He says

May peoples serve you and nations bow to you be your brothers’ superior, and may your mother’s sons bow to you may those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.

And shortly afterwards, from want of extra blessings to pass around, he tells Esau

Here, away from the fat of the earth will be your home, and from the dew of the skies from above and you will live by your sword. And you will serve your brother and it will be that when you get dominion you’ll break his yoke from your neck.

Some people argue that this was the way the authors of the bible explained conflict between nations or beginning of strife that still plague the world.

To imagine that these fellows were living at a time when YHWH would drop by for visits and they did not seek his advice! Shortly we have Esau planning on dispatching his brother to the netherworld following a botched blessing ceremony. Maybe this is why lawyers insist on everyone being present during the reading of wills and final testaments.

He was right who said a god who drowned his children cannot teach me how to raise mine.