#parasitism — Public Fediverse posts

The Hellenistic Origin of the Torah: A Review of Russell Gmirkin’s Books — Laurent Guyénot

Russell Gmirkin’s scholarship presents a radical reevaluation of the origins and composition of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Pentateuch. His theories, which initially seemed extravagant to some, are rooted in rigorous academic investigation within the framework of “biblical minimalism,” a movement that advocates for a later dating of biblical texts than traditionally accepted. This school, exemplified by scholars like Thomas L. Thompson and Niels Peter Lemche from the Copenhagen International Seminar, has faced severe criticism for challenging the antiquity of the biblical narrative, often being branded as anti-Zionist or even anti-Semitic. However, Gmirkin’s work offers compelling arguments that suggest the Hebrew Pentateuch was conceived in the context of Hellenistic culture, particularly drawing from Greek literature and historical works available in the Library of Alexandria around 273-272 BC.

Gmirkin’s arguments hinge on the notion that the Pentateuch was significantly influenced by Greek texts, particularly works by Berossus and Manetho, who chronicled histories of Babylon and Egypt, respectively. He posits that the Hebrew authors crafted their texts not merely as translations of ancient traditions but as new compositions that cleverly disguised their Greek influences to present an ancient and authoritative Jewish narrative. This method of cultural and textual appropriation, Gmirkin suggests, was a strategic adaptation that allowed Jewish scholars to assert their identity and historical significance in a multicultural world dominated by Hellenistic thought and literature. He identifies the Elephantine papyri, dating from around 400 BC, as evidence that the Pentateuch did not exist in its current form at that time, thereby pushing the potential date of its composition further into the Hellenistic period.

In his first book, “Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus,” Gmirkin meticulously analyzes the similarities between the biblical creation narratives in Genesis and the writings of Berossus. He argues that rather than relying on ancient Mesopotamian sources directly, the authors of Genesis utilized Berossus’s compilation, which provided a cohesive Greek perspective on Babylonian creation stories. Gmirkin’s intertextual analysis reveals structural parallels that suggest the authors of Genesis were likely drawing from Berossus as a source, rather than from the fragmented cuneiform texts that precede it. This assertion simplifies the complex web of influences traditionally attributed to the creation of Genesis, suggesting a direct literary lineage from Berossus to the biblical text rather than a convoluted oral tradition.

Furthermore, Gmirkin’s work explores how the biblical narrative engages critically with Babylonian culture, notably through the depiction of the Garden of Eden and the Tower of Babel. He posits that the serpent in the Garden may reflect a Babylonian archetype, the apkallu Oannes, who represents the transmission of knowledge to humanity. This transformation of a benevolent figure into one of treachery symbolizes a broader critique of civilization itself, depicting knowledge as a source of corruption rather than enlightenment. The Tower of Babel serves as a polemical narrative against urban civilization, echoing sentiments found in other contemporary critiques of city life and cultural amalgamation. Ultimately, Gmirkin’s scholarship not only recontextualizes the origins of the Pentateuch but also sheds light on the cultural dialogues and tensions between Jewish identity and the surrounding Hellenistic world during a formative period in history.

 link

(The above is a summary of a longer article provided by the site it is posted on.)

If true, its analysis of the Torah deeply subverts the belief systems of all of the Abrahamic religions and sects based on it. I would maintain that the vocabularies (psycholinguistics) of all religions should be considered as being mere human attempts at understanding matters which are beyond our human capacities to fully understand, and especially to write down. If we do that, an adherence to any Abrahamic tradition can be understood as valuable insofar as it yields profound spiritual experience and good behavior commensurate with human reason and good morals, granting lots of room for variety of interpretations. This same style of interpretation can and should apply to Buddhism, which it sort of already does. The deep flaw in all of the Abrahamic religions and sects is their intellectually weak and vapid need to cling to ancient texts, even to the letter of ancient texts. This has produced a menagerie of competing adamancies that are so stupid that to this day they are still fighting to the death over what was originally mythic nonsense. Buddhism has always (largely) been deep enough to escape such obvious linguistic and psycholinguistic traps. Buddhism focuses on the morality, the experiences, and the wisdom of its traditions, not the words. Freeing religious believers from legalistic credos and beliefs concerning specific entities, words and events will go a long way toward raising human consciousness while preserving that which was truly good in the past. ABN

Carrie Prejean Boller on the fraudulent worship of Israel

Worshipping Israel is a historically recent fraud foisted on unwitting Christians. The Charlie Kirk assassination has thrust this vile fraud to the forefront of many of the Christian sects which have fallen for it. The reasonable suspicion that Israel is somehow behind Kirk’s assassination adds enormous vividity to the exposure of this scriptural fraud and the foul infiltration of Jewish scammers who preceded and encouraged it. Many deluded and false Christians have also been part of the scam. Overall, it is one of the worst religious scams in US history, probably the worst.

For Buddhists, this scam is an example of the danger of worshipping texts, which can be changed. It’s yet another reason the Buddha warned against writing his teachings down. He did not want them to be worshipped, demonically altered or memorized rather than actually learned deeply. Incidentally, this is also a major reason Buddhism is difficult for non-Buddhists to learn. Westerners almost always just place a Christian Venn diagram over Buddhism and presume they are much the same. Not true. Not true at all. The best way to learn Buddhism is to spend time with Buddhists and learn from them. In a word, Buddhism has no absolute beliefs. It is an existential philosophy based on direct personal experience. ABN

They tell you Flock cameras are there to fight crime — theleahfiles

So I pulled the actual police logs from my new favorite website (haveibeenflocked . com). 233 million searches that they have been able to get via FOIA requests and here’s what “fighting crime” actually looks like:

84% had no case number at all
The most common reason a cop typed in the box? Blank, nothing
Only about 9% were even tagged as a real crime.
“Test” and “training” show up as reasons, run on real people’s cars
The FBI and Homeland Security were wired into local camera networks your town never signed off on.

So what is Flock?

FLOCK: 100,000+ plate cameras bolted to poles across America. They read your plate everywhere you drive and never forget.

NOVA: Flock’s AI that turns your plate into you. Your name, address, family, everyone you know, in seconds, no warrant.

SIGNALTRACE: a competitor’s tool that tracks the Bluetooth off your phone, your AirPods, your watch. Doesn’t even need your plate.

Then I followed the money and the lead investor behind Flock also funds an Israeli company that can hack cameras and change the footage. Another lead investor backs a 911 app that flips on your phone’s camera and mic. Trace it all the way back and you hit a former Israeli prime minister and Jeffrey Epstein’s money.

Full article with photos and receipts is on my Substack now (link in bio). Enjoy!

link