THOU SHALT GET HIGH AS A MO-FO

Who says pious people don't know how to party?

According to Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, psychedelic drugs formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times.

Writing in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy, he says concoctions based on the bark of the acacia tree, frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, contain the same molecules as those found in plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca is prepared.

"The thunder, lightning and blaring of a trumpet which the Book of Exodus says emanated from Mount Sinai could just have been the imaginings of a people in an altered state of awareness," writes Shanon. "In advanced forms of ayahuasca inebriation, the seeing of light is accompanied by profound religious and spiritual feelings.

References in the Bible where people "see" sounds, is another "classic phenomenon", he said, citing the example of religious ceremonies in the Amazon in which drugs are used that induce people to "see" music.

Speaking about his article on Israeli public radio, he added: "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."

Moses was probably also on mind-altering drugs when he saw the "burning bush", suggested Shanon, who admitted to dabbling with such substances.

Nope, that can't be right. It can't be the "bark of an acacia tree" (which we could actually find growing, walk up to, pull the bark off of with our own two hands and experience for ourselves.)

It was God himself that spoke to Moses through a burning bush (which we have zero actual proof of). The word of God is right there in the Bible. Just read it.

I'm such an idiot by the way .... Back in school I should have used the Bible for all my reports and term papers! ...

That way, when your 7th period Social Studies teacher is all like: "Your report on a famous inventor needs 3 sources and is due next Friday" you could be all like "Uh Uuuhhh ... I only need ONE source cause it's the word of God bebe! I mean hello ... why do you think it's called a "Bibliograpy?"