Ancient Israelites used cannabis in false worship

[Bek]

The BBC has published a report on a recent archaeological discovery in Tel Arad where ancient Israelites built a temple 2,700 years ago. It is reported that they may have used cannabis to induce a high among worshipers as part of their religious rituals.

 

I presume that the report is talking about apostate Israelites. Does anyone remember if the Bible mentions Israelites being on a high? I have a vague memory of some smoke being used under trees in high places. Maybe someone will pinpoint the verses.  

 

 

Cannabis burned during worship' by ancient Israelites - study

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52847175

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Bek

[Qapla]

Quote

Researchers concluded that cannabis may have been burned in order to induce a high among worshippers.

 

This is the first evidence of psychotropic drugs being used in early Jewish worship, Israeli media report

 

Interesting that they use the term "may have been" and then jump to it being "evidence".

 

Currently, with COVID-19 dominating the news there have been many "may have been" suppositions as to how it spreads, what makes someone immune, how to treat it, how to prevent it ... but, by their own admission, the scientists say nothing is "conclusive" - in other words, they have not found "evidence" for a clear direction to stopping the virus. But, these researchers call "may have burned" evidence of Israelites using cannabis in worship        For all they know, someone else "may have burned" the cannabis for non-religious purposes.

 

Another example of so-called scientists jumping to a conclusion and calling "fact" something that has not been proven, something that is unproven theory .... can you say "evolution" ?

Edited May 29, 2020 by Qapla

[Bek]

51 minutes ago, Qapla said:

 

Interesting that they use the term "may have been" and then jump to it being "evidence".

 

Currently, with COVID-19 dominating the news there have been many "may have been" suppositions as to how it spreads, what makes someone immune, how to treat it, how to prevent it ... but, by their own admission, the scientists say nothing is "conclusive" - in other words, they have not found "evidence" for a clear direction to stopping the virus. But, these researchers call "may have burned" evidence of Israelites using cannabis in worship        For all they know, someone else "may have burned" the cannabis for non-religious purposes.

 

Another example of so-called scientists jumping to a conclusion and calling "fact" something that has not been proven, something that is unproven theory .... can you say "evolution" ?

I think they are just being cautious. They have the hard evidence, but are not sure if it was used in the worship. 

 

Our publications have this on cannabis: 

 

Quote

Were addictive drugs and herbs common in Bible times? Yes, says Tobacco and Kentucky, citing “the evidence of prehistoric pipes excavated at . . . the Mediterranean Sea and inland in Asia Minor [used in smoking] . . . cannabis (marijuana) and other herbs.” In fact, adds the book, “fumigation with, or the inhalation of, the smoke of various substances has been a sacred, healing, or pleasurable practice . . . since time immemorial. . . . As with cannabis and opium, so with tobacco.” Source

 

[Qapla]

47 minutes ago, Bek said:

but are not sure if it was used in the worship

 

Exactly my point ... they went from "may be burned" to "evidence [that it was] used in ... worship".

 

There may be evidence that drugs were used in ancient times - the Bible even warns against the practice of "druggery" (associated with spiritism). So, while there may be evidence that ancient people used drugs, their discovery does not constitute factual evidence Jehovah's people (the Israelites [early Jewish people] ) used cannabis in their worship.

 

While it may have been used in false worship - their assertion that "psychotropic drugs were used in early Jewish worship" makes it sound as though they are saying it was used in "legitimate true worship" ... and we know that is not the case.

 

Quote

The study adds that the findings in Tel Arad suggest that cannabis also played a role in worship at the Temple of Jerusalem.

 

This is because at the time the shrine in Arad was part of a hilltop fortress at the southern frontier of the Kingdom of Judah, and is said to match a scaled-down version of Biblical descriptions of the First Temple in Jerusalem

 

The remains of the temple in Jerusalem are now inaccessible to archaeologists, so instead they study Arad and other similar shrines to help them understand worship at the larger temple.

 

So, again, they assume that, just because something "may" have happened at one temple - it proves it "must" have happened at another one ... even though they cannot study the temple at Jerusalem to know for sure.

 

It would be like a future archeologist finding idols in a Catholic Church as "evidence" that they were used in the Kingdom Hall - because the Church shows they "must have been used" in all religious rites since they were found in one such place.

 

Sorry. I just do not trust so-called "experts" who jump from "may" to "evidence"     

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by Qapla

[Dages]

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

Interesting that they use the term "may have been" and then jump to it being "evidence".

That's modern journalism 

[Bek]

8 hours ago, Qapla said:

 

While it may have been used in false worship - their assertion that "psychotropic drugs were used in early Jewish worship" makes it sound as though they are saying it was used in "legitimate true worship" ... and we know that is not the case.

 

 

For worldly folks, there is no distinction between true and false worship. In fact, most of the time they talk about Jewish worship from an atheistic point of view. 

 

Our organisation has this article on Tel Arad and the second temple: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008485?q=tel+arad&p=par 

 

 

[Godskingdomrules]

This may well be factual or not!

Don't forget during this time as they have carbon dated it to 760 Bce which may or may not be accurate. But this was around the time Manassah, Amon and Josiah, remember the people were making sacrifices among the high places and worshipping false God's, in fact Manassah did on a grand scale what was bad in Jehovah eyes.

 

I mean I'm sure you got to be high off something to sacrifice your children in the fire to some false god.

 

As was mentioned if you look up the word Sorcerer on JW library you will find it is closely linked to spells and druggery taking substances to make contact with the demons which getting high off cannabis and other substances can do to relax the mind.

 

Not saying that this archeological sight was this but it would fit in the description of the time of the false worshipping Israelites.

[Brother_Bliss]

On 5/29/2020 at 3:37 PM, Qapla said:

While it may have been used in false worship - their assertion that "psychotropic drugs were used in early Jewish worship" makes it sound as though they are saying it was used in "legitimate true worship" ... and we know that is not the case.

If it were to be used as part of true worship, there would be scriptures mentioning it's use. But there is not.

 

On the other hand, we know that Israel and the Jews deviated from the pure worship of Jehovah countless times, even incorporating pagan practices into their worship. The use of cannabis could easily have been taking place during the rule of one of the many bad kings who led the people astray.

[LoneWanderer]

All I was thinking was some youths in modern day Israel/Palestine going to these archaeological sights for smoking ... purposes but then my wife told me they can carbon date things 🙊

[pnutts]

Carbon dating is based on several assumptions that are not true.

1. That carbon clock starts at zero. How do they know? They don't.

2. That rate of decay is constant. It isn't. It can vary from hour to hour depending upon solar radiation.

3. That sample wasn't contaminated.

4. What if someone used a chunk of wood from an old building, etc., then used to make a handle for a tool.

Is the date for tool accurate or based on the old piece of wood?

[carlos]

Well, there are facts and reasonable conclusions, and then there are baseless speculations.

 

Remains of burned cannabis were found in an Israelite pagan temple. And since it was found on two altars that were buried in sand from thousands of years ago, it cannot be from some modern guys that stopped there to smoke some joints. It has to be from ancient times. Those are facts.

 

Since the drug was found in a pagan temple, upon two altars, it seems very likely that it was burned during a pagan ritual. Again, we can't know this for sure but any other explanation doesn't make sense. This is a reasonable conclusion.

 

Now to conclude that, since drugs were used in the rituals in that temple, they were probably used in true worship in Jerusalem too is completely baseless. The very fact that these guys worshiped in a temple other than Jerusalem's proves in itself that they didn't worship Jehovah or at least not in the way established in the Law. So nothing of what they did there can be extrapolated to the worship in Jerusalem.

 

On 5/29/2020 at 4:15 PM, Bek said:

I have a vague memory of some smoke being used under trees in high places. Maybe someone will pinpoint the verses.  

Well, the Bible does mention sacrificial smoke on the high places. I guess that was smoke from animal sacrifices, but it's not unthinkable that some pot was added to the mixture.

 

(1 Kings 22:42, 43) . . .. 43 He kept walking in all the way of Aʹsa his father. He did not deviate from it, and he did what was right in Jehovah’s eyes. However, the high places were not removed, and the people were still sacrificing and making sacrificial smoke on the high places.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by carlos