The Church, Bible, Moses and Jesus
Genesis 1:29 Does, in all fairness, speak for itself. As far as the bible is concerned, there is nothing in there about - "Oh, except this one - my mistake" - Unless of course you want to make an argument for it being the Tree of Life - but I'm pretty sure that was an apple tree, and a very special one at that.
Jesus and the Holy Anointing Oil
Anointing oil, mentioned 20 times in Scripture was
used in the Old Testament exclusively for the ordination of the priesthood and the Tabernacle and later extended to prophets and kings. (Exodus 25:6; Leviticus 8:30; Numbers 4:16). It
was forbidden to be used on an outsider or to be used on the
body of any common persons and it was forbidden for them to duplicate it for themselves (Exodus 30:32)
·
Pure myrrh (mar deror): 500 shekels (about
6 kg)
·
Sweet cinnamon (kinnemon
besem): 250 shekels (about 3 kg)
·
Kaneh bosem (kaneh bosm): 250
shekels (about 3 kg)
·
Cassia (kiddah) 500 shekels (about
6 kg)
·
Olive oil (shemen
zayit) one hin (about 4-7
liters?)
The controversial ingredient is Kaneh bosem, which literally translates as "Sweet Cane" and has been linked to several plants, the two most credible being, Calamus and Cannabis.
Calamus
Calamus contains an ingredient called aserone. This is a hallucinogen which is metabolized in the liver as trimethoxyamphetamine or ecstasy, however, the indigenous Middle Eastern version of this plant is far more toxic being deadly to flies and other insects. In 1936, Sara Benetowa (Aka: Sula Benet) an etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences, in Warsaw argued that the translation of Calamus was a mistranslation which occurred in the oldest Bible the “Septuagint” and the mistranslation was copied in later versions. The Exodus 30:23 reference refers to "sweet" Calamus
Cannabis
Sula Benet did a study on the word Cannabis. She demonstrated that the ancient Hebrew word for Cannabis is Kaneh-Bosem. "The sacred character of hemp in biblical times is evident from Exodus 30:23, where Moses was instructed by God to anoint the meeting tent and all of its furnishings with specially prepared oil, containing hemp." In the course of time, the two words kaneh and bosem were fused into one, kanabos or kannabus and according to the Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary the Hebrew for hemp is kanabos.
Jesus Healing the Sick
Many New Testament passages refer to the practice of
anointing with oil; In Mark 6:13, the disciples anoint the sick and heal them. In James 5:14, the church elders anoint the sick with oil for healing.
In Hebrews 1:8-9, God says to Christ as He returns triumphantly to
heaven, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever," and God
anoints Jesus "with the oil of gladness."
Jesus is widely reported in the Bible as being able to (miraculously) heal the following:
- Blindness - (Matthew 9:27-31, 20:29-34) (Luke 18:35-43) (Mark 10:46-52)
"The ability of cannabis to improve the symptoms of glaucoma has been demonstrated in various studies and many medical cannabis patients utilize cannabis for glaucoma, and report improvements in various symptoms."
- Helping the crippled to walk, and other physical disabilities (Matthew 12:10-13) (Mark 3:1-7) (Luke 6:6-11) (Acts 14:8)
Patients suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, which is a neurological condition, struggle
with the correct functioning of muscles and would have
appeared to be "crippled" in the times.
There is a clear consensus amongst scientists and
doctors that cannabis is safe and effective as a palliative treatment for
MS and was the first condition for which medical cannabis was
approved for legal access. GW Pharmaceutical's first full plant extract medicine, Sativex, is currently approved for MS, but is too expensive for our NHS at roughly 10 times the cost of growing your own at home.
- Cured Skin diseases Skin Diseases/Leprosy: (Matthew 8:1-4) (Mark 1:40-45) (Luke 5:12-15, 17:11-19)
Leprosy is a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis, which belong to the same genus as the tuberculosis bacterium, M. tuberculosis.Cannabis is a historic treatment for leprosy, which has affected humanity for millennia, and continues to infect hundreds of thousands per year.
- Demonic Healings - (Matthew 9:2-18) (Mark 1:23-28, 2:3-12) (Luke 4:31-36, 5:17-26) - and many many more
Epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, Anxiety, Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses could and would all have been diagnosed in those times as "Demonic Possession".
Individual reports of children with refractory
(or intractable) epilepsy who have tried cannabis, usually with high
ratios of cannabidiol to THC, have reported marked improvements in seizure
frequency, including a report describing the results of Charlotte, a girl with Dravet's syndrome.
Research published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease “strongly suggest that THC [the main active ingredient in marijuana] could be a
potential therapeutic treatment option for Alzheimer’s disease through multiple
functions and pathways.”
It can be a debilitating disorder that affects how
people socialize and cope with daily stress. And though there are
pharmaceutical options available—including benzodiazepines such as Xanax—the
fact of that matter is, those drugs are highly addictive and dangerous.
Marijuana is non-toxic and non-addictive, and it is still an effective form of
treatment.
GW Pharmaceuticals have unveiled trial data
raising hopes that its cannabis-based drug cannabidiol might prove an effective
treatment for schizophrenia. The placebo-controlled
clinical trial involved 88 patients with schizophrenia who had previously
failed to respond adequately to first-line treatment with anti-psychotics.
"These findings further
reinforce the potential role of cannabinoids in the field of neuropsychiatric
disease," said GW’s chief executive Justin Gover. “We believe that the
signals of efficacy demonstrated in this trial, together with a notably
reassuring safety profile, provide GW with the prospect of new and distinct
cannabinoid neuropsychiatric product pipeline opportunity”
Moses, Mount Sinai and The Burning Bush
All we really know is that Moses got the inspiration to lead his people out of Egypt after travelling to the top of Mount Sinai (Aka: smokey mountains), where he was confronted by a burning bush that spoke to him with the voice of God.
When he came down, he made the first menorah, an oil lamp with seven flames
which could be a reference to the seven points of a cannabis leaf and "smokey
mountain" of Mount Sinai could actually be a reference to cannabis
intoxication. It was only after becoming intoxicated with cannabis smoke that
Moses received the inspiration to make a menorah and lead his people out of
slavery.
Today, many people recognize the inspirational powers of cannabis. For
example, Carl Sagan attributed all his important scientific discoveries to
inspiration he received after smoking a joint. Louis Armstrong and John Lennon
also spoke of the inspirational powers of cannabis. And wherever you find cannabis
use, you’ll find spiritual cultures seeking to throw off the chains of
oppression, whether it be Rastas in Jamaica or hippies in North America.
Summary and Conclusion
The
conspiracy theory that the Church has suppressed the use of cannabis in their Holy
Anointing Oil in order to both protect the miracle healing power of Jesus and
to keep this privilege to the highest members of the church is feasible but in the absence of a more credible
alternative explanation for all of these events and stories, Kaneh Bosen actually being
cannabis, used by a healer to heal many sick people from a wide range of illnesses
and disabilities does seem most credible, given the growing evidence we have of its therapeutic benefits.
In addition, anyone who identifies as a Christian and has an issue with the use of cannabis should have a bit of a think about that.
In addition, anyone who identifies as a Christian and has an issue with the use of cannabis should have a bit of a think about that.
Jon Liebling – Political Director of United Patients Alliance
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Thank you to the following sources:
https://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/jesus-healed-using-cannabis-study-shows/
https://stevenhager420.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/the-true-story-of-mount-sinai-and-the-burning-bush/
http://stronginfaith.org/article.php?page=9
http://www.gotquestions.org/anointing-oil.html
http://contextout.blogspot.co.uk/p/moses-used.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page
Thank you to the following sources:
https://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/jesus-healed-using-cannabis-study-shows/
https://stevenhager420.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/the-true-story-of-mount-sinai-and-the-burning-bush/
http://stronginfaith.org/article.php?page=9
http://www.gotquestions.org/anointing-oil.html
http://contextout.blogspot.co.uk/p/moses-used.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page