The bizarre editing of the Bible

INDEX

THE BIZARRE EDITING
OF THE BIBLE

      The book of Joshua contains internal inconsistencies. When explored these contradictions lead to furthercontradictions in following manuscripts. Previously I alluded to the varioustraditions surrounding King David, and I focused on David's killing of Goliath,a story which is clearly a composite of several strands of different material. The editorial process in the Bible is unlike anything we would recognize today as redaction. When ancient Greek historians gathered together variant storiesand myths concerning their kings and gods, they merely presented the varianttales, sometimes without comment. When the priestly redactors combined theBiblical stories they did so with an obvious agenda. They wanted to leave the impression that the Biblical manuscripts were not composed of variant source materials, but rather came from a single source. When we keep in mind that the scribes and the priests were the final possessors of Biblical manuscripts, we can assume that the single source for the writings would be claimed to be God. (This is the belief system that eventually arose, and with this in mind, it seems unlikely that the editing was merely ‘coincidental' or ‘convenient'.) Thus we see in the Bible a very curious form of editing, sometimes quite clumsy, with contradictory and conflicting traditions spun together into a kind of cobweb with editorial commentary added here and there in an attempt to 'stitch up the loose ends.'
      The point that I am trying to bring home here is that wherever these 'loose threads' are found, wherever you encounter one of these 'cobwebs' spun out of variantpassages in the Bible it is an indication that variant traditions havebeen spun together in an attempt to 'submerge' them and create a unified whole. The attempt to support the false claim that 'the Bible isinfallibly inerrant' has deep historical roots. During the time that themanuscript variants existed in separated form, it is hard to imagine such abelief taking root, and it only came to fruition in the generationsfollowing this redactional activity, and was the intended purpose and theproduct of this editorial process.
      There is a break in continuity between Joshua and the book of Judges, to the self evident embarrassment of the redactors. Immediately after the firstchapter of Judges, which demolishes the claims made in the book of Joshua(itself internally inconsistent) the redactors inserted a verbatim repeat of Joshua 24:28 (Joshua dismisses the tribes; also Judges 2:8-10). Then the noteregarding Joshua's death is repeated (Joshua 24:29; also Judges 2:8-10; see alsoJudges 1:1). This is very awkward attempt at 'picking up our story where weleft off, before we were so rudely interrupted by that embarrassing first chapterof Judges.' Here the editorial process is every bit as awkward as that in theArk story or the two stories of David meeting Saul. This suggests that the scribes were limited in their use of the source materials available to them. They could edit, and they could spin and weave, but they could not throw things out. The traditions found on the pages of the Bible came from various groups that were unified after the exile to Babylon, and they needed to feel satisfied that there stories were not being tossed out in favor of the stories of some other group. This social pressure seems the most likely motivating factor to force scribes to include contradictory material in the Bible and the impulse to create an authoritative document that would not be questioned was the motivating factor in attempting to submerge and hide the various sources, rather than simply placing them side by side in the Biblical manuscripts.
      Now it would be far more convenient if no contradictory scripture existed, but even though scriptures cannot be disposed of, they can be nullified or ignored. They can be ‘nullified' through the process of redaction, (by trying to hide them during the editorial process) and they can be nullified in usage. When confronted with the first chapter of Judges, I have found that certain preachers simplydo a quick hop over this chapter, and then dive into chapter two, where theJoshua narrative resumes (only to break off once again before the end of thechapter.) According to the Joshua account, they killed all the nativeinhabitants, "and they left not a single survivor. And the land was at peace." According to Judges the people did not 'obey God' and act to drive out thenative populations.

"You did not obey me and now look what you have done! Sonow I will not drive out the natives of the land before you. Their gods willbecome a snare for you. The Israelites all broke out in wailing, so they calledthe place Bokim (which means, 'weepers')." (Judges 2:2)
      Yes they wept for God did not drive out the natives of the land, leaving Ezra and Nehemiah to rail against the natives in a future time. Imagine that. Tradition tells us that the book of Joshua is 'inspired', and the Bible is'infallibly inerrant', and no 'heretic' is ever going to stand in the way ofthis belief. The book ofJudges resists this process of 'harmonization of holy scripture', is thus itself'heretical,' and can be safely ignored. However, when convenient, the book ofJudges is also 'infallibly inerrant.' It is inspired, unless, of course, thetopic of the sermon is Joshua, in which case, it apparently is not.
      There are many examples of bits and pieces of two obviously separate traditions being spun together on the pages of Bible, and this is just one interesting example of this very sort of thing. The unitary conquest presented in Joshua and the fragmentary conquest presented in Judges, and the archeological and manuscript evidence ofthe continuing presence of the native populations of Canaan, areirreconcilable. Among the strands of material in Joshua of later date thansomething that could have happened during Joshua's lifetime, are the assignment of Levite cities in chapter 21 (parallel versions in Numbers 35 and 1 Chronicles6). These areas were only conquered during the reign of David and Solomon (ifwe accept the alternative accounts as historical). Joshua Chapters 13-21 seem to be oflater date, and may themselves be composed of separate strands of tradition. Asuperimposed version seems to correspond to the provincial system as it existedunder King Josiah, although some argue that the boundaries represent those underSolomon. The book is obviously composed of material that spans the centuries as well as the theological and political divide.
     The major problem with the Joshua manuscript concerns the picking of lots (compare the modern practice of 'tossing dice' or 'picking straws' for an analogy to this process of dividing upthe land.) The survey and lot casting, and the occupation of the land whichfollow presuppose a unitary conquest. This scenario is clearly contradicted both in the book of Joshua, itself, and in the book of Judges, demonstrating the sort of bizarre editing that produced the Bible.

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A Unified Field Theory

The Unified Field Theory
is also available as a zip file -> unified.zip

Introduction :The Pioneer Effect and the New Physics. A brief description of the new physics required to explain the 'Pioneer Effect', which is the constant deceleration of space craft as they fly through space.

Principles of Evolution: A Study in the Evolution of Bedbugs

A couple of years ago my bedroom was invaded by bedbugs. There were two variant genetic lines. One type of bedbug was an enlongated, thin, tubular insect, and the second genetic line was a flat, perfectly circular insect. The result of the cross breeding of these two genetically distinct variants was the production of a bedbug with charcteristics of both, an enlongated, flat bedbug with a central bulge (such that the shape of the bedbug was somewhere between 'long' and 'circular'). The long skinny bedbugs were such strange and unfamiliar looking insects that at first I did not recognize them as being bedbugs, and considered them to be a seperate species of insect. However, as the photographs of bedbugs above indicate, enlongated and skinny bedbugs are not uncommon, and the photographs also show the variants that are produced by genetic combinations that result in an insect somewhere in between 'circular' and 'enlongated'.

Therefore it is my hypothesis that evolution occurs by means of the transfer of dominate genes, with the production of such dominant genes being the product of 'biological algorithms', a genetic software program that brings physical characteristics into harmony with behavior, such that when behavior changes, and a conflict then exists, this acts as a trigger and causes the release of dominant genes. The result is rapid evolution of species. The bedbug is a relatively new insect, not the product of millions of years of evolution but rather an insect that is evolving in real time. The newly emerging dominant form of the insect is the flat, round ciruclar insect, well adapted to living in human bedrooms (it is flat, rather than tubular, thus allowing it to hide in the smallest cracks, living a stealthy lifestyle, and it is round, which gives the insect a maximum storage capacity such that it must endanger itself only a few times a month by emerging to feed.

Other examples of rapid evolution include the development of long legs in an invasive species of toad in Australia. As the toads move into the mountainous regions of Australia, and their behvaior changes, making them 'climbing toads', over the course of just a couple of decades the toads in the highlands have grown long legs specially adapted to climbing. It is worth noting here that the toads are poisonous, and are a successful invasive species because they have no natural predators in Australia, and so it would not be the case that the toads with long legs were 'the fittest survivors', because all the toads are survivors, and therefore predation does not explain the rapid emergence and spread of such well adapted, long legged toads. Once again we see evidence for the existence of biological algorithms and the rapid spread of dominant genes through a population, which once introduced proceed to overwhelm the older genes which are being replaced (making toad long legged and a bed bug round and flat).

A Theological Experiment

My interest in pursuing the Unified Field Theory is spurred on by my need to discover the theoretical explanation of a new form of propulsion (as explained on this page: Why the Unified Field Theory?). The experiment involving the bedbugs came out of nowhere.

I also believe that it is possible to justify theological propositions using experimental methods. If a thing is an objective truth then it can be verified and proven true by means of experimentation. Such a theological proposition is of more value than a ‘divine revelation’, since such revelations depend upon nothing more than establishing authority figures which requires the creation of artificial hierarchies, for the only reason why I might be encouraged to believe an authority figure who orders me to believe unsubstantiated opinions is if I could somehow be convinced that this authority possessed a mind that was somehow superior to mine, and thus was fit to express opinions as though opinions were unquestionable facts and thus worthy of being elevated to the status of absolute dogma.

There is a self evident human inequality which is visibly apparent. Some people are ‘beautiful’ and thus are the true elite on this planet, and some people are not. It is this sexual inequality and the degeneration that follows upon beauty that is the true driving force behind all the evil that happens on earth. The need for ruthless oppression and the pursuit of wealth and the consequent creation of suffering and poverty which must follow upon this practice is for the purpose of creating an artificial alpha elite.

The true elites are the young and the beautiful. The artificial elite are the rich and the wealthy. The elite aging rich artificial alpha male has no good looks, for he is physically degenerate, but he will be found escorting beauty because he has a beautiful wallet. If he loses his wallet he will be found at home with all the other unattractive aged beta males sitting in a rocking chair watching reruns of Bonanza. No money, no sex. It is for this reason that the alpha males are found to be so ruthless and so violent in pursuit of their goal. The alpha male has fallen. The beta male has arisen and now the whole planet is full of ruinous destruction for it.

We see in religion a confused and contradictory reaction to this reality. On the one hand religion preaches a sexless heaven where castration and the clitorectomy create ‘pure spirits’. Muslims throw women under sacks. On the other hand religion supports hierarchy and is the prop of the elite alpha male. It is for this reason that religion is incoherent when it comes to speaking about sex.

Now we see this same principle at work in all of nature. Guppies dance and show off their colorful tails and the guppy who dances with the most colorful tail is the sexually successful guppy. Therefore it is the doctrine of the ruthless oppressor which teaches that the solution to human sexual violence is to be found in castration and the creation of pure ghosts. This would be equivalent to damning an aardvark for having the ‘sinful aardvark nature’ or prosecuting an anteater for the high crime of ‘ant genocide’.

Therefore it was my theological hypothesis that the correct solution to this problem is to give every guppy a beautiful colorful tail. I compare this solution to the classic religious solution which is to cut off every tail since having a tail is ‘sinful’. If having a tail is sinful then God must be sinful for no human being has any choice in deciding whether or not they would be born with a colorful tail, or whether they would not.

When I was young I was a beautiful guppy with a lovely tail. So everyone seemed to think. I am older now. My nose became very badly sunburned and destroyed. It seemed good to me to test my hypothesis by using these ‘biological algorithms’ to correct this problem. I healed half my nose as you can see by the line separating the still very dark patch on the side in the photograph below.

I documented my experiment on these pages. one two t hree four fi ve six

I have confirmed to my own satisfaction that my theological proposition is correct and that religious dogma is erroneous, being based as it was upon nothing more than ‘divine revelation’ which is just a form of opinionated speculation. For the time being I am not continuing this experiment, for I must wait until the weather on this planet improves, and the dark clouds of ruthless oppression break letting a little sun shine come through so that I can show the world the truth about God, by showing people how God goes about giving an old guppy back his beautiful colorful tail.

Until then I will have to sit on the sidelines, while all my scientific breakthroughs are deliberately ignored, while I wonder to myself what ever in the world could be wrong with the human race, because what this all will prove at the end of it all is that there definitely was something wrong with the people on this planet.