No getting stoned in new Bible

[T_i_B]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1436392,00.html

For centuries scholars have argued over the most delicate nuances of biblical texts, passionately debating whether key words should be tweaked to reflect cultural changes.
But, despite the fervent exchange of such learned views, there has been no fretting about whether the Bible endorses dope-smoking. Until now.

A 15-strong panel of eminent theologians and linguists was so concerned that young people reading the Bible today are confusing the phrase 'stoned' not with Old Testament executions but with drugs, that it has suggested a radical clarification to a forthcoming edition of the sacred text.

In an attempt to clear up any confusion on the part of Britain's youth, Today's New International Version Bible, published by Hodder & Stoughton on Tuesday, updates the original edition, published 27 years ago, so that people are 'stoned to death', rather than 'stoned'.

[LiberalVoice]

1. Ive almost been "Stoned to death" before...

damn near crapped my pants I laughed so hard. :smoke:

[Renew Deal]

2. Now is this really necessary?

I didn't think using the bible somehow justified getting high. We're that many people getting away with it?

[skylarmae]

3. surely this is a joke - UK teens equate biblical stoning with pot???

Give me a break..

[kedrys]

4. No one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle

even if they do say "Jehovah"! :P

[progressoid]

11. Well, that put a smile on my face!!

"blessed are the cheesemakers"

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. what would be really radical

is not to retranslate old translations of translations of Christian texts, but to go back to the earliest extant Christian texts, espcially those written in Hebrew or Aramaic, which were the languages spoken in the Holy Land at the time of Jesus. Then translate them directly to modern languages, using the best scholarship available. I think folks would be very surprised to find out what the holy books actually say.


Check out "Prayers of the Cosmos" by Neil Douglas-Klotz to see what I mean.

[mcscajun]

6. Reminds me of a George Carlin bit.

"The Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say On Television"

"But, there are some two-way words. There are double-meaning words. Remember the ones your giggled at in sixth grade? 'And the cock crowed three times.''Hey, the cock the cock crowed three times. It's in the bible, man. Cock is in the bible.'"

They're not worried about confusion; they're just tired of hearing the snickering from the back rows.



:smoke: :hippie: :smoke:

[T_i_B]

7. That's what I thought!

I can just see the snickering in RE classes now!

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. It wouldn't be the first time

After all, 1 Kings 21:21 has changed from:
(King James Version) "Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel"
to
(New International Version) "I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel-slave or free."

or Isaiah 36:12:
"But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?"
to
"But the commander replied, "Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall-who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?""

[T_i_B]

10. The last paragraph is useful here

Overall, around seven per cent of the original New International Version Bible has been altered in a bid to bring clarity to a new generation of readers. Some of the changes appear trivial. For example, Matthew's use of the word 'tunic' becomes 'shirt' and his phrase 'with child' becomes 'pregnant'. However, some changes are more profound. Use of the word 'Christ', which was popular with Greek-speaking churches, has been replaced by the Hebrew title 'Messiah'.

[intheflow]

9. Related blurb from the Utne Reader:

http://www.utne.com/pub/2003_116/promo/10324-1.html

What Would Jesus Smoke?
March / April 2003 Issue

A new study of scriptural texts indicates that Jesus and his disciples were proponents of the medicinal properties of cannabis, reports High Times (Feb. 2003). Kaneh-bosem, a cannabis extract, was an ingredient in the anointing oils and incense Jesus and his disciples used in ceremonies and in healing rituals, writes Chris Bennett. “Although most modern people choose to smoke or eat pot, when its active ingredients are transferred into an oil-based carrier, it can also be absorbed through the skin.”

[progressoid]

12. Hippies

[Must_B_Free]

13. Friday evening Jewish Men's ritual

before the men's feast they smoldered cannabis in a pan of hot coals. So it wasn't like they were pulling tubes, but none the less, they were breathing cannabis smoke. (It probably wasn't 400 sheckles an ounce back then either, so I'm sure they had enough to consume it in this less efficient manner.)

source herer - emporer wears no clothes

[Zhade]

14. Considering hemp/mj grew all over the place back then, people were stoned.

It would be the height of ignorance to argue otherwise.

Hell, Jesus (if he did indeed exist) was probably on something a few times. His purported words do sound like the kinds of things that could come from one who has had entheogenic experiences.

(That's not an insult, btw - I would consider such actions to be fine and healthy. I'm convinced our own evolution was at least partially driven by entheogenic experiences. That Jesus might have been under the influence when he expressed some of his thoughts would in no way invalidate the goodness of those thoughts.)

[regnaD kciN]

15. Well, they'll stone you when you're trying to be so good...

...They'll stone you just like they said they would
They'll stone you when you're trying to go home
Then they'll stone you when you're there all alone
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

;-)