Guest essay by Fred F. Mueller
While many people will agree that some of the stories recorded in the Old Testament might not be taken too literally, this book nevertheless deserves a lot of respect for the fact that is represents the collective wisdom and historical records of a nomad populace that roamed vast swathes of Egypt, Mesopotamia and adjacent regions before finally settling in what is now known as Israel.
These tribes were highly intelligent and had a remarkably good understanding of many basic rules governing their daily life. Given the hygienic knowledge and standards of these times, rules determining how to prepare kosher food certainly had the beneficial additional effect of preventing the spread of diseases such as trichinosis or salmonella infections.
The old Jews had a basic but efficient set of laws called the Ten Commandments and, by observing the Shabbat, also practiced a very early form of work hour limitation. And, over a time period probably spanning back thousands of years into the fogs of unrecorded early human history, they kept the collective memory of key weather events and natural disasters such as Noah’s flood or the (probably volcanic) annihilation of Gomorrah. A very remarkable exploit of the Old Testament is the description of the Ten Plagues affecting Egypt. One can view them as a line-up of the worst natural incidents these people ever had lived and recorded over a period of probably several thousand years. Which now brings me to the decisive point: the list does not include freezing temperatures and deep snow.
Hail, but neither snow nor subzero temperatures
While the Ten Plagues included hail storms, the records clearly limit their impact to the destruction of crops and the battering to death of cattle and humans alike. Such events are extremely violent but also very ephemeral. The Bible makes no mention of bitter cold or of lasting snowfall. Given the high intelligence and excellent observation skills of the ancient Jews, one might feel enticed to suggest that during hundreds if not thousands of years, weather events of this type simply did not occur in their habitat.
Which now brings me to the decisive point: while the proponents of the theory of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming (CAGW) insist that the temperatures of the planet are set to rise in an accelerating mode that we won’t be able to control least we adopt drastic climate protecting measures a.s.a.p., we just learn that in the Sinai desert, a region to the south-west of Israel, four hikers have died in a blizzard. They lost their way and sadly froze to death in deep snow at temperatures well below the freezing point. Pictures in the internet show camels knee-deep in snowdrifts.
If one pieces together this information and biblical records, one might feel entitled to draw the conclusion that such a weather event hasn’t been observed in the region for several thousand years. Not exactly an indication of runaway temperatures, at least not a rush to the northern regions of the mercury scale. And this wasn’t a singular event. Over a prolonged time period and a wide area, the Middle East might have been experiencing its worst cold snap in several hundred if not thousand years.
This certainly does not harmonize with stories about runaway temperatures sizzling our planet. If the Bible is right, the CAGW theory seems to have hit some serious snag. Maybe it would be a good suggestion to tell these people to go back to the drawing boards and proceed to an in-depth makeover of their simulation software…
[Note: some commenters questioned why this essay was posted, I simply saw it as an interesting discussion of recorded historical events, something that scholars worldwide look to document. The Roman Warm Period is well known and also much studied, and it coincides with many writings in the Bible. Wikipedia says:
Theophrastus (371 – c. 287 BC) wrote that date trees could grow in Greece if planted, but could not set fruit there. This is the same situation as today, and suggests that southern Aegean mean summer temperatures in the fourth and fifth centuries BC were within a degree of modern temperatures. This and other literary fragments from the time confirm that the Greek climate during that period was basically the same as it was around 2000 AD. Dendrochronological evidence from wood found at the Parthenon shows variability of climate in the fifth century BC resembling the modern pattern of variation.[3] Tree rings from Italy in the late third century BC indicate a period of mild conditions in the area at the time that Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants.[4]
The phrase “Roman Warm Period” appears in a 1995 doctoral thesis.[5] It was popularized by an article published in Nature in 1999.
Anyone reading anything more into this posting, or thinking that I’m endorsing the idea that the bible “disproves global warming” should think again. – Anthony]
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Pam,
Like I said, I’ve studied the concordance bible. I can reference my claims too. Look:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=serpent&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/serpent
1. snake
But if you want to pretend it was something else, I’m fine with that.
Whatever tickles your fancy.
I was just trying to explain what the story actually says.
נחש — nachash — serpent
JohnB says:
February 25, 2014 at 9:29 pm
@John Robertson. I don’t see a hijack here since the question is “Are ancient Climates recorded in ancient texts”.
———————————————————-
Most of the comments have stayed within that framework, despite the efforts of some to bring in the full spectrum of biblical thought so that they can point out what is wrong with religion and what is wrong with believing in God. None of that type of thought has anything to do with the climate, but it was to be expected. However, I also feel that this has been a great thread with much well reasoned thought being expressed.
The argument by some atheists and agnostics that this is a science blog and therefore the Bible must not be mentioned is ridiculous. Historical records, including anecdotal accounts, are of use as evidence of typical and extreme weather in past times. Tony B. has made extensive use of mentions of extreme weather in various sources and has written essays posted on this an other blogs.
It may be that the mentions of the weather in the Bible are only of a passing nature because the writers were not particularly interested in it. However, it is ridiculous to dismiss out of hand the idea that it is worth considering. If the title of this article had been about the Iliad and the Odyssey would there have been so many critical comments. Many of the commentators on this topic are merely displaying their narrow-minded anti-religious bigotry.
At the turn of the millennium there was an article by Hugh Sansom in Weather, a journal published by the Royal Meteorological Society, that is relevant to this discussion.
Sansom, H. (2000), Weather in the Bible. Weather, 55: 461–465. doi: 10.1002/j.1477-8696.2000.tb06485.x
A PDF file of the article may be downloaded from the web page below.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.1477-8696.2000.tb06485.x/abstract
The article was a follow-up to one Sansom had published in the same journal almost half a century earlier.
Sansom, H.W. (1951), Meteorology in the Bible. Weather, 6: 51-54
If you are unaware of Bob “Titanic Discoverer” Ballard’s discoveries in and around the Black Sea, this may be of interest.
No, it doesn’t prove that Noah built a wooden aircraft carrier.
Some thin skinned types are claiming that I have somehow hijacked the thread. Each of my posts was a direct reply to people making inaccurate or plain silly claims about the Bible.
They are saying things like I am objecting to the Bible being “mentioned”. Uh no, I am fine with the original topic, “Does the Bible mention snow?” The answer seems to be yes.
I also don’t have any problem with reading it as a collection of handed down ancient Hebrew and early Christian stories and myths.
I didn’t even see anything worth commenting on until some people started saying idiotic things like the Bible is a source of accurate scientific information on cosmology and evolution, of course others later said it disproved the current theories on those topics. That’s the problem with obscure ancient religious texts, people read all kinds of things into them.
Especially people that believe they are the revelations of an omnipotent, omnipresent “one true God”™.
So I have absolutely no problem with the Bible being discussed here on a “science blog”, but it should be open to the same scrutiny and skepticism that is the hallmark of WUWT.
Of course those that see it as “holy writ” become apoplectic when that happens.
Khwarizmi,
interesting stuff on ethnic food taboos. I’ll check out Steven Pinker’s book.
John B, thanks for reply.
The other part of the ancient history, the rise of the sea as the ice caps retreated.
I get a chuckle out of TV discovery series, as they follow a university archaeology team,in the foothills of the Yukon, searching for evidence of early emigrants coming to America via the Bering land bridge.
So the water rose 300 ft in a very short time? Check
You assume the ancients followed the food, along the sea shore and river mouths? Check
The ice sheet was still significant, inland? Check.
So any human relics, should be 300′ down? Check.
Why are you searching here, 100s of miles from the old coast, where ice would have reigned supreme?
The so called history embedded here is ludicrous
fiction. The archeological record is clear; Israelite
culture started in Canaan, as did Phoenician culture and
numerous other cultures there. There is not a shred
of evidence for a Mesopotamian origin. The first settlements
identified as Israelite were identified as Canaanite by
their pottery and their gods. There is absolutely no connection
with Israel and Egypt as outlined in the Jewish Bible. Sinai never
happened except in the fevered fantasies of the Bible writers
supported by the sudden access of wealth and power of the
Judean kingdom after the destruction of hated Israel,
It also snows often in Israel and I have seen it in spades!
But Bible is a Judean invention and snow far less common
there.
Who cares what “many people agree” to?
Many people formerly “agreed” that the earth was the center of the universe. Of course, they had considerably more compelling incentives to do so than mere derision and loss of grant money.
The idea that detailed accounts of anomalous physical phenomena from ancient scriptures, especially those of highly developed societies, should be taken as allegories instead of investigating possible physical explanations for them is essentially wrong-headed and unscientific. It reminds me of the response of one of my favourite high school teachers when I asked him what his response to observing a flying saucer would be. He said “I’d assume I had lost my mind”! The things otherwise rational people will do or say to avoid burning at the stake…
So while I applaud this feeble, half-hearted effort to extract some knowledge from ancient scriptures, I can only wonder, with some bitterness, when Immanuel Velikosvky’s much more comprehensive survey of ancient writings of cataclysmic events, published 1952 in “Ages in Chaos” will be examined fairly by those who claim, by virtue of their (virtual) sheepskins, to be “scientists”?
David L. Hagen: I checked that site you said, and while it is very interesting there is a real problem that the archaeologist is very motivated to achieve a specific outcome — as the article plainly states. After all, Israel has a great political stake in establishing its 3500-year tenure in the land, and this Israeli researcher is working on behalf of that goal. Professionals with an agenda, whether it’s climate science, tobacco health studies, medicine, Lysenko, archaeology, you name it, it isn’t trustworthy. Still it is definitely interesting, but disinterested researchers need to confirm these finding before I can sign on — which I would like to do, but sorry, I’m too SKEPTICAL.
I am deeply offended (just joking) by the degrading way some describe “goat-herders.” I happen to raise goats. I herd them. Furthermore, I write.
True, I have not yet attempted to write anything as profound as a Bible, but I do have my views. I should not be disregarded simply because I am a goat-herder.
Now I shall throw a log into the fire Anthony has started, when he opened this Pandora’s Box.
First, the reason many chose not to eat meat may have some scientific basis, but religion involves stuff that cannot obey a fundamental Scientific rule: The observation must be one you can replicate.
I respect science, and would never demand something that cannot be replicated be accepted as science. However each of us has had things happen to us, in our lives, that happened only once, happened to no one else, and cannot be replicated. Should such things be disregarded?
I imagine that if you string together a sequence of such events you cannot replicate, each consisting of your individual observation, you might arrive at a conclusion that was sane to you, but utterly nutty to anyone else. This might be the embryo of religion, especially if you thrived and everyone else wasted away.
In terms of eating meat, the reason to abstain is due to the “vibes” in the meat. “Vibes” are not a thing science can measure with a vibrometer. Vibes, at this point, are definitely not a scientific topic. However the “bestial vibes” in meat are said to make us humans act even more bestial than we already do.
By who? Well, back in the day I copied the Beatles, and because they read “Autobiography of a Yogi,” I did too. The writer, Yogananda, among other things, tried to convince Americans to become vegetarians back in the 1920’s. I gather not all of his followers found it easy, for at some point he stated, in exasperation, “If you must eat meat, eat lamb.” Why? Because lamb has less bestial “vibes” than yummy beef and pork, according to him.
If you want to gain the insights Yogananda had you need to do a sort of replication. It isn’t exactly scientific, but you need to replicate his behavior. You need to sit cross-legged for long periods, meditating, until this sizzling stuff shoots up your spine and you experience visions. This will convince no scientists, for they don’t have sizzling stuff shooting up their spines, however it will convince you.
And that, my friends, is the difference between religion and science. Science is for everyone, and religion, (at its best,) is for you and no one else. It is personal, private, and intimate. People should keep most of it to themselves. To bandy it about is like blabbing about intimate details of your relationship with your spouse.
As I heard it some years back, the ancient prohibition on eating pig meat was because in the old cities, the human sewage boxes were eaten out by roving pigs — this was the earliest form of sewage control. Therefore you did not want to eat the meat of those animals.
Dudley Horscroft says:
February 25, 2014 at 1:32 pm
“ferdberple” February 25, 2014 at 6:47 am has got it right – the story of Noah is the story of the breaching of the Bosphorus, and the filling of the Black Sea.
===========
you are a saint among scholars
Khwarizmi, the issue of the serpent or the snake has been the topic of many an argument:
http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2011/03/bipedal-snake-in-garden-of-eden-what.html
Caleb says:
February 26, 2014 at 4:33 pm
…
To bandy it about is like blabbing about intimate details of your relationship with your spouse.
————–
It’s call Facebook and Twitter … please try to stay current.
Thanks Pamela,
Technically it wasn’t a snake until Jehovah amputated its legs — I can agree it was lizard up to that point.
Your objection to the arbitrary name assigned to the truth-teller in story of Adam & Eve (or How the Snake Lost its Legs) seemed a little petty to me, considering that some people (in fact millions worldwide) are under the misapprehension that the enlightening knowledge fruit in the story was just a mundane apple. “It wasn’t an apple,” you might have said. 🙂
Speaking of enlightenment, Lucifer was the originally the morning star; Venus; the bearer of light, hence lux and lumens.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lucifer
They didn’t teach me that at Catholic school.
For goodness sake, will you all just go and read “God is Not Great- How religion poisons everything” by Christopher Hitchens. It all in there.
Equally disparaging to Christians, Jews, Muslims Hindus etc.
And yes, in Judeo-Christian mythology, Lucifer was the angel Light Bringer, until God threw him out.
How the Devil got his horns- here. (Don’t worry nothing nasty, its a BBC documentary!)
Caleb,
I have nothing against goats (I love goat meat, cheese, milk etc.) or their herders. I just don’t think we should base our laws or morality on their ancient writings.
Well said.
Anthony, or other editor – please don’t permit inflammatory comments such as
“well-known gobbledygook, the Bible”
sharpen your snipper!
I wish to make one small clarification regarding the Old Testament. It is composed of 44 books, and almost as many authors. It spans thousands of years and covers events, individuals, nations, and laws from the distant, inaccessible past. And yet, it is coherent, and it is coherent with the New Testament. For this, it deserves a modicum of care in reading, and as an ancient text it cannot really be compared with the Koran which was “dictated” to one man.
I think there are 3 keys for gaining some understanding the difficulties these comments bring up regarding God in the Old Testament, and will possibly give future readings a little more interest for you.
1. Theme: Anti-climax.
This theme runs entirely through the Old and New Testaments. You will recall that Genesis begins with a re-creation event, and the formation of man and woman. The state of the original pair is conveyed in simple terms, but reflect a spiritual reality which is beyond language. The beauty of the creation and its state of purpose and innocence was enjoyed by a pair who were given great intelligence, power, good and wisdom. This was all voluntarily thrown away in a single gesture. This is called an anti-climax. This is also expressed in myths such as Cupid and Psyche, and perhaps you know the results of Elsa’s curiousity in the beautiful story, “Lohengrin.” I seem to be running long, but every story in the Scriptures ends in an anti-climax, so that even when slaves are set free, when left alone for a few days they worship an idol and wish for the good old days of garlic and cucumbers; and even when the Messiah comes to Israel, he is rejected and killed. Being aware of this may help or may not help, I don’t know.
2. Theme: The Assault
This just means that spiritually it is assumed and understood that one truly malevolent creature has been allowed to wreak hatred, destruction, malice and deception on the created world and people. This is not altogether foreign to other traditions from long ago. People all over the world recognized the need to choose good, to be protected from evil things, and to know that one is responsible for all that is done, spoken, and thought in this life. This is made most clear by Zarathustra in Persia before the first 5 books of Moses were even written. It is an ancient theme and shows the deep connection of the OT to its land.
3. Theme: Free Will
Notice that in the Garden of Eden, although all is in perfection and spiritual harmony, there is always the possibility of rejecting all that is good and true. In the New Testament, Yeshua taught the parable of the prodigal son. One day, a son threw away his relationship with his father and left for a strange country. While there, he squandered his inheritance, and was reduced to feeding hogs. All those fair weathered friends were gone with the money and reputation, so he thought to himself, “How many of my father’s servants have enough to eat, and I would be glad to eat the husks I am feeding these hogs. I will go home to him, and ask him to make me one of his servants.” So he goes home. But while a long way off, his father runs to meet him, and tells his servants to put a robe on him, a ring, sandals, and to call a celebration. You see, we are free to throw away all good and truth, and all relationship, but we are now free to return to Him in faith. On the other hand, if you love darkness, falsehood, worthlessness, fraud and thefts, that is the home you will find for eternity. It is impossible to change your love after you die. Your choice and inmost nature is respected for what it truly is, and not for what was only outward appearances. Those outward appearances are removed in the other life. “He that does not have, even what he seems to have will be removed.” So forgiveness and regeneration begin today if you ask.
Brian,
So you find the innocuous and mild criticism “gobbledygook” too offensive?
You poor dear. I’m glad you’re not in charge of moderation.