Your thoughts about Moses?

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What do you think about Moses from the Old Testament? Your view?

I orphan think of Moses.

ruveyn

Meh, he came up with too many rules. Who can follow them all? Most are downright silly.

He was also a bit temperamental at times.

Nice beard.

That made me giggle.

I think technically the many rules (six hundred and thirteen I think... Ruyven will correct me if I'm wrong) were actually applications of the Big Ten, which you could say are extrapolations of the Big Two (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind and strength, love your neighbour as yourself.) So, look after your neighbour's donkey if he's injured... even if you hate your neighbour, don't take it out on his animal. That's to do with loving your neighbour (hard to do when he's a git, which is why we're given the "little laws" to show us what that looks like. So, don't sleep with your wife's mother... that's to stop misery in the family home. The dietary laws and the laws related to hygiene, quarantine, etc safeguarded health, and some of them (such as insisting that animals for human consumption be in good physical condition) have the secondary affect of being proto versions of animal welfare. But as far as I can tell things like not mingling cloths from different coloured animals are more symbolic than anything, or even a bit aspie. One point of the Law could well be that we can't keep it, we have to turn to God for help to walk like Him.

I prefer the idea that there is only one Law, love, on which hang all the law and the prophets.

Anyway, as Gentiles we're not bound by the Mosaic law... though as I recall there are seven Noahdic laws (is that even a word?)

To answer the question... Moses, I really like him. Nowadays he'd probably be diagnosed with something, but look what he achieved. He was instrumental in forging a nation. He might have been awkward, aspie, stuttering, difficult to get along with, and with a bad temper to boot (he even argued with God) but he was a great man for all that.

I'm more of a elijah kindof guy. since he never died

Not sure what to "think about Moses". I can describe him - interesting career, dificult youth, a bit stubborn and able to throw a tanrtum, not real ambitious - probable ennea-9.

But react to him? I have reactions to the Inner Circle, people further out like Szubu Roi and Awesomely Glorious - but I have never interacted with Moses.

What do YOU think of Roland Liebert?

Yeah, but the horns are a bit off-putting.

In my view, Moses invented God (the first sentence of the Bible) since Moses wrote the first book of the Bible. That is such a basic belief - God - that Moses, in my view, is the most important writer in the Bible. Even Jesus Christ couldn't do very much without Moses' God. It's great religious storytelling - religious opera (my view). It's difficult for subsequent authors to compete with Moses' God - they can try: Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, Mickey Mouse - however, I tend to think it's a losing cause. Moses did it right years ago. Of course, if something big happened, like the earth was invaded by space aliens from out there somewhere, well, then Moses' appeal might be gradually lost - but that hasn't happened yet - although there are movies like ET and The Day The Earth Stood Still.

The last speech by Martin Luther King Jr. never looses its punch.
Especially when you hear the actual audio-something about it.
He reluctantly attended a function in which they demanded he speak.
He flounders around for a momment - mumbling about longevity- then you sense the light bulb going off above his head " oh-yeah - the Bible- has the perfect metaphor..."

Then suddenly he gains strength and goes into Black preacher mode and blasts off of the launching pad..

" I have BEEN to the mountain top. I have SEEN the promised land. I may not get there with you all...But I know for a fact that we as a PEOPLE will reach the promised land."

You hear the voices of people- woman mostly- who get the Bibilical reference and respond with enthusiasm .

He was referencing the fact that Moses died but a fortnight before reaching the promised land,
He led his people for fourty years only to die just before reaching the promised land- but was allowed a distant glimpse of the promised land when he climbed a moutain.
One of the most poignant moments in all of Western literature.

The MLK speach would be moving enough, but ofcouse it takes on even more meaning because MLK himself was assassinated shortly after making the speach.
It was as if he were prophesizing his own death.

Like every child in Christendom who's been to Sunday school Ive always wondered why the Bible was written that way.
A hero leads his people out of slavery- and he dies on the threshold of the promised land.

How whacked is that?

But recently it occured to me that ( lets take the Bible as a secular novel- a piece of fiction) the story HAS to be written that way because- its true to life- thats exactly what WOULD happen. If youre gonna invent a story about a tribal leader leading his people out of oppression- the beloved leader would likely die on the threshold of victory.

Why do I say this? Look at American history.

MLk was certainly very Moses-like and he died before reaching the promised land.

America has had other Moses-like figures.

Certain key American presidents also found America in crises ( in a wilderness so to speak) and then led the nation out of the wilderness to a promised land.

Notable were George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and FDR.

Only the first lived long enough to reach, and to prosper and continue to lead in the promised land- he led us in the Revolution - and then became our first president.

In contrast both Lincoln and FDR not only died before reaching the promised land- they both died on the threshold of entering the Promised Land- but both couldve been said to have glimpsed the promised land.

Two poignont moments in American history were strikingly remineiscent of that Biblical moment.

Lincoln lead us through the Civil War. Though Lee had surrendered- half of the terrotitory of South had still not surendered when Lincoln was shot. The asassination shocked the nation and inspred Walt Whitman to write the poem "Captain My Captain" about a sea captain who guides a ship through a storm only to die when reaching the shore- an allegory to Lincoln.

FDR died of "natural" causes but probably hasten by the stress of leading the world through world war two .
He died the final year of the war only months before the nation left the wilderness of the Depression and world war II . The nation was again emotionally jolted by loosing the leader who led us out of the worst part of a crises but died just before the actual onset of peace and couldnt share in the victory.

It occured to me that I should write a book, aimed at both the secular and the religous, about how all this shows that Moses should have special meaning for us Americans.

But apparently someone beat me to it!
This last christmas shopping season the book stores all had a new hardbound called "Moses: the Prophet for America" ( didnt note the author's name) - the dust cover talked about how Moses "was the first freedom fighter".."he has been quoted by both Reagan and Obama..."

Oh well.

Naturalplastic, that's a really well thought out argument... very interesting!

Please see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQQkopQSOlA

ruveyn

Moses probably doesn't exist but a fictional character.

the middle east is crawling with moses's. which one are you talking about?

The one who had to pamper God.