Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher (AFP)

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Acacia was used in the construction of the tabernacle, and it's a possibility that the Israelites also loved using it to make their wine casks. This wouldn't have been mentioned in Leviticus because, frankly, the Levites didn't seem to jive well with drunken revelry. Earlier Semitic cultures, though, may have used such wine extensively in their social gatherings and perhaps some of their more spiritual events. Many cultures have consumed alcohol at religious festivals, and there is little reason to consider the Hebrews an exception. This is the only scenario I can think of under which Shanon's hypothesis makes any real sense.

Although I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear that Moses was a lunatic, drug addict, or fat liar, too little is known to form a strong conclusion.

It's a fairly original idea, though. I'll give him that.

native americans use peyote here, for religious ceremonies and it grows in the desert. so maybe it grows or a simillar plant grows in Israel and the surronding area

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyote

Let me ask you, are you familiar with the theory regarding Mt. Santorini? Lake Monoun in Cameroon? That's the train of thought I'm following here. There've been some interesting theories set out that all 7 plagues of egypt as well as the other ancillary plagues AND the crossing of the Red Sea were all chained to one geological event and all had perfectly plausible scientific explanations (from the darkness, water turning red, gnats, frogs, locusts, boils, even all the first born sons of Egypt dying - the same event that had land jutting up in the 'Reed' Sea). All that adds a real interesting dimension because it does take the supernatural out of the event but still - how would Moses have known all these things in advance? That's the question that really makes you wonder when you think about it.

Not nearly as laughable as the reasoning used by Creationists in order to destroy science education and replace it with religious indoctrination.

Oh, and there is no evidence that the exodus actually happened, it's purely mythology as far as I'm concerned

so maybe moses smoked it. i know you can also make a tea out of peyote. im shure theres a hallucinagenic plant somewhere in the middle east so maybe he needed it to see god son. either way he had to have been high on drugs. how come god doesnt lead thousands of people around by a cloud now? ahuh. i'll go with he smoked a little desert plant to get his commandments on thank you

It remains, though, that Shanon's theory lacks sufficient support.

However, people like "iamnotaparakeet" are quite wrong in equating insufficient support with disproof. As devotees of any religion are prone to do, he or she is far too hasty to dismiss or ridicule ideas that could be damaging to his or her religious beliefs. It's one of the reasons that I hate them.

Drug use has been common throughout history, and the Hebrews were, according to Exodus, engaged in the exceedingly odd behavior of wandering blindly in a wilderness, believing wholeheartedly that it was raining bread. In fact, this "manna" actually did purportedly feed all of the Hebrews, whether they numbered six million or six hundred, and it is conceivable that this was actually a wild plant of some kind that had intense hallucinogenic properties. This assumes, however that Exodus contains any reliable information at all, of which I am skeptical. However, it doesn't take forty years to cross a god-damned desert. Experienced nomads can manage such a trip in mere weeks.

My position remains purely speculative, however, until reasonable evidence has been produced.

"HE"