Ted Hoffman

I got this from Nogo's earlier post:
I have this theory that explains what virgin birth means, what son of god means and what sons of god mean. I got it from Alan Alfords book When the Gods Came Down.

In summary, the theory says the ancients beleived that God was a physical planet that exploded (or fell on earth) and its ejecta (now comets) pierced and fecundated the fertile earth, bringing forth mankind, while God rose sphinx-like upward to "heaven". They later "dumbed down" these beliefs by couching them in anthropomorphisms. And this was the basis of the mystery cults. This concept is supported by Sumerian, Akkadian, Mesopotamian, Egyptian and many other ancient texts that mark the very earliest legends and religions known by man and among the texts are Astra Hasis, Enuma Elish, Ethiopian book of the Dead[/b], Coffin Texts, Ethiopian Kabra Nagast, The Egyptian Book of Gates etc. Astronomers who unknowingly support this theory do so under the concept of panspermia (by the way, what is that on Kirbys site about we being of the stars?).

It's a theory that also has biblical support (dead sea scrolls Scroll 4Q246 actually uses the word comet - not that this is canonical, but there it is) and thats where you come in. I am going to quote biblical verses that support this theory and yours is a hermeneutical challenge to provide an interpretation of the quoted verses that has more explanatory power.

We shall start with the use of the word the word.
In 1 John 1 we find:
If is the word of life in the above passage.
More beautifully, in John 1 Here the word was with god (or God had it) and the word was god. ie god was the word.

But where else do we find the word?
In Jeremiah 23 :: King James Version (KJV)
What kind of word would be like a hammer that breaks a rock to pieces?
What word would be like a fire?
Comets that enter the earths atmosphere heat up to high degrees and when they hit the surface of the earth, the impact is devastating.

John the Baptist also talked of Baptism of fire. In Baptism, a new life is supposed to emerge forth.

But I am digressing.
Are there other texts that talk about the word?
In the Egyptian Coffin Texts it says the following about the word:
This passage underlines the ancient belief that a comet fell (from Oriris) in egypt and penetrated the earth [its dark underground - hence "in darkness"] and later impregnated it, bringing forth mankind from mother earth.

But did the hebrews beleive that they came from comets (now rocks) that had penetrated the earth?

Yes they did, in Deut 32:17:
emphasis mine

Any other evidence?
Yes Isiah 55:1:
To get a clearer picture, I quote Samuel Kramer History Begins at Sumer as quoted by Alan Alford in [i]When The Gods Came Down[/b] pg.
388.
With this understanding, the idea of virgin birth makes sense. Mary was an anthropomorphism of this early belief of a virgin earth being impregnated by god.

This same idea is also clear in the birth of Horus by virgin Isis in ancient Egyptian texts. Osiris, was born in a similar fashion to Samson of the bible. The Egyptian texts describe Isis' conception thus:
Samson (Manoah's son), Isaac (Abrahams), JBap (Elizabeths) and Jesus (Mary's) had similar "virgin" births where god "came upon" the women and impregnated them (I bet there are other biblical examples I have left out).
The term "Virgin birth" meant birth without sexual intercourse and it is an expression that was drawn from these early beliefs.

The interpretation I am putting forth here explains many religious concepts, which we can address later. Leave the astronomy aside and lets focus on scriptural exegetics first.

I challenge you to refute my interpretation of the biblical passages I have provided and offer an alternative meanings of the passages. Especially the word being God and the OT passages I have quoted.
It would also be beautiful if you shared with us your understanding of "virgin birth", what it meant and its possible origins (I have heard of those who applied the platonic concept [or was it Hellenistic?] of Gods transcendentalism to justify the concept ie he needed an intermediary coz he had to remain transcendent).

[ October 01, 2002: Message edited by: Intensity ]</p>

offa

Offa; Jesus was the "Word of God" and whenever the "Word of God" multiplied he had a son. Jesus was human, survived the crucifixion, married, divorced, remarried, and had sons and daughters.