Hallucination Hypothesis
This is a common but superficial answer. Most shrug and say that – if it happened –then the Sinai Revelation must have been mass hallucination ‘or something’. Often, magic mushrooms, or even magic manna, are thrown in for full measure. Hallucination is really popular – after all Jews are OTT and OCD and all need Ritalin. But there is a minute problem. This is that there simply are no parallel cases of a mass, shared hallucination in which each individual personally witnessed the self-same hallucination. You would think that there must be – but in each case the actual detail, as opposed to the story in the news reports, proves it did not happen.
The best recorded and studied event is that in Fatima, Portugal, a century ago. People claim that 70000 witnesses, including newspaper reporters, saw the apparition of a holy figure in the sky near Fatima on 13 the October 1917. The newspaper reporters were careful what to publish at first. They had to make as large a number of sales as possible.
Eventually however, not one said that he personally had seen anything or spoken to any other person who claimed this. In truth, only the original three children who ‘predicted’ the apparition to their local priest, ever claimed to have seen anything. Further, all that a very small number of the vast crowd at Fatima claimed to have seen was – not the promised vision of Mary in the sky but – a vague impression that the sun ‘danced’. The rest claimed to see nothing unusual. This was very thoroughly investigated by the Catholic hierarchy itself.
Apparitions Explained
In ‘Apparitions and Miracles of the Sun’ we can read: “As noted by Professor Auguste Meessen of the Institute of Physics, Catholic University of Leuven, looking directly at the Sun can cause phosphene visual [effect] and temporary partial blindness. He has proposed that the reported observations were optical effects caused by prolonged staring at the sun. Meessen contends that retinal after-images produced after brief periods of sun gazing are a likely cause of the observed dancing effects. Similarly Meessen states that the color changes witnessed were most likely caused by the bleaching of photosensitive retinal cells. Meessen observes that solar miracles have been witnessed in many places where religiously charged pilgrims have been encouraged to stare at the sun.
He cites the apparitions at Heroldsbach, Germany (1949) as an example, where exactly the same optical effects as at Fatima were witnessed by more than 10,000 people. Yes, you could try to argue that the very fact this ‘sun-dance’ occurred just when predicted was miraculous. The three children had predicted something and something happened. Well, sorry, this visual effect always happens if one stares at the sky on a bright, but slightly cloudy day. The retina starts producing this double vision, moving image – the phosphene effect. You can do the same by gently pressing your palms against your closed eyes. Try it at the first opportunity. Stare intensely at the cloudy but bright sky towards the obscured sun. But be careful of your eyes. In other words, be as skeptical about the claims about mass hallucinations as you are about the Jewish claim.
List of Apparitions
Discussing all recorded ‘mass apparitions’ religious Catholic academics concluded: So-called “miracles of the sun” were observed, for instance, in Tilly-sur-Seuilles (France, 1901), Fatima (Portugal, 1917), Onkerzeele (Belgium, 1933), Bonate (Italy, 1944), Espis(France, 1946), Acquaviva Platani (Italy, 1950), Heroldsbach (Germany, 1949), Fehrbach (Germany, 1950), Treerezinen (France, 1953), San Damiano (Italy, 1965), Fontane (Italy, 1982) and Kibeho (Rwanda, 1983)… …
Miracle or Illusion?
The general conclusion is that apparitions and miracles of the sun cannot be taken at face value. There are natural mechanisms that can explain them, but they are so unusual that we were not aware of them. Miracles of the sun result from neurophysiological processes in our eyes and visual cortex, while apparitions involve more complex processes in our mind’s brain. The seers are honest, but unconsciously, they put themselves in an altered state of consciousness. This is possible, since our brain allows for dissociation” and for “switching” from one type of behavior to another.
A new conception of apparitions and miracles of the sun seems thus to be emerging, but much more research is needed in this domain, especially because of its sociocultural importance. True mass hallucination has never occurred and you will not find one fully investigated example, despite all the claims. Once challenged the observers deny a personal experience. They saw others enlightened or whatever. None even approach an event that was recorded in writing, created a complete change of behavior and the acceptance of a raft of measures that impose such self-control on ordinary humans.
The Sinai revelation cannot in any circumstances have been a mass hallucination.
The Hysteria Hypothesis
Further, please keep clear in your mind the distinction between the non-existent mass hallucination disproven above and mass hysteria.
If you manage to push a cynic to agreeing that some ancient convocation in a desert did occur, he will often come up with one of the most common and yet insupportable explanations – mass hysteria created by a trick. Yet, a moment’s thought proves that this is ridiculous. Hysteria is not a state which makes people believe that an imaginary event has happened. They become hysterical rather in response to a real event. Once hysterical they may well individually imagine anything. But they never have been recorded to imagine precisely the same as others sharing the hysteria – caused by that real event – around them. This occurs quite frequently when large numbers of people exhibit imitative strange behavior or symptoms of imagined illness.
Hysterically Speaking
The hysteria is their behavior; it specifically is not that they simultaneously imagine something identical has happened. Yes, fifty girls in a school may all suffer similar imagined symptoms, but they have never been recorded claiming they all experienced some imaginary event. There never, ever is the element of all the sufferers claiming to have witnessed an identical set of imaginary circumstances.
In hysteria, Cuthbert may have imagined, yes, imagined, a non-event, for example a ghost. He screams, ‘Ghost!!’ The crowd’s mass hysteria is caused by this real event – Cuthbert screaming. They imagined nothing. He screamed. They heard him scream and became hysterical!
What Does Mass Hysteria Show?
So, mass hysteria proves that a real event happened – a scream, a pop concert. But it was real, not a collectively imagined event. We have no example of a large group imagining an identical event and becoming hysterical. When they have stopped whirling in circles, collapsing or screaming or whatever, afterwards only one will insist he thought he saw a real event which set off his scream of ‘Fire’. The others will say they just felt this hysteria overtake them on hearing his scream. We can find daily millions of people in religious meetings crying, ‘I can feel it! I can see it! I can sense the presence…’ Then others in the meeting express similar emotions. No one doubts their sincerity, but each is ‘seeing’ a private and different thing.
When asked to write down what they have experienced, on each and every occasion it differs completely from others also in that room or only approximates to that which they have been led to believe they will see. This is even when they have preconditioned to have a ‘vision’ of a specific nature. Significant differences emerge on close examination. Colors, back-grounds, clothing – details always change. This is apparent when you ask closed questions requiring one word answers. ‘Was his shirt blue or green?’ Usually, “I cannot remember” is the answer.
Some Sort of Hoax Hypothesis
Was the Mount Sinai revelation a hoax or trick? Well, we are good salesmen – very good – but here, it was the Jews buying the story not selling. Now that is a very different matter. Can you imagine trying to tell 3 million Jews they would have to pay much more for their groceries, donate 10% charity, cough up masses for Pesach goods, buy incredibly expensive strange lemons at Succos and stop earning for one day a week? Yet, regardless of any amount of evidence and rational argument, it is impossible for most Jews today to accept that Sinai, if it happened, was not simply a clever hoax or mass illusion.
Moses is standing there; he has prepared explosions, noises, smoke – whatever; he roars, “Ere, ladies an’ gentlemens, afore your very eyes, I am to show you, yes – show you an’ you alone, why you should pay me synagogue fees in advance…”. People were not simpletons – even before our glorious, utterly superior era. They knew of smoke, thunder, lightning, echoes – and every sort of trick. This was before an entire nation – not a few superstitious villagers – and we cover the question of ‘the few initial foolish believers’ soon.
The Jews claim they actually heard the voice of the Almighty and witnessed entirely specific supernatural events. This is immediately written down in the Torah and they all testify immediately to its accuracy. From that moment they follow all the laws given. You now go and set up today, with all of our technology, a parallel event that convinces people to stop going to the match on Saturday and eating super-sumptuous cheese ’n ham Macs. Spend millions – you will convince no one. They will say, “It must be a trick!” Nice show though.
Ridiculous Atheist Tricks
Atheists have tried for 2000 years to suggest such an event using echoing caves, flashing chemical fires, lights and all the tricks available to Moses. Had he simply said, like the Mormon’s John Smith, “Believe in me and my private revelation!” then he would have been successful. But, notably, Moses did not say anything of the sort. He said, “Look what you personally have all seen and heard. It was beyond the capabilities of the greatest magician.” You cannot get away with that on this scale!
Yes, the American aboriginal peoples were terrified of the ‘thunder stick’ originally. But they soon, before the white man had exterminated ten million of them, learnt how to use guns, and, of course, these actually existed. Orson Wells’ unwitting ‘Martians’ broadcast was a real occurrence that was believed. The Germans’ 1930 – 1945 rallies and propaganda were real events that brainwashed a nation. Politicians’ speeches are real experiences which are idiotically believed by some. They all happened. They are all believed and subsequently unmasked.
The Deity That Cherishes Milk
The ‘Hindu milk miracle’ was a phenomenon which started on 21 September 1995, in which statues of the Hindu deity Ganesha allegedly drank milk offerings. Other gods soon were doing this, causing civil disruption and a rush on milk. Many areas shut down commercially and milk reached incredible prices as thousands rushed to make offerings. The scientific explanation for the incident, attested by Indian academics, was that the milk was pulled up from the offering bowls and spoons by capillary action as its meniscus touched the stone lips.
The milk then trickled unseen down the chins of the milky white idols. When brightly-colored dyed milk was offered bright red and blue dribbles were clearly visible. Idols throughout almost every Hindu community ‘drank’ milk from spoons until the Indian media repeatedly revealed the scientific explanation. Many Hindus, however still regard this as a miracle now hidden because of the blasphemy of the scientists. In August 2006 and September 2010 similar events occurred. But this was not a hoax but an unexplained phenomenon. The event actually happened and was not imagined – only misinterpreted. It was not a deliberate hoax – or if it were – then the facts were soon exposed.
The problem with this hypothesis is that every public hoax or widely-held mistake – which does not rely on blind, pure faith – that I could discover has been exposed by later examination.
Yes, I know – any still believed, would by definition be impossible to trace! However, there actually are not many public events of this nature. Examine the entertaining conspiracy theory sites. Of course, I exclude the moon landing. We know that could not have happened. Who can land on cheese?
Sinai Is Far From Any Hoax
Not only has the Sinai revelation never been unmasked or explained away, it has survived – utterly impossibly, as we have learnt. Merely saying ‘it must have been a hoax …’ is merely a declaration of blind faith and devotion to your lifestyle. Try seriously to explain it.
“Not a hoax? You want a bet? Just see what my uncle Joe can do with a hat and a pack of cards.”
Well, with all due respect to Uncle Joe, Maimonides writes, “If one believes in something because of miracles, he may suspect that they were performed through trickery…”. This means those ‘miracles’ that a single, brilliant trickster may perform.
So we need a vast, super-human hoax!
Chance Combination Hypothesis
The Ten Plagues, natural disasters and the upheaval at Mount Sinai – can one really dismiss them as coincidence?
And to believe that Moses managed to fool the people during a convenient massive combination of natural disasters, just as he had fooled the Egyptians during a convenient massive combination of ten natural disasters in Egypt is puerile. This is all proven to have been written down immediately. The ‘convenient disasters scam’ theory needs centuries of weaving and retelling and exaggerating. Sorry, no Chinese whispers or Jewish ones. And one must ask, ‘What an amazing coincidence that all those natural disasters happened simultaneously, just when Moses needed them. And funny, the same thing happened in Egypt. That is really supernatural – oh, no, sorry.’
Further, this explanation is actually taking the account as true and twisting it. Why? If it is a fable then ignore it. Now, if it really has been passed down accurately then that alone requires serious consideration. If you accept that degree of accuracy over 3000 years then how can you posit such ingenuous acceptance of a garbled account presumably concocted over a few centuries. When did we start being so meticulous?
Have these people no brains? Just be honest and say, ‘I want to do whatever I want – I do not need Judaism or any religion. They take all the fun out life (I must add, sorry – Some life!! – divorce, depression, meaningless jobs, distraction by pathetic wall-to-wall entertainment!! Lonely empty death. That’s Life?) This smacks of subjective desperation and ‘It just must have happened’. Not for me, nor you, I hope.
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