Ted Walther's Private Diary

An interesting coincidence happened a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to read The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown for several years now. I finally did read it. But just before I read it, a book fell into my hands called Sarah the Priestess, The First Matriarch of Genesis, by Savina Teubal. The two books are intimately related, although I didn't know it. The one was an essential preparation for the other.

Savina's book is a religious abomination. She recklessly equates the religion of Abraham, Isaac and Moses with that of the Babylonians, and based on that, claims that Sarah, the mother of all Israel, was a sacred prostitute.

Savina's book is a good education in Babylonian religion, and she did point out some interesting parallels between the Bible and the religion of Babylon. But she failed to make her case.

What was most interesting was the way her book went into depth on the concept of hieros gamos, the sacred marriage ceremony. I never read up on hierogamy before, yet right after reading her book, I started the Da Vinci Code. The Da Vinci Code is a nice little mystery story, which hinges on the concept of the hieros gamos. As a conspiracy story, it does not stand up to Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. It seems flat and boring, like some trashy piece of American sensationalism.

Dan Brown makes references to things that "scholars all agree on". Having read Savina's book, I knew which scholars he was referring to, and that he, as did she, made leaps of logic not justified by the available facts. Dan Brown makes the pagan version of hierogamy out to be an innocent, Disney type ceremony, holy, clean, and good fun for everyone. It is not, and was not.

I cannot recommend the Da Vinci Code. It lacks artistic merit, and religiously it is a piece of poison.

For a long time I wondered why God had Moses set up a giant bronze serpent on a pole to heal Israel when they were attacked by snakes. Yesterday I found a useful connection. It was a reminder of the miracle Moses and Aaron performed before the Pharoah of Egypt. God always has the power to defeat a mere serpent.

In this quote, Moses and Aaron go before Pharoah. Aaron's staff becomes a serpent. The magicians do the same, but Aaron's snake eats up their snakes, defeating them.

Exodus 7:9-12

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

In this story, Israel sins, and is being killed by poisonous serpents. Moses sets up a brass serpent, and the people live when they look at it.

Numbers 21:5-9

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

What does this mean? I draw several lessons from it.

Even the serpent, hateful as it is, has its use in God's plan. God is always in control. He who lives by the sword will die by the sword; and that Great Serpent is the one who will kill himself, committing suicide by his own actions. God can bring up salvation from the most unlikely places.

Since all power is granted by God, noone should refuse help offered in time of need, even if the one offering is offensive or an enemy.

In ancient legend, there was a dragon who was defeated by seeing himself in a mirror. The two scriptures quoted above may indicate that the Devil will also be defeated by some sort of mirror image of himself, under the control of God.

I found writer Harry Seabrook tonight. He is intelligent and well read. Check out his website, Little Geneva. He wrote some very good essays, including one on the philosophy of Kinism, and another on The Bible's Real Position On Interracial Marriage. Most authors appeal to popular prejudice instead of digging into the Bible and basing their conclusions on facts. Harry is refreshing in his willingness to tackle hard issues and give them an honest day in court.