Older than Stonehenge, mystifying moon god stones uncovered in Israel

Rujum en-Nabi Shua’ayb-Jethro-cairn-moon

The crescent moon is a symbol of Islam. Muslim, Jewish and Christian holidays revolve around cycles of the moon. So it’s no big surprise that an ancient structure, devoted to the moon, has recently been uncovered in Israel.

Israel is the birthplace of monotheism, belief in one God, but this new structure paid homage to a Mesopotamian-era moon god, new research uncovers. Older than Stonehenge and older than many pyramids, it is not just a stone wall as it was once believed.

Rujum en-Nabi Shua’ayb, Jethro Cairn, moon god, Ido Wachtel, archeology, Israel

Israeli archeologists originally thought that the structure, located in Northern Israel, and known as the Jethro Cairn, or Rujum en-Nabi Shua’ayb transliterated from Arabic, was part of an ancient city found near the Sea of Galilee (and close to where my husband was born!).

Rujum en-Nabi Shua’ayb-ido-wachtel-jethro-cairn

But Israeli archeologist Ido Wachtel says that the 5,000 year old wall is likely paying tribute to “Sin” an ancient moon god also known as “Nanna.”

Jethro Cairn meant to mark out natural resources

The structure is 500 feet long, and the crescent shape is “Sin’s” symbol. He is usually shown riding a bull. This Jethro Cairn structure would have taken 35,000 days to build. The crescent is located 18 miles from Bet Yareh, which means house of the moon god. The name of the crescent is after Jethro (in Hebrew Yitro), an important prophet from the Druize sect.

Rujum en-Nabi Shua’ayb-jethro-cairn-wachtel

Wachtel presented his findings at the International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East.

Wachtel, a student of Hebrew University in Jerusalem writes: “The proposed interpretation for this site is that it constituted a prominent landmark in its natural landscape, serving to mark possession and to assert authority and rights over natural resources by a local rural or pastoral population.”

Not long ago a very unusual cairn of stones appeared in the Sea of Galilee, supporting evidence that Jesus may have walked on water without the need for a serious miracle.

Archaeology in the Middle East must be protected

At any rate, these archeology findings show us that the Middle East region is important to protect – and that the moon and natural cycles of the earth have linked us from the beginning of history – possibly time.

We need to protect sites like the Jethro Cairn. Not just for people of today but for inquisitive ones of tomorrow. Let’s find a way to respect and protect archeology in the Middle East and vulnerable locations like Syria, Egypt, Iraq and any other region under the reign of conflict, terror and survival.

When I was in Syria 14 years ago, locals gave me gifts from archeology sites. They were wide open, and no one was there to protect them. The situation has only gotten much worse in Syria.

116 thoughts on “Older than Stonehenge, mystifying moon god stones uncovered in Israel

  1. daliya

    Arguing about which religion is closer to the truth is such a waste of time. The beauty of this article is that primitive man needed something to pray to and look up to and feel close to . All religions serve the same purpose Grow up all of you. THE GOD for all of us is whatever we can comprehend or perceive, Some pray to the forest and others to the moon and now we have the god of money or the god of slaughter or the god of wisdom. You guys work out who is what your god is for you right now .

    Reply
    • Christina Wilson

      Absolutely! daliya, you see things more clearly than anyone else out there. You expressed my own sentiments perfectly!

      Reply
  2. Abel Kotze, South Africa

    Prophet Muhamed is Prophesied in Hindu, Judaic and Christian books. Denying his prophet-hood (and the manifestation of God in Qur’an)s simply ignorance. In Hindu scripture he is called Avatar. In Deuteronomy 18:15-18, mankind is promised another prophet/king like Moses who will ‘speak only what he hears’. In the Gospels, the priests and Levites approached John (the Baptist) and asked him if he is i) the Messiah; ii) Elijah or iii) THAT prophet!!! Later in John 14, 15 & 16 Jesus repeats the Old Testament prophecy of an Advocate that will come from God who will ‘speak only what he hears’. Ali, the Son of the Father of the Seeker, cousin, son-in-law, heir, trustee and executor of his will and rightful successor of Prophet Mohammed has said: You can only arrive at the Truth if you can imagine the Path you are on is wrong… – See more at: http://www.greenprophet.com/2014/09/older-than-stonehenge-mystifying-moon-god-stones-uncovered-in-israel/#comment-1031440

    Reply
  3. unconvinced

    Also, the claim that this is older than Stonehenge is possibly incorrect. The earth bank around Stonehenge seems to be as old as this.

    Reply
  4. unconvinced

    Can someone explain to me how the link to religion has been made here? All I see is a curved construction, nothing else, and an archeologist that wants to make a name for themself by linking it to religion so that they will get some more money for their pet project. I dont see any evidence at all here for any of the claims made in the article. It reminds me somewhat of the Bosnian pyramid nonsense. I’m open to being convinced so someone please enlighten me.

    Reply
  5. ishaaq

    Islam is about serving one unseen God, and not based on any idol. holy days are determined by the lunar calendar which works on moon appearance cycles. because of the lunar calender we never get it wrong. unlike Christmas which was never on the twenty fifth of December,and even if it was ,the Gregorian calender with leap years can never be accurate.please spend time learning the truth about Islam before you comment ,and while you’re at it find out what the language of Jesus was ,and what happened to the original bible text in jesus’s own language.the current versions of the bible does not include the original text for verification .the name Jesus is also not Hebrew or Aramaic.

    Reply
    • Adam

      Some corrections to you rant.
      1- the Gregorian calender is a solar calender based on a 365.25 day revolution of the earth around the sun and is certainly very accurate. A lunar calender is a 360 day calender based on the moon’s revolution around the earth. Which is why your ramadan never happens at the same time of year and occurs in different seasons.
      2- not sure why you expect there to be a Bible in Jesus’s original language. Jesus never wrote the New Testament, His disciples did in the linga franca of that time period and region where they were missionaries, namely koine Greek.
      3- the name Jesus is the English version of the Greek Isus, which is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Yeshua which translates into English as ‘God Saves’.

      Before you criticize another religion, at least have the courtesy to read up about it, that way you will not appear so ignorant.

      As far as Islam goes,
      1- there is no genealogical record linking Mohammed to Ishmael who married and Egyptian and not a Medianite, (the name of the ancient people of Arabia)
      2- certainly the black stone in the kaaba that you all prostrate yourselves to five times a day appears very idol worshippy.
      3- Ishmael was the son of Abram the uncircumcised and not a son of Abraham the circumcised like Isaac (Isak) so the claim to be an Abrahamic faith must be questioned
      4- archeological evidence suggests that allah was the name of an ancient moon god idol, which if so, would make Islam a mono-idol religion and not a mono-theistic religion.
      Support for this lies in the fact that Mohammed’s pagan idol worshiping grandfather named Mohammed’s pagan idol worshiping father – Abdullah – which means servant of Allah, proving that pagan Arabs worshiped Allah long before Mohammed was even born.

      Additional proof of Islam being a pagan religion that is mono-idol, i.e. pagans who worship a single idol as opposed to multiple idols, is the word ramadan, a non Arabic word of possibly Hindu origin where the word Rama is another name for Krishna.
      Thus Ramadan would mean a fast period dedicated to Lord Rama, an idol still worshiped by Hindus.
      The haj (pilgrimage) to Mecca was practiced by pagans prior to Mohammed and is still a feature of Islam.

      The more one studies Islam in relation to Hinduism, the more one sees the true roots of Islam emerging. Mohammed’s plagiarism of Jewish and Christian Bible stories does not qualify Islam as an Abrahamic faith nor as an monotheistic faith, so long as Islam continues to practice the old pagan rituals of the idol worshiping religion upon which it is founded whilst still worshiping the old moon god idol, Allah.

      Reply
    • Djea

      Actually, the Lunar calendar like the Gregorian calendar is adjusted on cycles. Remember that there is an extra 1/4 day that must be accounted for. Both do this. The problem with the Lunar Calendar is that the same “month” can vary from the solar solstice up to about +/- at least 15 days (I think it is actually a lot more than that). The same actual date in the lunar calendar might be winter one year and well into spring the next. VERY confusing.

      Now, since you brought it up, Islam is NOTHING but a government formed by a radical who gave order to expand and take over the entire globe. It calls itself a “religion” however does not recognize any political boundary, or political power except its OWN LEADERS. I have read the commands in the Quran.

      Additionally, if one reads the Quran it instantly becomes evident that Islam is NOT and never has been about peace. Specific orders are given, it is right and just to lie and to steal from infidels, their lives, property and goods are to be taken from them, they shall be put to death if they do not accept Islam. Their children are to be killed or used as slaves along with their women being used as the victor pleases.

      yes, I have read it. I have also read the history of Islam’s attacks and expansionism across western and southern Europe and up to Greece, the pillaging, murders, killings, rapes and destruction wrought.Accept Islam or be beheaded. I have also read about the systematic teaching of terrorist tactics and sending of acolytes to cause civil strife and unrest throughout SE Asia and other places since about 700 or so. I know of the horrendous attacks and brutal killings in Africa and in the Philippines and other places where Muslims killed Christian families and took their children as slaves and their daughters to abuse sexually. This is acceptable behavior to Muslims? Apparently as the have been doing it for over 1500 years!

      No, if Islam was a religion of peace, the Muslims would RISE UP AND SMITE THE LEADERS THAT TELL THEM TO KILL, MAIM AND MURDER. Muslims would treasure knowledge, even if a woman obtains it. They would not stone her or kill her because she wanted to learn. In fact, if Muslims were truly peaceful they would destroy those who do these things. Instead they support them financially and morally. Instead they wish to place their RELIGIOUS LAW over peoples of other countries, countries that allowed them in…most of whom were escapees from such political attacks as I have described….by other Muslims! Muslims are demanding their laws in OUR country. I say you want your laws, go back to Saudi Arabia.

      lastly, do not blame Christians for responding to Muslim expansion It was the Muslims who attacked and took Jerusalem. It was muslims that expanded all the way into Spain, France, even Sardinia and crete, virtually the entire area was taken under arms and innocents killed in the name of YOUR god. Muslims were never attacked or abused until they wanted to force their religion under threat of sword. Take your peaceful religion and go back….into the deserts of Saudi and practice it there and destroy each other…or become a peaceful religion and throw those that aren’t peaceful into the pit of hell yourselves. Don’t make others clean up your messes and don’t preach lies to those that read history.

      Reply
      • Abel Kotze, South Africa

        I think you should read it again: only defensive war is allowed! Christians are responsible for the death of about 3 billion people in the past 2,000 years.

        Reply
        • Deon van der Merwe

          The comment does not relate with the given quoted section of the whole article. I am a greenie, so my following comment must be seen in that light. The quotation from the original full comment makes no reference to war in any form but rather the “LAWS OF ISLAM” which seem to impose rather punitive punishments on both unbelievers and those that “follow Islam but stray from its restrictive charges”, ie are also subject to such measures. I don’t know for sure about such things but my belief, not religion or denomination or any other such tie, is based on the BIBLE which I accept as the inerrant WORD OF GOD. This belief is not based on any outside teachings but on the realities of my experience of God who answers prayer, performs acts which have no other logical explanation and HIS accepted teachings as set out in the BIBLE and, VERY IMPORTANTLY IN THIS PRESENT AGE, HELL IS APPROACHING THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE BY ACCEPTANCE OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY AT AN EXTREMELY RAPID RATE. THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES AS STRESSED IN THESE WRITINGS ARE OCCURRING ALL AROUND US RELIGIOUSLY, POLITICALLY, PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY. PLEASE TAKE HEED AND SATISFY YOURSELVES ABOUT THESE THINGS, GOD IS READY TO ASSIST YOU IN THIS REGARD. JUST ASK HIM . AMEN

          Reply
          • Abel Kotze, South Africa

            Dear brother in God, the fact that you rely on the Bible as inerrant word of God, is half your problem. Not even Bible scholars can agree on the authors of the NT never mind the OT. The NT was written 70-100 years after the Gospel Jesus, who if he existed, plagiarized ‘original’ Jesus or the Teacher of Righteousness who lived 150-200 years earlier, as mentioned in the Dead Sea scrolls and other texts. The Gospels and the remainder of the NT are a Paulian construct who established a more ‘palatable’ and ‘digestible’ RELIGION for the Pagans. And the seeds of its destruction slipped through into its own ‘manufactured’ texts. For example, when the priests and Levites approached John the Baptist and asked him if he is the returned Elijah, the promised Messiah or THAT Prophet as mentioned in Deut. 18:15-18. Christians claim that Paracletos is the Holy Spirit but in 2 John 2:1, Jesus is himself called Paracletos but translations are economical with the Truth. Gospel of John 14, 15 & 16 clearly illustrate that the promised Prophet (to come) is none other than Muhammad, who will not speak his own words but will only recite (Iqrah) what he hears. There is no better definition of this ‘recital’ than Qur’an from the same root in Arabic. The flawed OT and NT have been superseded by Qur’an and you should read it before you ‘diss’ it…

  6. Yaya

    A moon god whose symbol is the crescent shape and who rides a bull? Well, this sounds like the Hindu god Shiva, whose symbol is the crescent moon that he wears on his head and he rides a bull called Nandi.

    Reply
  7. Dan

    I thought that monotheism came from Egypt from pharoah Aten. There are lots of symbols of the sun associated with Christ, which are thought to have come from Aten imagery, and Christ told his family to flee to Egypt – he is thought to have studied there.

    Reply
    • Adam

      Monotheism is a compound word used to describe a system of worship, where mono means one or single and theism means belief in a deity, from the Greek word Theos meaning God.
      Thus monotheism means the worship of a single/one God.
      Judaism is the first monotheistic religion on record.

      Jesus never told his family to go to Egypt. When Joseph and Mary fled there to escape Herod, Jesus was still a baby in diapers.

      And lastly, what sun symbols are associated with Jesus? I’ve seen a fish symbol, a wooden cross symbol, even a manger scene, but a sun symbol, not yet.

      Reply
  8. Julean

    Christianity does not base its holidays on the moon. Islam is based on the moon god. Allah is the supreme god of the 360 pagan gods of the kaaba cube. Mahomet merely destroyed the others and retained this one god for islam. Sin is an apt name for this islamic babylonian god too.

    Reply
      • Julean

        The Christian Passover naturally grew out of the Jewish Passover as the Lord’s Day grew out of the Sabbath; the paschal lamb being regarded as a prophetic type of Christ, the Lamb of God slain for our sins (1 Cor. 5:7, 8), and the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt as a type of the redemption from sin. It is certainly the oldest and most important annual festival of the church, and can be traced back to the first century, or at all events to the middle of the second, when it was universally observed, though with a difference as to the day, and the extent of the fast connected with it.

        This is not a date aligned to pagan celebrations but a date aligned to the Jewish date of Passover without being directly tied to it. The month of Nisan is a spring month and should rightly fall after the vernal equinox within a solar year. Thus, Christ’s Resurrection was in the spring. Knowing the moon has a 28-day cycle, the full moon would be comparable to the fourteenth day since the Jewish month began with the new moon. So the Sunday following this full moon would approximate the day of the Resurrection—the focus of the feast. The Easter celebration was assigned a date that corresponded to the Jewish Passover but was not necessarily tied to its date. With this calculation, the date of Easter is a movable date that may fall between March 22 and April 25 in our current calendar.

        The date we celebrate today is a reasonable approximation of the Resurrection of Christ with no connection to pagan festivals. The sun and the moon are merely useful to measure time, and are incidental to the timing of the event, since Passover is the timing focus of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb of God. It is the relationship to the events at a particular time of year that counts.

        Reply
    • aakil omar

      And you read this on which Wikipedia page. You might as well say that Jacob is a Grey and Barack is a Reptilian and on weekends they meet for cattle mutilations. Freedom of speech is one thing but just being an idiot is quite another.

      Reply
      • Raymond

        Sarcasm and insults are the manner in which Atheists respond to something they have no answer for.
        Are you one or does Islamists also follow that pathetic route

        Reply
        • A.L

          I wonder at times if “God” knew or willingly allowed Christians to massacre whole cities in the wake of promoting “His” belief. Probably. After all, “He” did allow the Jews to do the same as they entered the “promised land”.

          The same way I’m inclined to wonder how “He” came to allow Islam “extremists” to indoctrinated/force a child to strap a bomb to his:er back and blow themselves up in a crowded marketplace!?

          Just asking, btw. Please don’t give me the argument of “free will” and “free choice”. None chose to be here and none of us “chose” this inherently violent reality. Indoctrination has an immense effect, so choice becomes almost non-existent. So the question arrives as to why God would allow such grotesque inhumanity if “He” knew it was going to occur!?

          Then again. What can we expect from a God that becomes angry, jealous and vengeful. Sounds pretty much like what humans are. In “His” likeness and all… Yet, you all will be judged…

          What happens if one does not want to have anything to do with all this shyte. Will we be absolved and have our own little place to squat, or will we be judged for not giving a shyte. Where is the “choice” in all that again?

          Reply
          • ishaaq

            the words “islamist”and “jihadists” are new and don’t have any real meaning except that someone added it into certain dictionaries and use it to describe the wrong doing of some people.as a Muslim I have to remember that being a Muslim means submitting to the will of God.when I commit an unIslamic act I am not a Muslim for that moment ,and until I repent and observe true Islamic principles the next moment I cannot call myself a Muslim until then.I hope whoever reads this will take the time to find out what Islam in its true sense demands from us as Muslims. if we learn to distinguish the difference between Islam as a teaching and the evil that people do there will not be a word like “islamists”.jihaad is not only a conflict between people.it can also mean a conflict between myself and my own bad inclinations ,and this is called “jihaadi nafs” the word ” nafs” means my own inclinations. from this we can clearly see how the words jihaad and Islam is misused. words are very important in the world .take for example “Holocaust” I read it means burnt offering .I don’t think Hitler made a burnt offering of the “Jews” , he and his cronies simply murdered millions of people including Jews . the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki where just as bad for the ordinary people on the ground as Hitlers gas chambers and many soldiers on either side where killed so if Holocaust means the destruction of life and peoples lives the whole war was then a holocaust. true Islam teaches the rules of engagement in a conflict situation to the extent that you cannot uproot a tree planted for shade let alone indiscriminate killing of people.the hijacking of words has much to do with perception.the recent slaughter of the babies of “Terrorists” by the Israeli army was met with open disgust by holocaust survivors but many people in Israel endorsed the killing of Palestinian babies and vilified the holocaust survivors for objecting.the word holocaust was given a single meaning ” Jewish” suffering and anything else is defence of Israel at any cost..true Islam does not condone collateral damage,and words have both literal and conceptual meanings.we must be careful with the use of words.
            I peters.

    • Alex Neumann

      Not true. In Islam, Allah is not supreme God from 360 pagen Gods in fact, Allah is like Judaisim G-d. It says in Quran, “.. He neither has babies nor is born from someone. He has no equivalent”

      Reply
      • A.L

        Mohammed sucked the idea of Allah from his thumb whilst sitting in a cave after having been exposed to many cultures and their religion. Islam is a metamorphis of pagan belief with Judeo-Chritiansm and Asian twisted with what Mohammed valued during his time, which was conquer, mass murder, slavery and especially sex slavery. Today it is hardly discussed umongst followers unlike Judeo-Christianism, for fear of intimidation, even death (truly a mideval belief system). A death cult of note. Repressive and more archaic than the religions it sponged/parasited and stole from. Fear and repression keeps them going. Why teach an African/whoever the scripst in Arabic but not teach them the language? Darkness, should be the first warning.

        Reply
        • Abel Kotze, South Africa

          Prophet Muhamed is Prophesied in Hindu, Judaic and Christian books. Denying his prophet-hood (and the manifestation of God in Qur’an)s simply ignorance. In Hindu scripture he is called Avatar. In Deuteronomy 18:15-18, mankind is promised another prophet/king like Moses who will ‘speak only what he hears’. In the Gospels, the priests and Levites approached John (the Baptist) and asked him if he is i) the Messiah; ii) Elijah or iii) THAT prophet!!! Later in John 14, 15 & 16 Jesus repeats the Old Testament prophecy of an Advocate that will come from God who will ‘speak only what he hears’. Ali, the Son of the Father of the Seeker, cousin, son-in-law, heir, trustee and executor of his will and rightful successor of Prophet Mohammed has said: You can only arrive at the Truth if you can imagine the Path you are on is wrong…

          Reply
          • A.L

            Ja boet. Right. So the way I’ve read your copy and paste job is this. Some bloke/s (generally Jews/Israelites) makes a prophecy that one day someone great will come along (again) and viola this automatically (because you so want to believe it) becomes Mohammed, who then creates Allah and a religion that has predominantly at the time had an Arabic following. Turning out to generally despise both Jews, Christians and infidels alike (don’t see Christian churches or Jewish synagogues in Islamic Arabic countries, not allowed, and Catholics don’t count because technically they’re not Christian as they pray through idols and the pope is like god on earth, big no-no).

            A religious cult that then goes on to deny the Christians their belief that Jesus is the Son of God direct and as such their belief in the Trinity. Jesus then being relegated to just another prophet like Mohammed. Unto the Jews it is then proffered that Yahweh shall now be called Allah. Interesting. I wonder how they feel about that?

            So what I have gathered is that the Jews or whom ever (don’t really care whether its Jew or “gentile”) prophesied themselves out of the picture and made their beliefs and their God irrelevant by handing over the reigns to Mohammed and his Allah.

            Wow, hard to keep up with all the power struggles amongst the gods. I do hewever get the idea why there is so much struggle amongst humanity. Phew (wiping brow).

            Question: If I say that one day a great man will walk through my door, am I making a prophecy, speculating or just sucking on my thumb?

          • Abel Kotze, South Africa

            Your ignorance on the subject runs deep! Firstly, Jesus spoke Aramaic which is a daughter language of Arabic! El/Eli/Elohim/Eloi are original names of Allah the one and only Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
            Jesus’s call on the cross: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani is unfortunately the only preserved ‘original’ Aramaic words in the entire NT. And in written form, there is ZERO difference between Eloi, Elohi, Eli and Allah for your information.

            Secondly, do not judge Islam by what Muslims do, especially if you do not want me to judge Judaism by Zionism or Christianity by almost 300 years of American warmongering.

            The difference between Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam is ENTIRELY man-made, if you had a deeper understanding, you would agree.

            Anyway, dogs bark but the caravan moves on…

          • A.L

            “ELOAH. {aleph, lamedh, vav, he.}
            Hebrew fundamentally has both masculine and feminine gender phonetic vowel pronunciations for much of its words, besides the words tense, singularity or plurality that affect each word pronunciation.

            EL, ELOI, ELAH, ELOH, ELOAH, ELOHIM, ALAH, etc., are use in the over all scripture text as a generic titles not a names. However there is evidence that both the Yahwdim people and Gentiles use them as both masculine and feminine gender names, by a component or a whole persons name.

            EL {Strong’s # 410 aleph, lamedh.} as {Strong’s # 416 Beyth-El. beth, yod tav. – aleph, lamedh.}

            Most Scholastic Etymology cross references of this word in ancient Hebrew attests that the correct vowel masculine singular syllable pronunciation “EL,” that evolve from the root word “Eh-li,” is in turn a directly derive from {Eval. aleph, vav, lamedh.} meaning “desires to be strong or longed to be in front.” “Eh-li,” is a straight offshoot of {Strong’s # 428 Elh. aleph, lamedh, he.} meaning, “to strive to reach,” from this cause it literally means “HE whom everyone strives to reach,” which is a continual scriptural ideal in “strive to reach for YAHWEH,” is the expected charge of every Yahwdim (Ex. 19:6) as a kingdom of Kohenim is (Ex. 19:22) to Come near to YAHWEH.

            EL is a masculine singular noun meaning Almighty as illustrated is the direct derivative form {Eh-li. aleph, yod, lamedh, yod.}, which means “MIGHTY” as in men of high rank and power. (Ezekiel 31: 11) “Mighty-one” {Strong’s # 352, Ey-al. aleph, yod, lamedh.} of the Gentiles,” and as well in (Job 41: 17) “Mighty men” {Elim. aleph, lamedh, yod, mem}. {Strong’s # 419, Eldad. aleph, lamedh, daleth, daleth.} means El has love.

            (Gen. 14: 22) “YAHWEH, the most high EL.”

            (Gen. 14:18) “EL ELYON” mean the [Most High], and the expression EL ELOYOM [the Most High] and was also applied to YAHWEH Elohim [the Most High]. Melchizedek whose name mean “The King is Justice” is not surprising that this is mentioned in ancient Phoenician records who whore priest of “EL ELYON.”

            [e-Li] is found: (Psalm 22:2) “MY Eli, My ELi,”

            Eli, is also found in many scriptural names which are compounded from “Eli” plus a Hebrew noun:

            Eliezer : my Eli is help (Gen. 15:2)
            Elizer : my Eli is a rock (Num. 1:5)
            Elieb / Eliev : my Eli is our father (Num. 1:9)
            Elimelech : my Eli is king (Ruth 1:2)
            Eliel : my Eli is Eli (1 Chronicles 5:24)
            Eliyah : my Eli is YAHWEH (2 Kings 1:3)

            Eli is the offshoot for numerous names, such as (1 Ch. 12: 21) (Strong’s # 452, EliYahu. aleph, lamedh, yod, he, yod, vav, aleph.) and is distinctly pronounce as EL in Israel. In the scripture Yahwdim are called the SON OF YAHWEH. Actuality in Hebrew there are substantial number of very popular songs with the phrases “my Father my king” a name “son of Eli” and their where numerous persons in the scripture by the name (Strong # 446 Eliy’Ab. aleph, lamedh, yod, ayin, mem.} means “Eli is our Father” and (Strong’s # 463 Eliy’am. aleph, lamedh, yod, aleph, beth.) means “Eli is our Kinsman.” In (Psalms 82:6) Yahwdim are called “The sons of the Most HIGH.”

            Within the boundaries of scripture Yahadowt, YAHWEH is foreseen as the MIGHTY (Strong’s # 353, EH-LI. aleph, yod, lamedh, yod.) ELOAH of Israel, in the masculine form and as such have a phonetic “E” masculine vowel sound pronunciation as ELOAH.

            (a) EL (Strong’s # 410. aleph, lamedh.) correspondent in the ancient Akkadian language is pronounce “ILU.”

            (b) EL Aramaic masculine singular pronunciation is “ELU.”

            ELOI (aleph, lamedh, yod.) as (Strong’s 1017 Beyth ha-ELOI. beth yod, tav. He, aleph, lamedh, yod.)

            (Mark 15:34) is probably the most quoted Aramaism in the Epistles, being “ELOI, ELOI, Lama Sabakthani.” The people hearing Yahwshua’s words thought He was calling EliYAH (My YAH) (Matthew 27:47 and Mark 15:35-36). In Yahadowtyot ELI is “My EL” is a shortened form of “EliYahw” (My YAHWEH).
            http://www.eliyah.com/forum2/Forum1/HTML/002932.html

          • A.L

            Last bark at the caravan.

            Judge them ALL, Jaques. They are all complicit in genocide and repression through the ages. The world hardly needed any of them. Sophisticated societies existed well before indoctrinated religion crept in and was later enforced through violence and intimidation. Most if not all ills of this world can be laid squarly at the feet of the big religions whether their “supposed” diffirences are man made. I merely have to sift through history up to the latest news to see that. No need to go read a “holy” book or dosen.

            Btw. I’m an equal opportunity discriminator. I dislike all indoctrinated religions. Yours just caught my eye and still is in international media.

    • Goher

      Bro please don’t confuse islam with greek mythology and baseless allegations.. first of all, there is no room for idolatory in islam… second, there is no such thing as a moon god… I have read some of the missionary propaganda that says Allah is moon god.. well, Allah means “the God” in Arabic language.. just because its not English, doesn’t mean its a different god.. God is one and only almighty, different names are probably His attributes or names in other languages.

      Reply
  9. Deon van der Merwe

    WOW TO ALL THAT PROCEEDED THIS COMMENT. AND I THOUGHT THE ARTICLE WAS ALL ABOUT ARCHEOLOGY, HISTORY AND PRESERVING THE HERITAGE OF THIS PLATFORM EARTH. WHAT PUZZLES MOST AND AMAZES AT THE TOTAL IDIOCY OF MAN AT SO MANY LEVELS THAT THEY CANNOT CONCEIVE OF THE CREATOR OF WHAT IS AN AMAZING AND WONDROUS, SHALL WE JUST SAY UNIVERSE, WITH ALL OF ITS ORDER AND VERY INCREDIBLE OBVIOUS DESIGN WHICH NO HUMAN HAS, CAN OR EVER WILL BE ABLE TO REPLICATE. MANY HAVE TRIED, ARE TRYING AND WILL INEVITABLY CONTINUE TO TRY, NOTWITHSTANDING THE OBVIOUS, THEY CANNOT! IF THERE WERE NO ALMIGHTY, OMNIPRESENT AND OMNISCIENT GOD, TO WHAT END THEN IS MAN BORN? THIS SAME GOD THAT VISITED US AND WE REJECTED HIM, DIED FOR US AND, AS HE SAID, WILL SURELY RETURN FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT DENY HIM IN ANY WAY. I WOULD LIKE TO TESTIFY TO THE FACT THAT NO MATTER WHAT NOW BEFALLS OR HAS BEFALLEN ME, AND BELIEVE MUCH HAS AND MAY AGAIN, I KNOW FROM EVIDENCE, NOT ONLY OF EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS, BUT ACTUAL, SOMETIMES INEXPLICABLE, PHYSICAL EXPERIENCES IN MY LIFE, THERE HAS TO BE MORE AND I HAVE FOUND IT IN A PEACE, LOVE, COMFORT AND VERY REAL HOPE, THAT HE LIVES. I PRAY THAT HE MAY USE THESE FUMBLING WORDS OF MINE TO SHOW YOU ALL THERE IS A BETTER LIFE AND HOPE. AMEN

    Reply
    • Christina Wilson

      Hi there Deon, you said some very powerful things there and I feel much the same way. A lot of people say that they believe in God without having a very clear idea of just who, or what God is. To my way of thinking, God is the force of love in the universe. He is much more than just a person. We are just at the barest beginning of our scientific evolution, so we don’t understand much yet about our physical reality. What I believe is this : it is the love that is God that manifests itself as all of the objects and beings in our existence. The love energy is so powerful that it bubbles up out of the ether and becomes ourselves, and everything that is around us. How’s that for a theory?

      Reply
      • Shu

        Christina, its a beautiful theory, but defies logic a bit. Before we discount logic, lets assume your theory to be true. For something to traverse from theory to truth, there has to be logic. It is how we humans are built. Even love has a logicness about it. If somebody behaves in a certain way, no matter how much they say they love you, logic will tell you they do not. In the same way, there is no logical sense that we were just created out of love. Then there is no purpose.
        Try this for a theory. There is a God. Just One. He created everything we know and things we don’t know. Why did he create all of this? He is the One, and can do as He pleases. In this theory, this One unique being is free from all needs. He created some beings with the ability to make choices, and others that do not have that ability. He loves these beings that can make choices. He wants to see if they will appreciate what He has created, and if they will be grateful. Why? It is something we cannot do. All that we create cannot be grateful to us. Computers, machines, theories, they cannot even turn back and say thank you. But this One being has created a truly independent being, that can make the choice. For the beings that are grateful, there is reward. After all, this One being is unique, free from need, but wants recognition from something truly independent. That’s us as far as we know.

        Reply
        • Christina Wilson

          Hi Shu, what we call logic is what makes sense to us, based on what we know. When you consider that we are beings of limited perceptions, and that we are barely at the beginning of understanding the nature of reality, then what we call “logic” does not always serve us. In this case we are left with only our gut sense and our imagination. Thanks for the nice comment!

          Reply
  10. M. van Eijck

    How interesting is it that human beings have always looked for an entity bigger then themselves in order to find explanations regarding their existence. Undoubtfully, there’s more between heaven and earth than we know, but we still know frightfully little!

    Reply
  11. Christina Wilson

    Anne DeVere, I am so sorry if you believe that the world is ruled by a force of evil. There is much evil here, to be sure, but there is also a great deal of good to be found if you look for it. It is my belief that we manifest the very things that we focus on. I choose to focus on what is good. By my own positive energy I am hoping that I can lift the energy of others. If enough of us do this, then the world cannot help but be saved!

    Reply
  12. Pingback: #OnlyInDubai is eating the calories you just burned considered “good health” | Health

  13. Amenda Walton

    Very interesting find always, but Islam is not represented by the moon, the crescent moon is only used as a sighting when a new month starts, but Islam has no symbols, that was actually from the pagan era that which all Prophets pbuh were sent to lead people away from. Yes places like Turkey have symbols of crescent moon, even red crescent but this is not considered proper representation of Islam, just as the cross was is not a respresentative of Christianity since when Jesus pbuh was sent he was not sent carrying a cross, he was sent to led away from worshipping any other God besides God and we need to sacrifice ourselves by turning away from that which causes sin against our soul that weighs it down and leads us only to more sin and desensitize us to sin so we actually believe our sins ate not sinning but just ‘normal part of life’ but that is just evil at work

    Reply
  14. jenny block

    “We must all try to be Charlie, not just today but every day,” the New Yorker pontificates. What the hell does that mean? In real life, solidarity takes many forms, almost all of them hard. This kind of low-cost, risk-free, E-Z solidarity is only possible in a social-media age, where you can strike a pose and somebody sees it on their timeline for 15 seconds and then they move on and it’s forgotten except for the feeling of accomplishment it gave you. Solidarity is hard because it isn’t about imaginary identifications, it’s about struggling across the canyon of not being someone else: it’s about recognizing, for instance, that somebody died because they were different from you, in what they did or believed or were or wore, not because they were the same. If people who are feeling concrete loss or abstract shock or indignation take comfort in proclaiming a oneness that seems to fill the void, then it serves an emotional end.

    Reply
      • Deon van der Merwe

        EXCUSE ME, BUT WHAT EXACTLY, IN PLAIN AND SIMPLE ENGLISH, DID SHE ACTUALLY SAY OR IS SHE PRACTICING TO BE A POLITICIAN WHO USES MANY FLOWERY WORDS AND PHRASES AND MUCH TIME TO SAY ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THE END? JUST ASKING!

        Reply
        • Adam

          Deon, sorry you did not understand what Jenny wrote. She makes a wonderful insight with the following:
          “that somebody died because they were different from you, in what they did or believed or were or wore, not because they were the same. ”

          Now that is deep and very true.

          And please Deon, turn off your caps lock, its very irritating trying to read your comments in capital letters. If you cannot see the non capital letters on your monitor, decrease your screens resolution or buy glasses.

          Reply
  15. Kathryne Johnson

    All the religious books were written by MAN so sorry guys your it! Every one is written by man. Need I say more. Look what you might try is to ask yourself, would my father be proud of me? Am I a good person? Do I have compassion? Do I follow his rules ? He only left you10 commandments but MAN has made millions of commandments himself to control people.

    Reply
    • Seán

      Hi Kathryne, You express my sentiments in almost my own words. I cannot understand why nobody is ever willing to point out that all the so called “Holy Books” were written by men whose only thought was how to control their people. The world and life had to have a beginning and it is likely that someday we humans will find out how that came about but in the meantime we must accept that there is absolutely no evidence that a God put pen to paper or a chisel to a slab of stone. Reading old stories from Celtic Romances it is easy to see how simple events became fantastic stories over time. All the old Holy Books are just that Fantastic but obviously incredible stories that have some truths sprinkled throughout to give them the ring of truth.

      Reply
      • Adam

        Ah Sean, the only reason you think God did not dictate the Bible is because you do not understand it. If you did, you would know that no human, and certainly no human living 3500 years ago, could ever have written it.

        Allow me to provide one example using the opening verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1.

        “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
        Where-
        Beginning = Time, composed of past, present and future.
        Heavens = Space, composed of breadth, depth and width.
        Earth = Matter, composed of gas, liquid and solid.

        In the very first verse God informs us that He is creating a three dimensional universe of time, space and matter. How long did it take secular man to realize that we lived in a three dimensional universe? Either Moses was super brilliant, or he wrote down what God dictated, as Moses claims to have done.

        That first verse also explains the Trinity. A verse in itself containing a trinity of trinities.

        When you shine a beam of light through a glass prism, you get the seven visible rays of the light spectrum, aka a rainbow.
        When you shine the Godhead through the prism of creation, you get the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Why three? Because we live in a three dimensional universe. Outside of creation, God is uni-dimensional, one God represented in three forms (persons) by the prism of creation.

        From front to back and from back to front, the Bible has internal harmony.
        For a book that traces the dynasty of Adam and Eve over 4500 years till their descendent Jesus. A book composed of 66 booklets, written by 40 different authors, over a period of 1600 years, in three different languages. The Bible is unique, not one other man written collection of book is like it or compares to it. The Bibles uniqueness proves that man is incapable of having written it. If man had such a capability, Bible type books would be ten-a-penny.

        If you can find me just one single other multiple booklet book written by various men that compares to the Bible, a book without error containing multiple scientific facts, historical facts, medical facts, astrological facts, cosmic facts, geological facts, biological facts, and lets not forget about prophetical facts, then perhaps I can believe that God did not write it, but till then, your claim is that of ignorance of the book you are dissing.

        Reply
        • A.L

          Adam. All very impressive. However. As a solely patriarchal archaic belief system it has also caused immense misery along with its counterpart Islam with its wars, mass murder, repression, slavery and discrimination. The Bible and its forbears the Hebrew scripts were written by men, placing emphasis on the male. God is prescribed as male, “He” being used because there was no description for God (convenient). God the Father automatically translated later to the man being the head of the household, head of company and number one overall in society. I won’t be surprised if the Holy Ghost isn’t viewed as male as well. Adam, first created and Eve below him from his rib. All the prophets, male. The deciples, male. Most of the woman described in the Bible? Whores, deceivers, dirty or a witch worthy only of bearing children and being subjects. Today we have an unequal society where women in Western society are still deemed as below the male, earning less and having less respect, whilst many perform better in their positions than their male counterparts. On top of that, they still have to hold house and raise the kids. On the Mid-Eastern front the situation is even more sickening with women and girls denied education or work (no dignity), relegating them mere baby making machines with no rights. The patriarchal Abrahamistic (whether Islam isn’t really one according to some makes no difference as they believe they are) was enforced on the world with the sword, torture and mass death (even today). In closing. Much of the wonder you speak of in the Bible was a result of Meso-Babylonian and Egyptian origin. Not to even mention the Persian, Phonetian, Roman and ancient Greek influence. Just a small point. If the Egyptians had no three dimensional cognisance, the pyramids would not exist and neither would the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and these blokes all pre-date Judaism and they along with Phonetians were the originators of script. But then again, these societies were created for a reason and then made to fall? So that today we have the Jewish lobby holding a proverbial American missile at the head of a world teetering on the brink of collapse from the Mid-East. (I’m no anti-semite, just anti-Jewish international policies)

          Reply
          • ishaaq

            first of all the Qur’an was translated into many languages including English and the original Arabic text should always accompany any translated volume.because of the complexity of the Arabic language no translation effort can truly do justice to the Quran. we Muslims refer to God as he because male is the stronger gender .it has nothing to with discrimination and God does not claim to have any gender.those who read the english translation will also see that when God speaks of himself the word We” is used as a form of respect as the singular diacription is a lesser one .it may sound confusing but again English was not the chosen language for the Quran so any translation effort by us as creation can be misunderstood.not even the Arab can simply analyze the Quran you need people with deep knowledge as translation is not simply enough.I cannot speak for the bible or the current version of the Torah.

          • Christina Wilson

            Excuse me Ishaaq – men are stronger? Bigger maybe, but not stronger. Women live longer, for one. Strength is about so much more than a person’s size. It strikes me as pure arrogance that men would create their god in their own image.

          • A.L

            Ishaaq. When you force people to recite and learn the Quaran in Aramaic alone you merely create a bunch of zombies that do not even have the means to explore their belief or evolve and question it. It remains the reason why terror groups can manipulate its newcomers to hights of sick violence. Frankly, it remains thee way to suppress its followers and maintain a stronghold on others.

            Islam is the worst of archaic religious systems that prey on peoples weaknesses and ignorance, leaving societies in a perpetual deathtrap whilst exacerbates infinite ignorance and backward thinking, eternal suffering and repression.

            Islam is and remains an evil repressive system of thought. Nothing good has come of this religious theory, nothing. At least the Judeo evolved into Christianity and itself into the Protestant (however destructive and repressive, yet better, sort-off). Islam has become yet another scourge upon earth. Something to be removed along with secular sexist patriarchism and its “supported” Judeo-Christian manipulation.

            Time for “pragmatism” and less repressive religion that have and are causing this world to bleed in a special kind os way. Some with the archaic.

        • A.L

          Aah. The pro-patriarchs. Worst of them the indoctrinated female.

          “Strange” (?!) how “He” (God), chose virtually only males to convey “His” word whilst villifying women to such an extent, that even today women are deemed less than males . Never mind the mass death males has wrought on humanity and the greedy destruction of “mother nature”.

          But hey, was this not predicted by viewing the outfall of the greedy male influence over time/ancient times … Or, was/is it all God inspired? After all, God has to kill somehow to get you back upstairs in heaven or hell?

          Ever heard of the “Mini-Me Syndrome”? The most basic form of barbarism projection. The irresistible need to equate oneself to a higher being or existence for things to make sense. After all, one should have an origin? Why not some imaginary God that has almost the same attributes as a human yet above and yet morally beyond.

          Big difference between spiritual, being a good person and the clinging to an indoctrinated belief in a “Mini-Me-Max” ideology. Especially the types that have caused and will probably cause the destruction of Earth.

          Btw. Multi generations of bird can be found going to the same rock to clean their beaks. The same way as fish know which cove to better catch their pray. Humans are as easily indoctrinated. Belief in whatever system is learned. Please attempt to diswayde a Muslim/Jew/Christian/Catholic/Hindu/Pagan to change his/her belief and see how far you get.

          Reply
    • Colin Fibiger

      There is this common myth around “we were only left with 10 laws” that keeps getting regurgitated. Take the time read the Bible fully and you will find a well structured set of laws governing economics, health and much more.

      Reply
  16. bob

    Here’s a funny test. Ask a few people trying to convince you of believing in “God”, what is their individual definition of God.
    Every time, what you are going to hear, is 3 totally different opinions. And it might be better this way, because otherwise, it would imply that God can be limited to a set of mathematical equations, or some reduced dogmatic definitions. If believing means expressing something so intimate and personal, then it cannot be disconnected from freedom of opinion, which could include the possibility of contradicting someone else’s belief, to the point of being considered heretic in the other person’s view. God being ungraspable by one single view, but being equally true to all, becomes interesting. But the idea that one set of dogmas, pushed by a religious consensus, is truer than another often results in absurdity. Inquisitions, religious fatwas and blasphemy rules belong to that realm of absurdities. A love you can define is a limited love. True love goes beyond words and definitions, into the realm of feelings and open wondering, freeing one’s mind and heart from the mundane, allowing for greater perspectives.

    Reply
  17. Rousseau

    What is wrong with you people? You are all theorizing about religion as if you have any knowledge about the subject. And, through your arguments, you are actually devising new religions including (sic) the moon as part of your new religions. Its just a stone people!! Just think for one moment ( if that is at all possible). If a God does exsist that is the origin of love and the creator of all the universe, then he would be technically outside the creation. Thus we would not be able to sense him or contact him other than through methods that he has instituted such as praying. All the wisdom of the world, our own selfish desires to be “little gods” are the cause of all the uncertainties and decadense. Its time to really face the fact that science and universal wisdom ( if there is such a thing) is uncapable of finding God.. The reverse had to take place by God bending down and demonstrating his love for us, despite our own crookedness.

    Reply
  18. Christina Wilson

    Thanks HWE – I wish you a happy holiday season too, as well as everyone else on here! Whether you are a believer or not, anything that raises the vibration of this Earthly plane is worthwhile, right?

    Reply
  19. HWE

    Haha , that’s ok Christina ,

    you are right in what you say , I believe that too.
    Anyway best wishes for the holiday season and a happy new year:)

    Reply
  20. Christina Wilson

    Hi Fred Ware, you seem to be highly intelligent as well as educated. Good for you! Here is my take though: if we try to disseminate our entire reality through what limited science we have so far achieved we are doomed to fail. We are not nearly as evolved scientifically as we would like to think. So far, I believe that we are only able to perceive the tiniest fraction of the entire spectrum of reality. With our present-day scientific methods, the esoteric is just not quantifiable. All we can do for now is to go with our gut instincts. This, to my mind, is the voice of God speaking to us and we can never go wrong if we learn to listen to it.

    Reply
  21. HWE

    Yeah the ancients knew clearly that at those times in the year when the collective female menstrual cycles overlap for three days with the zenith there of coinciding with the phase in the lunar cycle when there is no moon visible in the nights sky , men and children are best advised to forego all hope selfish desires or display outward and inward signs of ego .. and show a spirit of solidarity with other men and woman and not expect profit or any god fortune for then the blood god arise.. I do think the leading world religions have been able to humanity from these bleak/ dire imaginings , by facilitating a higher spiritual form of existence..

    Reply
  22. EuphoriCrest

    I’m curious as to how the number of days (35,000!) to construct the crescent was calculated. Seems like 100 men could build a 500 foot wall in a fraction of that time. Also, wouldn’t it be more easily understandable to express the time as 96 years rather than 35,000 days? Interesting article; thanks for posting it.

    Reply
  23. safetynetfromrazorwire

    All this surprise about n ancient lunar deity when lunar goddesses were generally the first abstractions of natural forces virtually everywhere.

    Inanna/Ishtar and her European descendants were lunar – as were most earliest personifications of what
    matters to primitive societies: fertility and fecundity. Foragers, herders, and farmers all cared most deeply about
    their own and their livestock’s and their fields’ fertility. We already know that in the millennia prior to the culture
    central to this article the aforementioned goddesses, through their priestesses, conferred legitimacy on kings
    and emperors throughout the cradle of civilizations.

    As late as the 7th century and the invention of Islam lunar goddesses were fundamental to the region’s culture. The oases, especially those at Mecca, Medina, and Ta’if, were under the sacred trust of an Arabic trinity of moon goddesses represented by three Nabatean cranes – whose symbols were the crescent moon, the star (Venus) as well as the color green. To this day these are the signs of Islam. The triple manifested goddess were worshiped as Manat, al’Uzza, and together under the third name: Al’lat (‘The Goddess’). Sura 53 -containing the infamous ‘Satanic Verses’- pays homage to them. The Kaaba itself was the site of their temple – and the family totems of the desert tribes who made their Haj to worship her (and trade) each year. Despite Allah’s usurpation of Allat’s (his alleged mother) primacy in the region his own shrine has only one exterior feature: her sky-stone – a globe of rock about the size of a soccer ball – seated in a silver setting shaped like a woman’s sex on a corner of the otherwise blank black cube. It is considered most lucky if, on Haj, a pilgrim gets to kiss this (clitoral) stone. It’s
    the 21st century 1.5 billion still, consciously or not, worship at the altar of the moon goddess, wave her colors and signs on their flags, and seek her favor through her son and his prophet.

    Reply
  24. Julius

    It is surprising how many commenters here are trying to convince all others of their absolute truth. It even goes for the atheists. I think that this is exactly what caused an endless number of conflicts, killing millions of people since the dawn of time. It is sad that we have not learned to agree to disagree since then. I will not bother you with my convictions. I just think that everybody is entitled to his own set of creeds. Live your life in peace. Don’t hate people, just because they don’t share your set of truths. Respect people. Wouldn’t that be beautiful?

    Reply
  25. Fred Ware

    Hi
    Any formulated, sustained, defended set of beliefs based on notions of absolute or eternal forces at work can be considered religious. To my lights, religion always has a social dimension, and core beliefs. Sciences manifest religious brhaviors as their defenders posit quasi universal, perennial claims and in communicative settings. Religion has “memetic” character and is to some, in ways, a replicative communicational force. So if God IS a force, it is the force of beliefs, fighting, talking, thinking, trying to survive.

    But is there then ONE god, or a seriously schizoid God splitting, coagulating, replicating, consolidating, diverging, … ?

    Why should this monotheistic god Not speak in tongues ? What of its ideology is truly essential, logos holy word in a communication channel demonstrating more and more noise ? What is the message god’s fighting Selves -uou, me, us, them – is trying to put forth ? Darwinian theories ?

    Don’t really think Darwin is righter that many others. Go ask Karl Popper waiting for Godot 😉
    Cheers

    Reply
  26. mohan

    In Hinduism, Lord Shiva, a primordial Avatar of God, is shown as having the crescent moon crowning his head, and rides a bull, which is known as Nandi. In prehistory, worship of Shiva was widespread in the arab countries. It is speculated that the K’aaba was once a hindu temple, as many rituals, such as circumambulation, washing of hands and feet, etc , common in hinduism, were and still are practiced there.

    Reply
  27. Lorrie Miller

    Both Jews and Muslims had Pagan beliefs before the origin of their respective faiths and they included worship of a Sky God, A mother Goddess, the moon, the planet Venus among others but with those as the main deities some started as fertility cults and date back to the original inhabitants of the land and their neighbors and they predate the Jewish conquest of the land and the ancestral promise to their ancestor when it was still known as the Land of Canaan and there were also other Gods worshipped such as Maloch, Baal, Astarte and others from other peoples who lived in the areas around them and the empires that conquered them. Even Abraham originally worshipped multiple Gods in Ur and brought his Gods with him before he discovered the one being who presented himself as the only God.

    Reply
    • Adam

      Lorrie there is disharmony in what you are saying.

      You claim “Jews and Muslims had Pagan beliefs before the origin of their respective faiths”
      And that “Abraham originally worshipped multiple Gods in Ur and brought his Gods with him before he discovered the one being who presented himself as the only God.”

      Thus, by the time the Jewish nation originated through the patriarch Jacob as the Twelve Tribes of Israel, pagan worship had not been practiced by two generations of Abraham’s descendents prior to the nations founding.
      Thus, Judaism never had pagan beliefs nor did it originate out of pagan beliefs.

      Reply
    • Christina Wilson

      Ken, I agree with you. It is no surprise. When I think of the ancient people worshiping the beautiful moon, I think I know how they must have felt about it. It all makes this a bit more personal for me!

      Reply
      • Christina Wilson

        Hi Freethinker, somehow I have given the impression that I am religious, which I am not. What I am though is spiritual. Belief in God depends very much on what or who you think God is.
        I do not follow organized religions because, when it’s all said and done, who’s to say that they know more than I do? If I am going to go through life with mistaken ideals, they had better be my own and not someone else’s.
        God is certainly not an angry old man sitting on a cloud, smiting down and damning human beings. That God was invented by people who attributed their own weaknesses on to Him. It is my belief that God is a force of love, and the two words mean the same thing. There now! I feel better.

        Reply
        • Anne DeVere

          Ah Christina you are so right—the Bible tells us that God IS love! It Is a force for good and its effects can be seen and felt just as surely as the opposite EVIL.. Whatever people believe it must be pretty obvious to a great many people by now that the ruler of the world is not a loving God but a force for evil.

          Reply
  28. Freethinker

    It’s amazing that despite there being not a single shred of irrefutable or even hard evidence of an active god – any god – there are still people who believe in them. Humans have been able to send a spaceship beyond the outer reaches of the solar system and yet there are still humans who believe in gods!!!

    Reply
    • Diane Raabe

      If you cannot see something does it always mean for you it does not exist?
      I see God or evidence of a higher being or what ever you like to call her/him everywhere. If you open your eyes, learn a little simple biology and do more than looking you will see evidence. I found your commentary very sad.

      Reply
      • Freethinker

        Diane Raabe
        Thank you for your response. I found it depressing because it suggests that you have an unshakeable belief in a god. However, you say that you see evidence of God everywhere. Are you sure? Is this evidence irrefutable, or is it debatable? By this, I ask that you allow your “God given” brain to do what it has evolved to do: ensure your survival and discover things that may improve your quality of life, just like all those before us have done so that we no longer have to live in trees or caves nor have to do our foraging at dawn or dusk, to reduce a chance encounter with a day or night predator.
        The late Carl Sagan put it well, as follows:-

        “…..if a God of anything like the traditional sort exists, our curiosity and intelligence is provided by such a God. We would be unappreciative of that gift….if we suppressed our passion to explore the universe and ourselves.
        On the other hand, if such a traditional god does not exist, our curiosity and our intelligence are essential tools for managing our survival. In either case, the enterprise of knowledge is consistent with both science and religion, and is essential for the welfare of the human species.”

        Reply
        • Christina Wilson

          Hi Freethinker and Diane Raabe,
          A lot of people seem to hold the viewpoint that if they cannot see, hear, touch, taste or smell something, then that means it doesn’t exist. And yet radio waves are not apparent to any of our senses, or air, or a magnetic field etc..
          It is only through our instinctual knowing and our imaginations that we have some to rise above the limited beings that we are. Why would anyone bother to invent a telescope unless they intuited that there was something to see?
          I think that God is the force of pure love that is present in our universe. We, and everything around us are manifestations of this love. Love is far more wondrous when one realizes that there is so much more to reality than what we are able to perceive.

          Reply
          • Freethinker

            Hi Christina. Thank you for your comment. The implication is that the world can be perceived solely by our five senses. Let me give you just a few examples of other ways by which we can perceive our surroundings. We are unable to see gravity, nor magnetism, but their effects are quite obvious. We don’t see inertia but this also effects us all in many ways. Our senses can detect almost no types of evaporation but it has a profound effect on all our lives and that of our planet. Our unaided senses are unable to detect photosynthesis and yet its beautiful and essential consequences are everywhere. As this message isn’t intended to lecture I won’t bore you with how micro-organisms or the extremely high frequency end of the electromagnetic spectrum can harm you – or benefit you. Remember, these are only very few of those things that we can’t sense but which affect us. You should step out of the cave that religion has built around you and allow yourself to really ‘see’ what a truly wonderful universe we inhabit. A belief in a god is not required.

    • BudYZa

      Not a little ironic that someone who calls themself “Freethinker” is so prescriptive about what he or she believes others should think.
      Obviously follows the wise path of, “You’re free to think whatever you like as long as you think what I think.”

      Reply
      • Freethinker

        Dear budYZa. I do apologise for giving the impression that I wish everyone to think as I do. That was far from the intention. Read my message again and pretend that I have not made that demand. You will see, hopefully, that the point of the message is still there and still relevant.

        Reply
    • Adam

      Atheism is the default setting of all new born babies. God is something a child discovers as he/she grows and matures into a human being capable of spiritual understanding and reasoning, something an animal is incapable of.

      What amazes me is that there are adults who haven’t progressed spiritually past the default settings of an infant.
      Perhaps like those who on the physical realm are born deaf and/or blind, some babies are born with the spiritual version of these physical afflictions? Resulting in spiritually challenged adults.

      One can no more explain to a spiritually challenged person the magnificence of God, than one can explain to a blind person the beauty of a rainbow, or to a deaf person the sound of a full philharmonic orchestra.

      Reply
  29. Matthew

    I thought Iran was the place were monotheism first developed with zoroastrianism, it’s before the 3 main Abrahamic religions anyway.

    Reply
  30. Christina Wilson

    Everyone here feels the need to express opinions on religions. All of the major religions in the world teach much the same things – to be peaceful and loving. There are many people in the world who choose to hide their evil and selfish ways under the guise of religion. I am not a Muslim, but it is wrong to hate them because of the acts of terrorism of a few.
    All sorts of evils have been done in the world in God’s name, and not just by Muslims. I love the crescent moon shape, I think it is very beautiful.

    Reply
    • jj

      Do not agree with you that all religion teaches peace and love, specially Islam. Read the Quran. The first few chapters are nice and convincing but then it all falls apart in terms of hate, murder and so on. Tell a muslim Muhammad was not a prophet he was born an infidel and what you get. Trust I come from that part of the world.

      Reply
      • Christina Wilson

        Hi JJ, I think that sometimes it is not the religion that is to blame but the way that people choose to interpret it. Just like in so many of the Christian faiths,. Northern Ireland is an example. People choose to hate one another and they use their religion as an excuse. They are missing the message!

        Reply
        • HWE

          Hi Christina,

          couldn’t it be that a proportion of muslims are (still) human beings, thus also in a very general sense having the capacity and need to love and be loved ? and generally lazy / flakey like anybody else .. whilst their religious doctrine / scripture is just as harsh / brutal as man y claim ? i.e …Perhaps islam is as bad but many muslims are too sensitive or kindly to adhere to all the aspects of their faith(s). ? :))

          On the other hand I know what you mean about the interpretation , I also abhor these old style ( European ) Christians somewhat with there literalist ways.. I prefer the faith of james and jude in the holy bible .. also islam seems somewhat more liberal in someways and can help us look critically at our dogma’s initially ..until you read parts of the koran… silly of me to write all this in this way . comments on comments are a sign of being bored lonely for sure ..and of being insane.!

          Reply
          • Christina Wilson

            Hi JJ, you are too funny! Yes, I think that many of us on here are bored and lonely.
            I think that you are so right in everything you say. We are all just people after all. We all cry if we’re hurt and bleed if we’re cut. The message that all the major religions try to teach is simply compassion. How on Earth people manage to get so lost and miss the message completely mystifies me. Using scriptures as an excuse to justify poor behavior is missing the big picture.

          • Adam

            HWE, if only Christians took the Bible absolutely literally.
            Jesus said to love ones enemy, to bless those who curse you, to do good deeds for those who persecute you.

            Nowhere do I see Jesus telling us that by taking a gun and shooting some poor mother’s 19 year old son through the head, that this constitutes Christian love.

            Perhaps someone can post chapter and verse from the New Testament that permits a Christian to go to war and kill his enemy. Cos my Bible seems to be a few verses lite.

  31. nazani

    Linguists and archaeologists have been using concrete evidence to document the development of the Abrahamic religions from the earlier Middle Eastern religions for over a century. If only zealots would accept that their particular religion didn’t just burst on the scene as something original or the inspiration of their favorite prophet. Good book: “The Evolution of God.”

    Reply
  32. Pingback: » Older than Stonehenge, mystifying moon god stones uncovered in Israel

  33. Osama

    I hate how muslims try to relate everything to islam and their “bullshit” thoughts and beliefs , thing is this is’nt freaking israel ! this is palestine

    Reply
    • Kara Terna

      Hi Osama just to remind you, be careful of what you said, even though they’re Muslims, Christians or any other religions you should respect anyone’s belief. Including your own if you want to be respected, respect others.

      Reply
      • carlos cardoso

        Kara, you got it all wrong. It is persons who should be respected, not their beliefs, be them political, philosophical or religious.

        Reply
  34. markiv

    moon is the symbol of pagans who worshiped moon and sun god before existence of islam . it in any way does’t belong to Islam.

    Reply
      • Khaleel madani

        Religion was always one. The Belief in ONE GOD. Man differed as time went on. Hence we have numerous ‘Religions’. If one reads the Old or New Testaments as a research students searching for truth, they will find truth. If they are biased, they will till death never find the Truth. Be true to oneself and try and understand what ‘God’ is and what he wants from us. Why should in the Religion of Christ be over 4000 different churches? Christ was very clear in his speech and he believed in One True God.

        Reply
        • briefeducation

          Surely you’re joking. Religion has not always been the belief in one god. I could give you an avalanche of evidence to that effect, if you’re interested. For now, take it on trust that polythesistic religions are far older than monotheistic ones. Islam is around 6 centuries younger than Christianity, which is centuries younger than Judaism, and even when the Jews were first formulating their one-god theorem there were polytheistic religions all around them. And before those polytheistic religions there were shamanic and animist religions that worshiped (among other things) spirits, planetary bodies, animals, etc.

          Reply
          • sara

            Yes!!! I think the groups who wanted everyone to believe in 1 God, are the ones controlling the world today. We need to get back to shamanic ways <3

      • Abel Kotze, South Africa

        And don’t confuse Arab conquest with Islam! Mu’awiyyah for one, had more Jesuits in his army and navy than Muslims! Muhammad conquered Mecca after being attacked several times without killing anyone in Mecca. Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and killed Jew, Christian and Muslims, sparing no-one… You really need to educate yourself!!

        Reply

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