didn't exist either.

Campfire stories, told to the children of a tribe of itinerant goat and sheep herders, as an attempt to explain something or another.

Fictional father of the three "Abrahamic" religions.

Strip out the miraculous elements and unbelievable elements and you have a kernel that might have happened, but was unlikely to leave a contemporary record.

in Egypt.
Moses is derived from a Babylonian myth.

Not even the germ of a kernal.

The rest we don't know where it came from. There is no parallel Bronze Age story of escaping slaves. Even if there were, slave escapes are not unusual in world history.

Not sure what you mean by "there were no Jewish slaves in Egypt." Nobody was called "a Jew" until about 1,000 years later. So of course there were no Jewish slaves. There may have been a Semitic people called Israelites or Hebrews.

There were Semitic people in Egypt. There were slaves in Egypt. Some slaves were war captives, so there could have been Semitic slaves in Egypt. There could have been someone named Moses who escaped captivity with a small group of slaves. The escaping slaves may or may not have been Semitic. They could have joined with Semitic deserts nomads. Some of these nomads may have latter settled in Canaan, though probably not through conquest as described in Joshua.

Lots of "could haves" which is my point. The information is lacking. Unless you know something I don't about a story of Bronze Age escaping slaves.

in no way resembles the slavery we know from Egyptian acheology.

The Moses story is obviously about Babylonian slavery, which is the period for which it was written.

Your could ofs in the face of a complete lack of evidence makes the Exodus story most likely pure mythology.

I meant the description of the people in the Bible by no Jewish people.

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resemble Babylonian rather than Egyptian slavery? Also, even it does have that Babylonian slavery description why could not be a Babylonian addition to a earlier version of the story, given that the version we have was actually put in final form in Babylonia?

which I don't have time to research and link.

I think though, that we agree that the story of the Exodus, as presented in the Bible, is pure mythology.

And that this Moses and his story are fictional.

And from what I understand, there is not uniform agreement among scholars as to where these stories came from and how old they really are.

The stories as we have them are myth. I just think we can't completely dismiss the possibility that some parts of the myth have their basis in actual events that were unlikely to leave an archeological trace.

One thing I think about lot is that we actually know very little of ancient history. 99% of ancient writings and artifacts are lost forever.

were co-opted from other cultures and not part of any history they might have had.

Except when the purveyor of this notion decides it should be literal. Funny how that works.

My cat is a goddess and makes sure I know it.

be given flesh offerings and worshiped. Either that or picked up by the scruff of the neck and dropped casually off the desk onto the floor. I can never tell which I should do with my cat goddess.

when I asked her about Adam and Eve's sons. If they were the only people in the beginning, where did their 2 sons wives come from. And the answer was, " you got to have faith." That's when I knew it was all a bunch of bull. I was only 7 at that the time.

It took me longer than that.

Twice!

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All formalized religions obliterate God.

Silly simians.

Still, you're correct. Reality is far more awesome than any human-created deity. Its depths can never be measured by humans.

I notice an increasing trend toward people who claim to talk to God/Jesus, however. As well as I big increase in people who tend to speak as if they were themselves preachers.

Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Our Lady of (fill in the blank)

Claims are made and believed. I know it's bunk, but I wouldn't say that out loud on a street corner in Guadalupe

People see Jesus in tree knots, too. Why does anyone listen to people with delusions.

Our lady of Lourdes? Give me a freaking break.

Whenever I encounter someone who claims to talk to God, I usually answer with some version of Hotspur's reply:

It describes human nature so perfectly that it is the very model of such plays.

Thanks for the reminder.

Some French cathedrals.

Was struck by how much of their history revolves around visions!

Including Joan of Arc.

Unprovable!

They are closely related. Belief that visions are more than hallucinations is part of RCC Doctrine. Here's an except from this link:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15477a.htm

if you just realize most were stoned to the bejezzus when they "saw/heard" the "word of god"

Naturally-occurring brain chemistry is more than adequate. Consider your vivid dreams, and then imagine having them while you are awake. Such are hallucinations. Visions, so to speak.

they don't generally have the persistence and weight of a "vision"

But there is a case that has been made that certain people have more DMT in the brain (it's a naturally occurring chemical) - which can lead to psychedelic experiences.

Read Michael Pollan's new booK "How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence " or any of Ghram Hancock's books.

Very pious people who fast and pray all night may experience visions due to lack of food and sleep. The vision is thought to be a sort of "reward" for their good works and proof of their saintliness.

The troubling thing to me is taking such things seriously and assigning merit to them. For me, the ready acceptance of such "visitations" by the body of the Church is puzzling. Troubling, too, since they serve to increase believers' reliance on unreliable and evanescent "evidence."

My question of someone who has seen a "vision" or something of the like is to ask if they're OK. Such things can be symptoms of a number of disorders that should be discussed with a healthcare professional.

Amazing. You're the first person to figure all of this out.

What are you going to tell us next? Water is wet?

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. I'm sorry it did not live up to your expectations of uniqueness. Truly sorry.

However, I am pleased that others have joined in a discussion in this thread. You're welcome to participate.

".....There you go man! Keep as cool as you can! It riles them to believe that we perceive the web they weave. Keep on thinking free!"

"I can see them they can't see me
I feel out of sight
I can see them they can't see me
Much to my delight…"

Thanks - from a mouse playing daffodil...