Jewish Life And Religion:
The Talmud’s Many Demons
by
R.E. Prindle
http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/109188/the-talmuds-many-demons
I find it encouraging that Adam Kirsch in the above linked article is examining the Talmud in a rational manner. He almost abandons the Jewish creationist position in favor of an evolutionary one. He says:
You can never pronounce on “what Judaism says” without specifying what Judaism you are talking about: post-Enlightenment, post-Reform Judaism may say one thing, where the Judaism of the Talmud says something entirely different.
In his way then, Adam admits that Judaism howsoever reluctantly, is responding, or has responded, to outside challenges to its belief system, in this case evolution. This is encouraging for as Judaism goes so goes Fundamentalist Christianity.
Adam still has the problem in believing in the supremacy of Judaism as a belief system. He takes the unwarranted, but nearly universal, opinion that monotheism is inherently superior to polytheism and hence Greek or Aryan thought. As a Scientist, of course, I view both as relics of the Ages in which they developed while as belief systems I prefer Greek polytheism to Jewish monotheism.
The Talmud, of which there are two versions, the Mesopotamian and the Jerusalem, developed after the Babylonian Captivity, c. -586. I might refer Adam to the Greek pre-Socratics who developed their interpretation of Nature from the Eighth to the Fourth century BC well ahead of the ‘Sages’ of the Talmud. Already the kernel of evolution is apparent in the writing of Parmenides while the Atomic theory of Leucippus and Democritus of the Fourth century BC posits atoms in the air that would be a scientific counterpart to Jewish demons. Much later the microscope would be developed that would show that indeed, the world was full of invisible beings although of a biologic and not ephemeral nature.
I would also refer Adam to the Iliad of Homer but it is so poorly understood that he might never understand it or it would probably take him decades if began right now. Nevertheless Homer’s approach is scientific that resulted in the pre-Socratic but not magical the fount of superstition that is the Talmud. The embrace of Jewish magic by the Aryans was an intellectual disaster.
Thus, Adam should place Jewish fantasias in the context of the general thought of the times that includes Persian influences, of which the Talmud abounds, Gnostic ideas from which the Talmud vastly profits and other esoteric beliefs that might include influences for Indian sources as Asoka sent his missionaries into the Middle EAst sometime after -350.
It is astonishing that given all these traditions that posit an earth of at least hundeds of thousands of years in age that the Jews would contrarily posit a definite age of +-5700 years. This absurdity ruined the Aryan mind so completely that today Jewish, Moslem and Fundamentalist Christian fantasists refuse to accept the obvious that evolution is change we can believe in.
Bravo, Adam, bravo! Keep up the good work. Dig deeper.
Contemporary Notes 
” This is encouraging for as Judaism goes so goes Fundamentalist Christianity.”
Me agree with you – kinda like, as Jimmie Lee go so go Sheriff Clark.
“Adam still has the problem in believing in the supremacy of Judaism as a belief system.”
Me agree with you – article make it clear that author is big ol’ Jewish supremacist (now where he talk about dis here?)
” As a Scientist, of course, I view both as relics of the Ages in which they developed while as belief systems I prefer Greek polytheism to Jewish monotheism.”
Me agree with you – Jewish monotheism is relic of old times and Jewish God no exist – just projection of Jewish ego. Judaism stink compare to Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Miranda running through fields (or orbiting some old planet).
“Much later the microscope would be developed that would show that indeed, the world was full of invisible beings although of a biologic and not ephemeral nature.”
Me agree with you – all biologic. Charm quark – he not ephemeral – he is sign hanging on the door – sign say “Do Not Disturb”.
“Nevertheless Homer’s approach is scientific that resulted in the pre-Socratic but not magical the fount of superstition that is the Talmud. ”
Me agree with you – Talmud nothing but magic and fantasy just like Jewish God. Me not know why people study it today – should concentrate on alchemy, homunculus, and Mount Purgatory.
“Thus, Adam should place Jewish fantasias in the context of the general thought of the times that includes Persian influences, of which the Talmud abounds, Gnostic ideas from which the Talmud vastly profits and other esoteric beliefs that might include influences for Indian sources as Asoka sent his missionaries into the Middle EAst sometime after -350.”
Me agree with you – Talmud just big magic and derived only from other stuff – me forget that Gnostic ideas not Jewish but come only from better cultures.
…”the Jews would contrarily posit a definite age of +-5700 year”.
Me agree with you – Jews they contrary. Jewish religion big barrier to evolution – no Miocene, no Pliocene, no Holocene, just Hebrocene.
“Bravo, Adam, bravo! Keep up the good work. Dig deeper.”
You big basic premise – Jew, he can do better.
Me no agree. He done real good for over 2K years with people like you wanting to destroy him.
Yood: Many thanks for taking the time to read and comment. You are obviously Jewish and a true believer. You do mention Freud however. Now, Freud said that not only could you psycho-analyze the inidividual but that you could analyze the psychological motivations of groups, societies, religions.
There was more resistance to Freudian analysis outside Judaism than inside. Thus while the other rejected Freudian analysis or didn’t understand Freud’s basic Jewishness, your Jews put it right to work in such movements as Dadaism and more lastingly, Critical Theory. You can deny the facts if you wish but there it is lying in the road like a big boulder obstructing traffic. But psychoanalysis and critical theory can be applied to Judaism as well as to the other yet you seem to resent my doing so. That part of history, of course, Europe, Aryans, Christianity, whichever guise seems appropriate to you at the moment you make your enemy. As the home of the Semites became bound to Europe by Alexander and the Romans Jews became a constituent part of the Aryan homelands where they, like it or not, have functioned as the irritating grain of sand in the oyster.
In the early history of civilization the Aryans occupied a place somewhere this side of the Himalayas where they developed their particular Weltanschauung well before the Jews created themselves. The ruling religion was the Astral religion, the Astrological Religion to which the Jews have always been opposed. Thus at the transit from the Taurean Age to the Arien Age something happened. The Aryans began moving East, South an West carrying their religion or Weltanschauung with them as they occupied Europe. India was successfully invaded but China less so.
At about the same time according to your own Jewish records- Terah and his famous Astrologer, Abram, supposedly the greatest genius Astrologer in the world, ran into trouble with the college of Astrologers who were of a different opinion over the matter of the evolution of the ages and the eternal. The Terrachites were either asked to leave or were driven out thus Judaism was born into a conflict that has never ended.
The Jews, adhering to the imagined Taurian god, Saturn, the seeds of the concept of Monotheism were sown.
Like it or not, Yood, there wasn’t, isn’t and never will be a supernatural being who rules the world. God is a psychological concept and need, the Jewish god, the Greek and Roman gods, all of them. Not only has Yahweh never manifested himself, neither has any other god except to the imagination. Speculation on the nature of god has been rife however. The Jews have taken part in this discussion but have never led it, it’s just that allied with the Greeks and Romans the Jewish literature gained prominence then became associated with the Piscean avatar Jesus the Christ.
Yet, bullshit remains bullshit or rather, should I say, literature remains literature, science fiction remains science fiction.
You scoff at Science preferring superstition but like it or not Science is reality, gods are not. Hard to accept, Yood, but this is the modern world. Change is now.
I enjoyed your comments immensely and I will answer your other one but Labor Day intervenes.