Читать книгу Hinge Points of History - John Hunsuck - Страница 4

God told Adam and Eve that sin results in death. No method was given to remove guilt from the sinner. Before the flood, God noted that, with the exception of Noah, the thoughts of all men were on evil only. God decided to eliminate all but Noah and start over with a new plan. God gave Noah the right to sacrifice and eat meat. The life is in the blood and came from God. Therefore, man may sacrifice the blood (life) of an animal back to God to atone for his sin and remove guilt. This became the standard for man to remove guilt before his own death. God established His first law of life: the death penalty. (Ref 5)

A new thing called writing appears. Some people think that certain things happening to them and around them need to be recorded. The earliest writings were carved in stone or pressed into clay tablets and preserved by firing the clay. If any other writings were made, they have not survived. At least we have not discovered any, except for those puzzling “cave art” drawings.

The Sumerians began collecting writings and libraries were established. Some documents were listed and their authors named. Babylon continued this process and their nobles commissioned the recording of histories and palace records. These clay tablets were mostly lost due to deliberate attempts to destroy the Babylonian culture. From the artifacts we have discovered, we know that the Sumerians and Babylonians had codified the movements of stars, planets and the moon and had discovered simple mathematics we call the four functions: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

They also had established standards of measure of volume, length and weight. Some evidence indicates they also had a means of measuring angles, but trigonometry came later. Their counterparts in Egypt had discovered the “Golden Triangle” ... the 3:4:5 triangle, which always includes a “right angle” ... 90 degrees -- crucial to building square, plumb or “right” buildings.

The Egyptians, following the lead of the Babylonians, made most of their mathematical discoveries secret and even made them “sacred,” to keep the uninitiated (and enemies) in the dark. This practice continued into the Dark or Middle Ages. A lot of bogus activity and showmanship were used to “cover” their activities. There is even a record that some mathematicians in Greece built a temple that was locked on the inside. The doors opened when a fire was built on a certain metal altar. The doors would magically open and money and food was placed inside for the “god.” A secret piston and ropes mechanism was operated by steam formed when the water boiled in the altar. This is but a simple example of the many tricks used by early “scientists” who didn’t like to work for a living.

By the time a certain “Abram” of Ur came along, codes of laws, sacred writings and the exploits of kings were being routinely kept and cataloged in many nations. Complex tables of the movements of heavenly bodies and eclipses included a special list of convergences: when two bodies cross or pass very near each other. Of course, even this study became a religion, known as Astrology. The keepers of this data didn’t like to work, either. In fact, a great number of false religions had sprung up in the known world, usually to protect discovered “secrets” and make the discoverer rich.

Abram was different. He simply obeyed the command of an unseen God and left home for a new place ... somewhere. Thus began a quest that established the greatest religions on Earth ... each monotheistic, and each stating that a single Supreme Being created and LOVES what He created. Guess who called Abram out of Ur? This occurred without magic, without fanfare, and without blazing miracles. Just a simple, “Hey you. Yes you, Abram. Have I got a special deal for you, already!” (Those of you who are Yiddish, please forgive my attempt at a play on words.) Before arriving in a land called Canaan, God made a Covenant with Abram. The exact date is uncertain, but was probably about 2090 B.C. (Genesis 12:1-3.) After entering Canaan, God bequeathed all of Canaan to Abram and his seed, even though Abram had no child. This Covenant is crucial to history, so let us repeat it here.