A number of humanist and secular organisations have received the following email from a certain Larry Cohen, requesting a review of his "book" which is on this very long web-page:
http://www.TheInfiniteAndTheAlephbet.com
He claims that Hebrew language and spelling was deliberately structured in a formal manner (at least I think that's what he claims). But the book seems to wander off into numerous other matters.
======
If you have a little spare time, could you take a look at the link at
the bottom of this email, which displays a full copy of my new book -
without charge. Here is a brief synopsis with a couple excerpts:
Saint Jerome (342-419 AD), author of the 'Vulgate', a translation of
the Bible from Hebrew & Greek into Latin, said: "The most difficult
and obscure of the holy books contain as many secrets as they do
words, concealing many things even under each word."
Maimonides (1135-1204 AD), a Rabbi and philosopher and one of the most
influencial figures in the recorded history of Jewish thought,
speaking of the book of Genesis said: "We ought not to take literally
that which is written in the story of creation, nor entertain the same
ideas of it as are common with the vulgar. If it were otherwise, our
ancient sages would not have taken so many pains to conceal the sense,
and to keep before the eyes of the uninstructed the veil of allegory
which conceals the truth it contains."
Have you ever wondered why the author(s) of the Bible and the Qur'an
went to such great lengths to craft these extraordinarily elaborate
works of fiction? Was it simply to deceive people? Was it simply to
collect church donations? Was it just the delusional writings of
people with overactive imaginations? Is there anything more to the
fairy tales?
I find that so many of those who call themselves 'rationalists', or
who preach the scientific method over faith-based reasoning, have been
so very un-scientific when addressing these scriptural works. They
simply dismiss these books on the basis that they do not make logical
or rational sense. If they would only perform even a cursory
investigation (true science), they would have found out long ago that
many of the leading figures in the history of the Semitic religions
understood their scripture to be fictional, and that this fiction was
only part of the whole picture.
inction can be drawn between the section of Genesis 36, setting
forth the generations of Esau [a seemingly superfluous passage], and
the Ten Commandments, for it is all one whole and one edifice."
The product of over a decade of research, The Infinite And The
Alephbet posits that each letter in the common Semitic
alphabet(Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic & others) represents something
fundamental, such as motion, resistance, or life.
Semitic scripture(Old Testament, New testament, Qur'an & others) is
thus imbued with a layer of meaning below the surface - a sort of
'science' of the fundamental nature of things, intertwined with the
surface narrative - the stories that we are familiar with.
For example, the letter NOON represents living entities where they are
generally bound.
Here is a list of the names of many visible external distinct living
body parts in the human body:
OYIN-YUHD-NOON: Eye
ALEF-ZAIN-NOON: Ear
LAMED-SHEEN-NOON: Tongue
SHEEN-NOON: Tooth
ZAIN-QOAF-NOON: Beard (chin)
GIMEL-RAISH-NOON: Throat, neck
HKET-TSADY-NOON: Bosom, arms, lap
BAIT-TET-NOON: Belly, womb
QOAF-TET-NOON: Little finger
BAIT-HAY-NOON: Thumb, big toe
What are the odds that so many end with the same letter?
Now let's consider kings David and Solomon.
The name 'David' is spelled DALET-VAWV-DALET. Other words with the
same or similar arrangement of letters mean: 'love', 'beloved',
'amiable' etc…
The name of one of David's sons, Solomon, who goes on to become king
after David, is spelled SHEEN-LAMED-MEM-HAY. Other words with the
SHEEN-LAMED-MEM combination mean: 'peace', 'rest', 'safety' etc…
You may be familiar with the Hebrew greeting 'Shalom', the Aramaic
greeting 'Shlomo', and the Arabic greeting 'Salam' which all mean
'peace'; and the terms 'Muslim' and 'Islam' which are also based on
the same combination of letters.
And so, 'Love' gives birth to 'Peace', and after Peace dies, the
kingdom just so happens to become divided.
David's first appearance in 1-Samuel 16:12 : And he sent, and
brought him (David) in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful
countenance, and goodly to look to. 16:21 : And David came to
Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became
his armourbearer.
The outset of Solomon's reign described in 1-Kings 4:24 : For he
had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah
even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had
peace on all sides round about him.
And then, once the kingdom is divided after Solomon dies, Rehoboam
rules the tribe of Judah in Jerusalem, and Jeroboam rules the rest of
the tribes. Rehoboam has a son named Abijam and Jeroboam has a son
named Abijah.
Rehoboam = RAISH-HKET-BAIT-OYIN-MEM
Jeroboam = YUHD-RAISH-BAIT-OYIN-MEM
Abijam = ALEF-BAIT-YUHD-MEM
Abijah = ALEF-BAIT-YUHD-HAY
This book has nothing to do with the Da Vinci Code, where the
characters of the bible are treated as actual historical figures.
And this book has nothing to do with the 'Bible codes', which treats
the Bible as one big crossword puzzle.
Instead, the core idea of this book is that there are two narratives
brilliantly interwoven in Semitic scripture (Old Testament, New
testament, Qur'an & others). There is a narrative of finite things,
and there is a narrative of things found throughout the infinite.
The narrative of the finite includes mythology, allegory, parables,
riddles, prohibitions, commandments etc. - concerning finite things,
with words that refer to finite things with which we are familiar such
as mountains, kings, battles, cities, chariots, houses, people, etc.
This is the story of Semitic scripture that we are familiar with.
The narrative of the infinite is embedded within this narrative of the
finite, in the letters of the same words.
Abraham bar Hiyya (1065 – 1136 AD): "Every letter and every word in
every section of the Torah have a deep root in wisdom and contain a
mystery from among the mysteries of understanding, the depths of which
we cannot penetrate…"
The book is available in its entirety, without charge, on the web:
http://www.TheInfiniteAndTheAlephbet.com
Right after the section entitled 'Baalam's donkey', you will find a
link for the required fonts for the page – which are also entirely
free (available for MAC or PC).
The introduction is straightforward, and is only about a half-hour of
reading. If you like what you see, could you do me a huge favor: pass
the word on.
Thank you kindly.
======