Nadene Goldfoot
Many Jews have gone into the fields of science. We tend to be a logical people, needing proof before believing in things. The Nobel Prize, the most prestigious award in the life sciences, has been awarded annually since 1901 for breakthrough research in medicine, chemistry and physics, and for literature and peace. Jews comprise only 0.2% of the world's population, meaning their share of winners is 100 times their proportion of the world's population. Jews have been awarded all six of the Nobel Foundation's awards:
Physics: 56 (25% of total)
Physiology or Medicine: 59 (26% of total)
It's caused many to take their leave from Orthodox Judaism and it's list of accepted beliefs to be classified as such. There are as many different levels of accepting Judaism as there are flavors of ice cream. Alan Dershowitz is of one level, my brother another level, and myself a 3rd level and so on. Maybe I should say there are as many as there are of Jews. But we all have one thing in common and that is that G-d is an unseen force, and cannot be a human, and the human cannot be half-god and half-man as many Greek and Romans had accepted. So that's where scientific thinking has stepped in.
Now, what's shaking people up a little, Jews and Gentiles, is that there is the prophecy that Jews would be returning to Israel. The return has actually happened. Something so far back in the past has already taken place and continues to do so. Jews from all corners of the earth have returned since May 14, 1948 when Israel was again created, this time by the League of Nations in the 1920s and again in the 1940s by the United Nations that clinches it. Israel 2023 population is estimated at 9,174,520 people at mid year. Israel population is equivalent to 0.11% of the total world population. Israel ranks number 98 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population. Or better yet, Former President Bush said that Israel could fit into his ranch's driveway. It's a tiny country, 10% of the original promise of a Jewish Homeland to be recreated out of the ancient homeland. And out of that number of 9+million are 20% Arabs, mostly Muslims. So Jews alone stand at about 6 million. This is a figure before October 7, 2023.
The next thing prophesied that's coming true is the War of Gog and Magog and all the people turning against Israel. The Gog prophecy is meant to be fulfilled at the approach of what is called the "end of days", but not necessarily the end of the world. Jewish eschatology viewed Gog and Magog as enemies to be defeated by the Messiah, which would usher in the age of the Messiah. So the Moshiach, as Jews say the word--- a general or president of Israel, will have to fight against another leader and his minion (men/country/countries), like a final battle; World War III, perhaps.
Since October 7, 2023, this is something that is developing and smells, looks and tastes an awful lot like that. This attack on Israel was different from all previous attacks that they have had to defend themselves from. This is what I call the final straw that broke Israel's back. It was atrocious; inhumane. Hamas was savage, and now Hezbollah from Lebanon is also testing the waters and is joining in somewhat, waiting to see what Iran says. People at first were sympathetic towards Israel, but as soon as Jews started to defend themselves, crowds have turned against them and cheer for the Palestinians and demonstrate against Israel. Their anti-Semitism is like like neon lights blinking in the dark.
Christianity has also used Jewish writers in their religion and the difference is in the interpretation and understanding and sometimes even a written change, which Islam also did in who Isaac was going to sacrifice, Isaac or Ishmael. In Ezekiel 38, Gog is an individual and Magog is his land. By the time of the New Testament's Revelation 20:8, Jewish tradition had long since changed Ezekiel's "Gog from Magog" into"Gog and Magog".
Jewish eschatology viewed Gog and Magog as enemies to be defeated by the Messiah, which would usher in the age of the Messiah. One view within Christianity is more starkly apocalyptic, making Gog and Magog, here indicating nations rather than individuals, allies of Satan against God at the end of the millennium, as described in the Book of Revelation. For Jews, Satan is usually translated as "opponent" or "adversary", represent the impulse Yetzer hara, a sinful feeling and not a being.
It's coming at a time when religious leaders that are Jewish, Christian and Muslim have been talking and saying that the time is near for the end of times when they expect the Moshiach/Messiah/Mahdi to appear. For Jews, the Moshiach is a man, like a general. For Christians, the Messiah is Jesus, and for Muslims, the Mahdi is said to be the future Final Leader in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. They also believe that Jesus is a Messiah which confuses me. The Mahdi is said to be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad who will appear shortly before the Prophet ʿĪsā (Jesus Christ) and will lead the Muslims to rule the entire world. That's how they incorporate both religions; with their feet in both camps.
How prophets differ from the rest of us
I'm not a scientist but my hobbies are genealogy and the study of DNA, which is a science I'm a teacher and have taught children from Kindergarten to junior high. People that have a photographic memory usually become PhD's of something.
In reading about memories, then a prophet who saw into the future might have a problem remembering what they saw, too, and might not even have the words to describe what they saw.
Idiot Savants: Savants are people who display extraordinary abilities, sometimes far exceeding what we might think of as normal. These abilities can include exceptional memory recall, lightning calculation ability and uncanny artistic skill. Certain cases have attracted the attention of the media, even the 1988 film Rain Man was inspired by a real figure, and the field is subject to constant scientific research and debate.
Among the most amazing cases in this area are “acquired savants”, individuals left with extraordinary abilities following a brain injury or central nervous system trauma. The leading American authority on savant syndrome, Dr Darold Treffert, believes that there are probably fewer than fifty living prodigious savants, that is, those whose gifts would appear incredible in anyone. Yet, while some of these acquired abilities continue to amaze and baffle, Dr Treffert is not alone in thinking that such cases may point to untapped abilities in all of us. Read on to find out what these might be.
Kim Peek was renowned for his exceptional memory, he was able to recall zip codes or calendar dates in seconds, but the root cause of his abilities syndrome is believed to have been damage to his corpus callosum: the loss of the bundle of connective nerves between the two hemispheres of his brain. Scientists have speculated that the resultant unusual connections in his brain physically created an extraordinary memory capacity.
Hyperthymesia, also known as hyperthymestic syndrome or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail. It is extraordinarily rare, with only 62 people in the world having been diagnosed with the condition as of 2021. One who has hyperthymesia is called a hyperthymesiac.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first 2 years of life.
I didn't have any autistic students but hear about it more and more. I've seen movies and read stories of autistic people and their capabilities. It suddenly dawns on me that autism could be the cause of someone seeing into the future. There are amazing things that autistic people have been found to do.
The world’s preeminent scientists – both and past and present – are often known for their quirks and eccentricities. It’s widely held that having a singular focus on a field of science effectively drowns out the desire to fit in, and results in a sort of general social obliviousness. This kind of thing has long been believed to be just an artifact of the scientific mind. But could there be more to it than that?
According to a Cambridge University study that looked at 500,000 people, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, and inventors —some of the world’s brightest thinkers—often exhibit some autistic tendencies, even if they haven’t received an official diagnosis.
Some scientists have observed that individuals with autism or autism spectrum disorders, such as Asperger syndrome, may occasionally exhibit exceptional memory that resembles eidetic or photographic memory.
The brain is a marvelous and amazing organ. Is it possible that only a few people in the world, like the hyperthymesiac, have been born who could view the future?
Then again, there is DNA. It's probably a gift given to us through our DNA, and how it works causes the brain to receive the same way that Schizophrenia's visions and sounds come to the mentally disturbed with this condition. including: Psychological: hallucination, paranoia, hearing voices, depression, fear, persecutory delusion, or religious delusion.
Schizophrenia usually involves delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that don’t exist), unusual physical behavior, and disorganized thinking and speech. It is common for people with schizophrenia to have paranoid thoughts or hear voices. For example, they may believe that someone is controlling their mind or going to cause them harm. These psychotic episodes are often frightening, confusing, and isolating. Schizophrenia can be extremely disruptive to a person’s life, making it hard to go to school or work, keep a schedule, socialize, complete daily tasks, or take care of oneself. However, with consistent treatment—a combination of medication, therapy, and social support—people with schizophrenia can manage the disease and lead fulfilling lives.
Schizophrenia tends to run in families, but no single gene is thought to be responsible. It's more likely that different combinations of genes make people more vulnerable to the condition. Then there could have been a grouping of DNA segments for the condition of hearing voices, but not succumb to Schizophrenia as it presents today as a mental condition.(my thought).
Studies of people with schizophrenia have shown there are subtle differences in the structure of their brains. These changes are not seen in everyone with schizophrenia and can occur in people who do not have a mental illness. But they suggest schizophrenia may partly be a disorder of the brain.
This doesn't fit the descriptions of prophets, who were socially very acceptable people and leaders in their community. Only when they heard voices that others didn't or thinking that G-d was telling them these things is there a connection. Prophecy came to an end as far as Jewish history acknowledges.
Isaac Newton (1642- 1726) said space and time were fixed and gravity was a force pulling objects together. My brain is still set on Newton's watch.
We know that Albert Einstein (1879-1955) discovered something about time, that it was not linear but wave-like. "In the Special Theory of Relativity, Einstein determined that time is relative—in other words, the rate at which time passes depends on your frame of " reference". What is Albert Einstein known for? Albert Einstein is best known for his equation E = mc2, which states that energy and mass (matter) are the same thing, just in different forms. He is also known for his discovery of the photoelectric effect, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.
My musings about prophets and their gift of seeing into the future leads me to the brains of Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Ezekiel, the prophet of the 6th century BCE was a member of the priestly family of Zadok, a Cohen. He may even had served in the Temple before its destruction in 586 BCE. Ezekiel was among those exiled before that date to Tel Abib on the river Kebar in Babylonia where he prophesied over a period of at least 22 years from 592 to 570 BCE. He foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem, after which, he maintained, the people of Israel would rehabilitate itself. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. His prophecy came true.
He does have a gift. Not everyone can see into the future. Science has this to work on. We can get to the moon, but how does the technical work of the brain show us the future? This is why the religious believe that G-d gave certain people the gift of prophecy. Aside from G-d, how does the brain comply and allow this to happen? It looks like certain things aren't meant to be discovered. It's complicated.
Resource:
Just watched 60 minutes on youtube from January 2012 on genius/autism; fantastic !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gog_and_Magog
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Einstein/Nazi-backlash-and-coming-to-America
https://www.pinterest.com/diffbw/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthymesia
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