Comments on: The Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Raiders of the Lost Ark

Coop — Thu, 19 May 2005 18:57:20 -0800

Raiders of the Lost Ark Dr. Vendyl Jones, the famed archaeologist, the inspiration for the "Indiana Jones" movie series, has spent most of his life searching for the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was the resting place of the Ten Commandments, given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, and was hidden just before the destruction of the First Temple. The Talmud says the Ark is hidden in a secret passage under the Temple Mount. Dr. Vendyl Jones says that the tunnel actually continues 18 miles southward, and that the Ark was brought through the tunnel to its current resting place in the Judean Desert. Apparently he is about to find it this summer.

By: blacklite

blacklite — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:08:35 -0800

I hope this all works out. I wonder if Revelations mentions anything like this.

By: Poagao

Poagao — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:13:15 -0800

Maybe this is why Lucas et al are waiting so long before Indy IV.

By: furtive

furtive — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:13:17 -0800

What a crock of shit. There I said it. You can prove me wrong when you show me the ark.

By: localroger

localroger — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:14:28 -0800

Kookfilter? Seriously, this makes the DaVinci code look absolutely reasonable by comparison.

By: fleener

fleener — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:14:37 -0800

Just think of all the animal skeletons he'll find inside.

By: WestCoaster

WestCoaster — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:23:15 -0800

It's "news stories" like this where I wish there was a rule about putting up or shutting up. Specifically, I'd be willing to bet good money (say, $1,000, offering 10-1 odds) that there is no such 18-mile-long tunnel, let alone that the Ark is at the other end. Somehow I doubt that whoever wrote the story would be willing to actually stake any money on its veracity.

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:25:55 -0800

I hope he finds it. That would definitely settle a bunch of crap. Like, about how it shoots out white fire and kills the enemies of Israel. God, that's so lame. White fire. They'll probably take it into battle and it'll break.

By: fleener

fleener — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:28:18 -0800

http://www.watchman.org/reltop/filmdig.htm

By: rdone

rdone — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:31:03 -0800

No blasphemy, folks. Remember what happened to all those Nazis. . .

By: nightchrome

nightchrome — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:33:41 -0800

In all seriousness, what do you think the effect would be on modern judeo-christian religions if this artifact were found? Barring any apocalyptic mumbo-jumbo from the tinfoil hat crowd.

By: reality

reality — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:33:42 -0800

fleener found the goods on this dude!

By: zardoz

zardoz — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:34:31 -0800

"Noahides are G-d fearing non-Jews who observe the seven laws of Noah..." slight aside: anyone know why the writer didn't use the word "God" in this sentence? Taboo somehow?

By: leapingsheep

leapingsheep — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:42:50 -0800

zardoz: Jews don't use God's name lightly. I don't really know the details about why though. I do remember reading about some kind of festival in the old days I think once a year when His name was pronounced publicly and the effect was so overwhelming that people would pass out. I think its about not diluting the awe His name should command by overuse. But I don't know why that respect would be shown to the English word God.

By: dhruva

dhruva — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:43:27 -0800

The name of God is not to be said/written. sacred basically. Infact in hebrew, you'd say ha'shem, which literally translates as the Name

By: gimonca

gimonca — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:44:21 -0800

"No-one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle! ....Even if they do say Jehovah."

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:45:30 -0800

An unnamed Kabbalist has granted blessing to famed archeologist Dr. Vendyl Jones to uncover the Holy Ark of the Covenant. In other news, ~~Geraldo Rivera~~ an unnamed ~~journalist~~ subject of millions of punchlines has granted blessing to the project as well.

By: rdone

rdone — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:45:58 -0800

To Orthodox Jews, it is blasphemous to say or write the whole name of the Deity. Hence "I am who am" and YWH, as circumlocutions. In English, G-d is usually used by the observant for that purpose.

By: nomis

nomis — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:46:44 -0800

Beat me to it gimonca.

By: furtive

furtive — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:54:21 -0800

Hehee, gimonca just made me laugh out loud. Off to the video store for me.

By: Jon-o

Jon-o — Thu, 19 May 2005 19:58:28 -0800

I think the blasphemy stems not entirely from the utterance or the writing but includes the fact that it's also a sin to erase or destroy God's name. Writing the name on paper or typing it and committing it to a destructible surface (with ink, graphite, or magnets) renders the name of God vulnerable to destruction. Hence the circumlocutions.

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:05:43 -0800

In all seriousness, what do you think the effect would be on modern judeo-christian religions if this artifact were found? Thanks to the Queen of Sheba FPP, I wound up at wikipedia's entry on the Ark just this morning. There's all sorts of interesting repercussions outside of the obvious ones. 1) The Ethiopians would be pissed. So will Muslims if the Dome of the Rock mosque is damaged by excavation under it to reach the Ark. 2) Tesla might be proven even more right than history credits him for. 3) Kiss the Mediterranean goodbye, the Israelis are coming over.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:09:26 -0800

I think the blasphemy stems not entirely from the utterance or the writing but includes the fact that it's also a sin to erase or destroy God's name. Very true. Raised Jewish, I was always diligent as a young child to inscribe the name of my parents' deity as "G-d." One day, I accidentally wrote "God," and began to cry, thinking that I had just damned myself to Hell (notice how I conflated the hegemonic Christian belief system with the one in which I was instructed?). It was left to my parents or teachers-- I don't remember precisely whom-- to soothe me and convince me that I had, in fact, not imperiled my immortal soul. I believe that that was one of the earliest incidents that compelled my eventual journey into polytheistic paganism and deep distrust of all Abrahamic religions.

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:14:38 -0800

MetaFilter: hidden in a secret passage under the Temple Mount

By: marxchivist

marxchivist — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:16:16 -0800

If anyone was the inspiration for Indiana Jones, I bet it was probably Roy Chapman Andrews.

By: greatgefilte

greatgefilte — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:16:54 -0800

Jon-o's nailed it; religious Jews believe that it's forbidden to desecrate or destroy the written name of God. In fact, items containing said name are disposed of by burial, or genizah. That said, from fleener's link, "Dr Smellfungus and Dr. Picklesheimer"? wtf?

By: queen zixi

queen zixi — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:30:19 -0800

In all seriousness, what do you think the effect would be on modern judeo-christian religions if this artifact were found? Isa's right-hand man for the battle of Armageddon is a dork from Texas?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:30:39 -0800

I find it very hard to belive that anything left behind under the temple mount would not have been found by the Romans, or anyone else in the thousand or so years that the Isralis didn't control Israel. Also, the Ark is supposed to be in Eithiopia.

By: shmegegge

shmegegge — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:31:16 -0800

Regarding God's name... Isn't God one of the substitutions for his name so that you can write SOMETHING down or say SOMETHING? I mean, His name's not God, it's J-hovah. I-hovah, Y-hweh, etc... I could be wrong, but to my mind writing G-d is like writing "I -m." You're only substituting for a substitution. Also: Vendyl? No wonder he insists on the dog's name.

By: snarfodox

snarfodox — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:39:24 -0800

nightchrome: In all seriousness, what do you think the effect would be on modern judeo-christian religions if this artifact were found? They'd cash in on the publicity. The ones with interests in the area would be cash in for much longer by exploiting it as another tourist attraction.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Thu, 19 May 2005 20:55:18 -0800

If in fact it is a giant capacitor as Tesla and others say, then wouldn't it be the ARC of the covenant?

By: Evstar

Evstar — Thu, 19 May 2005 21:13:05 -0800

I don't believe a god damned word of this. From this radio program linked to in that article, Vendyl sounds like a bumbling, egotistical quack, and the announcer is an obnoxious, fanatical mook. Might as well have been Jimmy Swaggart on the air.

By: InnocentBystander

InnocentBystander — Thu, 19 May 2005 21:33:50 -0800

You know, I could take or leave all his Talmudic mumbo-jumbo. When *I* realized he was talking BS was when he claimed "Indy" was derived from his name. All good geeks know the character was, in fact, named after George's dog. And otherwise he was most directly ripped off of H. Rider Haggard's Alan Quatermain (note: Not saying the Talmud is mumbo-jumbo, just that this guy's rantings are... And a googling of his name did nothing to dissuade me of this.)

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Thu, 19 May 2005 21:39:39 -0800

Now we'll have PROOF! PROOF I say!! If we can just find the AotC, we'll PROVE the bible is true! If we find Noah's Ark, we'll PROVE the bible is true! If we can show the Shroud of Turin is real, we'll PROVE the bible is true! I can't believe in this day and age people are still looking for pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.

By: thebestsophist

thebestsophist — Thu, 19 May 2005 21:46:09 -0800

Roy Chapman Andrews is generally thought of as the actual inspiration for Indiana Jones. Though my knowledge may be scewed because he is an alum of my college. Satyagraha

By: Clay201

Clay201 — Thu, 19 May 2005 21:50:06 -0800

The ark could be there, for all I know, but this guy is a raving nutjob who thinks that Israel's crimes against its neighbors are not only blessed by god but foretold in the bible. Furthermore, he thinks that Golda Meir was "evil" because she advised against conquering even more territory. That, my friends, is a fanatic.

By: trondant

trondant — Thu, 19 May 2005 22:06:49 -0800

Hey, you go to war with the Ark you have, not the Ark you want.

By: mk1gti

mk1gti — Thu, 19 May 2005 22:24:36 -0800

I'm so sad Indiana Jones is a nutter. I think I'm going to cry *sniff*

By: fungible

fungible — Thu, 19 May 2005 22:39:52 -0800

The ark's not in Ethiopia. It's in an unmarked box in a government warehouse somewhere. Duh.

By: mwhybark

mwhybark — Thu, 19 May 2005 23:15:41 -0800

Ethiopia.

By: stewiethegreat

stewiethegreat — Thu, 19 May 2005 23:21:49 -0800

Didn't they already find it in Ethiopia?

By: stewiethegreat

stewiethegreat — Thu, 19 May 2005 23:22:40 -0800

Drat - should have read all the posts...

By: NewBornHippy

NewBornHippy — Thu, 19 May 2005 23:38:01 -0800

> I'm so sad Indiana Jones is a nutter. I think I'm going to cry *sniff* Yes, same here. > Noahides are G-d fearing non-Jews who observe the seven laws of > Noah, which are obligatory upon all of humanity. Obligatory? I'll do whatever the fuck I feel like doing and you keep your religion for yourself, thank you very much.

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Thu, 19 May 2005 23:45:03 -0800

I'll bet anyone here $100 in cold hard American cash that he finds Al Capone's vault.

By: NinjaPirate

NinjaPirate — Fri, 20 May 2005 01:29:10 -0800

Whatever happens, just keep your eyes shut.

By: gen

gen — Fri, 20 May 2005 02:50:10 -0800

Not that this is news to anyone per se, but my friends in Israel tell me that this website is basically the "Weekly World News" of Israel. I.e. they specialize in the absurd and improbable.

By: alumshubby

alumshubby — Fri, 20 May 2005 03:43:02 -0800

Yeah, right. Next somebody on MeFi'll be telling me Jim Morrison's alive and a cowboy in Oregon.

By: furtive

furtive — Fri, 20 May 2005 04:22:39 -0800

Thanks gen, I had been wondering the same myself.

By: dflemingdotorg

dflemingdotorg — Fri, 20 May 2005 04:59:10 -0800

I wonder how much that thing'll fetch on ebay.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Fri, 20 May 2005 05:05:14 -0800

In all seriousness, what do you think the effect would be on modern judeo-christian religions if this artifact were found? You mean, what if someone found an old box holding some tablets (or whatever) on which someone wrote the basic rules of a particular religious sect? And what if they could reliably date the box and contents to the approximate time when the Moses character from that sect's in-house history book is supposed to have lived? It would be another archeological artifact to evaluate. Life would go on as usual. A few folk who have trouble with reasoning might think this would somehow validate their belief in certain supernatural beings, but believers will always believe, nonbelievers will always look on in disbelief, and this wouldn't change the numbers much. It would be an interesting archeological discovery, but, other than as that, its main value would be as a source of ready cash for the lucky town that got to keep it and display it to moneyed visitors.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Fri, 20 May 2005 05:20:23 -0800

my friends in Israel tell me that this website is basically the "Weekly World News" of Israel. Bigfoot Finds Ark Of The Covenant In The Bermuda Triangle, Says Russian Scientist

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Fri, 20 May 2005 05:39:21 -0800

Fuzzy, you have missed your calling. Quit your job today, and go complete your destiny. Of course, if you already work for a tabloid, then I think you've just caught yourself up through lunch.

By: i_cola

i_cola — Fri, 20 May 2005 05:56:46 -0800

*holds index fingers close together to see the human energy*

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Fri, 20 May 2005 06:09:33 -0800

its main value would be as a source of ready cash for the lucky town that got to keep it and display it to moneyed visitors. If by "lucky town" you mean GoldenPalace.com. I mean, come on...

By: blahblahblah

blahblahblah — Fri, 20 May 2005 07:52:34 -0800

Actually, gen, this site is worse than Weekly World News -- it is the far right religious version of Weekly World News. It is actually the sucessor to a pirate radio station based on a ship offshore in Israel that was shut down a few years ago, apparently, this is common. But it gets quoted on sites that don't know Israeli newspapers well, since they use the "Israeli National News" slogan. Ah the power of a good domain name! How much is business.com again?

By: jackofsaxons

jackofsaxons — Fri, 20 May 2005 08:42:11 -0800

In Soviet Russia, Bigfoot in the Ark of the Covenant finds you in the Bermuda Triangle!

By: ob

ob — Fri, 20 May 2005 09:59:59 -0800

This is ridiculous! Ridiculous, I say. We all know that Elvis, Jimmy Hoffa, Lord Lucan, DB Cooper and that one from The Manic Street Preachers have it. And they live in Atlantis. And they have diamond spaceships that they fly to the sun. Jeez, everyone knows that.

By: norm

norm — Fri, 20 May 2005 10:09:23 -0800

I believe that that was one of the earliest incidents that compelled my eventual journey into polytheistic paganism and deep distrust of all Abrahamic religions. Why go for one imaginary friend when you can get BUNCHES for no extra cost!

By: spock

spock — Fri, 20 May 2005 10:37:13 -0800

To Orthodox Jews, it is blasphemous to say or write the whole name of the Deity. Hence "I am who am" and YWH, as circumlocutions. In English, G-d is usually used by the observant for that purpose. YHWH actually. And in English Bible translations that have removed the name it is rendered LORD (in all caps). Most Bible's translate the tetragrammaton in at least a couple of places. For example, the King James translates it at Exodus 6:3, Psalms 83:18, Isa 12:2 and Isa 26:4. But the other 6000+ times it renders it LORD. It is important to remember that it was there in the original but removed by the traditions of men.

By: Chasuk

Chasuk — Fri, 20 May 2005 10:42:47 -0800

I think the blasphemy stems not entirely from the utterance or the writing but includes the fact that it's also a sin to erase or destroy God's name. Why would anyone conceive of a deity who was such a vain, petty bastard that he/it/she would actually be concerned about such nonsensical shit? Devout Believer: I've fed and clothed the poor, donated millions to charity, saved 500 children from a burning schoolhouse, and never voted Republican. Jehovah: Very good. However, you did once write my name as "God." TO HELL WITH YOU!

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Fri, 20 May 2005 10:54:10 -0800

"Why go for one imaginary friend when you can get BUNCHES for no extra cost!" Definitely one of the beauties of religion, norm. You can make up whatever you want, and it costs you nothing. :) Gods are free! Just like your imagination. When I was a kid, I had my own massive star fleet and attendant troops as imaginary friends. I ruled the galaxy with a benign hand. Ahhh... those were the days. :)

By: Snowflake

Snowflake — Fri, 20 May 2005 10:56:12 -0800

"I agreed to help him write the movie," Jones said, "as long as – number one – he wouldn't set it here (in Israel). Some people believe the ark is in Ethiopia or Egypt, some believe its in Constantinople or Rome. I just didn't want it to be portrayed as being here. The second thing was, 'Don't use my name.' So he didn't. My name is Vendyl – V-E-N-D-Y-L. So he just dropped the first and last letters and it ended up Endy Jones." Which of course is complete bunk, as the dog was named Indiana, not Harrison Ford's character. Harrison Ford's character's name is Junior.

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Fri, 20 May 2005 11:19:26 -0800

mk1gti writes "I'm so sad Indiana Jones is a nutter. I think I'm going to cry *sniff*" For what it's worth, it seems pretty clear to me that this guy's claim that he's the basis for Lucas' character is complete bullshit. It's hard to tell whether he's batshit-insane or just a con man.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Fri, 20 May 2005 13:06:38 -0800

Why go for one imaginary friend when you can get BUNCHES for no extra cost! Hey, at least my gods don't tell me to hate and kill people.

By: yonation

yonation — Fri, 20 May 2005 13:15:41 -0800

it should also be noted that arutz sheva is a fascist-embracing totally right wing ultra religious "pirate" radio station that even the likes of Sharon's government (and EVEN that freedom-lover Netanyahu) have discounted.

By: norm

norm — Fri, 20 May 2005 14:31:06 -0800

Hey, at least my gods don't tell me to hate and kill people. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny.

By: Robot Johnny

Robot Johnny — Sat, 21 May 2005 00:28:44 -0800

Which of course is complete bunk, as the dog was named Indiana, not Harrison Ford's character. Harrison Ford's character's name is Junior. The whole thing is bunk since the title of the movie was originally Indiana Smith, in homage of the Steve McQueen movie, Nevada Smith. Spielberg didn't like the name Smith and switched it to Jones. As for Indiana, it was Lucas's real-life dog's name. I think Vendyl's had too many drinks from the wrong chalice.

By: Sully6

Sully6 — Mon, 23 May 2005 15:06:09 -0800

Why would anyone conceive of a deity who was such a vain, petty bastard that he/it/she would actually be concerned about such nonsensical shit? My understanding is that way back when the name was invoked for all sorts of rituals that had no connection to Judaism. To curtail this, believers were forbidden from uttering or writing the name. The modern understanding of the third commandment--not taking the Lord's name in vain--is that one is not supposed to use God's name to swear. But I believe the original meaning of this commandment was to keep the faithful from calling upon God for unsanctioned purposes.