Chinese experts dissemble this

[Archaea]

http://www.thesourceoflove.com/english.pdf

I recognize the characters but don't have the scholarship to know what part is bs and what part is not.

[ChinoCoug]

The guy's PhD is in genetics. I'm going home to Cali in a few weeks, I'll show this to my parents (it's dang fascinating).

For now I'll verify what I can.

The character for sheep ( ) is a picture of the front view
of a sheep (Figure 1). It shows the two horns and a mouth and
a nose.29 The Chinese character for blessing is also
written as ( ). The left part ‘ is the radical (the
‘ABCS’ of the writing) for ShangDi. Thus the Chinese
perceived the sheep to be a blessing from God.

Blessing is pronounced shyang; yang radical is more likely phonetic than an ideograph for lamb.

A sacrificial sheep that represents blessing and bearer of
sins also means reconciliation to the Chinese. The character
( ) meaning to harmonise and to adjust suggests
that the kindness of a sheep can calm down two fires (Figure
4).34 The centre of the two fires ( ) is replaceable with
word ( ), sheep ( ) and a big T ( ). The big hand
( ) written below the sheep, and in between two fires
suggests that a person is trying to harmonise the two fires
with the help of the meekness and the kindness of a sheep.

I don't know what word he's referring to. He says it's pronounced xie, and there is a word xie that means harmonize, but it looks like this: 協.

A word that means adjust and looks like what he's drawing is bian. It looks like this: 變. The two characters sandwiching "word" in the middle mean silk, not fire, like he's saying.

But the number of religious words with the lamb radical is pretty compelling. I'll get back to you. Fun stuff.

[Requiem]

Thank you for the most scholarly and outwardly credible article I have seen on the purported relationships between the Bible and Chinese cultural traditions/language. Although the topic is fascinating, I would urge caution before passing judgment. For many years, evangelicals and creationists have used this theory as fodder in their attempts to argue for a literal interpretation of the creation, flood, tower of babel, etc.

In fact if you ever have a delayed Delta connection in Cincinnati and want a true out of body experience, visit the Creation Museum which is located about 10 miles west of the airport. When I visited they had an entire exhibit devoted to this topic. I claim no knowledge of Chinese, but recall there was great emphasis devoted to the apparent fact that the Chinese symbol for boat is a combination of the symbols for vessel, eight and persons. Hard to leave that museum without wearing a Huckabee pin.

Of course the flip side to this argument is based on the timeline of creation stories ascribed to various cultures:

Egyptian Creation Story: 3800 BC
Aztec Creation Story: 3114 BC
Genesis: 1440 - 1400 BC

The resident CG biblical scholars (CHC and Solon where are you?) can address this topic with much more clarity.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Requiem

Thank you for the most scholarly and outwardly credible article I have seen on the purported relationships between the Bible and Chinese cultural traditions/language. Although the topic is fascinating, I would urge caution before passing judgment. For many years, evangelicals and creationists have used this theory as fodder in their attempts to argue for a literal interpretation of the creation, flood, tower of babel, etc.

In fact if you ever have a delayed Delta connection in Cincinnati and want a true out of body experience, visit the Creation Museum which is located about 10 miles west of the airport. When I visited they had an entire exhibit devoted to this topic. I claim no knowledge of Chinese, but recall there was great emphasis devoted to the apparent fact that the Chinese symbol for boat is a combination of the symbols for vessel, eight and persons. Hard to leave that museum without wearing a Huckabee pin.

Of course the flip side to this argument is based on the timeline of creation stories ascribed to various cultures:

Egyptian Creation Story: 3800 BC
Aztec Creation Story: 3114 BC
Genesis: 1440 - 1400 BC

The resident CG biblical scholars (CHC and Solon where are you?) can address this topic with much more clarity.

If they have an IQ over 80 apologists are liars. This is an absolute rule.

I hadn't paid much attention to this thread but now I see why it was red meat for Chino, the resident purveyor of tawdry apologetics.

[Indy Coug]

There's a reason certain "myths" are part of the collective human experience, and it isn't due to some Jungian psychological archetypes.

[woot]

probably way off topic, but I remember the chinese elders in my mission talking about the character for some religious word (vision or prayer or something like that I assume) being written like 2 flaming personages hovering over some trees. They thought it was it was the coolest thing ever.

They also used to laugh as every new missionary confused the word for "personages" with the word for "boogers," I think it was. "In the pillar of light, I saw two boogers." They always had funny stories about stuff like that.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by woot

probably way off topic, but I remember the chinese elders in my mission talking about the character for some religious word (vision or prayer or something like that I assume) being written like 2 flaming personages hovering over some trees. They thought it was it was the coolest thing ever.

They also used to laugh as every new missionary confused the word for "personages" with the word for "boogers," I think it was. "In the pillar of light, I saw two boogers." They always had funny stories about stuff like that.

In Japanese the mistake was two carrots. Boogers makes a much better homecoming talk anecdote.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

There's a reason certain "myths" are part of the collective human experience, and it isn't due to some Jungian psychological archetypes.

I'm shocked to say you and I see eye to eye on the first clause of your sentence. I don't know what the hades the second clause means.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

I'm shocked to say you and I see eye to eye on the first clause of your sentence. I don't know what the hades the second clause means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype

[ChinoCoug]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

If they have an IQ over 80 apologists are liars. This is an absolute rule.

I hadn't paid much attention to this thread but now I see why it was red meat for Chino, the resident purveyor of tawdry apologetics.

I was pointing out what was wrong with the article, you idiot. Buy yourself some hooked-on-phonics.