The Tower of Babbel

Sometime after the great flood, with humans scattered across the Earth in every direction, a group of nomadic people came upon a fertile plain between two rivers and, weary of its own restless lifestyle and craving stability and greater community, decided as a whole to build on that spot a city and a tall tower and call themselves by a collective name that would identify them as a unique culture. These acts, the people thought, would bond them together and enhance their lives in many pleasant ways.

The idea of building a tall tower was neither frivolous nor a vanity; it was, in truth, insurance against the wrath of the gods, in the event of another flood. The fertile plain itself had been a flood plain and could be again, the rivers could rise again. But this could happen anywhere... The site of land between the rivers was a prime location for civilization, for a settlement of housekeepers, for crops and commerce and community; but in flood times, a mountain would be more suitable. Thus, the people, as a unified group, began construction of their mountain, a pyramid, the tall tower.

It was reasonable to prepare for the wrath of the gods –these were not a benevolent and wise brotherhood but a sociopathic group of self-serving deities whose whims were law. Devotees were actually slaves begging for tranquility; the gods were adversarial, eschewing appeasement.

The god of this group of people was no different. To augment his power, he demanded his people be nomadic and spread his religion as far as they could travel. He also demanded they refrain from sexual pleasure; the sexual act, he instructed, was purely for procreation –even aggressively so-- to the point of impregnating sisters and servants. His command was to be fruitful and multiply, he wanted to increase the number of his followers. Thus, settling in one place and maintaining a loving, monogamous household was an act of disobedience and rebellion. And their leader, because of this settlement, became known as a great revolutionary.

At that time in the history of humans, at the genesis of civilization, people everywhere spoke with one language. It was a simple language without a huge vocabulary but, as need arose, new words were cobbled together from already understood pieces of words... and everyone was of the same mind and communication was clear.

This language was the same language as that of the gods... and, at that time, humans and gods had direct contact, interaction.

Construction of the tower began with enthusiasm and the joy that comes of quality craftsmanship. The people produced burnt adobe bricks and mortared and plastered them with tar, completely water-proofing the structure.

As the tower began to rise, the god of this group of people came to view the construction site. He saw the fine construction and fore-saw the erosion of his power by the construction of a structure that water would not erode.

And he panicked.

“If the people speak the same language, if they are of the same mind, nothing is impossible to them,” he said to the other gods on his return. He knew his power over the weather would not suffice to subdue this rebellion.

A common language had been useful and convenient but, with the growth of the human population, that useful tool was quickly becoming a liability to the gods. It would be too feasible for the people of the world to unite together against the tyranny of the masters.

And so a plan was developed.

New and varied languages were not actually created by the gods –those evolved over time and continue to evolve. Yes, evolution is the true nature of things. What the gods created was nonsense.

Suddenly, each person of the community on the fertile plain between the rivers, while thinking he was communicating as he always had, was, in reality, speaking gibberish, as someone having a stroke would. The gods, through magical manipulation, affected a certain center of the human brain and the language of the gods was scrambled, lost. And frustration ensued.

Family groups worked within their own circles to begin the slow process of understanding each other again but, without common communication, trust and community dissolved.

And construction of the tower halted...

And the people scattered again.

The trick by the gods of affecting that certain center of the human brain was used again after the crucifixion of a great teacher. Various languages had developed by that time and the trick was used to a far lesser degree. After meditating together on a holy day, the followers of the great teacher heard a strong wind come into the upstairs room where they met and they all began to babble like the two rivers that bordered the fertile plain, like the river that runs though every civilization, every life. The gods wanted the secrets of the great teacher hidden and those who knew his truths were struck with gibberish until they exhausted the effort to communicate. Afterward, they spoke only of mysteries, not truths.

Some people heard different languages in the gibberish, others thought the followers of the great teacher were drunk. It was a holy day, after-all, a harvest festival, and everyone may have been drunk.

Members of Pentecostal churches to this day submit themselves willingly to this phenomenon, this trick that affects that certain center of the human brain like a stroke,. And the gods enjoy the entertainment, like watching a ventriloquist's doll retell a joke that never grows old.

This story, like the story of the Garden of Eden, is an injunction against independent and rational thought and the attempt toward improving the quality of a dignified life. True believers still adhere to this injunction today.

For those who subscribe to the notion of a liberated mind, however, this story illuminates two important points:

One: if we speak the same language, are of the same mind, nothing is impossible to us (through community, we have the power of gods); and, two: the language of the gods is one step away from nonsense.