The study of religious or heroic legends and tales. One constant rule of mythology is that whatever happens amongst the gods or other mythical beings was in one sense or another a reflection of events on earth. Recorded myths and legends, perhaps preserved in literature or folklore, have an immediate interest to archaeology in trying to unravel the nature and meaning of ancient events and traditions.
In fact, William Dever suggests that even Judah was not monotheistic until after the Babylonian Exile.
That concept could be further explored by diving into the story of the golden calf. What godly monotheistic society left on their own without their Moses for a short time immediatly makes a golden calf and begins to worship it...one can insert imaginative script that might include nude dances around the calf and some sort of human sacrifice. I think the evidence that they were NOT monotheistic is in the bible, albeit watered down over the generations to make that fact seem less important than Moses getting those stone tablets. Aaron apparently did not hold as much influence over the minions and could not halt their determined bid to make the calf.
One then jumps to considering other cultures in which the cow/bull/calf is of some high regard...and one wonders even more.
Dever's point is that in spite of the happy horseshit in the bible there seems to have been a gulf between the court and the temple and the people in the countryside who did not pay a whole lot of attention to the central government and kept on worshipping their ancient Canaanite gods no matter what the Boss Hooter in Jerusalem said.
As evidence he points to numerous figurines of the goddess Asherah which have been found in Judean tombs from the late monarchial period.
As for the golden calf....the Egyptians worshipped the Apis bull and if you are going to make up a story about people worshipping idols you may as well make it about one that was actually in vogue in Egypt. Besides, it would draw attention away from the fact that the Egyptians paraded their gods around in Arks carried on poles during the Apet ceremony...just like the Hebrews claimed they did with their Ark.
It's all a jumble, isn't it?
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Minimalist wrote: Besides, it would draw attention away from the fact that the Egyptians paraded their gods around in Arks carried on poles during the Apet ceremony...just like the Hebrews claimed they did with their Ark.
It's all a jumble, isn't it?
LOL not really. Not considering how closely "related" these folks are,(my ark is your ark) how much they borrowed from each other...it boggles my mind how religions are created...think about it..an obscure group of people with some of their own, and some of the other's spiritual practices all mixed together in a blender...has become the foundation for a major world religion. Someone needs to write a book from Bull to God
ON that same note, think of Mohammad the peodophile (his wife Aisha was six when he married her and nine when he sexed her up) and Joseph Smith the con man...L.Ron Hubbard the fiction writer...in current times all of them would be in jail
Not considering how closely "related" these folks are, how much they borrowed from each other
That sentiment would get you beaten up by both sides. They hate it when outsiders tell them how alike they are.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Not considering how closely "related" these folks are, how much they borrowed from each other
That sentiment would get you beaten up by both sides. They hate it when outsiders tell them how alike they are.
'
If Father Abraham had not taken his "name" so literally things would not be such a mess. Adultery must be OK as long as your wife brings you the maid...think of it..Hagar+Abraham=middle east turmoil for thousands of years.
Hey, when it comes to nookie no one pays too much attention to some dusty old book.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Morning Min. The OT is full of attempts by the prophets to bring the Israelites back to the true faith with every setback blamed on their stubborness and worship of false Gods.
In more modern terms Jewishness is often seen more as an ethnic condition than a religious one, both by Jews and non-Jews alike. Hitler defined a Jew as having one Jewish grandparent, the same definiton as used by Israel for people wanting citizenship.
Clubs, the corollary to your statement would be: Male + Female =
That allows humans to copulate with damn near anything which, as we know, they will. Just think how great Neanderthal females would look compared to sheep or goats.
Last edited by Cognito on Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The OT is full of attempts by the prophets to bring the Israelites back to the true faith with every setback blamed on their stubborness and worship of false Gods.
Easy to do when you are writing after the fact.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Clubs, the corrollary to your statement would be: Male + Female =
That allows humans to copulate with damn near anything which, as we know, they will. Just think how great Neanderthal females would look compared to sheep or goats.
Digit wrote:Strange that Clubs. When I made your observation about Mohammed I was called a racist when I mention Smith nobody said a blind word!
It's not racist to state a fact. FACT if a man now days were to have sex with a 9 year old, he'd go to jail and be labled a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Smith was a nutcase and a KNOWN con man. He figured out how to make some dough, and just watching the televangelists selling vials of blessed holy water on TV at night...well he's not the ONLY one.
I think the evidence that they were NOT monotheistic is in the bible, albeit watered down over the generations to make that fact seem less important than Moses getting those stone tablets. Aaron apparently did not hold as much influence over the minions and could not halt their determined bid to make the calf.
