In my book The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, I have a chapter called "The Myth of Hebrew Monotheism," which explains that, according to the Bible, the Hebrews/Israelites/Jews were always "whoring after other gods." Unbelievably, rabid apologists attempting to debunk my entire body of work have even homed in on that factual analysis and tried to claim otherwise. Suffice it to say that this subject is yet another one in which the apologists are completely dishonest in their presentations, as this fact of Hebrew polytheism is clearly documented--one of the few times where the Bible actually is a document, rather than a novel--by both scripture and archaeology.
Fortunately, this fact is evidently well known within the Jewish community, as exemplified here in the following article. The important point about this discussion is that when the Jesus figure was fabricated, based on previous gods and goddesses, as well as Hebrew scriptures, it was not so difficult for many Jews to worship such a character, because they already had a long history of "whoring after" Pagan gods.
It should be remembered that in those days of almost universal idolatry and paganism, it was extremely difficult for the Jews to keep their "footing" and to resist falling back into idol worship. In fact, they often did worship idols in addition to the "Jewish" God.
Comments (15)
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Canaanite roots of the Hebrew religion, and IMO the obvious polytheistic origins of said, is a subject I've been meaning to write about for some time, especially since I have encountered some apologetics sites recently on the subject. It's been a while since I read The Christ Conspiracy cover to cover, but thanks for reminding me. I've found your work an excellent jumping-off point for many ideas, even though I'm no shill, and disagree from time to time with your views. As you well know, no one can or should agree 100% on everything, but we have always been on the same page consistently. I definitely will contact you about a possible guest writer spot. This is really an extremely well put together site. Thanks for your tireless efforts. -John
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|2009-09-21 18:16:23 Robert Taylor - Christian triumvirateI was raised as a Christian and studied under a preacher/scholar in Houston who had his doctorates in Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek. He was a very adept teacher. However, as I grew older/matured, I came to realize the facade of religion in general and Chrisitianity specifically.
I was taught that the godhead has three distinct personalities, three individuals as it were, who share the same divine attributes and essence (righteousness, justice, love, immutability, omni this and omni that). He taught that the original codexes taught that each member of the godhead had a specific purposes in the "divine plan of the ages and eternity past"
. This complexity, he taught, were similiar to the three propertyies of light...actinic, luminiforous and phosphoric or like the properties of one piece of chalk (calcium, carbon and oxygen). Interesting I thought. God the Father was the Planner, the Son was the Executionier and the Spirit was the Empowerment).
Of course, this means that many Christians are wrong when they say that Christianity is monotheistic....it can't be according to its own scriptures!
Have you or any others here been taught in the same way before you "came of age" and saw through all of this?
Robert Taylor/Texas
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Oui, I was raised RC and exposed to the Trinitarian Zen koan, meant to murder one's reason in order to invoke the mystical experience of intuiting the reality of "three distinct persons in one God" of my Balitimore Catechisms. Honest Biblical scholars, which you can locate on the Web, freely admit that not only were there myriads of Christianities, but many believed in literally hundreds of "gods" and still considered themselves Christian. Now the Trinity was meant to be the grand philosophical and theological answer to paganism's mere "triune" deities, and indeed they succeeded admirably in constructing a concept truly beyond rational comprehension, but the fact remains that three-headed gods and other forms of "trinities" came first, and despite apologetic attempts to convince us all we're crazy, it is totally rational to see it as an evolutionary development, not as a supreme and unique revelatory phenomenon, to be accepted as fact by faith.
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|2009-09-22 05:39:25 walmulHi Acharya, your point of view on religions is pretty straight and we admire you for your brave efforts to stand up against it, but to state that some one from bible history is a fabrication of their imaginations because no fossil have been found is the same as stating that Alexander the great never existed, apparently his fossil also disappeared, we can then carry on and say that Moses never existed and neither did a Adam or Eve ever lived, too much have been written down regarding these characters to just reject them, whether we don't believe in some of them as portrayed by those religions or whether we do believe it does not make everything stated in those books as true, or false, it just makes it that specific religions efforts to keep their groups together. Most of the Characters actually did exist, many of them fought as much against being idolised as your efforts to disprove their existance!
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|2009-09-22 05:55:32 Drake Dorosh - Don't really get it.The suggested reading was interesting when one is reminded to consider the Jewish history as one of polytheism. Ezra comes and converts them from their stubborn idolatry and then fixes their solar and lunar calendars. Fixing paganism with paganism.
I have listened to some MP3s out of Montreal on Hasidic Judaism and it is truly admirable that people can put aside their notions of personal comfort and regulate themselves with such discipline and precision artfully juggling so many potential contradictions. I think it is the difficulty and complexity that attracts people. Once mastered one demonstrates membership and status.
If books and histories can be edited to have been anything I still wonder why such devotion to a single mannish god? Was this a battle of the sexes or was it industry consolidation?
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|2009-09-22 16:32:49 Acharya S/D.M. Murdock"Most of the Characters actually did exist, many of them fought as much against being idolised as your efforts to disprove their existance!"
If "most" of the characters actually did exist, then which ones didn't, and how can you make such an argument?
And how do you know that "most of the characters actually did exist?" What serious, scientific evidence do you possess for such a contention?
For those who would like to study the intensive arguments that many of the prominent biblical figures are evident myths with no credible evidence of their historical existence, please see my books:
The Christ Conspiracy
Suns of God
Who Was Jesus?
Christ in Egypt
The Gospel According to Acharya S
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|2009-09-23 07:41:25 WalmulHi Acharya.
Maybe I should rephrase, To state that the people you have decided are myth according to lack of evidence, and sell it to the world as true, is a fallacy, let me explain: I said some have existed and some may not have existed, and no, I cannot give a hundred percent scientific proof of that, only the fact that too many people have stated too much concerning some of the historical, both biblical and otherwise, people to state that those whose fossil have not been found to have been myth. Osiris's fossil have not been found only relics of him, and the relics do not prove that he existed only that the people worshipped such a god. "Fallacy"; I might be talking to a ascendent of mythology right this second, somewhere down your linage one of your descendants might not be found, and if that is the case I am talking to my imagination, for you could not possibly exist if that is the case. Nothing is fixed in stone!
The way I see the world can be found here; Jesus the Keeper of the Truth, Unchaste Deception http://www.squidoo.com/WalterMuller-books ,and here FSH http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/fsh/74697478
my opinion; Jesus the man you deny were actually your forerunner in as far as religion is concerned he did not back it up, he did not die for anybodies sins, he was killed because he tried to tell the world they were worshiping a Devil since their creation.
My books is my opinion, as your books are yours.
Kind regards.
Walmul
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That someone has left physical remains is not the sole, or even the most important criteria that historians have to deal with. The 1st Century has proved to be the most well-documented period of "ancient" history. If people like the Roman emperors, for example, did not exist, known history literally would unravel. What is NOT documented, except in the holy writings of Christianity, is the existence of nearly the entire cast of characters written of therein. Modern scholars, even nominally Christian ones, have written and spoken that the scriptures were theologically, not historically, motivated, and therefore cannot be presented as "historical" proof. Though the Christian writers did a good job placing Jesus and his disciples in a particular time and place, some definitely well into the 2nd Century, this in no way means it really happened, the same way that historical novels place characters in known historical settings, but remain fictional.
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|2009-09-23 14:17:43 Walmul"Serious Scientific proof" were the words used and not "historical", although some Christian scholars said that the scriptures were theologically inspired can also mean that their statements can be right, or wrong due to lack of proof at this point in time, we might never know! We can only add our own logic to it in an effort to make sense of it.
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|2009-09-23 14:58:05 Acharya S/D.M. MurdockI have addressed these issues many times in my writings and elsewhere. We certainly can know what is a myth and what is not. To say we cannot reflects the ignorance of the person making the statement, who must not know the vast literature on the subject. Mythologists have a field to study - it's called "mythology" - and possess expertise in the subject. For a skilled mythologist - or even for an amateur with critical thinking - discerning a myth is not difficult.
And no one is "selling" anything to the world.
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|2009-09-26 14:23:27 Hypathia>>Acharya Wrote>For a skilled mythologist - or even for an amateur with critical thinking - discerning a myth is not difficult.
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I've encountered the "we can't know anything" logically fallacious argument before, and it is a frequent tool used to promote the idea that since we "cannot know" something is true, like the historical existence of, say, Augustus, then we "cannot know" something is false, like the historicity of Jesus. Hence, they are placed on an equal par. Thank God. The faith is once again saved by relentless "illogic." What would Jesus do without his earthly defenders?
:love:
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|2009-09-27 01:44:32 Acharya S/D.M. Murdock - WWJD?"What would Jesus do without his earthly defenders?"
Well, he's obviously be long forgotten, and the world would have gone on without him.
But this is the world in which we live, where someone who calls the Greek god Hercules a "myth" is perfectly sane, but when the Jewish version of Superman is deemed likewise, the speaker is now suddenly "crazy," a "nut," "looneytunes," and so on.
Most illogical, as Mr. Spock would say.
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I really need to get your book so I do not keep asking questions you may have previously covered. Did you know that Israel derives its name from three Pagan gods: Isis, Ra and El? The first two were Egyptian, the last was Caananite. It is also interesting to note that Isis was associated with the Moon, Ra with the Sun, and El with Saturn, and that is why the Jews celebrate their Sabbath on SATURNday, rather than MOONday or SUNday. I was indoctrinated into Judaism when I was 8 days old, and then brainwashed for a good 30 years before waking up.
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