Isa
Reply #3 - May 03, 2015, 08:57 AM
Well, a more accurate explanation is probably that it was not originally a godman, but rather another member of a pantheon, because from what we've been able to decipher of earlier Bronze Age Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Egyption works, most if not all of the stories of Genesis are actually just copied and pasted from other texts, with minor alterations, to give them a uniquely Israelite feel, with Hebrew names and places, exaggerations (to make the god stronger--not only can he do creation, he can also do war! on any terrain! even hills! and valleys! also he can destroy things with magic, and with weather...), and most importantly, forced monotheism. Even when this destroys the original plot line, monotheism is forced onto the texts with no thought for continuity.
Like the story of the flood. It makes a lot more sense if some gods got angry at the meddling/creations of other gods. When monotheism is forced onto the text, some Nephilim are left in the text and no one knows what the fuck they're supposed to be or what they're doing there, but whatever it was it made the now monotheist god mad that it was ruining his creation somehow even tho he himself did all the creating instead of being one of several gods creating stuff, and he regrets having let himself mess around with making humans. The gods that came to the rescue of mankind and taught them to build boats are removed, and so the same god who made the people and regretted making the people is brought back to teach the humans how to escape the flood he's causing because he's mad at himself over stuff he created himself. See? Ruined the whole plot line.
Most of Genesis is stuff like that. Which isn't too surprising, considering who wrote it--it was a bunch of scribes trying to gain power, because Cyrus was giving religious leaders of minority religions limited autonomy over their local areas. So these guys cobbled together an "ancient" tome in a hurry and presented it as proof that they were, in fact, representatives of a unique ancient religion and should be granted the limited autonomy status.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for I have a sonic screwdriver, a tricorder, and a Type 2 phaser.
Topic: Isa