It's not a matter of it being a monotheistic religion (something which it hasn't been consistently) it's about the content of the stories they make up their tradition. The flood is the most visible cross-mythological example, but there are also plenty of others, such as figures we now think of as angels, as well as several aspects of the genesis story (for example, the serpent is never actually identified, as is so often thought, with Lucifer, and some scholars suspect that it may be a reference to an older goddess of the region, with the snake as her attribute.)

So wait, you are relying on foreign sources for the estimation of Egyptian religion? There are enough homegrown texts to form an understanding of their religion (not that it would be surprising if there were very little, religion would have been very important to the people, understood from childhood and transmitted through oral tradition) We also have plenty of physical remains relating to religious practices that scholarly study has been able to illuminate.

I feel lik eI have walked into a pudding wrestling match I don't wanna be in

If only it was a tasty as pudding, Cupcake :lol: But I know how you feel. Speaking of feeling, all mended now?

Cardinal: Your article actually doesn't support your argument.

According to the documentary hypothesis, the majority of the forty references to Asherah in the Hebrew Bible derive from the Deuteronomist, always in a hostile framework: the Deuteronomist judges the kings of Israel and Judah according to how rigorously they uphold Yahwism and suppress the worship of Asherah and other deities. King Manasseh, for example is said to have placed an Asherah pole in the Holy Temple, and was therefore one who "did evil in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 21:7); but king Hezekiah "removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah", (2 Kings 18.4), and was noted as the most righteous of Judah's kings before the coming of the reformer Josiah, in whose reign the Deuteronomistic history of the kings was composed. In addition to the authors of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Kings, and Judges, the prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 17:8, 27:9), Jeremiah (Jereimiah 17:2), and Micah (Micah 5:14) also condemned worship of Asherah and praised turning from this idolatry to worship Yahweh alone as the true God.

This is similar to the cult of Isis. Completely separate from the actual monotheistic Jewish faith.

And you're very wrong about the whole serpent thing. First of all the word translated originally as "serpent" also means "those who whisper and deceive" it was one of many words used to refer to evil spirits (demons).

The only thing similar about Angels and the spirits you are referring to in Sumerian and Mesopotamian mythology are the wings. Angels are actually not usually described with wings, just as bright and shiny and terrifying to humans.


Cuppycake: Were you hurt? O.o People talk so fast in this thread sometimes it's hard to keep up. I hope you're feeling better.

It's talking about a documentary and it's hypothesis, as one part of the article. As with many ancient things we try to comprehend today, there is conflict of understanding.

Evil spirits themselves don't always start of as a malignant force. They are frequently enough powerful but neutral, becoming debased either through mythological tradition (such as the case with Lilith, in keeping with analysis of ancient Hebrew stories), or the usurping of one spiritual network of the place of another (again, some research suggests that Lilith fits into this category), often times a combination of both.

I'm not talking about physical appearance, I'm talking about the idea of intersession and serving as a go between for gods and humans, when it comes to angels and their ilk.

In that case all religions are the same thing because all of them have some kind of messenger spirits. However on closer inspection the Judaiochristian God is much different from any of the others from the same area or time period. I mean seriously, the gods in Gilgamesh killed most of humanity because they were too noisy. ...Jerks.

Yes, it's natural that humanity would invent such figures, they work well as archetypes. The Mesopotamian equivalent are the ones that the early Hebrews would have been in contact with most closely.

on closer inspection the Judaiochristian God is much different from any of the others from the same area or time period

How exactly do you mean? The god of the old testament doesn't seem much removed at all from the Mesopotamian gods, to me. Certainly just as manipulative and vengeful.

Well. Yaweh actually listens to and cares for people, whereas the Mesopotamian gods just try to ignore humans and kill them for fun and sport, or in one or two cases eat them.

Yaweh repeatedly shows mercy, and the Mesopotamian gods never do.

Yaweh never calls for human sacrifice.

etc.

Very different.

Gah, sorry for taking so long to reply, with my dad in hospital, my access to the internet is sporadic.

The change from human sacrifice is nice, yes :lol: Though I'm not a fan of sacrifice, period :(

But the idea of the Mesopotamian gods as merely horrific beings is hardly fair. They are very human, their actions somewhat varied, though they do often reflect the brutal aspects of the world (and humanity) of the time. But their praises were sung, not just out of fear, but for the benefices they supplied to their people. Works of art inspired by awe, and more often than not, joyful awe.

guh I want school to be done with

It almost is, surely? Though, there are the finals to contend with. -fetal position-

yeah those finals are going to suck I must say

Pffft. Finals were easy... I did great on them. :)

Originally Posted by Cardinal Biggles

If only it was a tasty as pudding, Cupcake :lol: But I know how you feel. Speaking of feeling, all mended now?

I didn't notice this when I posted this weekend and no kinda but no///I made him feel awkward by being my normal pmsy self last week

Yet another reason for me to NOT get involved with guys. Well...that, and I have NO idea how to go about this "dating" buisness......

Well dating is somewhat complicated, but it has its rewards for all of the drama it brings. :)

And it comes with crazier rewards and more intriguing drama when you involve more than one person. ^.^;; But if you're worried about people being akward or there being drama... you should probably just stick with dating one person at a time. LOL.

MY friend is a poly. lol. the stories I get from her amuse me for days. lol.

whoot I have a half day of school left

Well that's shiny. :) I've been out for a few weeks now, and trying to find a job that apparently doesn't exist. XD

Yeah...er, I'm nota fan of drama in my life or anyone else's. Probably why I don't read tabloids...well, other than the fact that I really don't want to kill my brain cells.

That's my reason for not watching MTV.

le gasp the thread its alive!!!

Been a while huh? lol. I'm not sure why, but this thread tends to disappear for long periods of time.

yep sadly cause now I have nothing to do but sit on here all day long