Ancient Judaism

[Favonius Cornelius]

Don't you mean Semitic sect?

 

As mentioned earlier, Judaism was polytheistic.

 

I don't know much about this. Can someone give me a quickie course on Judaism in the period of the Romans (not interested in developments after). I would like to know about its polytheistic elements and what sub cults and derivations of Judaism people know about.

[Favonius Cornelius]

That settles it, we need s Judaism expert in here. We have all the other major religions covered of the Roman times but this one it seems. Fertile ground for expansion...

[Gaius Octavius]

Just want to make sure that I'm in on this.

[Antiochus of Seleucia]

I thought Judaism was monotheistic, the ancient Jews (Nero perscuted them) believed in one god, and resistance to Romanization led to the Jewish Wars during the reign of Vespasian.

[caldrail]

Correct. The jews believed in one god. However it wasn't a unified faith, just a collection of priests and lay preachers with their own flocks.

[Pertinax]

Correct. The jews believed in one god. However it wasn't a unified faith, just a collection of priests and lay preachers with their own flocks.

So would the term "congregational/monotheistic" be useful?

[Ursus]

The Hebrew tribes evolved around other Semitic tribes, who were all polytheistic. There is piling evidence to indicate the Hebrews were originally polytheistic like their neighbors. The deity known as YHWH was the most important god and the most powerful, but not the only god. There were other gods, and a goddess of war and fertility that has cognates with other Near Eastern goddesses seems to have been popular too.

 

Abraham seems to have been the driving force for Monotheism. His patron god YWHW was to be the only god worshipped by the Hebrew tribes. This idea gained force among the Hebrews especially it seems after the Babylonian exile.

 

You know the Mosaic commandment: "thou shalt have no other gods before me"? This is is interesting because it seems to acknowledge that other deities exist, only that the Hebrews are to ignore them and worship the patron god of the tribe (YHWH). The term for a belief in many gods but the worship of only one is called Henotheism.

[Gaius Octavius]

A question: When the Jews were fleeing from Egypt (Exodus) and they were in the Sinai, weren't they worshiping Baal or a golden calf or both prior to Moses giving them The Law? If so, how did this come about?

[Ursus]

A better question is: is there any evidence outside the Old Testament that large numbers of Hebrew Slaves were ever in Egypt in the first place?

[Rameses the Great]

A question: When the Jews were fleeing from Egypt (Exodus) and they were in the Sinai, weren't they worshiping Baal or a golden calf or both prior to Moses giving them The Law? If so, how did this come about?

 

They did that because they thought God had abandoned them. So when Moses went up they decided to worship a golden calf. The idea of an idol of an animal was usually used by Phillistines and people around the area Canaan. They may have done this to be like everyone else. Like when they wanted a king, God allowed it if they needed one to lead them rather than just have one to be like the other nations.

 

However Judaism itself is Monotheistic. Polytheism seems to be a recurrent thing everywhere at that time. Not until later in Egypt, Mesopatamia, and Persia did they start having monotheistic views. Even the rest of Europe believed in more than one God.

 

I have a question, did they even have Baal back then? I highly doubt the Phoenecians were a major power at that time.

[P.Clodius]

However Judaism itself is Monotheistic. Polytheism seems to be a recurrent thing everywhere at that time. Not until later in Egypt, Mesopatamia, and Persia did they start having monotheistic views. Even the rest of Europe believed in more than one God.

So you're saying the jews 'invented' monotheism?

[Rameses the Great]

So you're saying the jews 'invented' monotheism?

 

Technically, it's the first 'recorded' Monotheism.

[Skarr]

So you're saying the jews 'invented' monotheism?

 

Technically, it's the first 'recorded' Monotheism.

 

It is very difficult to argue over which was the 'first recorded' Monotheism.

 

For example, the ancient Vedic culture that existed in India postulated the existence of only one God, one Supreme Being, with various manifestations, thousands of manifestations, with each of them being worshipped separately as if they were separate from the ONE. However, if you read deeper, you will see that they really talk about all of these gods as emanating from one, a single one, which every god is already a part of.

 

In any case, this is a religious discussion and there are little facts existing today that would enable us to positively identify which or what religion came up with the concept first. There is also a lot of misunderstanding regarding the various religions, as a lot of them are subject to interpretation, dogma and offer only clues of what people really believed in, as opposed to absolute truths that are self evident to everyone who reads them.

 

The earliest god worshipped by the human race must have been one - The Sun. Humans first began religion by offering prayers to the sun, with most of them being directed at the sun's continued appearance at the dawn of each day. In those times, time would have been marked differently and the pace of existence revolved around the doings of each day and if the sun was say, obscured by dark clouds for days, it would have worried many of the primitive humans, who depended on its light for sustenance or survival. An eclipse must have been traumatic for many societies, who would not probably know at the time that it was a passing phenomenon. The stories or myths carried on from ancient times revolved around demons who swallowed the sun whole before regurgitating the "Lord" due to the penance or prayers offered by His creatures on Earth, sparing them from possible catastrophe.

[Favonius Cornelius]

The birth of Christianity saw many different subgroups form, and many remain today. Did/does Judaism have a similar fractionation?

[Antiochus of Seleucia]

Not that I know of, for I am not an expert, but there were factions vying for power during the Jewish Wars against Rome. The Jews were killing each other more than they were killing Romans. The winners were the Sacarii, who commited mass suicide when they lost at Masada (very un-jewish). In Christianity most of the denominations were breakaway anyways, so I would thinks it's quite possible there are in the Jewish faith.

Edited August 9, 2006 by Antiochus of Seleucia