Part 1: Like Learning You Were Adopted and Your Bio Dad is Charlie Manson

New ideas can be troubling. Especially good ones, because that means we must reconsider old ones.

The latest in this category for me? Robert Wright's discussion of Yahweh (YHWH in Judaism and "God the Father" to Christians) as an evolution of Baal worship rather than a revolution (The Evolution of God,  current audio book I'm working through).

For initiates, I'm sure this is trivial, but for me, though I was aware of the concept, the details are new.

The idea is this: The early Jews were not a conquering nation that affected a sudden change in Canaanite society with the one true God (Yahweh defeating Baal), but the Jews were actually agrarian Canaanites that developed new communities and beliefs based on their Canaanite origins (Yahweh is Baal).

(I encourage you to read it; it's fascinating. He's moving quickly; I'd like him to stay in this misty ancient place for a while, but alas, the best stories move fast.)

There is considerable - if easy to miss - evidence of polytheism in the Old Testament. Everyone is familiar with the 3rd person plural in Genesis, but there is much more.

And it's as absorbing as it is disconcerting.

Liberally educated Christians are accustomed to confronting adjustments to faith (usually science based); so you find many Christians that accept evolution, physical explanations of miracles, the documentary hypothesis, etc.

But to suggest that Yahweh is really Baal, that's like learning not only that you were adopted, but that your real father was Charles Manson.

Next time: Part 2: Religion is (almost) no different than the color of your skin.

Started: 2012-04-22