So who was Yahweh, anyway?

[Janice Rael]

Yahweh? No way! (ancient joke)

Culturally Catholic, when I encounter Yahweh, I always brainhear a song I heard from the guitar girls at the 11:30am, "We Sleep In Late For Folk Mass" late Sunday Mass at my church:

Yahweh, I knowwwww you are neeeeearrrr meeee

Standing alwaaayyyyys at my siiiii-iiide

You guide me from afar

And you le-ee-ad me in waaay-aaays everlasting

 

[Jarhyn]

Yahweh? No way! (ancient joke)

Culturally Catholic, when I encounter Yahweh, I always brainhear a song I heard from the guitar girls at the 11:30am, "We Sleep In Late For Folk Mass" late Sunday Mass at my church:

Yahweh, I knowwwww you are neeeeearrrr meeee

Standing alwaaayyyyys at my siiiii-iiide

You guide me from afar

And you le-ee-ad me in waaay-aaays everlasting

It's always nice to meet people who actually talk about how they hear the music!

Out of silly amusement, can you also render an apple? And how many sensory dimensions can you get?

I'm halfway tempted to just start a stupid "can you render an apple" thread for people to try the exercise with a poll and everything, but I'm lazy and it's late.

 

[Janice Rael]

No way

New thread pretty please

 

[steve_bank]

The song god hears when he thinks about us non believers.

'I hear you knockin' but you can;t come in'

Yahweh is obviously a projection of the patriarchal male of an enchant wandering nomadic camel jockeys.

No different than the Greek gods being manifestations of human attributes.

 

[Janice Rael]

Did Yahweh have a Heaven? I'm not clear on that concept. I was taught that only Jesus was the Way. idk, a lot has happened in 45 years... hm.

 

[Politesse]

Did Yahweh have a Heaven? I'm not clear on that concept. I was taught that only Jesus was the Way. idk, a lot has happened in 45 years... hm.

Not exactly. Sheol, the Hebrew afterlife, was more like the Greek afterlife you may be more familiar with: a place where all dead go, and without the breath of life to animate them anymore, linger eternally listless. Until the Day of the Lord, when all the holy dead would be raised and Jerusalem raised above all nations. A living apocalypse, not a dead one.

 

[BH]

Did Yahweh have a Heaven? I'm not clear on that concept. I was taught that only Jesus was the Way. idk, a lot has happened in 45 years... hm.

From what I have read he lived above the heavens but there is a mountain ascribed to him as well.

 

[BH]

The song god hears when he thinks about us non believers.

'I hear you knockin' but you can;t come in'

Yahweh is obviously a projection of the patriarchal male of an enchant wandering nomadic camel jockeys.

No different than the Greek gods being manifestations of human attributes.

You ought to read the book "God: An Anatomy". We have philosophized around the idea of God for hundreds of years and see him today as basically a bodiless mind with all powerful and limitless knowledge. However back in ancient times the worshipers of God had a different idea. He had an actual physical body and form similar to ours just much larger and more powerful. The author talks about his body parts as described in the Bible, pseudo graphical works, and works of neighboring pagans. I'll give you a preview. He has a big penis, Bigger than even Donald Trumps.

 

[steve_bank]

The song god hears when he thinks about us non believers.

'I hear you knockin' but you can;t come in'

Yahweh is obviously a projection of the patriarchal male of an enchant wandering nomadic camel jockeys.

No different than the Greek gods being manifestations of human attributes.

You ought to read the book "God: An Anatomy". We have philosophized around the idea of God for hundreds of years and see him today as basically a bodiless mind with all powerful and limitless knowledge. However back in ancient times the worshipers of God had a different idea. He had an actual physical body and form similar to ours just much larger and more powerful. The author talks about his body parts as described in the Bible, pseudo graphical works, and works of neighboring pagans. I'll give you a preview. He has a big penis, Bigger than even Donald Trumps.

I posted on the religion forum generally to gain a better understanding of religious beliefs and how to communicate with mostly Christians I interact with in the real world.

A Muslm I knew in the 80s have me teh copy of the Krn I had.


I can respect beliefs out in the world, but to me all gods are products of human imagination. I do not imagine a god as anything but that.

Greek gods are more clear as to what they represent.

In context of Greek mythology Jesus was a demigod. A god for a father and a human mother, with some but not all of the supernatural power of the god.

The Abrahamic god for Muslims, Jews, and especially Christians is whatever the individual thinks it to be. Te term god is used without definition in conversation.

 

[Janice Rael]

Did Yahweh have a Heaven? I'm not clear on that concept. I was taught that only Jesus was the Way. idk, a lot has happened in 45 years... hm.

From what I have read he lived above the heavens but there is a mountain ascribed to him as well.

Oh wow, @BH , do you happen to know the name of the mountain?

My mind's first thought regarding "the mountain" is a vague "can't move... to Mohammad?" I am hazy on the concept, obviously. I am aware of the Christian gospel song (and Biblical concept) of "Go Tell it on the Mountain."

My own little "mountain/Moon" quote is ollllllllder than God; I think it has been attributed to both Confucius and Buddha over the decades or centuries. I used the "many paths up the mountain" line to describe how I was "differently pathed" to some tarot-reading Wellness Women who were leery of me.

I had to leave that particular group because I have immunocompromised friends. Most of the Wellness Women ended up being anti-vaxxers who never understood why they and their kids kept getting the flu.

 

[Swammerdami]

I started this thread because I am interested in the origin of the Judaic religion. The development of the earliest religions is an interesting topic in anthropology. Once we get to the Iron Age I lose interest! Discussion of modern "gods" explores psychology and politics and has little to do with my topic of interest.

Oh wow, BH, do you happen to know the name of the mountain?

The book of Exodus mentions more than one mountain where Moses interacted with Yahweh. It's possible that there was only one key mountain, or perhaps a pair of mountains near each other (disguised as separate mountains so the Israelites don't appear to be traveling in circles! ). But there is no consensus on which mountain(s) these were.

One possibility that I find very intriguing is Jebel Harun, labeled by Google Maps as "Tomb of High Priest Aaron." It is about 4 miles west of Wadi Musa and "Mousa's Spring." The famed Lost Rock City of Petra is roughly midway between  Jebel Harun (Wikipedia redirects this to 'Mount Hor') and Wadi Musa. (There is at least one other sacred mountain nearby but I'm lazy to Google for details.)

There are several reasons I think this small region -- roughly midway between the Dead Sea and Aqaba -- may have been a very important site for the earliest worshipers of Yahweh:

• The Petra site is a marvelous and inspiring geological formation. The "rock city" seen today dates to a thousand years after the alleged date of Moses but it would have been a revered site long before that, with or without a "rock city."
• It acts as an impregnable fortress, especially if a supply of fresh water is provided, as the builders of the rock city did.
• It is located near important trade routes, and thus would be ideal for Habiru bandits.
• It is located in or near the territory of Esau/Edom, who was close kin to Jacob/Israel according to Genesis.
• The earliest reference to 'Yahweh' tells us he was 'in the land of the Shasu' which appears to be in or near that same territory of the Edomites.

 

[BH]

Did Yahweh have a Heaven? I'm not clear on that concept. I was taught that only Jesus was the Way. idk, a lot has happened in 45 years... hm.

From what I have read he lived above the heavens but there is a mountain ascribed to him as well.

Oh wow, @BH , do you happen to know the name of the mountain?

My mind's first thought regarding "the mountain" is a vague "can't move... to Mohammad?" I am hazy on the concept, obviously. I am aware of the Christian gospel song (and Biblical concept) of "Go Tell it on the Mountain."

My own little "mountain/Moon" quote is ollllllllder than God; I think it has been attributed to both Confucius and Buddha over the decades or centuries. I used the "many paths up the mountain" line to describe how I was "differently pathed" to some tarot-reading Wellness Women who were leery of me.

I had to leave that particular group because I have immunocompromised friends. Most of the Wellness Women ended up being anti-vaxxers who never understood why they and their kids kept getting the flu.

Sorry janice I just got back to this thread. I don't remember if the mountain had a name or not. It's been a long time since I read this. But I will try to find out for you.