• Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    If you read the old testament in particular, god never denies the existence of other gods, only that he’s the best one. Yahweh was actually just one god in an ancient pre Jewish pantheon. He was like Dionysus, a god of harvest and wine and rebirth. Different tribes had different chief gods, but all accepted the existence of the others. Just happened over time that the people who worshipped Yahweh were the only ones left and it became a monotheistic religion.

    I’m sure back in the day, those gods were more similar to Greek gods, flawed and monstrous, and entities to fear. That’s why the old testament god is such a psychopath.

      • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Some appear in the bible or are mentioned. Baal I know was one. And was later turned into a satan thing by medieval Christians. Ashira as well gets mentioned in the Bible in a vague sense, but she was the wife of Yahweh.

      • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
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        7 months ago

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism

        At the head of this pantheon was Yahweh, held in an especially high regard as the two Israelite kingdoms’ national god.[3] Some scholars hold that the goddess Asherah was worshipped as Yahweh’s consort,[3] though other scholars disagree.[4] Following this duo were second-tier gods and goddesses, such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte

    • NostraDavid@programming.dev
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      7 months ago

      Elohim (one of his several names; I like this one, because it betrays his Canaanitic roots) is one of several Canaanitic gods, which makes a lot more sense than him being the only god yet him being jealous of other gods (that don’t exist).

      Edit: El was also portrayed as a calf, which makes the worshipped golden calf make a lot more sense in the story of Israels formation. What does not make sense is the pre-Israelites going to a land they already lived in, historically speaking

      • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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        7 months ago

        Its a shame that a lack of hard evidence and a disdain for looking for more from theological groups resisting demystifying their religion means we don’t know or have records on a lot of the early days of poly to mono theism.

        Considering it looks like the 18th Dynasty of Egypt had a push to move away from Poly in Amun that involved building a new captial with the help of skilled laborers from the North Canaanites only to be be attacked for their position by the older poly religious leaders causing the downfall off the new capital falling and the workers fleeing back across the desert…

        I mean there is so much to piece together of how politics and the empires of the time influenced how we as humans and religions developed but then you might ruin the idea of magic with real world incredible stories.

  • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Not defending god here but afaik the 7 deadly sins come from the divine comedy

    Edit: It appears I was mistaken. They are just not directly mentioned in the bible.

    • derbolle@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      but it is ultimately completely pointless. someone(or rather many someones) made up the OG bible canon and some fanfics are becoming almost canon by being well known. same difference

      • rtxn@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Revelation is one of the most quoted judeo-christian texts, and I recently learned that it was written as a fanfic and it took the fandom a surprisingly long time to recognise it as part of the official lore.

    • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
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      7 months ago

      The term isn’t found in the bible,but there are plenty of references to the sins.

      Mark 7:20-23 (NLT) 20 And then he added, ‘It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.’

      Proverbs 6:16 - 19 (KJV)

      These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

      A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood

      An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief

      A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren

    • j4k3@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Most are derived from Psalms, Proverbs, and other locations in the old testament. It came from Catholicism. The weakest of the seven for a Biblical origin is Sloth, as it is derived from a failure to act in line with scripture. The list itself is not of canonical origin but is instead a collection of thoughts in a simplification that is easier to digest and remember.

      There is some value in the scripture when it comes to philosophy, however small that may be. It is a great example of what humans were able to directly observe in their time, the ways humans were manipulated with their vulnerabilities, how politics and religion were the same thing in past eras, and many other minor intrigues. Still, 99% of life that has ever existed has gone extinct, and there is not a single reference in scripture that reflects ontological knowledge of the universe. Every bit of every religious work around the world can be explained by human observations and meddling. If a God exists, the least they could have done is prove their existence by giving any of the cosmological constants that are the fundamental building blocks of the universe, or act like a sane person and give me a call any time - my phone is on. Faith is a synonym for fantasy, and primarily persists because of religious isolationist social networking, and teaching faith to gullible children before they have a choice in their social networking development path.

  • huf [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    yeah well, all this just means god claims a monopoly on sins.

    like your state claims a monopoly on violence, etc.

    • the_post_of_tom_joad [any, any]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      Yeah it’s a just a lesson see?

      Showing us how just how deadly

      those sins can be so we must…

      What he says not what he does

      sung to the tune of ‘hark! the herald angels sing’

  • Krauerking@lemy.lol
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    7 months ago

    You know the sins aren’t really like that in the original text and I’ve taken to thinking this is just a collection of rules to help make a more productive second class work force.

    Don’t be sitting around when you could be working and don’t think that just because you did the work you can claim to own it.
    Don’t be wanting more or better either. And if you eat to much you will forget the hunger that pushes you to keep working.
    Don’t fight back and be thankful for what you get and nothing else.

    I mean I get it sometimes the work needs to get done but christianity feels weaponized as a stick with a single carrot that you can never get to have cause it’s been made up by the people getting beaten by the stick.
    I don’t want to be part of the chorus that exists eternal to praise Yahweh and nothing else.

  • HowMany@lemmy.ml
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    7 months ago

    Funny thing - no god(s) have ever punished a single person for any of those transgressions - only people do.

    • Belgdore@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      Yep. The whole idea of seven deadly vices and seven heavenly virtues is a Christianization of the Ancient Greek ideas of virtues and vices. There really isn’t a direct connection to the Bible.