Saturday, March 17, 2018

Demonizing Other Gods


In the history of human migration and conquest certain patterns repeat themselves endlessly.  One of these is the practice of invaders to demonize the gods of those whom they have subdued and displaced.  There are numerous stories of this kind of struggle in the Jewish and Christian scriptures, told both from the viewpoint of the triumphant conquerors and of the resistant conquered.
In the Old Testament books of Joshua and Judges the military eradication of the indigenous tribes of the Jordan valley by the Israelites is firmly linked with destruction of their places of worship.  The indigenous gods, called Baals, are mocked and denounced.  The Israelite understanding of what their god requires of them is exemplified by Judges 2:1-5, in which an angel of The Lord calls them disobedient and calls punishment on them for failing to tear down all the altars to local gods.