Context Clues – Polytheism Pt 2

Welcome to part 2 of the polytheism context clue. In the previous post, I made the claim that developing a clear understanding of Biblical and historical polytheism will help us to peel back some of the troublesome layers of ancient Israel’s history and literature.

So what do I mean by that?

Well, depending on your perspective, the Old Testament (OT) presents one or more problematic images of God, and of His chosen people, Israel.

Everyone who reads the OT in its entirety will agree on one point: the Israelites did not have a great track record when it came to honoring God, honoring creation, and fulfilling their part of the covenant (Abrahamic OR Mosaic).

Beyond that, opinions vary. However, there are a large number of people who read the Bible who would agree that there are several more problematic images of God portrayed in the OT. Some of these are passages where the Israelites (or their leaders) attribute their gruesome violence to the glory of God. Other passages make it seem as though God Himself is condoning, or even commanding savage violence. Other passages yet seem to portray God as commanding or reveling in animal sacrifice, or otherwise relishing in the unraveling of His good creation. 

So what’s up with that?

The truth is that this is a deceptive question. It’s quick and easy to ask, so we instinctively think it should be quick and easy to answer.

It’s not.

But how do you eat a blue whale? One bite at a time.

One of the bites that can help us better understand the Scriptures and the ancient Israelites is the context clue of ancient polytheism.

Now when I use the word “polytheism,” you might immediately think of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, or some other modern adaptation of ancient mythology.

Is that an accurate interpretation? Well, it depends.

Usually, when people think of polytheism, they take the literal definition (“many gods”) and picture the Greek (or maybe Roman) pantheon as a model for all polytheistic worldviews. Some of these may determine a hierarchy to their pantheon where certain gods are stronger or weaker, worthy of more or less veneration. Others view these as roughly equivalent deities worthy of equal veneration. 

In my opinion, there are two forms of Biblical polytheism. The first is the polytheism that kept getting the Israelites into trouble – worshipping other gods, serving idols, forgetting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I call this “Biblical polytheism” simply because it appears in the Bible.

There is a second form of Biblical polytheism from which we can learn much about human nature and psychology, both past and present, but we’ll discuss this second form in an upcoming post.

First, let’s take some time to better understand the major religious and cultural influences that weighed on the ancient Israelites and influenced their way of thinking.

Abraham was called out of the land of Ur. He then uprooted his life and moved to Canaan. A few generations passed by before Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt. Because of God’s favor, Joseph was later raised to the second-highest rank in all of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh. Through a series of events, Joseph’s entire family (the descendants of Abraham) moved to Egypt.

Time passed (four centuries, or so) and things had gotten bad for the Israelites. God raised up Moses and Aaron, and delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. Eventually, they entered the land of Canaan (again), but were surrounded and saturated by Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Jebusites, Hivites, Midianites, Amalekites, and Philistines. In addition to this, the Israelites were eventually conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

This is only a partial list, but it already proves my point, which is that the Israelites were completely surrounded by, steeped in, and comfortable with polytheistic religions, despite the fact that God very clearly informed them: “the Lord, your God, is one God,” and “you shall serve no other gods before me.” (Deut. 6:4 & Ex. 20:3)

Given Israel’s terrible track-record on these points, we know that they were heavily (and often) influenced by the worldviews and pagan religions surrounding them. 

I hope you’ll join us again next week as we begin to evaluate some of these ancient pantheons and explore some of the ways these may have influenced the Israelites’ beliefs and behaviors. We’ll then move on to examine a different type of Biblical polytheism and how it can be used to elevate our understanding of both ancient and modern psychology.

• Context Clues – Polytheism Pt 2
• Context Clues – Polytheism Pt 1
• He’s Already in the Next Storm
• Here I Am, Lord
• Wisdom and Mysteries