Ktotwf

As an atheist myself, and as someone relatively new to these forums, I have a question to ask: Why is there seemingly so little interest in the development of Yahweh from a polytheistic Semitic deity to the One True God of several of the world's most powerful religions?

This is primarily a website populated by atheists, and so much of the focus here is on discussing various scholarly ideas that relate to the truth of Christianity and other major world religions.

The seeming consensus of those who study ancient Judaism that Yahweh was originally worshiped as part of a pantheon seems damning in its starkness, and yet it receives little mainstream play, even if one defines "mainstream" in this case as "popular skeptical websites and forums."

It isn't even like the current debate over "Jesus Mythicism", which will likely be argued over for quite a while because of the paucity of data sources - as far as I can tell, no credible expert in the field relating to the subject of Israelite religion really denies that Yahweh BECAME "the one true God" rather than always being a monotheistic figure.

So why the lack of interest? Is it because it is such a settled matter, because "Jesus Mythicism" is more relevant to Western culture and Christianity, or because people here don't feel it is as relevant to the question of Atheism as I do?

storytime

You're right. No credible expert in the field relating to the subject of Israelite religion denies that Yahweh BECAME the one true God. What the experts in the field avoid discussing is that Yahweh BECAME and WAS ALWAYS thereafter the one true God of Israelites only. Experts tend to not remove those non-Israelite people from the picture, always it seems imposing "Gentiles" as being also the people of the Hebrew God. The experts shy away from discussing all those other gods and other people who worshiped those gods, all the laws of other people in their non Israelite cultures and traditions. We never hear why the Hebrew god was jealous of those other gods or how those other people were justified in their own non-Israelite religions.

Why do you think the so-called "experts" in the field of religions avoid what is obvious to history?

avi

Ktotwf then answered his own question:
At least that's my opinion, though I would have phrased the question slightly differently:

"One True God", instead of One True God, and
world's most delusional religions, instead of most powerful.

I think that as long as we lack the ability to track the influence of Zoroastrianism on Judaism (i.e. PRIOR to destruction of Solomon's Temple) as well as the influence of Buddhism on Judaism, following the death of Siddhartha Gautama in 480 BCE, it will be impossible to realistically assess the evolution of Yahweh.

We need silk route documents from 2500 years ago-->documents which may have never been written.

Here's a reference, for example, regarding coins from the second temple period, but where is the data that Jewish merchants interacted with the caravans from the East, from whence the monotheistic tendency (i.e. Zoroastrianism) originated, PRIOR to Solomon? google books

Jedi Mind Trick

But, what does it really prove? I know that Yahweh evolved from polytheism. In fact Yahweh is just a collection of near eastern deities' attributes into one deity. But Yahweh always claimed that he was the Israelites' gods (plural). I think they knowingly made Yahweh the true holder of the many attributes of all the surrounding gods, even to borrowing their hymns and titles. Does this mean that the actual being behind these qualities doesn't exist?

Ktotwf

If one were to prove completely that Paul and others in the early Christian movement believed in a purely spiritual Christ, and that Jesus of Nazareth was a literary invention, would it disprove the possibility that Christ actually is a heavenly savior who died for the sins of mankind in Platonic Heaven? No.

Would it puncture the establishment serving "standard" version of history? Of course.

The same thing with knowledge on the development of Yahweh from one among many to a monotheistic cosmic Lord.

John Kesler

This issue has been discussed. See the following threads:

Jedi Mind Trick

Oh yes, it crushes orthodoxy, but so what?

IamJoseph

'BECAME' does not mean this was not so before, but that it was accepted as an affirmation. While at one time all of humanity was polytheistic, including Abraham's family, a new code emerged. This is seen with numerous wars with all nations and the Abrahamic peoples - all of which focused on the Monotheist belief - which did not sit well with divine emperors.

There is no alternative to Monotheism - anything else is a wrong path. Abrahamic Monotheism changed the universe, and gave us science.

IamJoseph

Genesis opens with ONE God as the sole creator [singular, not plural/the texts]]. If this is a copy from other beliefs, then those beliefs would have been followed and Judaism - a small, late entry, would have been forgotten. The reverse is the case.

That some rituals and expressions from other beliefs were osmosized, does not conclude as you have - it only shows the authentic contemporary status of this writings. An exampe is seen with the term EL and the act of circumsizion: both these predated Abraham - the former signified HIGH/ MIGHTY ONE [also attached to other predating beliefs of their deities], and the latter was the traditional ritual of formalising a covenant [contract]. This is a natural mode and does not in any way pose a negative effect - on the contrary!

IamJoseph

Easily proven or disproven. Show as a predating Zoroastrian document predating the Hebrew.

Buddhism does not impact - Buddha himself is less than 2,500 years, namely post Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremia, the temple, the Psalms, and 1000s of relics discovered in this region.