The Off Topic Topic

[Admiral Yi]

Is the question why that came to happen? Because then the answer is that it's likely that Yahweh started out as a tribal god and at some point membership of the Hebrew tribes became identified with worship of Yahweh and vice versa.

Is the question how Jews today make sense of that? That will obviously vary with the theology of disparate groups, but as I understand it it is essentially contractual. The Jewish people and God have entered into a mutual covenant whereby they are the Chosen People and God is their God.

I had no question.  I was editorializing about the intellectual failure of elevating a tribal god to a universal god.

[Jacob]

I had no question.  I was editorializing about the intellectual failure of elevating a tribal god to a universal god.

Then your beef is with Christianity.

[Valmy]

Yeah that was what Isaiah was attempting to do.

[Valmy]

I had no question.  I was editorializing about the intellectual failure of elevating a tribal god to a universal god.

Then your beef is with Christianity.

No it was already a thing before Christianity came along. I don't understand why it is an intellectual failure.

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah that was what Isaiah was attempting to do.

Unfortunately, the gentile's aircraft carriers were not at Perl at the time.

#TORAH!TORAH!TORAH!

[Jacob]

No it was already a thing before Christianity came along. I don't understand why it is an intellectual failure.

Yeah you're correct.

[Ed Anger]

Yeah that was what Isaiah was attempting to do.

Unfortunately, the gentile's aircraft carriers were not at Perl at the time.

#TORAH!TORAH!TORAH!

*groan*

[Admiral Yi]

Then your beef is with Christianity.

No it's not.  There are no chosen people in the New Testament.  The New Testament god is a universal god.

[Valmy]

Then your beef is with Christianity.

No it's not.  There are no chosen people in the New Testament.  The New Testament god is a universal god.

The Old Testament God makes that transition as it goes on. Eventually he claims he is the God of everybody, yes the brought them up from Egypt but he also provided for every nation and while he has a soft spot for the Judeans if they keep breaking the covenant he will strike them down the same as he does every other nation. Or rather his prophets say that since God stops talking directly.

[CountDeMoney]

Well, the first five of the Ten Amendments are about Him, you know.  Doesn't get much more God of Everybody than that.

[Admiral Yi]

Speaking of Judaism, there's a story I might have told before or not.

When I was in grad school I had (several) Jewish buddies.  One of them said to me, "[Yi], if you want to understand the Jewish male psyche, one thing you have to keep in mind is that every Jewish mother considers it her solemn religious duty to raise her son as if he might be the Messiah."

Valmy: that just sounds to me like another way of saying Yawheh is the only true God and all the other Gods are false.

[Valmy]

Valmy: that just sounds to me like another way of saying Yawheh is the only true God and all the other Gods are false.

The point was letting the Judeans know they weren't as special as they thought they were.

[Valmy]

Speaking of Judaism, there's a story I might have told before or not.

When I was in grad school I had (several) Jewish buddies.  One of them said to me, "[Yi], if you want to understand the Jewish male psyche, one thing you have to keep in mind is that every Jewish mother considers it her solemn religious duty to raise her son as if he might be the Messiah."

Valmy: that just sounds to me like another way of saying Yawheh is the only true God and all the other Gods are false.

That reminds me of the joke in response to that Christmas Song 'Mary Did You Know?'

'Did Mary know? Of course she knew. She was a Jewish Mother.'

[CountDeMoney]

The point was letting the Judeans know they weren't as special as they thought they were.

Titus and four legions did that with a lot less PowerPoint slides. 

[Valmy]

The point was letting the Judeans know they weren't as special as they thought they were.

Titus and four legions did that with a lot less PowerPoint slides. 

The Babylonians had their go a bit earlier as well