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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Fwd: Re: YHWH
  • Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005 06:59:31 -0500

Dear Yigal,

While Yitzhak is undoubtedly correct in saying that the earliest strands of
the Pentateuch seem to admit the existence of other gods, the authors could
have very well have been referring to the conception of the existence of
other gods. In other words, "there is only one God, but we know that a lot
of people believe that there are others - whether 'true' or not, the very
belief is a sin". Certainly, there is a strand (priestly?) that denies their
existence and claims that they are but "wood and stone". The Bible often
seems to claim that those who worship idols are fools, who think that "this
piece of wood created me". But we know, that this was not the case at all;
pagans never believed that the actual idol was a deity - the idol simply
represented the deity and helped the worshipper "focus" - just as ritual
objects do today, in many monotheistic faiths.


HH: I have read that people believed the deity came and indwelt the representation.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard





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