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One could argue that the “God” of the Old Testament, Yahweh, is in
actuality an angry desert demon, a deity/idol worshipped by a rabid and
self-centered nomadic cult, hell-bent on genocide and self-preservation
against all odds. This (controversial) image of Yahweh can
certainly be examined in various biblical accounts.
Yahweh’s “chosen people,” the Hebrews, are a tribal people and a
sheep-herding community that do not seem to get along with the various
other desert-dwelling tribes in their vicinity. But Yahweh, the
personal and angry demon that he is, always has an ace up his sleeves.
This is particularly noxious when one looks at the path of savage
slaughter and seemingly senseless massacres that the “chosen people”
(the Hebrews) leave in their wake after being told by their “God”
what to do in respect to the burdening presence of a multitude of
Gentiles (non-Hebrews).
For example, in Genesis 6:17, Yahweh is in a particularly bad mood when
he says to Noah, “I am about to bring the waters of the flood over the
earth to destroy from under heaven every human being that has the spirit
of life; everything on earth shall perish.” Now, this seems like
a prime example of an overreaction. One wonders why Yahweh would
create organisms (humans and “everything on earth” – obviously
including plants and animals) capable of offending him in first place.
This is a clear sign of a megalomaniac and psychotic (but omnipotent)
being that is far from being perfect (an attribute usually ascribed to
Yahweh by the followers of his nefarious creed), but very much out of
control with rage and unlimited/unchecked power.
One must recall that Yahweh created man in his own image. Why
then, one wonders, does Yahweh have all this pent-up rage against his
favorite toy? There seems to be only one logical answer to this
puzzling question: Yahweh is a joker. Yahweh is a “player” of
monumental proportions that likes to set the rules for his own game, a
game that – in all actuality – nobody else is (literally) able to
enjoy but himself (exclusively, considering the supernatural
powers that are attributed to him)!
Not only did Yahweh supposedly create man in his own image, he also gave
man the power of doubt. It is no surprise then that man can
sometimes hardly take Yahweh’s supposed “divinity” seriously and
therefore acts in immoral and “wicked” ways (from Yahweh’s quite
subjective perspective, naturally).
God orders Noah to take two of each kind of living creatures into the
ark to save them from perishing along with the rest of the world’s
living beings. Yahweh wants a clean slate! Apparently, he
had had enough of the civilization that sprung out of his once benign
two creations (Adam and Eve). Obviously, Yahweh is tired of the
first round in the cosmic game that he himself initiated – for his own
personal pleasure only. Hence, Yahweh initiates the second round
to see what the silly (clearly in his eyes, in addition to ignorance of
his “divine” plan) humans will come up with the next time.
In Exodus, the Hebrews blatantly reveal what kind of “chosen people”
they really are. When Yahweh mercilessly slaughters all of the
first-born children in Egypt, he spares only the Hebrew ones. Not
only are the Hebrews thankful for the actions of their vengeful
“God” (and his altruistic gesture of saving their children from
certain death), they also vow to make all future generations celebrate
this heinous act of gratuitous mass murder! As cult leader Moses
says to all the elders of Israel, “It is the Lord’s Passover, for he
passed over the houses of Israelites in Egypt when he struck the
Egyptians and spared our houses” (Exodus 12:27). This statement
sums up the hypocritical nature of this maniacal and demon-worshipping
desert tribe.
The Hebrews justify their “God’s” wrath against the Egyptians
because they have been unjustly enslaved. It is therefore rather
peculiar that nobody ever seems to be bothered by the fact that the
Hebrews themselves have no problem in owning slaves. Naturally,
the Hebrews themselves do not see that inherent contradiction in their
behavior. One must really shake his/her head in amazement at the
grotesque display of seething hate when one observes a certain tribe
celebrating – during what it so innocently terms “Passover” - the
actions of its crazed “God” that resulted in the pointless deaths of
countless innocent (in the sense that the first-born were hardly
responsible for the Pharaoh’s behavior which in itself is debatable)
lives. Granted, the first-born (doomed to be killed) were Egyptian, but
does that make them lesser human beings? Naturally, this question
is a rhetorical one.
In 1 Samuel 14:3, the prophet Samuel says to Saul the King (of the
Hebrews), “Go now, fall upon the Amalekites, destroy them, and put
their property under ban. Spare no one; put them all to death, men
and women, children and babes in arms, herds and flocks, camels and
donkeys.” This statement/order is almost mind-boggling in its
complete and utter disrespect of life in general. Again, the
Hebrews seem to be under an evil spell – a curse to commit atrocities
to please their bloodthirsty overlord/”God.”
Samuel, who is “divinely” inspired, not only tells the Hebrew army
(under the leadership of Saul) to wage war against an actual enemy, but
he actually gives the command to commit genocide against an entire
people! Of course, one has to keep in mind that the notions of an
“eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth” were the common laws
of revenge during that time, but Samuel (under the influence of his
demonic mentor) has much more in stock than that for the unsuspecting
Amalekites. He wants them to be wiped off the face of the
earth/desert! Not even soulless mammals, like the poor camels and
pack animals, can escape the seething and irrational wrath of this angry
and deranged (so-called) “God.”
The infamous King David uses the following words when singing a song in
his “God’s” praise, “You set me free from the people who /
challenge me, / and make me master of nations. / A people I never knew
will be my / subjects” (2 Samuel 22:44). As the ruler of the
Hebrews, David expresses the will to power of both himself and his
subjects – a will that is directly imposed upon them by the
“deity” they worship and that compels them to be ever more engaged
in wars of conquest and annihilation.
Apparently, the Hebrews do not only view themselves as the “chosen
people” in the sense that they are more blessed than other peoples,
they also see themselves to be inherently superior to all others.
This essential supremacist stance is the main catalyst for the
Hebrews’ endless thrive for the subjugation and destruction of the
Gentiles around them. Yahweh, the blood-thirsty and malicious
demon (creator of dust and debris), anointed his chosen tribe with the
mentality of exclusivity, meaning that the Hebrews feel no obligation to
get along with other peoples/tribes they deem inferior.
Bibliography
The Oxford Study Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
- Constantin von Hoffmeister
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