As much as I appreciate and endorse your scholarly rigor, I think most of my living family would spontaneously combust upon hearing your excellent lecture.
@danieltalbot8358 Here's the issue. There is a skewed sample space in my family. You would have to frame the event as spontaneous as a matter of survival. If you gave that many narcissistic and sociopathic people an opening to blame anyone else for their bad (re)actions, the gaslighting would be epic. So my story is spontaneous and I'm sticking to it.
My Youth Pastor once told me that studying Theology as a person of faith can really be a test of that faith. Having to confront your beliefs with facts about early human understanding. This is such a great essay. RIP Uncle Randy.
The Lutherans fix that problem by saying one can't use the historical-critical method of interpretation because the Bible isnt an historical account of events. You can only use the words in the Bible. And maybe Martin Luther. Something like that. My theology is pretty rusty.
Independent search for Truth! The more I learn the stronger my faith has become. So many things get changed with each translation that lately I've gone to the Hebrew text to try and understand things. Once it's been translated into Greek so many things get changed and then another translation into Latin or English even more changes to the text and the meaning behind it.
I'm from Germany and I had religious studies at school. One of my teacher was studying for a doctorate in theology and he described his seminary as atheism factory.
@@sophigenitor sounds very cynical, studying this kind of stuff really should never drive anyone to atheism unless there were already some preverbal wolves in the sheep pen.
The simultaneous outpouring of academic and religious integrity alongside personal honesty and incredibly entertaining content across your livestreams, videos and interviews is truly the most precious gift RUclips has received since its very inception. I hope that content like yours, Dr. Angela’s, Seekers of Unity’s, Religion for Breakfast’s, Let’s Talk Religion’s and the Modern Hermeticist’s will inspire many others as much as it has inspired me. This little corner of RUclips stands as a rock amongst tempestuous waters, and though scholarship and historical research is as fluid and evolving as it always has been, the recognition of that fact is what separates the grain from the chaff. My most sincere and joyous gratitude goes out to you.
Completely agree, this is my favourite corner of this platform and this channel in particular is probably, for my tastes, the single best channel on the entire platform in ANY corner of it.
Best comment ever tops mine, and I comment very well always but very glad you for your comment, we should be putting out other channels more often and viewers and creators for the rest of us. I plan to this on my videos! Shoutout to the channels I follow. Stay tuned…
It's interesting that he was a warrior storm god, given that the Greeks also worshipped a pantheon of gods led by a storm god. I guess that says a lot about how deeply storms affected early civilization as a whole.
Implications are that the prehistoric Indo-European migrations across Eurasia are a likely origin. Their chief god was a storm god. It spread all over and seems to have been adapted to cultures in many places. Which wasn't unusual, at all, for polytheistic religions. Also, much later during the Late Bronze Age, one of the tribes of the "Sea Peoples" (raiders), whom the Pharaoh had settled in the Levant after defeating them in a battle, as part of a peace settlement, is believed to have originated in Bronze Age Mycenaean Greece . The "Peleset" tribe, as they were called by the ancient Egyptians. Believed to have then become the Philistines. Along with the mention in the Egyptian history, there have also reportedly been cultural artifacts from that period found in the area also linking that theory of migration/settlement by Mycenaeans. Although a storm god would've likely already been a staple in the area by that point, so I doubt the Mycenaean pantheon would've changed much in regards to that.
@@NefariousKoel I think that George Carlin said it well that we should worship the Sun. Most of our overt energy comes from it. Storms are really the result of the radiance of the Sun as the cause. But then space itself seems to be a void that is jam packed with potential energy. Is this void at a high level of conscious that only non verbal part of the human mind can intuit? Do we misunderstand it and call it the Creator of the Universe? How is possible to be separate from it?
"When we allow our faith to dictate our history , we really just betrayed both" Well spoken Sir. I like how well versed you are about a myriad of different cultures and theologies , and how you are able to take a step back and outline connections between those without taking a dogmatic tone. This approach makes it much more palatable to those that are less anchored in a particular faith.
Wow, that’s all I can say. Keeping your religion and history apart testifies of great integrity. I watched this video with great interest and am looking eagerly forward to the second episode.
Whenever I watch a video by Esoterica, I feel like I'm getting a University lecture FAR more engaging, fascinating, and Incredibly thought provoking than anything I've learned in a lecture theatre. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Doctor.
Chat GPT: For example, throughout history, religious beliefs have been used to justify wars, genocide, and other atrocities. In such cases, the use of faith to dictate history can be seen as a betrayal of the values and principles that are supposed to guide religious practice. Furthermore, by allowing faith to dictate history, the accuracy and integrity of historical records may be compromised, leading to a distorted or incomplete understanding of the past. As such, this quote suggests that it is important to separate religious beliefs from the interpretation and recording of historical events to ensure a more accurate and truthful understanding of our collective history.
Our Akkadian. ancestors, around 2500 to 2000 B.C., worshiped God and called Him (Aya) and Eal) in Arabic is a letter calling out to someone far away. But they made the angels control the universe without referring to God, so they established what is called (the complex of the gods) consisting of multiple statues, each statue symbolizing the king of angels # Therefore, each king had a specific function, so we find the complex of gods among the Akkadians (ancestors of the Babylonians) consisting of small statues It symbolizes some important angels. Prophet Abraham in the time of the Akkadians around the year 2000 BC, and he took advantage of people going out to celebrate one of their holidays, and destroyed the small statues and put the ax in the neck of the large statue without destroying it # which symbolizes him with the angel of death or (Azar) and in Arabic his names are (Azrael) and (Asher) In the Assyrian civilization # and the Egyptians called him. (Osiris) 🤔 Abraham's goal is to teach his people # If he controls life and death as you think without referring to God, why didn't his companions save # other small gnomes from collapsing or dying
Life is short and we will die and we do not know what will happen to us in the world after death. Just as you believe in accurate scientific research in this life and do not accept random research that is not based on the conditions of science... Likewise, you must be certain that the world after death is also based on wise, non-material laws. Therefore, Our interpretations and analyzes must begin with faith first
I so appreciate this video! There was A LOT of dense information, but it answered some questions I've had for decades. See, I was "that kid" in Sunday school that asked the awkward questions, labeled a "doubting Thomas" from about 2nd or 3rd grade. When I was 12 or 13 I asked, " What happened to change God from a God of War to a God of love and peace? It sounds like multiple personality disorder to me." And was promptly kicked out for "being disruptive." Finally! I found a scholarly video that provides a reasonable and nearly scientific explanation. Thank you, so very much!
I've always asked questions too. I grew up Southern Babtist so the switch was waiting on me when I got home. Sometimes the belt, depending on which parent was hitting me.
@@nozecone dang you might actually have him with that one. I love deep diving into topics like that. But who doesn't love some cuddling baby animals? Especially across species lines!
When this got to El and Yahweh combining, and then Yahweh vs Baal, I was riveted, like I was watching some big action movie. You do a great job telling these topics!
I would not say they combinated or fused but thematically was the same character! It’s also important to understand how we talking about different peoples with different spoken languages and cultures!
I usually have no patience for videos in which one guy just stares into the camera and delivers his monologue, but Dr Justin Sledge actually captured all my attention because what he was saying was so deep and evocative. I found myself replaying short segments over again to make sure I was following what he was saying. I almost never do that with anyone else's videos.
As an archaeology student and folklore enthusiast who has thus far put off reading the bible, this video was a nice contextualization of so many familiar ideas. Thank you.
My favorite section of the Bible is _Samuel_ and _Kings_ (obviously cuz I'm named after it lol). It's an excellent jumping-in point for modern readers that covers the decision to appoint the first king of the Hebrews, how the head of the temple Samuel had a whole bunch of reasons why having a king is a terrible idea but went ahead and appointed one due to pressure from the people, going all the way up to the reign of King David and all the pros and cons that came with that. Samuel / Kings is a straight 4 books of solid narration focused on just a few consistent characters in-depth and why they made the decisions they made. Unlike books like Deuteronomy or even Exodus, the whole David arc holds up really well in terms of readability and narrative focus. Could easily be adapted into some _Game of Thrones_ type drama if you dug into the history around it and fleshed out the enemy factions a little.
"When we allow our faith to dictate our history, we really have just betrayed both." I was listening to this while I was driving and I almost crashed my car!
there is people that were claiming egypt is black because kemet meant dark soil,, i stipulated to them if you going to have that logic than it would also be applied ->to the land of Milk and Honey would be a white Milky-skin with Honey blonde-hair , so the land of milk and honey would have nothing to do with bees and cows or black africans. the land of milk and honey would have everything to do with Milky skin and Honey coloured hair in their own afrocentric logic. the Afrocentric quickly block me and then go on pretending they can have it both ways Black egyptian because of black-land kemet but then ignore the land of white-Milk and yellow-Honey and pretend that means the land of bees an cows?. they cannot handle the truth even when you tell them.
Yes, indeed! And there is a special book that explained paganism, it is called Vain Traditions and back up with historical evidence. You may want to read it!
I’ve spent most of my life as a devout Christian, and my spiritual awakening began around 2020. As I went inward, the truths I discovered resonated deeply with Gnostic teachings. I believe that Jesus was meant to show us how to live from our soul’s essence, which is unconditional love.
I read Mark Smith's "The Early History of God" a while ago, but while I found it fascinating, I struggled with digesting a lot of it. This video truly helped me grasp a lot of the finer points. Thank you!
Brother, I am very grateful for this concise and informative exploration of the Pre/Proto-Abrahamic pantheon. I saw several already established/confirmed similarities with numerous Jungian archetypes of several sky/storm chieftain deities: Odin, Thor, Indra, Tlaloc, Zeus, Jupiter, Dyauspitr, etc. This video provided me with assurance that omnitheistic conclusions I have been arriving at about divine symbolism are on the precise path.
lol most of those are the same people, deified, given different names in different cultures. The name Jupiter developed from the phrase "Yahweh Pater" (Jah-pater). Zeus is another name for the patriarch Judah, one of the sons of Israel. Odin (Wodanaz) is another name for Dan, another son of Israel. Israel himself came to be known as Kronos... Most so called gods are either angels who "left their first estate", related to the Genesis 6 account...Their hybrid offspring produced with daughters of Adam (the mighty men of old, men of renown)... Or deified ancestors, many of whom are in fact Jacob aka Israel, his sons, or prominent descendants of theirs.
“If we allow our faith to dictate our history, we’ve really just betrayed both.” That is a powerful quote that I will do my damndest to never forget. Absolute truth!
Fantastic! I've studied the origins of yhwh for so long and never heard it put this succinctly before. I always learn new things on your channel. Thank you!
Hindu , Indra, El is Saturn Rudra who's star is Sirius, he was known to the Assyrians as Ashur ( Enlil) who was replaced by Murduk ( Jupiter ) Yahweh .
SO thankful for the book recommendations at the end. I was getting ready to ask for suggestions in the comments, but you succinctly addressed this at the end. Have a great day!
This is my favorite episode so far. Your research is so in depth it boggles the mind. And your dedication to truth over belief is noble...This episode made so much sense of the Yhwh of the Bible. Information is a powerful tool
As soon as El assimilation came up, I was just waiting for that Psalm 82 shout-out, and on the edge of my seat when you mentioned El's divine council. You made my day! Thank you! And I am deeply impressed how well you can summarize in just over forty minutes here, what I'd consider the most memorable and significant chunk of my undergraduate studies. And I still learned a thing or two! I found your channel maybe two or three weeks ago, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The depth and breadth of your knowledge on this scholarship blows me away.
Hebrew version of Joshua 24:14 is another great verse showing that people cannot continue conflating Yahweh with the Elohim. It says to worship Yahweh and put down the Elohim (that are repeatedly mentioned in Genesis).
@@johnnada9058 these people have ruined and butchered both hebraic meaning of words and Old English sub put down Elohim Elohim means god simply so it says put down weird gods are false gods strange Gods strange Idols that's what it means roughly and EL is male and was adopted to Latin if you look at old Latin classic Latin they don't have that it was adopted from hebraic classic writing but if you cannot find it in the Bible or modern Torah none of these Scholars are actual Hebrews they made up their own religion.
It's important not to underestimate the influence of Zoroastrianism post exile in the conception of Yahweh. The tension you speak of between a universal god and a porochial god is the tension between henotheism yahwehism snd monotheistic Zoroastrianism post exposure to the Persian empire. Between Yahweh and ahura Mazda
Did ahura Mazda have bearing on the old testament/intertestamental understanding of Satan? For instance...in the way the Greek Pan shaped that entity's physiognomy?
@@jazmendunham7666 From what I hear actually, yes! The conflict between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman is thought to have influenced the relationship between God and Satan, turning it into more of an adversarial relationship than what it was in Judaism.
Also the notion of dualism (good vs evil), afterlife and linear history toward the final judgement. Zoroastrianism is one of the most influential religion in history.
I’m an early career RE teacher with a background in philosophy, and this video is one of the most interesting things I have come across in any of my studies. It is absolutely fascinating and so insightful. Your comment at the start; “if we allow faith to dictate our history, we betray both.” Absolutely electrifying.
I just found that you have a free Patreon level, so no excuses, I joined with plans to upgrade and bought a $ Thanks $ on this video and I'm checking the merch. Edit: Ordered my Clerical Necromantic Underground shirt! Woot!
As I remember the legend of Abraham has Abraham leaving the city of UR in Sumeria and wandering in the dessert. When he asks the voice that whispers in his ears “which god he is ?”. The voice responds “I am God” or simply “El”.
Great video, thanks! You might have come down a bit hard on Israelite prophets who resisted syncretism. I’m a Catholic priest, and in seminary we were taught syncretism tends to be very destructive, although obviously there is a level of assimilation (as you pointed out) that does happen especially in prayer formulation and such. Again, GJ! 👍🏻
@@jamesblack4411 It should change your perspective on your faith. Given how your god is proven to have once been part of a polytheistic religion and a minor god in that religion. You’re essentially saying “lalalalala, not listening” in a polite way.
@fionn_mac_ribs7113 you can't prioritize something over you faith otherwise you don't actually have faith in it. So the saying doesn't make sense. Faith by definition means to believe in something without proof or evidence.
@@fionn_mac_ribs He was introduced into that pantheon by humans, then has to fight his way out of it. He orders the Asherah poles and images of Baal destroyed, basically destroying the rest of the pantheon as I believe he always intended. None of the actual prophets associate him with these other gods, and in the Bible he clearly makes them his enemies. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me"
“if we allow our faith to dictate our history, we really just betrayed both” Brilliantly said From a Muslim who has always been intrigued with the history of Alchemy, the Hermetic tradition, Magia, European Cabala, etc., to a fellow Jew, who is a scholar of these particular subjects - cheers.
Another quite splendid episode, pitched just right so as not to overwhelm the non-specialist, nor to bore those with a little more familiarity with this dauntingly dense topic. 🙏
I am so impressed you even tackled this topic let alone did such a good and thorough job. Speaking of your frequent jokes during the video of " why isn't this a heavy metal song ? " that totally reminds me of an obscure game people can play online ( not released in full. More like doing rock paper scissors in that anyone can play it and everyone owns it ) called " Bible Verse or Heavy Metal lyrics " where you just say either a bible verse or heavy metal lyrics and everyone else guesses which of the 2 things it is :3
Actually, I study in the historical musicology of Hebrew recitation, and to tell you the truth, a lot of the Hebrew Bible's poetry very well could have sounded like what we call 'Rock' or 'Metal'. We can at best reconstruct tradition-strands of the melodic motion of any given piece, but for Rhythm, we are on much more solid ground. I've successfully decoded the syllable-lengths of most song-poetry corpuses (it's not easy to do completely, because rules for syllable length evolved along with peoples's conception of what constitutes a syllable, and thus the length of vowels and the weight of consonants themselves evolved with the Hebrew language- and so older and newer poetry in the Hebrew Bible are not all as rhythmically even when certain later ways of pronunciation are applied... but most of it does work well when the oldest ways are inferred/reconstructed and applied.) Anyway, yeah. Rhythmically, I mean, there are many songs in the Tanakh that remind me of metal. Psalm 2 reminds me of Power Metal, for example.
I very much like the way you present the material, setting aside any biases, religious or otherwise. Outstanding. And the one line , "When we allow our faith to dictate history, we betray both," is truly profound. I'll never forget that. I cannot thank you enough for giving your thoughts to the people of our world.
As he said himself, there is a lot of content about it. Don't fixate too much on his perspective, although it is a very good one. It is his in the sense that he put it together, but he would not claim credit over it. Learning from his scientific rigor, spread your wings!
There's something romantic about a brutal warrior growing into a wise and compassionate grandfather. The thought of the Yahweh known to the present wistfully remembering his rambunctious youth is rather endearing.
@@ColtraneTaylor That’s Jimi Hendrix. Watching the guy who keeps debunking Jesus makes me want to completely clear my mind of the story of the Israelites. Why do I have any connection to those people. Is it love of God is it fair? God is this guilt. Is there any proof of any of it, maybe there was a guy name, Abraham. Surely they were some characters… And apparently there was a temple or two. But I think that any of it came from “God”… It’s a suspicious is any story about any God at any time any time. I’m a late bloomer.
@@johnnyxmusicIsn't the whole point of Christianity the fact that God is a compassionate and just being who always has time to forgive you for your sins?
@@nerdybacon6244depends on who your asking and what kind of mood they are in. I think most christians would agree that God is good to his friends and brutal towards his enemies, with his enemies being, well, anyone that doesn’t follow his every order to a t. Take a look at the book of Revelation, not a lot of compassion going on there. Same with basically any book of the Hebrew Bible, check out some of the stuff God does to the enemies of the Israelites and the stuff he says he’ll do to them in the future
Dr. Sledge, your research is immensely appreciated. I really believe this is how people should study religion in general. By looking at it from the very begining and from all points of view. By not letting your findings offend you or your audience. But rather by keeping one's head clear and being impartial.
This is, without a doubt, the most amazing content I've ever seen. I have *always* wanted to see a well researched, documented series on esoteric/occult beliefs and theology, since the early 2000s, and finding this channel is like scratching an itch that's been just out of reach for 30 years. Thank you so much for making this so accessible and engaging. :)
@@abaker4692 Well, if we're going to be persnickety about it... Amazement is a subjective experience, and is technically not quantifiable. So, to the me that watched this while high off his ass at 2 am, this WAS the most amazing ever, yes.
This was an incredibly educative video. I've studied various mythos my entire life and Yahweh and Ba'al have never been on my reading list. Likely because I am Christian and would often get beaten for daring to question the origins of the stories as a child. Regardless, if you can't study the history and origins of these religions and find a good reason to stay devout you were never truly devout to begin with. There are many reasons to stay faithful, none of which relys on fear or peer pressure. These stories represent some of the greatest minds to have ever exist through thousands of years studying and explaining the human condition and how to both prevent and overcome every destructive state of mind you could possibly have. These writings are instruction manuals on how to lead a good life and how to keep your society prosperous. The human mind is complex and because it can contemplate any and all concepts, it needs a God to help it stay sane and true. No one individual can get through life alone. No human is perfect. It's not enough to rely on an imperfect creature beside you. You need a concept of perfection to keep moving in the right direction.
An objective morality for subjective beings, what a beauty. Your comment is an amazing description of what faith is, yet I find that when it is put to words it never gets to that perfect description that we have in our hearts (reminds me of saint Thomas Aquinas’ description of his work hehe). Also, when I started delving into religion, analyzing them (superficially, as someone who’s not a scholar), and cross examining them; I came to Christianity. I’ve delved deeper into the comparisons and apologetics between them instead of it’s origins so I’m quite new to this videos’ content, but tbh I am completely fascinated by this man’s capability to explain and apply the two of them in such a way, it’s really interesting 😋. Finally, I was expecting for my faith to be tested yet I find myself in utter fascination and awe when seeing this video. God bless, sir 😁😁
This is amazing. Great research and information. My gf is so fundamentalist Jewish with people who would never let her watch something like this. I had send this to her.
I just love, love, LOVE this guy! He’s beautiful, wonderful, and somehow taps into our universal, inquisitive mind. I admire how he deftly balances between the casual and intellectual without pulling any punches or “dumbing it down.” But as he is a professor, I imagine he’s quite well practiced at that. I’m grateful for his generosity to a plebeian like myself. The Socrates of our time. Thanks for believing in your audience. Bravo!
You might just be a perfect academic. Complete dedication to the material you study with an uncanny ability to separate your faith from the information you present, without losing stock in either. You never cease to amaze esoterica :D
How is that preferable to an academic who does not hold beliefs in he supernatural or pseudoscientific? I find the ability to be irrational in a specific area of life a shortcoming, not a desirable ability.
@@vids595 Please don’t tip your fedora at me. Someone who can put aside their personal beliefs to teach something that conflicts with those beliefs doesn’t have an academic shortcoming, they have academic integrity. If a teacher is a devout Christian but chooses to teach the contradictory theory of evolution without batting an eye or trying to insert their beliefs to the lesson, do those beliefs invalidate their teachings? No. To teach fact, regardless of your feelings or the religion you subscribe to, is real genuine academic integrity. Just because someone has a religion doesn’t mean they can’t also be dedicated to fact. Academic shortcomings would be if that hypothetical teacher, or Esoterica for that matter, were to sit in front of a class and say “oh this is what they say but I know they are wrong because of (insert belief here).” which Esoterica has never done. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
The Darwinian model of evolution does not contradict Christian theology. What it contradicts is creationism - the belief that beings exist now as God created them thousands of years ago. The geologist Charles Lyell, who was a friend of Charles Darwin, presented evidence in his magisterial three-volume work titled Principles of Geology for the understanding that the Earth had to be older than 6,000 years as claimed by the Bible. Thus, scripture was contradicted. The real question here is not “can science be reconciled with theology?” It is really a theological or intellectual conflict between people who adhere to the letter of the law (Christian fundamentalists and creationists in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Churches) and those who adhere to the spirit or essence of the law, as in the case of German theologians like Thomas Muntzer and Paul Tillich. The reason why Paul Tillich, a 20th century theologian who, like Jacques Ellul, Nikolai Fyodorov, Vladimir Solovyov, Nikolai Berdayev, Reinhold Niebuhr, Soren Kierkegaard, Rene Girard, Teilhard de Chardin, Fr. Georges Lemaitre, Sergei Bulgakov, Maria de Naglowska (the 20th century Christian Gnostic, theologian, universalist, humanist, libertarian socialist, and one-time lover of Julius Evola, the right-wing reactionary Italian scholar and self-described “Pagan Traditionalist”), is never brought up in theological debates or intellectual debates between Christian apologists and atheists or humanists is because the tradition of exegesis or biblical hermeneutics is something most people who are anti-religious don’t give a rat’s ass about; thus it becomes impossible for them to see how any theologian could suggest, as Paul Tillich did, that “there is a latent spiritual community” in the Pagan philosophers and the Pagan mystery cults, and in Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism as well. Paul Tillich authored Christian apologetics but he saw other religions and cultures as having some inherent worth and dignity and pushed for religious socialism. Almost all of the Christian theologians I mentioned above were defenders of Christian socialism as a theological or intellectual stance. Yet if you only pay attention to the loudest and most vocal of Christian theologians, you’ll only get the ones on the Christian right. You won’t get to hear what David Bentley Hart, an Eastern Orthodox Christian and philosopher has to say about the nature of the divine or the existence of God. Another Christian socialist (David Bentley Hart is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America). The statement “I don’t have to be a scholar” is going to turn the younger generations into dim witted imbeciles like Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is a biologist and a scientist, not a theologian. Yet he takes every consideration of sacred scriptures as literal renderings of scripture. The Homeric literature did not, in fact, have the Pagan philosophers and the Pagan mystery cults to interpret the Homeric literature - no, only the books in-and-of themselves communicate what it is that Pagans actually believed and practiced. This approach to the study of theology or religion ignores the academic research in theological studies or intellectual studies more generally, which give us new insights into the nature of reality and thus reflect upon our interpretation of sacred scriptures. The statement that all theological or “supernatural” beliefs are irrational is neither offensive nor an argument which has convinced me to give up my own Pagan or occult religious beliefs. That is because I consider the mystical and the sacred as relating to certain universal and objective moral truths which can rightly be considered divinely-inspired, inasmuch as God - from a philosophical or an intellectual standpoint - is the metaphysical groundwork of all being, ontologically speaking. Thus I do not need a dogmatic theology or a formal dogmatic religion to arrive at this Truth - it is metaphysically True inasmuch as it combines reason and faith into a harmonious whole. The rational intellect must be merged with the believing heart that beats for its Gods and for the experience of initiation into their sacred mysteries or sacraments. In our tradition, the Gods are all aspects of one Godhead, and an individual takes one of the deities and devotes his worship to it and its sacred mysteries as his God, or as the supreme personality of God from among the various deities. Given that my philosophical or intellectual positions are based in a metaphysics of objective idealism, or the belief that reality is essentially mental in nature, it is very easy for me to believe in a personal God from a more classical theistic perspective: one who absolutely does interact with us through our intuition and through the practice of prayer, ritual, personal sacrifice, initiation, and contemplation (or meditation). The pursuit of knowledge and culture and the cultivation of the soul or mind as the essential nature of man (his eternal, unchanging, True Self) being the central aim of our religious observance, it is necessary to break free from the chains of eternally unchanging theological dogmas and religious laws that are intent on keeping man from attaining to his Higher Self or individuality by teaching him to believe in “reverence for the ancient law” and “the fear of God.” (which is not only the beginning of wisdom for religious fundamentalists but the end of the cultivation of any kind of wisdom). The attempt by Abrahamic religious fundamentalisms to hobble everything that is beautiful and strong through adherence to an uncritical reading of the Five Books of Moses and the Qur’an is an approach to the study of scripture that is diametrically opposed to the experience of initiation into a set of sacred mysteries that the religions and cultures of the world - through their differences of opinion about Truth - are supposed to teach, enlighten, and liberate. While conservative and modernist interpretations of religious belief both have their merit, there is quite literally no pedagogical or educational value to the theology, legalism, or authoritarian religion that has been pursued so assiduously by the “Christian right.”
Love this video, a nice summation of what I’ve been studying the last year. Makes me feel that I’m actually learning from my pile of books instead of having it pushed right back out of my head by random internet stuff.
Very erudite, scholarly and accurate summary of our current understanding of the subject. Very impressive. Haven't seen any of this channel's videos before, so I was skeptical at first - too many uninformed videos out there.. So this was a pleasant surprise. Very nice introduction on how honest it is to make faith the handmaiden of reason once again - even if we find the results uncomfortable or troubling.
God has led me on this journey of exploration and this is the first real video where I feel like the origin of something I love has been put before me in an easily digestible way. From a 25 year old student thanks :)
Just want to say, I'm Christian and love this video. My faith is strong as ever, but I love learning about this. You would think it would shake my belief system, but quite the opposite. I love how you basically say the same thing. I'm studying Biblical Hebrew, and I love the tongue-in-cheek references to the Baal Cycle in the Bible and all that. Thanks for your video. We also recently dissected the Hebrew in Judges 5 and debated whether it was indeed older or "mimicked" older poetry like how someone today may use "thou" or "mine eyes." Still, we noted that this passage and Exodus 15 both display warrior and weather god qualities. It's been a fun ride so far. I also chuckled when you mentioned Hiph'il verbs. And yes, I realize the meaning of my name. I think it's special, this "merging." And THANK YOU for mentioning Zaphon versus Zion. That was awesome.
Why is your Faith stronger than ever? You can see how the Church-dictated Christian OT God is really a mix of politics and bits and pieces of pagan versions.
@@themel5436 let me apply the same logic to other facets. how about that coffee you drink? Seems like just a whole mix of processing and packaging. Doesn't seem worth drinking. Same for your clothes. You can see the threads have gone through how many machines. What's the point of wearing if it doesn't come off the sheep itself anymore? I'm not trying to anger you, and this isn't even my entire approach to my faith. Just know I will never force Christianity on you, so please let me believe in my spaghetti monster :)
This was a sublime and fascinating lecture. The hours of research you distilled here down to one video are remarkable. You've definitely earned another subscriber!
I agree. Maybe A tad long & yet not long enough for "the heavy" Heavenly- wealth of necessary subject matter #YHWY Arguably 1 of his Best Videos from the few dozen lectures I've absorbed.
I literally just yesterday started looking into the Canaanite religion and putting the pieces together that YHVH was likely viewed as synonymous with the Canaanite El. What serendipity that this gets not only uploaded, but recommended to me the day after! Thanks for the video, gives me some insight! Also, what I particularly have found fascinating about my research: the fact that El, as well as his son Ba'al, were commonly represented as bulls. The "golden calf" that's given literally no explanation in Exodus, probably represented one of these 2 gods. Potentially even El himself, which was how many at that time probably viewed their patron god. But then there's also Moloch, which many today believe was not the name of a god, but the name of the ceremony of child sacrifice; and the bull-headed idol was likely meant to be a representation of how those particular Israelites viewed El/YHVH. So it might've not been that they were adopting a pagan god that demanded child sacrifices, but rather that they perceived El/YHVH as demanding such a worship.
So when did sheep get added to the Mix? To prevent them from feeding "Evil" or "Good" so has the real name of the Judaic Gods been replaced with their counterparts? So the ceremony of Christ on the Cross. Is simply a "Sacrifice" of a "Child" but to what and who and what did these pagans get in return? Knowledge* spirtual empowerment*, or energy& or New technology*
@@dannylo5875 For clarity's sake, I want to preface I'm not an expert. As far as I know, sheep were a big part of the Israelite community as a livestock, but their incorporation in Jewish religion was almost always as a sacrificial animal, even in the early days it seems to be their primary function in terms of worship to YHVH. I believe the only depiction of sheep being sacred was with the intervention of Christianity, where Jesus, who acts as a sacrifice, is connotated with the depiction of a lamb, a common sacrificial animal if I recall. As far as the name for God, any of the ones that have a prominent "El" (Elohim, El Shaddai, etc.) could be presumed to be tied to Canaanite religion, where as the name YHVH (Yahweh) seems to be original apart from the Canaanite beliefs, whether it came before, or after with the writing of the Torah. For Christianity, Jesus' sacrifice has always had heavy ties to the sacrificial system; as mentioned before, Jesus is often described as a lamb, but his sacrifice has also been tied to the binding of Isaac, not only with the parallel of a father sacrificing their son, but also in the fact that God provided Abraham an alternative to Isaac in the form of a ram, believed by Christians to be a parallel to how Jesus' sacrifice was to alleviate humanity's condemned fate. In terms of sacrifices, their seems to be 2 different reasons given. One of those is atonement for sin; the other however, in earlier portions of the Torah, like in Exodus, a sacrifice was a sign of appreciation to God for what you have been blessed with, and the sacrifice was the firstborn male of every womb: woman, livestock, everything! However, some animals were not fit for sacrifice, like donkeys; in such cases you would 'redeem' the firstborn with a substitute, for donkeys it was one of your flock animals; if you couldn't find a substitute, you broke the donkey's neck. Now for children, sacrifices were also to be made, but it was always meant to be 'redeemed', as in substituted with something else, typically a monetary offering to the religious elders; however there was no mention of what to do in the case that there was no substitute, it only says to "redeem all firstborn sons", presumably being the only option; but perhaps some believed that in cases where substitution was not given, they had to actually sacrifice their sons, but there's no knowing for sure. For pagans however, human sacrifice was almost always viewed as a way to receive peace and prosperity, whether the belief was that it satiated the gods being sacrificed to, or that the gods would give you 'favor' in return; it was also more common in pagan culture to make a deal with the gods, and only sacrifice a child once that deal was met. Like someone offers their child in exchange for an abundant harvest, and if their wish seems to be sufficiently granted, they would then go through with the sacrifice. Pretty grisly stuff if you ask me, but that's the antient world for ya.
@@OldTimeyDragon Any "god" that calls for the death of another for atonement is a ""a god of murder" and was a murderer from the beginning. "Jesus" was murdered for speaking against the religous and lawgivers of his time. He was never a "sacrifice" for others. His sacrifice for mankind was to enter this world to speak his Father's Truth.. for which he was killed! Truthgivers, even today, are killed for speaking against the system.
The "Queen of Heaven" was a title of Inanna. Inanna became Ishtar. Who became Astarte. So any reference to "The Queen of Heaven" is most probably a nod to Astarte / Assherah assimilation.
A title is a title. A connection only exists if there was one done. For example, is the native religion of the natives in Brazil derived from Indo European Mythology and Semitic Mythology? Because Tupã also has the title of a Storm and Order god of wisdom and soldier bravery.
Thank you so much for this! I can stop telling people this in long chats on occult Discord servers and just link this and say "this is roughly my framework when I'm dealing with "Angels" as their own divinities". Amazing summary. Thank you Dr Sledge!!
I'm afraid you will still need some explanation, since I watched the video and am left unsure what the specific operative assumptions of your framework is. Indeed, a historicized account does not imply a metaphysical framework or occult framework. A monotheist, for instance, will simply interpret the historical development of Yahweh, in all its complexities, as the exoteric expression of progressive revelation through gradual embodied assimilation by the pious. A polytheist and henotheist will each give a different reading of the history, although they all agree on the facts. But where the polytheist interpretation will differ is how they take The One as different from Yahweh, rather than a further, deepening revelation of the same undivisible deity.
“this episode is a testament of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good…” Humility after achievement. Nice. Ist episode, new subscriber. Lets’s learn…
Great video! I LOVE this subject and pretty much everything you cover on your channel…the “Recommended Readings” section in the description is truly appreciated! Thank you, you are scholar and a gentleman!
Honestly, this video has answered me SO many questions about the description of God in the Old Testament, about why the people of Moses chose to worship a golden bull and so much more! It's been such a great trip!!
@@northernwolf9196 Agreed. As a pagan you can definitely see parallels between different pantheons. Cool to see how gods from different cultures correlate to each other.
This dissertation deserves a standing ovation for how well you researched, digested and presented the information in an unbiased and professional manner. STANDING OVATION!
It’s like our gods are based upon our level of awareness, as humanity grows and evolves, so must the gods. The history of the assimilation is a reflection of the awareness of humanity and our belief systems over time.
Looking at what is happening in the world now is kind of giving me a new perspective on how religion came to be what it is. Not really how it came to be a thing in the first place, but how it got to where we are, now. Because Pagan cultures were always completely at home with adding to their religions or creating new interpretations of things, but never with abandoning religion altogether. A God only ever stopped being worshipped if it's entire purpose was completely absorbed by another deity to the point of redundancy. Hell, with many religions, you could walk across all the nations of a specific culture group and get several different names for the same exact deity that weren't used elsewhere, as well as hear completely different & contradictory stories about them & the origins of the earth which would all be being believed by some practitioners of the exact same religion at the exact same time. But, religion and society influenced each other greatly. Societies started with simple ideological principles which were probably put in place for seemingly sensible reasons and got more complex the more complex society itself got. Even looking at terrible things, like the Jews demanding that women should marry their rapists- well, if women aren't able to do certain things a man can do by law, then they are partly useless for a parent to keep on once marriable & if it's colloquially accepted that men refuse to touch women who've already been touched, then you'd be stuck with a useless mouth for the rest of your life if you didn't force that, as terrible as that is. And Religion began to, not only explain how the world formed, but also why society operates by the laws it does, why people are supposed to find one thing acceptable and another thing unacceptable & adding the element of a command by an all powerful deity scares people into being rather strict about application, irregardless of the harm it's capable of doing. That harm created a world where a lot of people may have fell through the cracks or felt disenfranchised by the system. Empires rose & wildly different cultures shared knowledge and became brothers & we end up with a couple failed early attempts at new religion in Atenism & Zoroastrianism before we basically end up with Christianity, Islam & Bhuddism virtually all at once, who begin dividing up the whole of the earth between them. I'm starting to think these people either meant well in trying to save all those disinfranchised people, but didn't realize that what they were teaching was creating a new version of the exact same problem they were trying to solve, or if they were just so angry, they wanted to invent a new standard of perfection that they were able to hold to and force everyone else to hold themselves to it too, to cause people deliberate pain as a punishment for disinfranchising them in the first place. Maybe even a mix of both? Of course, all those religions went about carving up the world in wildly different ways from one another, but I do think they all arose from a similar place, honestly. Now, we're kind of at a place where it's happening all over again, but people are fighting over whether we should alter the pre-existing ways yet again, bring back a modern version of the old ways, or just abandon the concept of religion altogether as archaic and damaging.
@@milliondollarmistake now that would be an interesting debate… was the internet divinely inspired?? Wonder what the founders of the internets’ belief systems are…
RUclips recommended this video and I’m so glad I watched it! It’s the first I’ve seen on this channel and I’m very impressed. I’ve been interested in how Christianity evolved into what it is today, and this was my first introduction to Yahweh history. It took over 5 hours to get through the video, with all the pauses I needed to look up something named or discussed (yes, it definitely could be a semester course and where do I sign up?!) or to rewind and listen to a piece several times. Overall, it was fascinating. Very well done, thank you!
Agree. Of necessity I accessed my dictionary several times. I'll subscribe. Although I regard religions as silly, the historicity of their origins within unscientific minds, and within the global events of their times, is absolutely riveting. The sub 1% genetic difference between chimpanzees and humankind has wrought some wonderful changes.
All of it originally stemmed from the allegorical storylines of earliest humans plotting the seasonal changes for the glory of harvest and teaching the celestial maps for community encouragement in the collaborative understanding of farming in pre pagan cultures worldwide- history gives count of dozens of storylines which parallel the structures in the allegorical expression of the night sky. Read the origin of all religious worship. Its solar mythology. Also, humans have developed many times. Pre- OUR historical written records, racism was not in existance, and environmental hysteria was recorded to be catalystic for religious splaying with the warfare of survivalist propagandized power vacuums.
6:00 "The moment we allow our faith to dictate history we really betrayed both" is the line which I will follow to see history. You have given me such a great teaching thanks for this. 🙏Respect🙏 from INDIA🇮🇳
"When we allow our faith to dictate history, we betray both" - Esoterica
I like it
Facts matter.
I need to remember that quote. Thank You Doctor.
That was a great quote! Based.
Yeah, that intro!
Spoken like a true scholar
As much as I appreciate and endorse your scholarly rigor, I think most of my living family would spontaneously combust upon hearing your excellent lecture.
😂😂😂
@@geneh460 wait, but it wouldn’t be spontaneous, isn’t there a clear cause? 🤣
@danieltalbot8358 Here's the issue. There is a skewed sample space in my family. You would have to frame the event as spontaneous as a matter of survival. If you gave that many narcissistic and sociopathic people an opening to blame anyone else for their bad (re)actions, the gaslighting would be epic. So my story is spontaneous and I'm sticking to it.
Sounds like proof of a damn good lecture LOL
That means he’s doing it right 😊
My Youth Pastor once told me that studying Theology as a person of faith can really be a test of that faith. Having to confront your beliefs with facts about early human understanding. This is such a great essay. RIP Uncle Randy.
The Lutherans fix that problem by saying one can't use the historical-critical method of interpretation because the Bible isnt an historical account of events. You can only use the words in the Bible. And maybe Martin Luther. Something like that. My theology is pretty rusty.
Independent search for Truth! The more I learn the stronger my faith has become. So many things get changed with each translation that lately I've gone to the Hebrew text to try and understand things. Once it's been translated into Greek so many things get changed and then another translation into Latin or English even more changes to the text and the meaning behind it.
I'm from Germany and I had religious studies at school. One of my teacher was studying for a doctorate in theology and he described his seminary as atheism factory.
@@sophigenitor sounds very cynical, studying this kind of stuff really should never drive anyone to atheism unless there were already some preverbal wolves in the sheep pen.
@@memeboi6017 Why would someone who isn't 100% committed to their faith spend the time and effort to study theology?
Finding authentic religious scholarship on RUclips is like finding a gold needle in a rotten haystack.
Thank you for the work you do!
@kg30004 a normal needle in a normal haystack is harder to find ye
@@ryandjl8541 Magnet. Now onto my more interesting scenario, find a specific needle in a needlestack. How's that?
Finding anything that doesn't make you dumber for having watched it is nearly impossible on yt.
@kg30004 Watch Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou , her knowledge of this era is astounding.
I’m in the midst of a crisis-of-faith-fueled theological bender and this video is incredibly insightful and well made. Thank you so much.
The simultaneous outpouring of academic and religious integrity alongside personal honesty and incredibly entertaining content across your livestreams, videos and interviews is truly the most precious gift RUclips has received since its very inception. I hope that content like yours, Dr. Angela’s, Seekers of Unity’s, Religion for Breakfast’s, Let’s Talk Religion’s and the Modern Hermeticist’s will inspire many others as much as it has inspired me. This little corner of RUclips stands as a rock amongst tempestuous waters, and though scholarship and historical research is as fluid and evolving as it always has been, the recognition of that fact is what separates the grain from the chaff. My most sincere and joyous gratitude goes out to you.
Comments like this makes it so worth it - so many profound and sincere thanks.
I couldn't have put it any better!
Completely agree, this is my favourite corner of this platform and this channel in particular is probably, for my tastes, the single best channel on the entire platform in ANY corner of it.
Best comment ever tops mine, and I comment very well always but very glad you for your comment, we should be putting out other channels more often and viewers and creators for the rest of us. I plan to this on my videos! Shoutout to the channels I follow. Stay tuned…
This has the vibe of a canticle and It made me smile hard. (A very Well earned thanks, of course.)
It's interesting that he was a warrior storm god, given that the Greeks also worshipped a pantheon of gods led by a storm god.
I guess that says a lot about how deeply storms affected early civilization as a whole.
Implications are that the prehistoric Indo-European migrations across Eurasia are a likely origin. Their chief god was a storm god. It spread all over and seems to have been adapted to cultures in many places. Which wasn't unusual, at all, for polytheistic religions. Also, much later during the Late Bronze Age, one of the tribes of the "Sea Peoples" (raiders), whom the Pharaoh had settled in the Levant after defeating them in a battle, as part of a peace settlement, is believed to have originated in Bronze Age Mycenaean Greece . The "Peleset" tribe, as they were called by the ancient Egyptians. Believed to have then become the Philistines. Along with the mention in the Egyptian history, there have also reportedly been cultural artifacts from that period found in the area also linking that theory of migration/settlement by Mycenaeans. Although a storm god would've likely already been a staple in the area by that point, so I doubt the Mycenaean pantheon would've changed much in regards to that.
@@NefariousKoel I think that George Carlin said it well that we should worship the Sun. Most of our overt energy comes from it. Storms are really the result of the radiance of the Sun as the cause. But then space itself seems to be a void that is jam packed with potential energy. Is this void at a high level of conscious that only non verbal part of the human mind can intuit? Do we misunderstand it and call it the Creator of the Universe? How is possible to be separate from it?
Baal was sometimes identified with YHWH or El and in the Hellenistic time period there was worship of Baal Zeus.
@@stevenv6463 Those were the days when YHWH was having a Baal!
@@edwardvgarrick8748 Isn't Yahweh said to ride cherubs, not clouds?
"When we allow our faith to dictate our history , we really just betrayed both"
Well spoken Sir.
I like how well versed you are about a myriad of different cultures and theologies , and how you are able to take a step back and outline connections between those without taking a dogmatic tone. This approach makes it much more palatable to those that are less anchored in a particular faith.
Agree with you and may I recommend you a book that full of historical evidence called Vain Traditions.
It’s not accurate at all
Indeed, betrayed BOTH.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 And that's exactly what he's doing.
I can't express how much I appreciate your integrity
agree with you on that one
Wow, that’s all I can say. Keeping your religion and history apart testifies of great integrity. I watched this video with great interest and am looking eagerly forward to the second episode.
I don't dictate the history I do my best to be as honest and thorough as I can. I just deeply appreciate everyone coming on the journey with me.
@@TheEsotericaChannel i think we all likewise deeply appreciate your willingness to be a pathfinder 🙏
I'll second that!
Whenever I watch a video by Esoterica, I feel like I'm getting a University lecture FAR more engaging, fascinating, and Incredibly thought provoking than anything I've learned in a lecture theatre. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Doctor.
ChatGPT could never write an introduction as beautiful and concise as the one we just heard!!!!
It can now.🤔
Chat GPT: For example, throughout history, religious beliefs have been used to justify wars, genocide, and other atrocities. In such cases, the use of faith to dictate history can be seen as a betrayal of the values and principles that are supposed to guide religious practice.
Furthermore, by allowing faith to dictate history, the accuracy and integrity of historical records may be compromised, leading to a distorted or incomplete understanding of the past. As such, this quote suggests that it is important to separate religious beliefs from the interpretation and recording of historical events to ensure a more accurate and truthful understanding of our collective history.
@@need2know739 we'll end up making the Borg at some point with this stuff ;)
@@TheEsotericaChannel you should read the wars of gods and men by zechariah sitchin
It can now
As a fellow academic in the humanities, I applaud your willingness to tackle this topic publicly. A most promising trend!
“When we allow our faith to dictate history, we really betrayed both” love it, you have my respect sir!
Our Akkadian. ancestors, around 2500 to 2000 B.C., worshiped God and called Him (Aya) and Eal) in Arabic is a letter calling out to someone far away. But they made the angels control the universe without referring to God, so they established what is called (the complex of the gods) consisting of multiple statues, each statue symbolizing the king of angels # Therefore, each king had a specific function, so we find the complex of gods among the Akkadians (ancestors of the Babylonians) consisting of small statues It symbolizes some important angels. Prophet Abraham in the time of the Akkadians around the year 2000 BC, and he took advantage of people going out to celebrate one of their holidays, and destroyed the small statues and put the ax in the neck of the large statue without destroying it # which symbolizes him with the angel of death or (Azar) and in Arabic his names are (Azrael) and (Asher) In the Assyrian civilization # and the Egyptians called him. (Osiris) 🤔 Abraham's goal is to teach his people # If he controls life and death as you think without referring to God, why didn't his companions save # other small gnomes from collapsing or dying
@@alihady-qc6xytu eri testimone del tutto😳😳😳?!!
What if you have faith in TRUTH?
Life is short and we will die and we do not know what will happen to us in the world after death. Just as you believe in accurate scientific research in this life and do not accept random research that is not based on the conditions of science... Likewise, you must be certain that the world after death is also based on wise, non-material laws. Therefore, Our interpretations and analyzes must begin with faith first
@@archangel_one whose truth?
I so appreciate this video! There was A LOT of dense information, but it answered some questions I've had for decades. See, I was "that kid" in Sunday school that asked the awkward questions, labeled a "doubting Thomas" from about 2nd or 3rd grade. When I was 12 or 13 I asked, " What happened to change God from a God of War to a God of love and peace? It sounds like multiple personality disorder to me." And was promptly kicked out for "being disruptive." Finally! I found a scholarly video that provides a reasonable and nearly scientific explanation. Thank you, so very much!
Wow, you nailed it as a young kid!! Most adults are oblivious or in denial
Yes I always wondered that, first and second testament God have never seem to have anything to do with each other
I've always asked questions too. I grew up Southern Babtist so the switch was waiting on me when I got home. Sometimes the belt, depending on which parent was hitting me.
I just went along with my mom to make her happy. You can’t fool a high IQ child with fairytales for very long.
"Severed hands flying around Anat like a storm of locusts."
damn that so metal!
"Bat metal Hands hard Rockin"
Llamas-with-hats vibes.
@@JakeSmith-em5sh That made me think about how progressive religions are becoming. "Showers of blood" "fire" "doom" "Zombie Apocalypse"
@@dannylo5875 progressive? more like regressive.....
@@junglie Wouldn't that imply they were better before?
This is seriously one of the Top 10 videos on RUclips
Definitely not better than 8 year olds opening Legos
Not to mention dogs cuddling kittens!@@TheEsotericaChannel
@@nozecone dang you might actually have him with that one. I love deep diving into topics like that. But who doesn't love some cuddling baby animals? Especially across species lines!
You want to know your God "Allah" ( Elohim) Read the Coran "Yahwew" was the god of the people of Sinaï as in egyption papyrus reveal
@@heartsfear9216 thats a troll copypasting for ragebait, I saw the same reply under another comment.
When this got to El and Yahweh combining, and then Yahweh vs Baal, I was riveted, like I was watching some big action movie. You do a great job telling these topics!
@@nimmieamee1988 right!? 😁
Perhaps up there in the sky they are all still arguing it out in the Council of the Gods.
I would not say they combinated or fused but thematically was the same character!
It’s also important to understand how we talking about different peoples with different spoken languages and cultures!
@@John-vz5unthe council of gods mean about the Trinity also so
Dziękujemy.
Thanks for sharing this knowledge and wisdom, it's genuinely staggering that content of this quality is freely available 🙏🏼
Thanks for all the great learning shared.
I usually have no patience for videos in which one guy just stares into the camera and delivers his monologue, but Dr Justin Sledge actually captured all my attention because what he was saying was so deep and evocative. I found myself replaying short segments over again to make sure I was following what he was saying. I almost never do that with anyone else's videos.
Great quality of information and production! I appreciate it, thank you ❤
As an archaeology student and folklore enthusiast who has thus far put off reading the bible, this video was a nice contextualization of so many familiar ideas. Thank you.
My favorite section of the Bible is _Samuel_ and _Kings_ (obviously cuz I'm named after it lol). It's an excellent jumping-in point for modern readers that covers the decision to appoint the first king of the Hebrews, how the head of the temple Samuel had a whole bunch of reasons why having a king is a terrible idea but went ahead and appointed one due to pressure from the people, going all the way up to the reign of King David and all the pros and cons that came with that.
Samuel / Kings is a straight 4 books of solid narration focused on just a few consistent characters in-depth and why they made the decisions they made.
Unlike books like Deuteronomy or even Exodus, the whole David arc holds up really well in terms of readability and narrative focus. Could easily be adapted into some _Game of Thrones_ type drama if you dug into the history around it and fleshed out the enemy factions a little.
"When we allow our faith to dictate our history, we really have just betrayed both."
I was listening to this while I was driving and I almost crashed my car!
I really like that humility, scholarship is really just a process of "failing better"
Yep anything else is hubris
I find your videos endlessly fascinating as a non religious person. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
there is people that were claiming egypt is black
because kemet meant dark soil,,
i stipulated to them if you going to have that logic
than it would also be applied
->to the land of Milk and Honey
would be a white Milky-skin with Honey blonde-hair ,
so the land of milk and honey would have nothing to do with
bees and cows or black africans.
the land of milk and honey would have
everything to do with Milky skin and Honey coloured hair
in their own afrocentric logic.
the Afrocentric quickly block me and then go on pretending
they can have it both ways Black egyptian because of black-land kemet but then ignore
the land of white-Milk and yellow-Honey and pretend that means the land of bees an cows?.
they cannot handle the truth even when you tell them.
Humans are easily deceived.He is the demon who came out of the burning bush
@@JimObsolete I feel sorry for you, for the world that made you feel this guy is a threat. My wishes you find peace
@@JimObsolete sir, are you a gnostic?
Yes, indeed! And there is a special book that explained paganism, it is called Vain Traditions and back up with historical evidence. You may want to read it!
"When we allow our faith to dictate history, we betray both" You have my sub purely for this. Absolute Facts
That got me too! Bravo
Saaaame!
This video completely ignores the Egyptian influence in Judaism.
I’ve spent most of my life as a devout Christian, and my spiritual awakening began around 2020. As I went inward, the truths I discovered resonated deeply with Gnostic teachings. I believe that Jesus was meant to show us how to live from our soul’s essence, which is unconditional love.
I read Mark Smith's "The Early History of God" a while ago, but while I found it fascinating, I struggled with digesting a lot of it. This video truly helped me grasp a lot of the finer points. Thank you!
What is something that would make all believers of Yahweh throw up in the metaphorical sense about everything about him
@@Stone-faced the fact that he had a beginning.
When you beat Jehovah's first stage, but then He rips off His shirt and yells, "NOW I FIGHT AS YAHWEH, WARRIOR!"
That was funny😒
😂
You win
🤣 you got me
😂😂😂😂😂
Brother, I am very grateful for this concise and informative exploration of the Pre/Proto-Abrahamic pantheon. I saw several already established/confirmed similarities with numerous Jungian archetypes of several sky/storm chieftain deities: Odin, Thor, Indra, Tlaloc, Zeus, Jupiter, Dyauspitr, etc. This video provided me with assurance that omnitheistic conclusions I have been arriving at about divine symbolism are on the precise path.
Omnitheistic, that's an interesting word
lol most of those are the same people, deified, given different names in different cultures. The name Jupiter developed from the phrase "Yahweh Pater" (Jah-pater). Zeus is another name for the patriarch Judah, one of the sons of Israel. Odin (Wodanaz) is another name for Dan, another son of Israel. Israel himself came to be known as Kronos...
Most so called gods are either angels who "left their first estate", related to the Genesis 6 account...Their hybrid offspring produced with daughters of Adam (the mighty men of old, men of renown)... Or deified ancestors, many of whom are in fact Jacob aka Israel, his sons, or prominent descendants of theirs.
@@doxholiday1372 u should take ur meds, youtube comments is not the right place to cope
@jesusnotagodnorsonofgodonl3159 OK
@@doxholiday1372
Zeus = Life
Yaweh = Existence
This is the first time I see someone talk about this and I'm so excited as the entire Yahwe/El thing has been on my mind for years and years.
“If we allow our faith to dictate our history, we’ve really just betrayed both.” That is a powerful quote that I will do my damndest to never forget. Absolute truth!
It doesn't make any sense. You can't prioritize something over your faith otherwise you don't actually have faith in it.
@@thefool3424 your name is stunningly fitting to your perspective.
Do you still believe that we originated from 2 humans?
@@bobfrancis123 perfect quote!
@thefool3424 Faith is a belief without evidence. History is the study of the past based on fact. You're proposing belief over fact.
Your content has been so healing for me, it gives such a real, refreshing, full picture to religion.
Fantastic! I've studied the origins of yhwh for so long and never heard it put this succinctly before. I always learn new things on your channel. Thank you!
Hindu , Indra, El is Saturn Rudra who's star is Sirius, he was known to the Assyrians as Ashur ( Enlil) who was replaced by Murduk ( Jupiter ) Yahweh .
SO thankful for the book recommendations at the end. I was getting ready to ask for suggestions in the comments, but you succinctly addressed this at the end. Have a great day!
This is my favorite episode so far. Your research is so in depth it boggles the mind. And your dedication to truth over belief is noble...This episode made so much sense of the Yhwh of the Bible. Information is a powerful tool
As soon as El assimilation came up, I was just waiting for that Psalm 82 shout-out, and on the edge of my seat when you mentioned El's divine council. You made my day! Thank you!
And I am deeply impressed how well you can summarize in just over forty minutes here, what I'd consider the most memorable and significant chunk of my undergraduate studies. And I still learned a thing or two! I found your channel maybe two or three weeks ago, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The depth and breadth of your knowledge on this scholarship blows me away.
I know!!! El and Yahweh is such a complex, fun, and complicated issue and the fact he sums it up pretty well in 40ish minutes is impressive as hell
0pp
Hebrew version of Joshua 24:14 is another great verse showing that people cannot continue conflating Yahweh with the Elohim. It says to worship Yahweh and put down the Elohim (that are repeatedly mentioned in Genesis).
@@johnnada9058also the connections between Chemosh/Utu and Elohim further distinguish them from Yahweh.
@@johnnada9058 these people have ruined and butchered both hebraic meaning of words and Old English sub put down Elohim Elohim means god simply so it says put down weird gods are false gods strange Gods strange Idols that's what it means roughly and EL is male and was adopted to Latin if you look at old Latin classic Latin they don't have that it was adopted from hebraic classic writing but if you cannot find it in the Bible or modern Torah none of these Scholars are actual Hebrews they made up their own religion.
Justin, if there are any shortcomings, they are certainly NOT due to your efforts. Quite simply, a magisterial introduction for the masses. Thank you!
Your scholastic humility is impressive, I saw no shortcomings here. Thank you for sharing, Dr. Most informative, very, very, interesting. ❤
Thanks! It is so refreshing to find an actual authority on things! I’m fascinated, but rather ignorant in this space
To be clear, I'm not an expert on Egyptian mythology but all of this is based on solid, scholarly evidence.
"Yahwism went into exile; Judaism came back." Brilliant.
It's important not to underestimate the influence of Zoroastrianism post exile in the conception of Yahweh. The tension you speak of between a universal god and a porochial god is the tension between henotheism yahwehism snd monotheistic Zoroastrianism post exposure to the Persian empire. Between Yahweh and ahura Mazda
Did ahura Mazda have bearing on the old testament/intertestamental understanding of Satan? For instance...in the way the Greek Pan shaped that entity's physiognomy?
@@jazmendunham7666 idk but that would certainly be a great subject for a graduate thesis
@@jazmendunham7666 From what I hear actually, yes! The conflict between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman is thought to have influenced the relationship between God and Satan, turning it into more of an adversarial relationship than what it was in Judaism.
Also the notion of dualism (good vs evil), afterlife and linear history toward the final judgement. Zoroastrianism is one of the most influential religion in history.
@@Akcija1930 jainism
I can't express how long I've been looking for a video like this. Thank you!
I’m an early career RE teacher with a background in philosophy, and this video is one of the most interesting things I have come across in any of my studies. It is absolutely fascinating and so insightful. Your comment at the start; “if we allow faith to dictate our history, we betray both.”
Absolutely electrifying.
Based on how much I have seen this shared all over Social Media, I predict this will be one of your most popular videos. Great stuff.
I just found that you have a free Patreon level, so no excuses, I joined with plans to upgrade and bought a $ Thanks $ on this video and I'm checking the merch.
Edit: Ordered my Clerical Necromantic Underground shirt! Woot!
This is a truly profound and powerful episode.
As I remember the legend of Abraham has Abraham leaving the city of UR in Sumeria and wandering in the dessert. When he asks the voice that whispers in his ears “which god he is ?”. The voice responds “I am God” or simply “El”.
Gross. I ate some of that dessert🙁
Great video, thanks! You might have come down a bit hard on Israelite prophets who resisted syncretism. I’m a Catholic priest, and in seminary we were taught syncretism tends to be very destructive, although obviously there is a level of assimilation (as you pointed out) that does happen especially in prayer formulation and such. Again, GJ! 👍🏻
"When we allow our faith to dictate our history, we really just betrayed both." Sagely spoken, good sir!
I mean it wouldn't really change the fact he is God at least for me it wouldn't
@@jamesblack4411 It should change your perspective on your faith. Given how your god is proven to have once been part of a polytheistic religion and a minor god in that religion.
You’re essentially saying “lalalalala, not listening” in a polite way.
It's sad because people can't deal with the _facts don't care about your feelings_ thing when said facts go against their beliefs
@fionn_mac_ribs7113 you can't prioritize something over you faith otherwise you don't actually have faith in it. So the saying doesn't make sense. Faith by definition means to believe in something without proof or evidence.
@@fionn_mac_ribs He was introduced into that pantheon by humans, then has to fight his way out of it. He orders the Asherah poles and images of Baal destroyed, basically destroying the rest of the pantheon as I believe he always intended. None of the actual prophets associate him with these other gods, and in the Bible he clearly makes them his enemies. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me"
That first six minutes where the subject matter is being introduced was remarkably humble & linguistically excused beautifully.
“if we allow our faith to dictate our history, we really just betrayed both”
Brilliantly said
From a Muslim who has always been intrigued with the history of Alchemy, the Hermetic tradition, Magia, European Cabala, etc., to a fellow Jew, who is a scholar of these particular subjects - cheers.
How do u reconcile this with the Islamic doctrine?
RUclips's been recommending some really good channels recently. I love this type of content
Please make this a full semester series.
Needs to be....at least that long!
Please!
Another quite splendid episode, pitched just right so as not to overwhelm the non-specialist, nor to bore those with a little more familiarity with this dauntingly dense topic. 🙏
I am so impressed you even tackled this topic let alone did such a good and thorough job. Speaking of your frequent jokes during the video of " why isn't this a heavy metal song ? " that totally reminds me of an obscure game people can play online ( not released in full. More like doing rock paper scissors in that anyone can play it and everyone owns it ) called " Bible Verse or Heavy Metal lyrics " where you just say either a bible verse or heavy metal lyrics and everyone else guesses which of the 2 things it is :3
Actually, I study in the historical musicology of Hebrew recitation, and to tell you the truth, a lot of the Hebrew Bible's poetry very well could have sounded like what we call 'Rock' or 'Metal'.
We can at best reconstruct tradition-strands of the melodic motion of any given piece, but for Rhythm, we are on much more solid ground.
I've successfully decoded the syllable-lengths of most song-poetry corpuses (it's not easy to do completely, because rules for syllable length evolved along with peoples's conception of what constitutes a syllable, and thus the length of vowels and the weight of consonants themselves evolved with the Hebrew language- and so older and newer poetry in the Hebrew Bible are not all as rhythmically even when certain later ways of pronunciation are applied... but most of it does work well when the oldest ways are inferred/reconstructed and applied.)
Anyway, yeah. Rhythmically, I mean, there are many songs in the Tanakh that remind me of metal. Psalm 2 reminds me of Power Metal, for example.
That sounds fun! A musical version of Hassid or Hipster. 😊
This is hilarious!
"When we allow our faith to dictate history, we really just betrayed both." Wow!
“When we allow our faith to dictate our history we fail both” such a healthy mindset!
It's Yahweh or the highway.
@@charlesdyer5348 great album
Thanks for making these videos. You are far more intelligent and credible than the vast majority of RUclipsrs.
Fart
Indeed, may I recommend you a book that full of historical evidence called Vain Traditions. Amazing book!
I very much like the way you present the material, setting aside any biases, religious or otherwise. Outstanding. And the one line , "When we allow our faith to dictate history, we betray both," is truly profound. I'll never forget that. I cannot thank you enough for giving your thoughts to the people of our world.
I've watched this 4 times on a loop so far. It's so fascinating. Thank you for this.
As he said himself, there is a lot of content about it. Don't fixate too much on his perspective, although it is a very good one. It is his in the sense that he put it together, but he would not claim credit over it. Learning from his scientific rigor, spread your wings!
There's something romantic about a brutal warrior growing into a wise and compassionate grandfather. The thought of the Yahweh known to the present wistfully remembering his rambunctious youth is rather endearing.
Christians still think of Yahweh is kind of a moody and unforgiving badass of a god.
@@ColtraneTaylor That’s Jimi Hendrix. Watching the guy who keeps debunking Jesus makes me want to completely clear my mind of the story of the Israelites. Why do I have any connection to those people. Is it love of God is it fair? God is this guilt. Is there any proof of any of it, maybe there was a guy name, Abraham. Surely they were some characters… And apparently there was a temple or two. But I think that any of it came from “God”… It’s a suspicious is any story about any God at any time any time. I’m a late bloomer.
@@johnnyxmusicIsn't the whole point of Christianity the fact that God is a compassionate and just being who always has time to forgive you for your sins?
@@nerdybacon6244depends on who your asking and what kind of mood they are in. I think most christians would agree that God is good to his friends and brutal towards his enemies, with his enemies being, well, anyone that doesn’t follow his every order to a t. Take a look at the book of Revelation, not a lot of compassion going on there. Same with basically any book of the Hebrew Bible, check out some of the stuff God does to the enemies of the Israelites and the stuff he says he’ll do to them in the future
Sounds cool, but if he's God, who is going to forgive his sins as a brutal warrior? Will he ever ask humanity forgiveness for what he put us through?
Dr. Sledge, your research is immensely appreciated. I really believe this is how people should study religion in general. By looking at it from the very begining and from all points of view. By not letting your findings offend you or your audience. But rather by keeping one's head clear and being impartial.
This is, without a doubt, the most amazing content I've ever seen. I have *always* wanted to see a well researched, documented series on esoteric/occult beliefs and theology, since the early 2000s, and finding this channel is like scratching an itch that's been just out of reach for 30 years. Thank you so much for making this so accessible and engaging. :)
Really? Most amazing ever?
@@abaker4692 Well, if we're going to be persnickety about it... Amazement is a subjective experience, and is technically not quantifiable. So, to the me that watched this while high off his ass at 2 am, this WAS the most amazing ever, yes.
This was an incredibly educative video. I've studied various mythos my entire life and Yahweh and Ba'al have never been on my reading list. Likely because I am Christian and would often get beaten for daring to question the origins of the stories as a child. Regardless, if you can't study the history and origins of these religions and find a good reason to stay devout you were never truly devout to begin with. There are many reasons to stay faithful, none of which relys on fear or peer pressure. These stories represent some of the greatest minds to have ever exist through thousands of years studying and explaining the human condition and how to both prevent and overcome every destructive state of mind you could possibly have. These writings are instruction manuals on how to lead a good life and how to keep your society prosperous. The human mind is complex and because it can contemplate any and all concepts, it needs a God to help it stay sane and true. No one individual can get through life alone. No human is perfect. It's not enough to rely on an imperfect creature beside you. You need a concept of perfection to keep moving in the right direction.
And how does old warrior God help you mirror becoming perfect
An objective morality for subjective beings, what a beauty. Your comment is an amazing description of what faith is, yet I find that when it is put to words it never gets to that perfect description that we have in our hearts (reminds me of saint Thomas Aquinas’ description of his work hehe). Also, when I started delving into religion, analyzing them (superficially, as someone who’s not a scholar), and cross examining them; I came to Christianity. I’ve delved deeper into the comparisons and apologetics between them instead of it’s origins so I’m quite new to this videos’ content, but tbh I am completely fascinated by this man’s capability to explain and apply the two of them in such a way, it’s really interesting 😋. Finally, I was expecting for my faith to be tested yet I find myself in utter fascination and awe when seeing this video. God bless, sir 😁😁
Stoked to watch this one. Thank you Dr. Sledge!
This is amazing. Great research and information. My gf is so fundamentalist Jewish with people who would never let her watch something like this. I had send this to her.
Love it! "when we allow our faith to dictate our history... We just betrayed both." so good!
I just love, love, LOVE this guy!
He’s beautiful, wonderful, and somehow taps into our universal, inquisitive mind.
I admire how he deftly balances between the casual and intellectual without pulling any punches or “dumbing it down.” But as he is a professor, I imagine he’s quite well practiced at that.
I’m grateful for his generosity to a plebeian like myself. The Socrates of our time. Thanks for believing in your audience. Bravo!
You might just be a perfect academic. Complete dedication to the material you study with an uncanny ability to separate your faith from the information you present, without losing stock in either. You never cease to amaze esoterica :D
How is that preferable to an academic who does not hold beliefs in he supernatural or pseudoscientific? I find the ability to be irrational in a specific area of life a shortcoming, not a desirable ability.
@@vids595 Please don’t tip your fedora at me. Someone who can put aside their personal beliefs to teach something that conflicts with those beliefs doesn’t have an academic shortcoming, they have academic integrity. If a teacher is a devout Christian but chooses to teach the contradictory theory of evolution without batting an eye or trying to insert their beliefs to the lesson, do those beliefs invalidate their teachings?
No. To teach fact, regardless of your feelings or the religion you subscribe to, is real genuine academic integrity. Just because someone has a religion doesn’t mean they can’t also be dedicated to fact.
Academic shortcomings would be if that hypothetical teacher, or Esoterica for that matter, were to sit in front of a class and say “oh this is what they say but I know they are wrong because of (insert belief here).” which Esoterica has never done.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
The Darwinian model of evolution does not contradict Christian theology. What it contradicts is creationism - the belief that beings exist now as God created them thousands of years ago. The geologist Charles Lyell, who was a friend of Charles Darwin, presented evidence in his magisterial three-volume work titled Principles of Geology for the understanding that the Earth had to be older than 6,000 years as claimed by the Bible. Thus, scripture was contradicted. The real question here is not “can science be reconciled with theology?” It is really a theological or intellectual conflict between people who adhere to the letter of the law (Christian fundamentalists and creationists in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Churches) and those who adhere to the spirit or essence of the law, as in the case of German theologians like Thomas Muntzer and Paul Tillich. The reason why Paul Tillich, a 20th century theologian who, like Jacques Ellul, Nikolai Fyodorov, Vladimir Solovyov, Nikolai Berdayev, Reinhold Niebuhr, Soren Kierkegaard, Rene Girard, Teilhard de Chardin, Fr. Georges Lemaitre, Sergei Bulgakov, Maria de Naglowska (the 20th century Christian Gnostic, theologian, universalist, humanist, libertarian socialist, and one-time lover of Julius Evola, the right-wing reactionary Italian scholar and self-described “Pagan Traditionalist”), is never brought up in theological debates or intellectual debates between Christian apologists and atheists or humanists is because the tradition of exegesis or biblical hermeneutics is something most people who are anti-religious don’t give a rat’s ass about; thus it becomes impossible for them to see how any theologian could suggest, as Paul Tillich did, that “there is a latent spiritual community” in the Pagan philosophers and the Pagan mystery cults, and in Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism as well. Paul Tillich authored Christian apologetics but he saw other religions and cultures as having some inherent worth and dignity and pushed for religious socialism.
Almost all of the Christian theologians I mentioned above were defenders of Christian socialism as a theological or intellectual stance. Yet if you only pay attention to the loudest and most vocal of Christian theologians, you’ll only get the ones on the Christian right. You won’t get to hear what David Bentley Hart, an Eastern Orthodox Christian and philosopher has to say about the nature of the divine or the existence of God. Another Christian socialist (David Bentley Hart is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America).
The statement “I don’t have to be a scholar” is going to turn the younger generations into dim witted imbeciles like Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is a biologist and a scientist, not a theologian. Yet he takes every consideration of sacred scriptures as literal renderings of scripture. The Homeric literature did not, in fact, have the Pagan philosophers and the Pagan mystery cults to interpret the Homeric literature - no, only the books in-and-of themselves communicate what it is that Pagans actually believed and practiced. This approach to the study of theology or religion ignores the academic research in theological studies or intellectual studies more generally, which give us new insights into the nature of reality and thus reflect upon our interpretation of sacred scriptures.
The statement that all theological or “supernatural” beliefs are irrational is neither offensive nor an argument which has convinced me to give up my own Pagan or occult religious beliefs. That is because I consider the mystical and the sacred as relating to certain universal and objective moral truths which can rightly be considered divinely-inspired, inasmuch as God - from a philosophical or an intellectual standpoint - is the metaphysical groundwork of all being, ontologically speaking. Thus I do not need a dogmatic theology or a formal dogmatic religion to arrive at this Truth - it is metaphysically True inasmuch as it combines reason and faith into a harmonious whole. The rational intellect must be merged with the believing heart that beats for its Gods and for the experience of initiation into their sacred mysteries or sacraments. In our tradition, the Gods are all aspects of one Godhead, and an individual takes one of the deities and devotes his worship to it and its sacred mysteries as his God, or as the supreme personality of God from among the various deities. Given that my philosophical or intellectual positions are based in a metaphysics of objective idealism, or the belief that reality is essentially mental in nature, it is very easy for me to believe in a personal God from a more classical theistic perspective: one who absolutely does interact with us through our intuition and through the practice of prayer, ritual, personal sacrifice, initiation, and contemplation (or meditation).
The pursuit of knowledge and culture and the cultivation of the soul or mind as the essential nature of man (his eternal, unchanging, True Self) being the central aim of our religious observance, it is necessary to break free from the chains of eternally unchanging theological dogmas and religious laws that are intent on keeping man from attaining to his Higher Self or individuality by teaching him to believe in “reverence for the ancient law” and “the fear of God.” (which is not only the beginning of wisdom for religious fundamentalists but the end of the cultivation of any kind of wisdom).
The attempt by Abrahamic religious fundamentalisms to hobble everything that is beautiful and strong through adherence to an uncritical reading of the Five Books of Moses and the Qur’an is an approach to the study of scripture that is diametrically opposed to the experience of initiation into a set of sacred mysteries that the religions and cultures of the world - through their differences of opinion about Truth - are supposed to teach, enlighten, and liberate. While conservative and modernist interpretations of religious belief both have their merit, there is quite literally no pedagogical or educational value to the theology, legalism, or authoritarian religion that has been pursued so assiduously by the “Christian right.”
Hear! Hear! Respectfully submitted for your consideration Gregg Oreo Long Beach Ca Etats Unis
@@duhmitryov you have described compartmentalization. And cognitive dissonance. Hardly anything virtuous about that.
Love this video, a nice summation of what I’ve been studying the last year. Makes me feel that I’m actually learning from my pile of books instead of having it pushed right back out of my head by random internet stuff.
You really gave so much information in such a short time and that too without us getting bored. Thank you for your efforts, keep up the good work.
Very erudite, scholarly and accurate summary of our current understanding of the subject. Very impressive. Haven't seen any of this channel's videos before, so I was skeptical at first - too many uninformed videos out there.. So this was a pleasant surprise. Very nice introduction on how honest it is to make faith the handmaiden of reason once again - even if we find the results uncomfortable or troubling.
Thanks for watching and the kind words!
I really enjoyed seeing a Jewish rabbi talking about this subject. I am Hebrew on my mother's side. Mizhaim.
God has led me on this journey of exploration and this is the first real video where I feel like the origin of something I love has been put before me in an easily digestible way. From a 25 year old student thanks :)
I would definitely rock an esoterica shirt.
“When we allow our faith to dictate our history, you’ve really just betrayed both” well said!
Just want to say, I'm Christian and love this video. My faith is strong as ever, but I love learning about this. You would think it would shake my belief system, but quite the opposite. I love how you basically say the same thing. I'm studying Biblical Hebrew, and I love the tongue-in-cheek references to the Baal Cycle in the Bible and all that. Thanks for your video. We also recently dissected the Hebrew in Judges 5 and debated whether it was indeed older or "mimicked" older poetry like how someone today may use "thou" or "mine eyes." Still, we noted that this passage and Exodus 15 both display warrior and weather god qualities. It's been a fun ride so far. I also chuckled when you mentioned Hiph'il verbs. And yes, I realize the meaning of my name. I think it's special, this "merging." And THANK YOU for mentioning Zaphon versus Zion. That was awesome.
Why is your Faith stronger than ever? You can see how the Church-dictated Christian OT God is really a mix of politics and bits and pieces of pagan versions.
@@themel5436 let me apply the same logic to other facets. how about that coffee you drink? Seems like just a whole mix of processing and packaging. Doesn't seem worth drinking. Same for your clothes. You can see the threads have gone through how many machines. What's the point of wearing if it doesn't come off the sheep itself anymore? I'm not trying to anger you, and this isn't even my entire approach to my faith. Just know I will never force Christianity on you, so please let me believe in my spaghetti monster :)
As a christian who likes to study esoterism and religions, my faith is getting stronger too as more i know YHWH story
I recommend the lectures of Dr Michael Heiser for more on this topic, totally strengthened my faith too:)
@@themel5436 its called "coping"
This was a sublime and fascinating lecture. The hours of research you distilled here down to one video are remarkable. You've definitely earned another subscriber!
I agree. Maybe A tad long & yet not long enough for "the heavy" Heavenly- wealth of necessary subject matter #YHWY Arguably 1 of his Best Videos from the few dozen lectures I've absorbed.
I literally just yesterday started looking into the Canaanite religion and putting the pieces together that YHVH was likely viewed as synonymous with the Canaanite El. What serendipity that this gets not only uploaded, but recommended to me the day after! Thanks for the video, gives me some insight!
Also, what I particularly have found fascinating about my research: the fact that El, as well as his son Ba'al, were commonly represented as bulls. The "golden calf" that's given literally no explanation in Exodus, probably represented one of these 2 gods. Potentially even El himself, which was how many at that time probably viewed their patron god. But then there's also Moloch, which many today believe was not the name of a god, but the name of the ceremony of child sacrifice; and the bull-headed idol was likely meant to be a representation of how those particular Israelites viewed El/YHVH. So it might've not been that they were adopting a pagan god that demanded child sacrifices, but rather that they perceived El/YHVH as demanding such a worship.
So when did sheep get added to the Mix? To prevent them from feeding "Evil" or "Good" so has the real name of the Judaic Gods been replaced with their counterparts? So the ceremony of Christ on the Cross. Is simply a "Sacrifice" of a "Child" but to what and who and what did these pagans get in return? Knowledge* spirtual empowerment*, or energy& or New technology*
Well done for putting it together yourself.
@@dannylo5875 For clarity's sake, I want to preface I'm not an expert.
As far as I know, sheep were a big part of the Israelite community as a livestock, but their incorporation in Jewish religion was almost always as a sacrificial animal, even in the early days it seems to be their primary function in terms of worship to YHVH. I believe the only depiction of sheep being sacred was with the intervention of Christianity, where Jesus, who acts as a sacrifice, is connotated with the depiction of a lamb, a common sacrificial animal if I recall.
As far as the name for God, any of the ones that have a prominent "El" (Elohim, El Shaddai, etc.) could be presumed to be tied to Canaanite religion, where as the name YHVH (Yahweh) seems to be original apart from the Canaanite beliefs, whether it came before, or after with the writing of the Torah.
For Christianity, Jesus' sacrifice has always had heavy ties to the sacrificial system; as mentioned before, Jesus is often described as a lamb, but his sacrifice has also been tied to the binding of Isaac, not only with the parallel of a father sacrificing their son, but also in the fact that God provided Abraham an alternative to Isaac in the form of a ram, believed by Christians to be a parallel to how Jesus' sacrifice was to alleviate humanity's condemned fate.
In terms of sacrifices, their seems to be 2 different reasons given. One of those is atonement for sin; the other however, in earlier portions of the Torah, like in Exodus, a sacrifice was a sign of appreciation to God for what you have been blessed with, and the sacrifice was the firstborn male of every womb: woman, livestock, everything! However, some animals were not fit for sacrifice, like donkeys; in such cases you would 'redeem' the firstborn with a substitute, for donkeys it was one of your flock animals; if you couldn't find a substitute, you broke the donkey's neck. Now for children, sacrifices were also to be made, but it was always meant to be 'redeemed', as in substituted with something else, typically a monetary offering to the religious elders; however there was no mention of what to do in the case that there was no substitute, it only says to "redeem all firstborn sons", presumably being the only option; but perhaps some believed that in cases where substitution was not given, they had to actually sacrifice their sons, but there's no knowing for sure. For pagans however, human sacrifice was almost always viewed as a way to receive peace and prosperity, whether the belief was that it satiated the gods being sacrificed to, or that the gods would give you 'favor' in return; it was also more common in pagan culture to make a deal with the gods, and only sacrifice a child once that deal was met. Like someone offers their child in exchange for an abundant harvest, and if their wish seems to be sufficiently granted, they would then go through with the sacrifice. Pretty grisly stuff if you ask me, but that's the antient world for ya.
The golden calf was for Hathor not Baal
@@OldTimeyDragon Any "god" that calls for the death of another for atonement is a ""a god of murder" and was a murderer from the beginning.
"Jesus" was murdered for speaking against the religous and lawgivers of his time. He was never a "sacrifice" for others. His sacrifice for mankind was to enter this world to speak his Father's Truth.. for which he was killed!
Truthgivers, even today, are killed for speaking against the system.
The "Queen of Heaven" was a title of Inanna. Inanna became Ishtar. Who became Astarte. So any reference to "The Queen of Heaven" is most probably a nod to Astarte / Assherah assimilation.
A title is a title. A connection only exists if there was one done. For example, is the native religion of the natives in Brazil derived from Indo European Mythology and Semitic Mythology? Because Tupã also has the title of a Storm and Order god of wisdom and soldier bravery.
@@worgancrow greek then adopt it to aphrodite
Thank you so much for this! I can stop telling people this in long chats on occult Discord servers and just link this and say "this is roughly my framework when I'm dealing with "Angels" as their own divinities".
Amazing summary. Thank you Dr Sledge!!
They feel are like separate creations with their own rules to summon them or bring them into being.
@@dannylo5875 not in my experience but plenty of people do experience them that way. Especially monotheists
I'm afraid you will still need some explanation, since I watched the video and am left unsure what the specific operative assumptions of your framework is. Indeed, a historicized account does not imply a metaphysical framework or occult framework. A monotheist, for instance, will simply interpret the historical development of Yahweh, in all its complexities, as the exoteric expression of progressive revelation through gradual embodied assimilation by the pious. A polytheist and henotheist will each give a different reading of the history, although they all agree on the facts. But where the polytheist interpretation will differ is how they take The One as different from Yahweh, rather than a further, deepening revelation of the same undivisible deity.
Wow, I love the metaphor of a god arising from a society like Mad Max. Warrior storm god sounds right on the money!
“this episode is a testament of not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good…” Humility after achievement. Nice. Ist episode, new subscriber. Lets’s learn…
Amazing video, as always. Thank you, Justin, for your attention and absolute intelectual honesty.
Let's not forget. This is a much needed channel and we'll presented on convieniant portable, handheld device.
This is one of the very best RUclips videos I've ever seen.
Great video! I LOVE this subject and pretty much everything you cover on your channel…the “Recommended Readings” section in the description is truly appreciated! Thank you, you are scholar and a gentleman!
Honestly, this video has answered me SO many questions about the description of God in the Old Testament, about why the people of Moses chose to worship a golden bull and so much more! It's been such a great trip!!
Hah, as a kid going to Church every Sunday I wondered why God changed so much in the Old Testament and New. As it turns out it was two gods all along.
Yahweh is the bull god, war god, money god; this Istar the trip
@@MaxVids1 old testament: no God, only Yaweh(not a god) , New testament: Jesus cites The Father which is the real one and only God, no name at all.
@@paprikaahmedTruthAddict the bull was Apis/Hathor
@@MrZRecordsthe concept of God was forming in old testament.
This has got to be one of the most educational videos that I've seen in a long time. Good job.😊
The obscene amount of research that went into creating this video, I appreciate it. Very in depth, very interesting.
Its fascinating to see how many thunder Gods synchronicities there is across the history
@@northernwolf9196 Agreed. As a pagan you can definitely see parallels between different pantheons. Cool to see how gods from different cultures correlate to each other.
¡Gracias!
This dissertation deserves a standing ovation for how well you researched, digested and presented the information in an unbiased and professional manner. STANDING OVATION!
It’s like our gods are based upon our level of awareness, as humanity grows and evolves, so must the gods. The history of the assimilation is a reflection of the awareness of humanity and our belief systems over time.
Looking at what is happening in the world now is kind of giving me a new perspective on how religion came to be what it is. Not really how it came to be a thing in the first place, but how it got to where we are, now. Because Pagan cultures were always completely at home with adding to their religions or creating new interpretations of things, but never with abandoning religion altogether. A God only ever stopped being worshipped if it's entire purpose was completely absorbed by another deity to the point of redundancy. Hell, with many religions, you could walk across all the nations of a specific culture group and get several different names for the same exact deity that weren't used elsewhere, as well as hear completely different & contradictory stories about them & the origins of the earth which would all be being believed by some practitioners of the exact same religion at the exact same time.
But, religion and society influenced each other greatly. Societies started with simple ideological principles which were probably put in place for seemingly sensible reasons and got more complex the more complex society itself got. Even looking at terrible things, like the Jews demanding that women should marry their rapists- well, if women aren't able to do certain things a man can do by law, then they are partly useless for a parent to keep on once marriable & if it's colloquially accepted that men refuse to touch women who've already been touched, then you'd be stuck with a useless mouth for the rest of your life if you didn't force that, as terrible as that is. And Religion began to, not only explain how the world formed, but also why society operates by the laws it does, why people are supposed to find one thing acceptable and another thing unacceptable & adding the element of a command by an all powerful deity scares people into being rather strict about application, irregardless of the harm it's capable of doing.
That harm created a world where a lot of people may have fell through the cracks or felt disenfranchised by the system. Empires rose & wildly different cultures shared knowledge and became brothers & we end up with a couple failed early attempts at new religion in Atenism & Zoroastrianism before we basically end up with Christianity, Islam & Bhuddism virtually all at once, who begin dividing up the whole of the earth between them. I'm starting to think these people either meant well in trying to save all those disinfranchised people, but didn't realize that what they were teaching was creating a new version of the exact same problem they were trying to solve, or if they were just so angry, they wanted to invent a new standard of perfection that they were able to hold to and force everyone else to hold themselves to it too, to cause people deliberate pain as a punishment for disinfranchising them in the first place. Maybe even a mix of both? Of course, all those religions went about carving up the world in wildly different ways from one another, but I do think they all arose from a similar place, honestly.
Now, we're kind of at a place where it's happening all over again, but people are fighting over whether we should alter the pre-existing ways yet again, bring back a modern version of the old ways, or just abandon the concept of religion altogether as archaic and damaging.
For me, it's the opposite. As humans become wiser, our gods seem more ridiculous and feeble.
I wonder when people will start to say that god created the internet.
@@milliondollarmistake now that would be an interesting debate… was the internet divinely inspired?? Wonder what the founders of the internets’ belief systems are…
And now where we can see billions of light years in space they now say God is beyond space and time
Thank you for even attempting to cover such an enormous concept in such a short time. Really cool stuff.
Kiitos!
RUclips recommended this video and I’m so glad I watched it! It’s the first I’ve seen on this channel and I’m very impressed. I’ve been interested in how Christianity evolved into what it is today, and this was my first introduction to Yahweh history. It took over 5 hours to get through the video, with all the pauses I needed to look up something named or discussed (yes, it definitely could be a semester course and where do I sign up?!) or to rewind and listen to a piece several times. Overall, it was fascinating. Very well done, thank you!
Sometimes RUclips gets it very right💛
Nothing to do with christianism here.....
Agree. Of necessity I accessed my dictionary several times. I'll subscribe. Although I regard religions as silly, the historicity of their origins within unscientific minds, and within the global events of their times, is absolutely riveting.
The sub 1% genetic difference between chimpanzees and humankind has wrought some wonderful changes.
@@MrZRecords Christianity literally developed from Judaism this has very thing to do with the development of Christianity 😐
All of it originally stemmed from the allegorical storylines of earliest humans plotting the seasonal changes for the glory of harvest and teaching the celestial maps for community encouragement in the collaborative understanding of farming in pre pagan cultures worldwide- history gives count of dozens of storylines which parallel the structures in the allegorical expression of the night sky. Read the origin of all religious worship. Its solar mythology. Also, humans have developed many times. Pre- OUR historical written records, racism was not in existance, and environmental hysteria was recorded to be catalystic for religious splaying with the warfare of survivalist propagandized power vacuums.
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"The moment we allow our faith to dictate history we really betrayed both" is the line which I will follow to see history. You have given me such a great teaching thanks for this. 🙏Respect🙏 from INDIA🇮🇳
Agree with you and may I recommend you a book that full of historical evidence called Vain Traditions.