Maybe Moses really had horns

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ToBeLoved

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That would depend on when Judaism became monotheistic and when Zoroaster lived. No one takes the date 660 B.C. seriously anymore. Most scholars think Zoroaster lived between 1500-1000 B.C. That would make Him roughly a contemporary of Moses, maybe even Abraham.

Well let's remember that Moses is the one who led the Israelite's out of slavery in Egypt, then the Israelites wandered in the dessert for 40 years (punishment from God for worshipping the golden calf when Moses was on the mountain getting the 10 Commandments) and when the calf worshipping generation passed away (after 40 years) then Joshua (who took over after Moses died) started conquering small towns throughout Israel slowly over his lifetime until they had the Promised Land promised to them by God.

So, it was like almost 50 years between leaving Egypt and entering the promised land to start winning battles for land. Judaism was FOR SURE monotheistic after Moses returned with the 10 Commandments because Commandment 1 is that they worship only one God.
 
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Gregory Thompson

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...and what better way to symbolize the godlike character of Moses than to give him horns like many of the helmets worn by Egyptian gods? :)

Weren't they worshipping cats?
 
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smaneck

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I've never in 46 years ever heard anyone say that Judaism came from Zoroastrianism. That religion barely exists.

The fact that Zoroastrianism appears to be a dying religion today is irrelevant to the question of the extent to which it influenced the Abrahamic religions including Judaism.
 
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smaneck

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Paganism and idolatry was common in Judah and Israel until after Ezra returned from Persia with instructions from Cyrus to build a temple and whip the locals into monotheistic shape. Monotheism was the state religion of Persia, so Cyrus was probably trying to export Zoroastrianism by converting Jewish monolatry into monotheism. That is probably when the current form of the Torah was created from a collection of earlier Jewish religious texts. The Zoroastrian Jews who collected these writings into the current Torah had to remove some of the more obvious traces of Canaanite religion in the process.

Your interpretation is based on a serious misunderstanding of Cyrus religious policies. There is no evidence that he tried to impose Zoroastrianism on anyone. In fact he was so low-key about his religion that some have questioned whether or not he was really Zoroastrian at all. Cyrus styled himself the "King of kings" meaning he considered himself the paramount king over lesser ones. He encouraged his subjects to pray for the welfare of the emperor to the god of their choice. This is seen not only by his encouraging the Jews to return home and rebuild their temple but also by his claiming to have acted in the name of Marduk when he conquered Babylon.
 
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smaneck

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smaneck

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I have no problem with the idea that the full concept of monotheism developed slowly. I do take issue with the idea that it took Zoroastrianism to define our religion.

By the end of the Babylonian Captivity Judaism is more fully monotheistic than Zoroastrianism. I think Isaiah 45 establishes that.
 
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ToBeLoved

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The fact that Zoroastrianism appears to be a dying religion today is irrelevant to the question of the extent to which it influenced the Abrahamic religions including Judaism.
No it's not, because if that were true every atheist on the planet would be talking stuff.
You have no understanding of the BIble or you would see plainly how different they are. But you do not and see similiarities. They are shallow comparisons based on something that theoretically may have happened. But the two religions are nothing alike, because I know what the BIble says.
 
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ToBeLoved

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Worshiping one God does not necessarily mean one believes only one God exists.

Now I know that you know nothing about Christianity or the Old Testament at all. Because if there is one thing that's apparent, it's that there is only one God.

This is a religion, not a culture. Geez. How does one believe in a God who says they MUST NOT believe in ANY other Gods and then say that they might think that other God's exist. They obviously were not believers if they believed in more than one God?

That is our God's rule. NO other God's.

The 10 Commandments spell it out.

They came out of Egyptian slavery. Egypt had so many God's, but the Israelite's only had one. God told them with the 10 Commandments. That was God's covenant with Israelite's.
 
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ToBeLoved

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http://news.discovery.com/history/religion/god-wife-yahweh-asherah-110318.htm

I think there were different strands of religion among the Hebrew people prior to the Babylonian Captivity.

Well you just believe a whole 2 scholars. lol. Guess your grasping at straws now. I see where your brain is at. Google is your friend mate because you need to find these crazy things.

You obviously have no respect for Christians because you do not know what you are talking about and DISCOVERY wants to Discover something that hasn't been Discovered by two scholars.

So have at it. I see your game now. I'm not wasting my time anymore.
 
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smaneck

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A lot of those concepts were removed from Judaism, though I do know that a lot of Jews believed them. I have to imagine that a lot of stuff not contained in the Tanakh was removed once the books were put together.

The books were "put together" by Christ's time. But I would agree that Zoroastrian concepts will have a more lasting impact on Christianity than they currently have on Judaism.
 
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ToBeLoved

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Worshiping one God does not necessarily mean one believes only one God exists.

Well. Since Moses wrote the Torah and the first 5 books of the Bible, I think Moses MIGHT have mentioned that little miniscule tidbit of information.

Your just being disrespectful now.
 
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ToBeLoved

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The books were "put together" by Christ's time. But I would agree that Zoroastrian concepts will have a more lasting impact on Christianity than they currently have on Judaism.

There are no Zoroastrian concepts. You do not understand any religion. Not one and your talking about three. What does that say about you?
 
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smaneck

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Now I know that you know nothing about Christianity or the Old Testament at all. Because if there is one thing that's apparent, it's that there is only one God.

I never suggested there was more than one God. What I'm saying is that it took the Hebrew people sometime before they fully realize this. In early parts of the Tanakh we hear reference to God holding court with the gods, and the sons of gods mating with the daughters of men. At first the Hebrew people are told only to worship one God. Only later do they realize that only one God exists.

This is a religion, not a culture. Geez. How does one believe in a God who says they MUST NOT believe in ANY other Gods

The Bible doesn't say anything about believing in other gods, it says don't worship them.

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me"

Note Yahweh says don't worship other gods because He is jealous, not because they don't exist.

It is not until we get to the second part of the Book of Isaiah that the very existence of other gods is denied, even the existence of an evil being as was postulated in Zoroastrianism.
 
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ToBeLoved

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The books were "put together" by Christ's time. But I would agree that Zoroastrian concepts will have a more lasting impact on Christianity than they currently have on Judaism.

The books were written WAY before Christ. Just because the 66 books were all put together into one book during Christ's time in no way means that they were written by the authors during Christ's time. You assume a lot. Moses wrote the first five and they were 1000 years before Christ. AND the Bible and the Old Testament used by Judaism is the SAME.

So, no Judaism, no Christianity BECAUSE the books are the same text. Word for Word. EXACTLY, we share them.
 
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smaneck

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Well. Since Moses wrote the Torah and the first 5 books of the Bible, I think Moses MIGHT have mentioned that little miniscule tidbit of information.

Your just being disrespectful now.

Hey, you are the one who is adding things to the text that aren't there. Find me a single verse in the Torah (and by the way the first five books are the Torah) that denies the existence of other gods.
 
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smaneck

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Well you just believe a whole 2 scholars. lol.

Actually no. Dr. William Dever who was the head of the department where I got my Master's degree, has literally dug up tons of evidence for the worship of Ashereh. And I say literally dug up, because he is a biblical archaeologist.

Guess your grasping at straws now. I see where your brain is at. Google is your friend mate because you need to find these crazy things.

Google is my friend largely because it helps me find what I already know on the internet. For instance Dr. Dever's findings are discussed here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/archeology-hebrew-bible.html

You obviously have no respect for Christians because you do not know what you are talking about

Or just maybe you are the one who doesn't know what you are talking about.
 
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ToBeLoved

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I never suggested there was more than one God. What I'm saying is that it took the Hebrew people sometime before they fully realize this. In early parts of the Tanakh we hear reference to God holding court with the gods, and the sons of gods mating with the daughters of men. At first the Hebrew people are told only to worship one God. Only later do they realize that only one God exists.



The Bible doesn't say anything about believing in other gods, it says don't worship them.

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me"

Note Yahweh says don't worship other gods because He is jealous, not because they don't exist.

It is not until we get to the second part of the Book of Isaiah that the very existence of other gods is denied, even the existence of an evil being as was postulated in Zoroastrianism.

The entire Bible is only one God. It's one of the biggest concepts. It's not just a like or you might - it is one of the basic tenants of the faith.

Really? Lie to yourself by all means, but to hold a conversation with someone based on a bunch of half baked theories, when they know the history and words of their religion is just crazy. You guys think much more of yourselves, than what the facts are. If you knew the Bible you could even talk intelligently about it. Yahweh made sure EVERY Single man who worshipped that golden calf over the 40 years in the desert had died before they entered the promised land. I think He cared if they thought there was more than one God.

Plus, you defame Islam, Christianity and Judaism all in you half baked theories.

Share your half baked posts with each other. You obviously are not looking for truth, but to build upon your ego and theories.
 
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ToBeLoved

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Actually no. Dr. William Dever who was the head of the department where I got my Master's degree, has literally dug up tons of evidence for the worship of Ashereh. And I say literally dug up, because he is a biblical archaeologist.



Google is my friend largely because it helps me find what I already know on the internet. For instance Dr. Dever's findings are discussed here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/archeology-hebrew-bible.html



Or just maybe you are the one who doesn't know what you are talking about.
Now I see.

What a good atheist you are. Many people are scholars of what they do not personally understand. A scholar believes in hypothesis, not truth. A Biblical archaelogist has nothing to do wtih belief or Christianity. They do not have to. They are taught, they do not think. They learn, they do not discover.
 
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