Let's talk about... yaweh

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Yeah, Yahweh.  
Amazing that anyone in this day and age could read the old testament and not just be saying "wtf is this shit?" every few minutes.
This morning, we had the story of the burning bush.  You know, the one where God showed Moses the image of a burning bush to get Moses to come over and talk to him . . . and tell Moses that he was chosen to lead the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt.  Then as Moses approached this bush that was on fire but not being consumed, Yahweh told him to take off his sandals, because he was standing on "holy ground".  (I don't get this it all - those feel were filthy with or without the sandals.)  
    What I also don't get is why a deity who had created the universe - - - or at least the world, and everything on it, and was thought to be all-powerful and all-knowing, would even need to catch the attention of one human with a weird vision, much less somehow make his voice come out of this weird vision.  He could have just SPOKEN.  If he didn't want to show his face, he could have just been a glowing, human-shaped cloud, and talk to Moses.  Heck, he could have chosen a human-like form and showed himself to the entire band of "his people" and spoken to them.  No more graven images or disobedience . . . every single one of them would have seen SOMETHING and would have heard the voice of god.  But no, all of the prophets and priests have to go off ALONE, and then bring back the message.  They bring back goofy stories like bushes that are on fire but don't burn.
   Fire was a holy, magical thing in those days.  Egyptian mythology is full of magical, holy fire. Pentecost has the description of the Holy Ghost appearing as "tongues of fire" above believer's heads.  
   A burning bush.  It would have been a powerful story in 1400 BCE, but now it's just absurd.

Fire plays an important role in the Zoroastrian religion from Persia.  Moses' burning bush might have its origin in that and/or the Egyptian religion.