RE: Atheist Bible Study 1: Genesis
February 12, 2019 at 1:00 am
(This post was last modified: February 12, 2019 at 1:05 am by Bucky Ball.)
The concept of romantic love, (of course) did not exist at the time. That is a very important observation.
Israel before the Exile, was a tribal society. The family groups were how the society was organized and what gave meaning to life.
The perpetuation of the (male) family line was what granted immortality. That changed eventually (for reasons we can discuss when we get there) after the Exile, and along with the change how the deity(s) were viewed, ... changed also, culturally. There is an interesting link between what we will see shortly, (when Jacob wrestles with an angel, and also receives a "generative" wound, (in his "thigh") (just as the fisher king had a generative wound in the Grail Myth), and just as Abraham here uses a "generative" (being touched under his thigh) oath to seal the deal here.
Israel before the Exile, was a tribal society. The family groups were how the society was organized and what gave meaning to life.
The perpetuation of the (male) family line was what granted immortality. That changed eventually (for reasons we can discuss when we get there) after the Exile, and along with the change how the deity(s) were viewed, ... changed also, culturally. There is an interesting link between what we will see shortly, (when Jacob wrestles with an angel, and also receives a "generative" wound, (in his "thigh") (just as the fisher king had a generative wound in the Grail Myth), and just as Abraham here uses a "generative" (being touched under his thigh) oath to seal the deal here.
Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically. But when it gets stuck in its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble. - Joseph Campbell 
Militant Atheist Commie Evolutionist
Militant Atheist Commie Evolutionist
