I'll Paraphrase Martin Luther and call this...

[Minimalist]

The Jews and their Bullshit.

Jim West's blog has a link to this article from Der Spiegel. It recounts the "Samaritan Temple" and how the Jerusalem Temple wrote intself into history as the "only" temple.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/worl...27144.html

The Jews had significant competition in antiquity when it came to worshipping Yahweh. Archeologists have discovered a second great temple not far from Jerusalem that predates its better known cousin. It belonged to the Samaritans, and may have been edited out of the Bible once the rivalry had been decided.

[vorlon13]

The part about menstruation was gross.

[Minimalist]

Religious types always seem fixated on female genitalia. Happens in the good ole U S of A, too.

[vorlon13]

I remain amazed, in spite of growing genetic troubles, they relented and are allowing in new 'breeding' stock.

Seems like if God didn't want the degenerative mutations, he would have flung a miracle their way. Odd they don't see it that way.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Wait - a religious group edited history to make themselves look better? The novelty and shock are underwhelming.

Honestly, though, how long do religions think they can survive in the face of archeological finds that point up their deliberate dishonesty regarding history?

Boru

[Thumpalumpacus]

Religious types always seem fixated on female genitalia. Happens in the good ole U S of A, too.

Nothing wrong with thinking about a little pussy on occasion.

[Chad32]

I guess that explains why the Jews didn't like the Samaritans. They disliked the Canaanites because they worshiped a pantheon that Yahweh was a lesser member of. Same deal with the Samaritans, I guess.

[Lucanus]

Religious types always seem fixated on female genitalia.

Makes sense, as many of them are cunts.

[vorlon13]

Religious types always seem fixated on female genitalia. Happens in the good ole U S of A, too.

Nothing wrong with thinking about a little pussy on occasion.

Fixating on menstruation and preaching about the filth and horror of it to the flock for hours is something else entirely.

[Minimalist]

I guess that explains why the Jews didn't like the Samaritans. They disliked the Canaanites because they worshiped a pantheon that Yahweh was a lesser member of. Same deal with the Samaritans, I guess.

No. That is decidedly not the issue.

They were ALL Canaanites and all worshiped the same traditions.

At first -- so much is clear -- the Samaritans had the upper hand. Indeed, compared with Jerusalem, Mount Gerizim enjoyed significantly older rights: In the great tale of the history of the chosen people, the mountain plays a key role.

Even after crushing the northern kingdom the Gezirim Temple remained in operation - which sort of puts the lie to this Lost Ten Tribes horseshit - and remained a major player until 128 when the Judeans destroyed it.
This was a political not a religious battle. The priests who controlled the yhwh cult in Jerusalem - recently freed from Seleucid control by the Maccabaean revolt - used the military power of the state to settle the issue of where would the temple be located.

When evaluating this stuff you must totally dismiss all the bible bullshit and examine the archaeology/history.

The Southern polity (call it Judah, Yehud, or Judaea ) is an insignificant pimple on the ass of history ( Herodotus doesn't even mention it ) from the early 6th century BC sack of Jerusalem to the period from 140-90 BC when it did attain a modicum of regional power.

And the fucking priests were right there dragging their particular version of a god along with them.