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Considering Scott's interest in things kabbalistic (e.g. Unsong), and his general erudition, I suspect he knows more about the origins of Moloch than you give h
by mdemare 6y ago
Considering Scott's interest in things kabbalistic (e.g. Unsong), and his general erudition, I suspect he knows more about the origins of Moloch than you give him credit for.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch#Carthaginian_Cronus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloch#Carthaginian_Cronus
- oehtXRwMkIs 6y agoAt this point I'm just being pedantic, but that does not explain why he called Moloch a demon.
- the_other 6y agoHorned deity which eats children? Sounds exactly like a demon to me.
- oehtXRwMkIs 6y agoI think that's a stretch. I don't think the ancient Canaanites viewed Moloch as evil. Even Milton and Flaubert consider him a god. I think such definitions only make sense within the context of the religion. I could argue that Yaweh is a demon because he is evil (has also asked for child sacrifice among other things), but that is an absurd claim within the religion where by definition he is good and the source of morality. So by calling Moloch a demon, you are participating in perpetuating a potentially false history of Moloch that is heavily biased and Judeocentric. Sure you can call him an evil pagan god, but to call him a demon requires fitting that into a prior belief system of evil supernatural entities which is inconsistent with the very belief system he came from.
- pcstl 6y agoOh, I'm sure of that. But the point I was trying to make is that he wasn't going for accuracy to ancient myth, just as Ginsberg wasn't.