3 ms·

> For instance, ancient Jews (not westerners) pioneered the idea of a "a truly all-inclusive" god I don't know about. I've read that in ancient Judaism, Yahweh

> For instance, ancient Jews (not westerners) pioneered the idea of a "a truly all-inclusive" god I don't know about. I've read that in ancient Judaism, Yahweh began as one god among many and he was theirs ("I'm your God / have no gods before me"). He evolved into the monotheistic entity of today, but even today my perception is that Judaism doesn't focus on proselytization and considers him theirs more or less. I'd chalk the more universal, inclusive God up to early Christians, though I suppose you could call them Jews, and they weren't "western" anyway. Edit: and "universal" and "inclusive" could also mean at the point of a sword for most of the Church's history.

edgyquant 3y ago
This is pushed by some scholars but outright rejected by most and we do not have a good understanding of where YHWH worship came from. The scholars that do push this rely on etymological arguments that mix up some of the many, many names Canaanites/Hebrews/semites used for gods.
echelon_musk 3y ago
Indeed. For example the word Elohim used to convey the meaning of 'Gods' to Jews in antiquity but evolved to mean 'God', referring to YHWH alone. My understanding of the book of Isaiah is that it is about how the people of Israel came to abandon worship of lesser gods such as Ba'al and came to see YHWH as their God and saviour who delivered them from Babylonian captivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism
mightyham 3y ago
I'm not a biblical scholar, so I'm lacking the details and sources I should have, but there are parts of the torah with clear indications of universalist ideas about God and morals. What is important to remember is that the Hebrew bible and the religious ideas of ancient Judaism were not monolithic. Their beliefs and scriptures were the product of many people, sometimes in different geographic regions, developed, edited, and transcribed repeatedly over the course of more than a thousand years.

edgyquant 3y ago

This is pushed by some scholars but outright rejected by most and we do not have a good understanding of where YHWH worship came from. The scholars that do push this rely on etymological arguments that mix up some of the many, many names Canaanites/Hebrews/semites used for gods.

echelon_musk 3y ago

Indeed. For example the word Elohim used to convey the meaning of 'Gods' to Jews in antiquity but evolved to mean 'God', referring to YHWH alone. My understanding of the book of Isaiah is that it is about how the people of Israel came to abandon worship of lesser gods such as Ba'al and came to see YHWH as their God and saviour who delivered them from Babylonian captivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahwism

mightyham 3y ago

I'm not a biblical scholar, so I'm lacking the details and sources I should have, but there are parts of the torah with clear indications of universalist ideas about God and morals. What is important to remember is that the Hebrew bible and the religious ideas of ancient Judaism were not monolithic. Their beliefs and scriptures were the product of many people, sometimes in different geographic regions, developed, edited, and transcribed repeatedly over the course of more than a thousand years.