Origins of Christian God- Through Cultural, Historical, Anthropology lens

[awareness]

Originally Posted by Boxjobox

This is just an off topic aside, but somewhat related to the considering the OT and Israel and God.
Today, in every city are homeless vets, and in institutions are PTSD vets, and basically, young people who went to war and saw too much, and never could cope with what they went through. When I read in the OT of Israel’s wars, they were often commanded to go into towns, villages, tribes and wipe out everything that breathed- men, women, infants, children, animals. This was not done by bombs and rockets,, but by face to face, hand to hand combat. I don’t see how a human being could obliterate others in such a fashion and not be psychologically damaged for life and suffer, and as a nation not be severely dysfunctional. It would be like Columbine on a national level. Yet, it was a God commanded action. It was not like God sending hornets, or plagues or drought or locust that breath fire and have scorpion tails, it was God’s people going into intact communities and massacring everything with blood, guts, horror, stench everywhere..
How do I relate to this?

Shame on me. I never thought of that. But you're undeniably right. Thanks for pointing it out.

But I don't think it was so for the early Israelite's. They seemed to blend in well. They were henotheists, not warriors, polytheists.

Then Yahweh took over in their minds, and just like the first monotheistic religion -- Atenism, Egypt 1400BCE -- Yahweh wasn't tolerant.

And how do you relate?