Neptune's Dolphins

Since most of us live in Monotheistic-dominant cultures, the concepts of Gods can be a thorny issue. The usual presentation in the culture about Polytheism is as follows: “Your Gods are merely stories and therefore your faith is based on lies.” The logic of Monotheism is that the Gods are imaginary beings. The proposition that there is only the One True God is asserted as the only truth concerning Deities. Moreover, this God is the all-powerful Creator, Who watches over all. Yahweh (Note 1) is greater than all the silly Gods of ancient myths.

 

What Ben Hunt of Epsilon Theory calls the “Narrative Machine” is at work. He defines this as “Where the translation of ‘reality’ takes place within a large Machine of strategic communication and game playing.” Since the Narrative Machine is an invisible network of social interaction, it shapes and controls how people think about things. Through contextual connections and networks, it creates a body of “Common Knowledge” (Note 2) for modern society to operate under.

 

Monotheism is the de facto standard for understanding religion. Within the Narrative Machine are many logical fallacies to direct people’s thinking about what is “proper religion.” “Missionary language” tells people to see the Gods as imaginary or as demons in disguise. “Interpretive language” turns a fact into an interpretation of what that fact means. (Interpretive language presents an opinion as a fact.) All Gods except for Yahweh are false Gods is an opinion presented as a fact. “Repetition” of one point of view convinces people that is the only truth. Since it has been repeated for so long, that there is only One God, people have no concept of Polytheism.

 

In his book examining the Gods of the Old Testament, “The Scars of Eden,” Paul Wallis (Note 3) describes how he thinks the central proponent of Monotheism came to be. Wallis tells how the Babylonian Captivity scarred the formerly Polytheistic Hebrews. “Many scholars believe that this edit was done during Israel’s painful subjection to Babylonia…Perhaps as a consequence of that unhappy context, there is in the retelling of the old, old stories a palpable undercurrent of rage.” He reflects that this rage is reflected in “Our God is real. Yours is a fake. (Emphasis his) We will be eternally vindicated. You will be eternally shamed.” Wallis explains that this “Us and Them” “narrative undergirds the whole editorial frame work for the Bible as we have it. And it shows.”

 

What Wallis refers to “card stacking.” The original propagandist selected his information to present a one-sided view. Since no one else knew what he was referring to, they could not challenge the propagandist. He had set up a situation that no one could refute.

 

Also, Wallis points to what is known as a “manufactured problem.” First, the propagandist created the dilemma of Yahweh destroying all Polytheists. Then he convinced the other Hebrews of the seriousness of the problem. Finally, he offered his solution: “Either believe only in Yahweh, or suffer the consequences.”

 

A “single all-powerful god in heaven implied the appropriateness of a single all-powerful king on earth” according to Jonathan Kirch. He notes in “God Against the Gods,” the history of Monotheism is tied with autocracy. Egypt, Israel, and Rome all adopted a form of Monotheism and ordered the population to believe only in that particular God. To ensure their power, these God-Emperors enforced Monotheism.

 

For example, King Josiah of Judah (648 to 610 BCE) enforced the singular worship of Yahweh and centered that worship to be only in Jerusalem. His high priest had discovered a “missing” Fifth Book of Moses, which was the Book of Deuteronomy. Known as “a pious fraud,” this book enforced the point of view of radical followers of Yahweh. This allowed Josiah to conduct a bloody purge of the Polytheistic Hebrews.

 

Since Monotheism has been enforced for centuries, Polytheism is little understood. It is often regarded as “proto-monotheism” or a stepping stone to Monotheism. By understanding the logic of Monotheism, Modern Polytheists can begin to purge their thinking of Monotheistic propaganda.

 

Notes:

 

Note 1. Although there are multiple Gods of Monotheism – Yahweh, Allah, God in Three Persons – I refer to Yahweh for all of Them. The Monotheistic Gods are male, with no Consort. (In Jewish tradition, Yahweh did have Shekinah, Goddess of Wisdom, as a Consort.)

 

Note 2. In Game Theory, “Common Knowledge” is the idea that something is not merely known by all the payers in a game, but is also known to be known, and that known is also to be known, and so forth in a chain of logic.

 

Note 3. Paul Wallis, former Archdeacon of the Anglican Church, believes that the “True God is the harmonious source of all things.” Christ came to earth with a “vision of love and justice.” Otherwise, he thinks that the God (Elohim) of the Old Testament is actually plural. Moreover, these Gods (Elohim) are aliens from outer space (that is UFO Gods).

 

Further Reading:

Edward Butler, “The Way of the Gods.”

John Michael Greer, “A World Full of Gods.”

Glenn Holland, “Gods in the Desert.”

Johnathan Kirch, “God Against the Gods.”

Lynn Prickett and Clive Prince, “When God Had a Wife.”

 

Blogging at “Feminism and Religion,” Janet Maika’i Rudolph presents her ideas of the “magic and spirit behind the Bible.” Both a Shaman practitioner of Divine Humanity and a Hawai’ian Alaka’i with Aloha International, Rudolph calls herself a “Mystic Pagan.” (Note 1.) In her writing, she endeavors to “strip away the layer of Patriarchy with its attempts to hide and change original teachings.” Rudolph aims to reach into ancient Pagan knowledge in order to reclaim “universal, earth-based mystical lessons.” She embraces in her writing, “the inter-arching oneness” of all. To do this, Rudolph examines myths across cultures to find the common elements.

 

Rudolph states her personal belief that “each person as a divine human has direct access to god (creation) and the mysteries without going through an intermediary.” She continues, “in the beginning all the threads, both the warp and weft, were spun from the wellspring of First Knowledge. First Knowledge is ancient knowledge of the stars, life, the veils between the worlds, and inter-arching all, the Great Mysteries.” (Note 2.)

 

“One Gods” is a part of a trilogy of books on the “shamanic lessons underpinning Biblical wisdom.” The other two are “When Eve was a Goddess” and “When Moses was a Shaman.” (Note 3.) Rudolph believes that the Bible is filled with ancient shamanic knowledge. For example, according to her, Moses did not only bring “the belief of Monotheism. He brought to the world, the understanding of nothing less than the Oneness of all Creation.”

 

When writing “One Gods,” Janet Rudolph had not been initiated by Serge Kahili King of Hawaiian Huna Shamanism. The focus of “One Gods” is from Rev. Jim Husfelt of the Divine Humanity Church, which believes in the Oneness of All. In her other books, Rudolph adopts King’s point of view as the “shaman is a healer of relationships.” Rudolph herself seeks to remember the original knowledge of humankind to guide others.

 

Rudolph writes that her cultural and ancestral Jewish heritage is important to her. She examines the myths of the Bible through a Monotheistic lens. Therefore, according to her biases, she sees these and other myths as converging onto a single religion and God. Also, Rudolph is a follower of the Goddess religions, and views through that lens as well. However, her writings do inspire a Polytheist as myself to regard Biblical myths in a new light.

 

Notes:

Note 1. Divine Humanity and Aloha International (Huna) are New Age religions. Founded by Rev. Dr. JC Husfelt, Divine Humanity believes that all things of creation hold within them a divine being. All are “non-dual and interpentrate.” Huna (Aloha International) was founded by Max Freedom Long and is now run by Serge Kahili King. Huna is New Age philosophy mixed with Hawaiian ideas.

 

Note 2. These are fundamental beliefs of many New Age religions.

 

Note 3. “When Eve was a Goddess” and “When Moses was a Shaman” repeats much of the materials in “One Gods.” Rudolph did include more myths in those books to compare and contrast with the Biblical myths.

 

Rudolph’s books can be purchased at her website: https://themysticpagan.com/books/

 

Benner and Calpino desired to present their version of Genesis as it was originally written. To do this, hey used a computer to translate the pictographs of ancient Hebrew. Based on their conception of the culture of the ancient Hebrews, the two authors then determined how accurate their translation was. (Note 1)

 

According to the authors, since the Hebrews were nomads, they received divine revelation from God regularly. Benner and Calpino explained that the experiential aspects of the nomadic culture allowed for this. In contrast, modern people received their world view (and theology) from the Greek and Romans. (Note 2) The settled lifestyle of these urban peoples prevented modern people from fully understanding Genesis. Moreover, the authors stressed that in most translations that the text usually reflects the current theology. Therefore, what people read in translation is not what the nomadic Hebrews meant.

 

In their appendix, the authors explain why only nomads receive regular visions and encounters of God. (The inverse is that urban people do not know the Gods. (Note 3)) They write that “the nomadic lifestyle is key to the success as a person of God.” Benner and Calpino conclude that the lifestyle creates the spiritual and world view of the people. (Note 4)

 

Benner and Calpino write that nomadism “is a lifestyle that develops godly character and puts us in touch with that which is beyond us.” The authors cite the following elements of this lifestyle that creates such spirituality. 1. Nomads are removed from the dominant cultures of their time. 2. Nomads need to be self-reliant. 3. Nomads are always immigrant and outsiders. 4. Nomads are pastoral. 5. Nomads demonstrate strong decisive leadership. 6. Among nomads, the overriding legal responsibility is hospitality.

 

Reading deeper, I found the authors contradicting themselves. They write, “in fact, while the outward expressions of the religious traditions of the world may be very different, the mystical subsets of each bear striking similarities in both theology and practice… the truly striking thing is that these ‘mystical’ practices gave rise to similarities in theology that are difficult to explain given the divergent history and geography of the traditions from which they have risen… and irregardless of the forms and rituals of religion, there is singular ‘method’ of making that connection. It is the journey that results in that connection that will reveal the truth about the world, God, and ourselves.”

 

Edward Butler in his essay, “The Polemic Against Polytheism,” expresses what I found troubling in Benner and Calpino’s book. He writes, “translating the most important concepts in a civilization’s philosophical tradition into another, alien set of terms can never be regarded as a simple, nor a transparent process. This is all the more true when a clash of civilizations, and a veritable war of religions, has been in progress for centuries.” Further, he writes, “The idea of a so-called ‘natural theology,’ a primordial monotheistic revelation granted to all peoples was crucial in this effort.” He is referring to the sense of monotheism being the natural order of things. “The notion of a pure and original monotheism, an idea state of spirituality which existed naturally in the distant past and would be reestablished through human action in the future, was and remains perhaps the single most powerful tool of the colonial project.”

 

I think Butler has stated what I thought of this book. The authors have colonialized the Hebrew past as being monotheistic instead of polytheistic. They assume a mythic past of “ a pure and original monotheism.”

 

The subtitle “a fresh look at the theology and science of creation” gives the authors’ actual world-view. Benner and Calpino are modern people with modern monotheistic ideas. They fail to understand the actual polytheism of the ancient Hebrews. As modern people often do, Benner and Calpino assume that the ancients really think the same as they do.

 

The two authors do make one important point. The theology should not come from the lifestyle or culture. The theology should come from the myths themselves. The myths lead people into deeper connection with the Gods.

 

Notes:

Note 1. Benner and Calpino referred to what they did as “mechanical translation.” In his article, “About the Mechanical Translation,” Benner explained “each word would be translated faithful according to its original linguistic and cultural perspective.”

 

Note 2. What the authors are alluding to is “written” versus “oral” cultures. Written cultures allow for abstractions, while oral cultures reference ideas through the speaker and listener.

 

Note 3. As a Roman Polytheist, I disagree with the authors’ assertion about urban peoples. Romans experienced the Gods, daily in various ways. Also, I believe that the authors’ own version of monotheism prevents them from understanding polytheistic thinking.

 

Note 4. Benner and Calpino both live settled lives. However, Benner writes in his various essays how a settled person can have a “migratory journey on God’s road.”

 

Further Reading:

Edward Butler, “The Polemic Against Polytheism.” https://www.indica.today/long-reads/the-polemic-against-polytheism/

Jeff A. Benner, Ancient Hebrew Research Center, https://ancient-hebrew.org/

 

“The Alpha-Beta of Ben Sira” (Pseudo-Ben Sira, 9th Century) is the problematic source for Lilith. According to it, Lilith was Adam’s first wife. In the first creation (Note 1), Yahweh created male and female, at the same time, from the earth. As the equal of Adam, Lilith refused to be dominated by him. Fleeing her husband, she “pronounced the Ineffable Name (of Yahweh) and flew away into the air.” Lilith went to the Red Sea, the dwelling place of demons.

 

Adam complained to Yahweh about Lilith abandoning him. The God sent three angels to convince her to come back. Since Lilith knew the hidden name of Yahweh, He could not compel her to return. When the three angels threatened to kill her demon children, Lilith countered with preying on newborns. After that, Yahweh, the angels and Lilith came to an odd pact. She could continue to kill babies unless they wore an amulet with the names of the three angels. However, Lilith had to endure with death of a hundred of her own children each day. (This was to explain why newborns die unexpectedly.)

 

“The Zohar,” compiled by Moses de Leon (1250-1305) (Note 2), called Lilith “a temptress of innocent men, breeder of evil spirits and carrier of disease.” As the Queen of the Demons, She was the succubus who attacked men in their sleep. Because Lilith drove men’s lust, the Shekhinah (the Female Part of Yahweh) went into exile.

 

In “A Treatise on the Left Emanation” by Rabbi Isaac ben Jacob ha-Kohen (the 13th century), Lilith is paired with Samael (Satan). Writing about evil, Rabbi Isaac said that Samael and Lilith were twins, created by Yahweh. Samael, regarded as The Angel of Death, became the “Great Demon,” and Lilith his partner in evil.

 

The Goddess Religions have reclaimed Lilith as the first pro-feminist. The Dark Goddess Lilith is their Patroness of Witches. She teaches women to embrace their sexuality and live according to their own rules. Some see Lilith representing “the power, politics and psychology of sex.” To stand up to the patriarchy, She sacrifices her children daily.

 

Polytheist theologians discuss whether the Gods can be differentiated or do their aspects refer to one being? For example, Anubis of Egypt, in the early dynasties, can be regarded to be a different God than Anubis of Cleopatra’s time. However, Anubis could also be the same God with more attributes.

 

According to Raven Kaldera, a shaman of Northern-Tradition Paganism, Gods have “horizontal” and “vertical” aspects. (Note 3) “Vertical” aspects range from a personal experience to a diffuse unknowable presence. “Horizontal” aspects entail the attributes of the Gods such as Jupiter being both the God of Thunder and the God of Government.

 

I have unanswered questions about Lilith. Are there more than one Goddess? Is Lilith of the Middle Ages the same Goddess of the Goddess Religions? Could She be considered a “pop culture” God because the Goddess Religions rewrote the lore?

 

From what I can discern, Lilith is the Dark Aspect of the Divine Feminine in Jewish Monotheism. She is a counterpart to the Shekhinah. My theory is that once Monotheism defined that the Divine be only a single male Deity, the feminine aspects went underground. They have come out sideways as Lilith and the Shekhinah. (Note 4). The Goddess Religions which worship only the Divine Feminine has elevated Lilith to be an aspect of the Goddess.

 

Notes:

1. Genesis details two creations. It is believed that the lore tries to reconcile the two, with Eve being Adam’s second wife. Made from his rib, she is subordinate to him.

2. “The Zohar” is a fundamental work of Kabbalism (Jewish mysticism).

3. Kaldera, Raven, “Dealing with Deities.” Hubbardston (MA): Asphodel Press. 2012.

4. The Dark Aspect of the Divine Masculine came out as Samael (Satan).