How about some "un" reform?

It has, of course, been a bit of time since I last made a post. Home, work and other occupations have made life VERY busy for a while, but although I have not made a post, I have been far from negligent in my “religious studies.” Since the last post, I have found myself oddly attracted to, of all things, the Bible and also the pseudepigraphic and apocryphal texts that are its “peripheral” contemporaries. It has been, actually, rather refreshing to read/look again with the “new eyes” of perhaps a bit greater objectivity than I employed when I was a “practicing theist.”
One of the more fascinating stories that I have been exploring is that of the late pre-exilic kingdom of Judah and the “reforms” of Hezekiah and Josiah. Although the writers of the Deuteronomistic history paint them as “good” kings, neither was successful politically (compare them to the “bad” Omrides for example), and both, today, would probably be classed as religious extremists or conservative fundamentalists. One thing that seems likely from rereading this history is that pre-exilic Israelite and Judahite religion was quite diverse. It would probably give Hinduism or the Greek pantheon a “run for the money” in the various divine figures that were honored or worshipped in very diverse ways. Yes, there was Yahweh/El, but there was also “his Asherah” the “Ba'als,” Molech, Chemosh Tammuz, the Sun/Moon/Stars, the “heavenly host” and probably others, and surprisingly, perhaps, most/all of them worshipped in the center of “Judaism” of Jerusalem and possibly even the temple itself. There were male temple prostitutes, women “weeping for Tammuz” in ritual grief and all manner of diverse religious activities associated with the Jerusalem temple and its near environs including the royal palace.

Witness this quote from II Kings about Josiah’s “purification” after the “finding” of the book of the law:

“And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el. 5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to offer in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that offered unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove coverings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand as he entered the gate of the city.” (II Kings 23:4-20, JPS)

and for good measure, from Ezekiel:

“...the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.” (Ezekiel 8:14, JPS)

Clearly, as well, the “world of the New Testament” was one that was quite religiously pluralistic / syncretistic as well. We have recently begun to appreciate more and more that early Christianity was far from an “orthodoxy of the Apostles” that was corrupted by “heresy." It was, certainly, an extremely diverse religious movement from its very earliest days after the death of Jesus.

As I consider again how difficult monotheism has become for many thoughtful individuals as well as the worldwide problems of religious fundamentalism and chauvenism, I wonder if some of the “old diversity” would not do us good. Perhaps we need to have a reverse of the Hezekiah and Josiah “reforms” and let the Ba’als and Asheras back in, sing a good mourning song for Tammuz and remember sacred sex. If nothing else, the diversity might prove refreshing and could sweep out some of the cobwebs of antiquated “orthodoxies.”


Jeffrey Shy
Mesa, Arizona
( thinking Yahweh might have been a bit less difficult if his wife Asherah had kept him in better control)