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[Joel Blazing Pants]

The Ancient Israelites were a barbaric, warmongering society that we'd look down on if we didn't think we have their religion.

Let's say we've recently discovered an ancient tribal society worshipping a new God by the name of Davros. The patriarch of their entire religion is the patriarch due to his willingness to sacrifice his son at the drop of a hat. Their religion was characterized by the ritual slaughter of animals, as the smell of searing flesh is pleasing to him, and the total slaughter of the surrounding tribes. Religious freedom did not exist, and heretics faced swift execution. In the cities that they had the option to spare, those populations had to surrender to the tribe and become their slaves, or every man in their city would be slaughtered, and the survivors would be slaves. Their God was a sponsor of genetic supremacy, placing a strict ban on any priests with any sort of genetic defects such as dwarfism.

Their God is described as a "man of war", and they claim that their God commanded all of their genocides because he created the world but somehow can only give land that other people live on. Some say that their intent was simply to "drive out" the other tribes, even though that's completely irrelevant to the concept of genocide. Those who know a thing about history know that Hitler's original plan was simply to "drive out" the jews, but other countries refused to take them. That's why the concentration camps were called "Hitler's final solution". Others say that every single one of the countless thousands slaughtered deserved it as if you can justly execute infants. They had such a lust for bloodshed that their king was jealous of another man because while he was attributed to slaying thousands of people, the other guy was celebrated for slaughtering tens of thousands of people.

They had strictly enforced misogyny, even for their time, in which women who couldn't prove they were virgins at marriage were stoned to death and rape victims were either forced to marry their rapists or never marry anyone at all. Not to mention forced abortions, in which a man who suspects his wife is carrying the child of another man, the tribe will force her to drink a poison that, best case scenario, induces a miscarriage only if the husband is right. Then the woman is most likely stoned to death, for adultery. Of course, the man isn't stoned to death unless he sleeps with or rapes a woman that is pledged or married to someone else, because in their society, a woman's value was strictly attached to a man. You'll be hard-pressed to find a single female hero in their society whose value has nothing to do with her bearing children or marrying a man. And you'll find quite a few stories portraying women as temptresses who induce men to sin.

Their God is described as being capable of doing anything and everything but seems to revel in indiscriminate suffering. His followers believe that everyone is evil and deserves to suffer no matter what, and because Davros created the world, he can torture and kill to his heart's content. Which he did, many times. Drowning nearly all life on earth, killing every single firstborn in Egypt, sparing only those who sate his bloodlust with the blood of an animal, even sending multiple plagues to kill thousands of his own chosen people, even for things as little as complaining about how he keeps killing all of them. In fact fear of their God is one of the primary virtues of their religion.

Put all this together, and you'd be looking at an unjustifiable, pagan society that we'd be glad no longer exists. But since their religion lives on, most followers turn a blind eye to it at best or actually try to defend it at worst. And if you think otherwise, are you saying you'd defend these actions in the same way if you were defending a random tribe that worshipped Davros instead of Yahweh?

[jimwalton]

I disagree strongly with just about everything you've said.

> The Ancient Israelites were a barbaric, warmongering society

No they weren't. The only offensive battles the Israelites fought were to take possession of the land (under the Conquest and under David). Other than that, all their battles were defensive. They were not barbaric or warmongering; they were not empire builders. All they fought for is for the land that was theirs and then to protect it against aggressors.

> The patriarch of their entire religion is the patriarch due to his willingness to sacrifice his son at the drop of a hat.

Your understanding of Gn. 22 is faulty. There was never intent to sacrifice his son. It was a test of faith on God's part, and understood as such on Abraham's part. Both of them knew it was not about child sacrifice. We can discuss this on a separate post if you wish.

> Their religion was characterized by the ritual slaughter of animals

All ancient religions utilized sacrifice. It was a way of approach to God, but in practical terms, it was how they ate meat for nutrition. There's nothing more barbaric about it than us having a backyard bar-b-q.

> total slaughter of the surrounding tribes.

The primary purpose of the conquest was to drive out the Canaanites, not to slaughter them. Only if the Canaanites refused to leave was there war. The point was the destruction of their religion, not the slaughter of people.

> Their God was a sponsor of genetic supremacy,

Ridiculous.

> Their God is described as a "man of war",

YHWH was their divine warrior, as all cultures saw their gods as divine warriors. God was their divine general, their champion who would give them victory in the Conquest.

> their God commanded all of their genocides

He commanded no genocides. The point of cherem was to take away the people's national identity, not to slaughter them. The language of "kill 'em all" was warfare rhetoric, just as we might excite a football team to go out and "kill 'em."

> They had strictly enforced misogyny, even for their time,

Completely incorrect. The Bible is revolutionary for its respect for and protection of women.

> Not to mention forced abortions

There were no forced abortions. I don't know where you cut and pasted this post from, but it's from someone who doesn't know the Bible and loves to invent caricatures.

> Their God is described as being capable of doing anything and everything but seems to revel in indiscriminate suffering.

This observation is an outright lie.

I won't bother to engage the rest. This post is one of the most ludicrous pieces of misinformation I've read in a long time.