Challenging the Theological Foundations of Zionism

[yankeedoodle]

FROM LARRY JOHNSON:
Challenging the Theological Foundations of Zionism
https://sonar21.com/challenging-the-theological-foundations-of-zionism/

If you are a devout Christian, Jew or Muslim, fair warning — you may find this post offensive. I am not trying to offend, but I do plan to present and challenge the theological claims contained in the Book of Genesis aka Bereshit (aka Hebrew for "in the beginning"). The entire claim that Zionists have regarding their right to inhabit all land from the Nile in the west to the Euphrates in the east, stems from promises allegedly made by a person, or persons, claiming to be "God" to a fellow named, Abram. All of this belief is contingent on a separate belief — i.e., that the Pentateuch was written by Moses based on what "God" told him. If you believe that "God" spoke to Moses more than 3,000 years ago and that Moses had ample supplies of paper, ink and a writing instrument to record everything that "God" said, then it is an easy leap to be a Zionist.

For the sake of intellectual fairness, I note that there is a continuing scholarly debate on whether or not the Pentateuch was written by Moses. (You can follow that debate here.) Personally, I think that is nonsense. I believe the Torah aka the Old Testament was birthed from oral tradition passed down over a thousand years and finally put onto scrolls during the Jewish captivity in Babylon (those damn Persians again; maybe that is why Israel is so keen on destroying Iran).

Careful readers probably noticed my reference to the possibility that the "God" of Genesis is not necessarily a single entity. What!!!? Blasphemy! Okay, here is my proof:

Genesis 1:26 And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and they shall rule . . . .

Genesis 2:22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. . . .

Genesis 11:6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

Simple question — Who is "God" talking to when the Supreme Being says, "US?" Last I checked, "US,' means plural. I know that some Christians (perhaps most) explain this by suggesting God the Father was conversing with Jesus. Still, it poses a challenge to the notion of monotheism, i.e., "there is no God, but God."

Anyway, back to the questionable theological foundation of Zionism. Let's first look at what "God" promised Abram. The first promise is listed in Genesis / Bereshit Chapter 12:

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

In the subsequent Chapter, 13, Abram is told he gets all the land he can see (remember, this was before the era of prescription glasses):

14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west.

15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."

Genesis, Chapter 15, seals the deal. This is why Bezalel Smotrich lays claim to parts of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria:

18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—

19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."

Now here is the irony. Many of the modern-day Zionists do NOT — I repeat NOT — believe that Moses wrote Genesis. Hell, they don't even accept the Torah as a sacred book of scripture. But these passages from Genesis do explain why may ultra orthodox Jews and Christians buy into the Zionist claim.

I challenge anybody now reading this piece to answer the following question without consulting a written record or googling Ancestry.com — what was the name of your father's male ancestor who lived in 1800? I bet 99% of you cannot do it. Yet, those who insist that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible / Torah, believe he could accurately record generations that preceded him by 2,000 years. Sorry, I don't buy that. If you do, God bless.

Let me suggest an alternative hypothesis — the exiled Jewish scholars sitting in Babylon, after being carried off by their Persian captors, decided to write down the oral tradition, best they could remember, and, in the course of writing this, created the rationale for returning to the lands they previously inhabited. And they emphasized that "God" gave it to them and nobody else. Who is to say that some of those writers were not as gifted as Shakespeare and had a knack for telling a good story?

The "God" of the Torah is a mean-spirited, capricious deity, with a taste for blood, in my opinion. The writer, or writers, of Bereshit / Genesis made this quite clear in the story of Cain and Abel. The story of Cain and Abel introduces you to a truly bizarre deity. Abel was the first child of Adam and Eve. He was a sheep herder. Second to be born, Cain. He was a farmer. Each brought an offering to God:

4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering;

5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

In other words, this "God" hates farmers. Or so it seems.

Let me be clear about what I believe — I do believe that mankind, i.e., male and female, are a creation of a Supreme Deity. That means that I am no better or worse than anyone else. I have a duty, as a creation of God, to love and respect all people. In that regard, my obligation is to do the best I can improve the lot of those who are suffering or persecuted. That is why I reject the idea of Zionism. Make peace, not war.

[abduLMaria]

and it all falls apart when you realize

Abraham Lied.

The First Jew Con Man.

Well, maybe not the first.  There's so many of them !

I wonder what color he said God was ?

if it was me telling the story, I would say that God had a Silver finish, with a beautiful Rainbow patina, and 24K gold accents.