Tuesday, July 27

Genesis Commentary

Chapter 8 - god promises not to annihilate mankind ever again, as he has just finished doing. How gracious of an omnipotent tribal deity! All it takes for god to stop killing the creatures of the earth is a bribe of animal sacrifice! god sounds more like a mobster offering "protection" than god of creation - a true Jewish storm god, through and through.

Chapter 9 - After further threats of lethal punishment god promises to Noah that the rainbow will forever be a symbol of his covenant of peace with Noah and his descendents. Isn't it somewhat odd that this supposedly omniscient deity requires a visual cue in order to remember a solemn pledge made to not decimate the population of the world's animal life? I am no god, but I can remember such a small thing.
Next, assumedly taking his cue from his wroth and petty god, Noah curses Canaan, son of Ham because his father accidentally walked into the tent of Noah while he was lying naked in a drunken stupor. There are many ethical flaws in this passage, and I don't even know where to begin an enumeration thereof. Canaan is being punished for the actions of his father, essentially, the way I see it. Noah should punish himself if he feels that punishment is in order. I'm sure they had whips back then. Maybe this story is stretched to its moral limits in order to justify racial prejudice against black Africans, that is, the descendants of Ham on the continent of Africa.

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