Nature/Fertility Religions

The readings of Exodus explain the departure of the Israelites from Egypt and how the covenant was renewed. The rejuvenation made Israel a nation and formed a relationship between god and his teachings. The nature of god’s presence reveals how the Israelites were authentic and productive with how they reproduced and how the land became filled with Israelites. The reality demonstrates how the new king of Egypt stated that, “The Israelite people have multiplied and become more numerous than we are”(Exodus p. 16). This reality proposes how the Egyptians became resentful against the Israelites in order them to suffer brutal slavery and make life difficult for them with intense work and punishment. The texts in Exodus acknowledge the sacrifices Hebrew women had to make in order to live through nature and reality. It states “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives” (Exodus p. 16). Gods presence through nature and reality reveals how

In the beginning of the Vedic Age, Aryan gods were recognized, revered, and feared. Ritual animal sacrifices were performed by priests with the hope of pleasing the gods and in turn being rewarded. Conversely, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties did not rely on organized religion, supreme deities, or priests. The people learned their faith through myths and legends as opposed to organized religious tradition.

During the ancient and indigenous times, their religions were a vital part of their everyday life. Ancient and indigenous religions had unique creation stories which had a meaning behind it. These religions had diverse characteristics but they all had different components. The ancient and indigenous religions have worshiped several gods and goddesses. There are different components that make up the religions such as deities, beliefs, rituals, symbols, sacred objects, holy places, sacred texts, death, and burials.

Hundreds of years ago people did not have the technology to explain different forces of nature. They created gods, each with separate powers, to rule their domains. Some of the gods were merciful, some were wicked, and others were merely servants of more powerful gods. Looking at the gods, it is easy to tell what the civilization most valued. I am going to look at the Greek and the Norse gods to compare what was most important to their societies.

When you look back on history there were many defining religions, beliefs and values among different cultures and societies. The beliefs varied from believing in one single God to multiple gods, from being patriarchal to matriarchal. When discussing difference you can see numerous among the Ancient Hebrew culture and the Archaic Greeks. Greeks believed in multiple gods, the Olympians and the Chthonian whereas Ancient Hebrew’s believed in one God whose name shouldn’t even be pronounced it was so sacred. These two cultures perceived the world and their surrounds in a completely different way.

     The first god that I would like to focus on is Saturn. Saturn was the god of agriculture to both the Roman and Greek. He was, however, known to the Greeks as a different name. His name was Cronus. He had all of

In ancient times, gods were a holy image in people’s mind. Each god had its own role in the universe. Such as the role of creation, the controller of the nature, and the role of the destiny control. The gods had extreme powers, and controlled everything in the world. Worshiped gods became a daily routine for ancient people. In the minds of people in ancient times, worshiped their gods were to prevent these gods became furious, and punished them with their extreme power. Even though the gods were extremely powerful, in many epic texts we could see they also had emotions and characteristics that were just like humans. However, there were still some major differences between the gods and humans.

These verses state “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Gen. 3:8-9). From this passage, we glean that God habitually walked with His stewards through the garden at the end of each day and fellowshipped with them. However, because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve became ashamed of themselves and afraid of God. God was forced to evict His people from the garden as a result of their refusal to repent, and their relationship with Him was never again the same. The account of Cain and Abel reveals that from that point on, God required sacrifices from His people in order to restore fellowship. Moreover, He still spoke to them, but He no longer walked among them. Adam and Eve thus longed for the promised Seed who would undo the effects of the curse and bring back God’s favor upon their

Religion had a very significant role in ancient civilizations like Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Israel. The religious system in both Egypt, Mesopotamia were polytheist, meaning they recognized more than one god, and Ancient Israel was monotheist meaning only one god. Yahweh was the chief god to the Hebrews, but by no mean the only one.Yahweh however was reinstated as the only god in all province by the Judea Jews. The chief god for Egypt was gods of the sun Amun and Ra, which was later joined together to form Amun-Ra, Osiris was god of life after death. In Mesopotamia some of the most important gods are Inanna goddess of love, Marduk king of

Genesis is the first book of the Bible.  It begins with the story of God’s creation of the universe.    The Lord is the Almighty Creator of the world, skies, heavens, seas, animals, man, and woman.  He governs the universe and develops relationships with man.  Throughout Genesis, God acknowledges the fact that human beings make mistakes, and accepts their imperfection.  Throughout Genesis, God changes from one who does not tolerate disobedience, to one who shows clemency.  Early on in Genesis, God punishes Adam and Eve for disobedience.  After making the mistake of flooding the world, the Lord realizes that even He is not perfect, and does not allow Jacob’s deceit of his father to taint his future.

God’s role in the Bible is characterized in several different ways, with dramatically competing attributes. He takes on many functions and, as literary characters are, he is dynamic and changes over time. The portrayal of God is unique in separate books throughout the Bible. This flexibility of role and character is exemplified by the discrepancy in the depiction of God in the book of Genesis in comparison to the depiction of God in the book of Job. On the larger scale, God creates with intention in Genesis in contrast to destroying without reason in Job. However, as the scale gets smaller, God’s creative authority can be seen in both books, yet this creative authority is manifested in entirely distinctive manners. In Genesis, God as

The book of Genesis presents the reader with a relational God. In particular, Genesis focuses on the relationship between God and man and “thus Genesis does not present a static theology of God’s involvement with humanity, but regardless of his mode of engagement, God is present and active”. However, the sin of man arrived into the world and these relationships were fractured. Again, God exhibits judgment, but also mercy when in Genesis three He sends Adam and Eve out of the Garden for their transgression, yet provides clothes as an act of grace.

Since the dawn of time, people have necessitated explanations for various natural phenomena, such as rain, earthquakes, and death as well as human characteristics of love, wisdom, and anger. Societies, thus, began to formulate unique beliefs of deities with great power that explained any unknown territories. They worshiped these divine beings trusting in their abilities and fearing their fury. However, no two cultures ever had the same beliefs; each system of belief - each mythology - was designed to reflect the individual societies, who practiced it.

There were gods of the sky and storm, gods of the water, and gods of the soil. Although they looked like humans, they differed from their mortal cousins in their greater power, position in the universe, and their immortality. The Mesopotamians believed that their duty was to serve the gods and provide them with offerings of food, clothing, and art. The gods were fed meals, sung songs, and honored with devotion and ritual.

God interacts with the world in a very unique way. He works by using people as conduits with whom He will ultimately achieve His goal of the Divine Plan. Throughout the Book of Genesis, many cycles of protagonists appear with whom God chooses to interact. In one such cycle, the Jacob Cycle, God influences, molds, and guides Jacob in increasingly personal ways. God influences Jacob throughout his childhood, his journey to Haran, his journey from Haran, and finally, with one last test of will. Throughout the guidance, God’s increasing trust in Jacob allows for an eventual transformation of the relationship, where Jacob morphs into God’s Israel.