THE SLITTING OF 850 THROATS

Reading the books of I and II Kings this past weekend, I came about a gruesome deed of prophet Elijah's who, in order to erradicate the cult of Baal and Asherah, he slitted the throats of 850 of the prophets of Baal and Asherah. (I Kings 18:19) Regardless of the violence of how he carried that out, what had happened to freedom
of speech and religion in Israel then?

There was indeed freedom of speech and of religion in Israel even at the time of Elijah. Those 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah were not executed for being what they had chosen to be, but for competing with Elijah the spiritual guardianship of the House of Israel and misleading the People into following after gods that they had not known besides the Lord. They were, IOW, leading the People astray from the way of life in Judaism and into apostasy. (Deut. 13:2-6)

As Elijah was concerned, they were no longer Jews for having adopted the Baal cult of Jezebel, but they would insist on holding unto the Jewish identity to make it easier to add more and more Jewish adepts to their cult. They were so to speak, the Jews-for-Baal.

In fact, Elijah did warn them to make up their minds and decide to, either return to Judaism or stay where they were, but not as Jews. Hence, Elijah's question: "How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow Him; if it's Baal, follow him!" (I Kings 18:21) Just return or stay there IOW.

The Jews-for-Baal were causing a spiritual havoc in the Jewish Community. The issue had become rather political because of the insurrection. Then, Elijah condemned those 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah to death and the People was rescued from total apostasy. (I Kings 18:40)

Something today quite similar to that time, I see in "Jews-for-Jesus" and "Messianic Jews" straddling the issue between Judaism and Christianity. Exactly in between one ideology and the other. They hold unto the Jewish identity while upholding the tenets of Christianity. They are lucky because, the only thing Elijah can do today, is to turn in his grave.

Ben

I have commented heavily on the Ultimate fate of the Universe and Is Time Travel Possible forums where you may be interested in the comments from 185185 who is from the Philippines. Christianity borrows heavily from the Babylonian pantheon for having a Catholic Church temple to St Michael the Archangel who fights the seven-headed dragon in the Book of Revelation. Before being carried off to Babylon Hebrew religion was like Germany in the 30 Years War when it came to witch trials, and Elijah gave a witch trial to the prophets of Baal. A mechanical pump to operate a carbon dioxide laser could take a burnt offering drenched in water for movie theater purposes. This is the only laser (infrared) that uses electricity only to run a mechanical pump that needs a mirror box to laze.
Heat stroke from exercise could explain many miracles of disease cure, especially when a Lapland shaman is using a sauna bath in northern Europe. Thermal infrared cameras used by firefighters could be used to catch heat stroke on athletes, when a narcotics response to heat hides the symptoms. Athletes should be benched at a forehead temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit or more, even though they are fit to run more. Heat stroke stimulates the production of otherwise extremely expensive gamma interferon when pathogens are already in a person.

Yes, Volcilord, something like a witch trial was what Elijah
tried on the prophets of Baal. True that 850 of them went to
the birds but the country was saved from a possible civil war, when many more could have been killed. Elijah probably behaved in a way like the estraordinary man, according to the concept of Dostoevsky in "Crime and Punishment." You know, when Raskolnikov killed two to save the world from the undesirable.

Ben

Emperor Nero was the first dictator to use burning by stake when he burned Christians as torch lights at the games inside his arena. Jacque DeMolay and Joan of Arc were also burned at the stake. Nero was witch hunting the Christians. This approach to explaining crucifixion, allows seventh heaven to be more tightly associated with spectator sports and other entertainment. you are not bait switching Sunday School children to the cross, when they explain the crucifixion evil of Nero that he did in public at his games.

Yes, but Christians had their repast later when Christianity was adopted by Rome as the official religion of the Empire in 310 ACE with Emperor Constantine. Then, it was the turn of Christianity to do their burning of Jews, especially during the Inquisition. See, how History gets its
turns?

Ben

By archaeology the term monotheism applies when one god in a pantheon is worshipped as God. The Torah is built on the mythology of an earlier religion in the Book of Genesis. The Hebrew reform was for Abraham to burn animals as sacrifice to God instead of humanity. St. Michael the Archangel fights the seven-headed dragon Satan in the Book of Revelation is the same as Marduk or Bel fighting the seven-headed dragon Tiamat.
Being too free with the death penalty gives a Zoroastrian human sacrifice blessing to the goverment involved as First Reich, Second Reich, Third Reich and so on. Joseph Stalin briefly was a member of the Axis when he invaded Poland, and in 1919 Stalin said "First Russia and then the World." Because he was forced to join the Allies, Stalin suceeded where Hitler failed. Right now the United States by freely interpreting the Abolitionist doctrine of Abraham Lincoln is by finance to the left of communist China. Where Abolitionist doctrine is more radical than socialism is that it is right to invade a newly formed racist state (The Confederacy), to force former members of The Union to obey the mandate of Congress. Fighting the American Civil War did eventually bless The Union. It is also the bloodiest war to the United States in United States history. The United States is also correct to give paramility support to Mexico to help handle the problem of trigger happy drug cartels.