the omens were good;
the smoke rose properly to heaven;
the men might have felt better if the offering had been to a more familiar God like Teshub or Ishtar.
Raupasha, who had led the offering, replies:
both Teshub and Indara are ancestral deities;
Indrara may be an older name for Teshub;
both command the storm and thunder;
the kingdom was great when Indara was worshiped.
Her critic accepts this. Thus were religious differences settled in ancient times and in year 10 After the Event. Insistence on a single God, followed by disagreements about His will, generated greater intolerance?
SM Stirling, On The Oceans Of Eternity, Chapter Fourteen, p. 287.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Commenting on your last paragraph. BUT, if thee is only ONE sole God, it logically follows it would be wrong to worship "gods" that were not only false but did not even exist. However, I do not in the least believe in or approve of persecuting pagans. Discussion and debate are the right ways of addressing such issues.
I would also point out that pagans have done their share of persecuting! Besides the Roman treatment of the Early Christians, pagans/non-Christians have persecuted Christians in China, Korea, Japan.
Sean
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