My God Isn't Sh*t

My God Isn't Sh*t | Francesca Stavrakopoulou PhD

“By the end of the sixth century BCE, Yahweh of Jerusalem had apparently decided he could no longer tolerate other deities. His scribes intensified their excremental excoriation of his divine competitors, moving from scatological attacks to full-on faecal defamation. The smears stain biblical texts of this period: deities other than Yahweh become known as gillulim – ‘sh*tgods’. This deliberately derogatory designation is usually rendered ‘idols’ in English (from the Greek Bible’s eidola), but its more accurate translation reflects its derivation from a Hebrew term for excrement.41 The Bible’s sh*tgods are repeatedly described as man-made abominations. They are merely material lumps – whether of wood, metal, or stone. They are not responsive divine beings, but inanimate objects. Their materiality condemns them: they are reduced in name and essence to the basest form of matter, so that sh*tgods are rendered the waste of this world, rather than the holy host of heaven. Scholars often suppose this intense attack on cult statues in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE reflects a rejection of the traditional theology of divine bodies in favour of an increasingly immaterial, body-free God. But this was not the case. Sh*tgods and other divine statues were inferior”

Excerpt From
God: An Anatomy
Francesca Stavrakopoulou

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[fazbell]

Dr. Stravakopoulou is an amazing academic. Her research should be read by everyone.

[caribbeanman]

Every where the OT talks about "dungy idols" or "dungy gods" the author is basically saying "shitty gods". I would love to see a forthright English translation doing this.

[djparn]

I have Dr. Stavrakopolou's book and enjoyed it very much. I've watched her on several programs and I'm a big fan.

[grosbeak]

In ninth-century China, Chan Master Yúnmén Wényan (known in Japan as Ummon Zenji) made quite a fantastic impact by deflating all such forms of piety. His most famous one-liner stemmed from a question posed to him by a monk. The question from the monk was, “What’s the Buddha?” His answer: “A dried shit-stick.”

[johnsoloninka]

Just purchased the book on audible! Yrs ago read “God: a biography” and was very interested in how people could have a positive consistent view of the God of the bible? Love your work Francesca and MythVision!

[ashleyriosrizo]

I'm loving these shorter snippets. 👍

[PlanetDeLaTourette]

Gillulim is related to golem, if you ask me. Based on gelem, which means raw material if we can believe wikipedia. I think it's closer to raw material than to dung, which are close together in notation. More clay than crap, I suspect. Emphasizing a fake or dead aspect to the idols.

[Apollos_Christian_Apologetics]

Btw I’m pretty sure she meant Yahweh at 3:11

[artemisia]

The book is awesome! Dr. Stavrakopoulou has a very compelling style, I love authors capable of sparking the mental image maker to a world-building degree. Her description of the Sasanian siege of Dura-Europos played like a movie in my head, a remarkable effort. Never had so much fun with a book about the Hebrew Bible!

[rickskeptical]

Holy crap! - gives a blessed aroma to the phrase.

[integrationalpolytheism]

3:08 - "it's not something that we ever find ascribed directly to yhwh".

Well, I couldn't help but think of Philippians chapter 3. (KJV is the best translation for this, which isn't something I ever expected to be saying!) Wouldn't that passage qualify? Or is this maybe not direct enough?

[geraldmeehan]

I wonder if this all goes back to Egyptian reverence for the dung beetle?

[karnobot]

I went and got her audio book. It's very long and not finished yet. Very interesting! Regarding yahweh being a crappy god is a compliment actually. This god is a monster villain whose evil deed is beyond villainy we normally deal with.

[williambeckett]

The ancients viewed the statues of their gods as their vessels. That if a god would visit a city it would leap into and animate the statue as a body. Which is why gods would have numerous chapels in ay given kingdom. Weirdly, the best visual representation of this was in Disney's Hercules. When he goes to the temple of Zeus and the statue comes to life to speak with him.

[calanm]

This book changed my life (for the better). It helped open my eyes and disentangle the 40+ years of theological & cultural indoctrination. Its a compelling & at time hilarious read - I cannot thank Mythvision enough for promoting this book. I would encourage everyone who can to get a copy or ask your local library to order it.

[liberalinoklahoma]

I wonder how Billy Idol feels about learning this???

[Stupidityindex]

My god is so good, I don't need to worship, pray, or anything.

[kultus]

The BuyBull is often talking about gawd's staff and rock. So, Ballin' Baal used the Staff-Rock-a-poo-loo to relieve himself.

[robsellars]

Like she says, Elijah was taunting the priests of Baal by implying that Baal was unable to light the bonfire because he was busy having a s**t! After this time Elijahs god, YHVH, lights the fire and proves his superiority apparently.

[Aragorn.Strider]

Reminds me of this idea that God went to the toilet and made a huge poop, with a bang, and so the big bang started some 14.000.000.000 years ago. Now it all makes sense :D