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Polytheism In The Bible

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Human nature is an underlying theme of the Bible, as we are shown time and time again when God destroys large groups of people, sometimes even everyone, it is because of our inherently corrupt human nature. While the idea of original sin is a Catholic one, it seems that without Gods laws and influence humans descend into hedonism and chaos, which means that humanity needs his laws to prevent that. God walks a fine line between being the strict lawmaker, but also creating laws that take into consideration human nature. In Exodus 32 we read about the creation of the Golden Calf and descent of the Israelites down the path of idolatry, which Moses warned them was a great sin against God. Moses reasons with God, and is able convince him that he should not destroy his chosen people, and …show more content…

Their enslavement in Egypt resulted in the loss of their faith, over generations and generations during enslavement, God was forgotten. They went on to adopt the polytheistic gods of Egypt, which use idols as a tool of worship. This cultural history of polytheism seems to be a contributing factor as to why the Israelites are so quick to turn to Aaron to create an idol to channel their faith. The Golden Calf was simply them referring to what they are familiar with, but the Israelites don’t stop there, this creation of the Golden Calf also signifies their descent into hedonism. Some of their baser instincts seem to come out with the creation of this idol.
When the Israelites come to Aaron demanding him to “…make us gods that will go before us, for this man Moses who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” (Exodus 32:1-2) he is quick to give in to their demands. This need for a concrete manifestation of a god is not a new concept, idolatry is an age-old idea. Humans seem to have difficulty living with this abstract concept of a god. Being able to put the god into an
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