The Horror of Canaanite Religion

I am currently editing a section of Judge which details some of the cultic practices of the Canaanites and the Philistines. They worshiped a pantheon of gods who lived on Mt. Zephon (modern Mount Aqraa in Syria) ruled by the drunken El (Dagon) and Asherah. The gods include the craftsman Chousor, Lightning-wielding Baal, Goddess of war and sex Ashtoreth, Goddess of savagery Anat, sea-god Lotan or Yam, and Mot, the god of death and the underworld.

Like their later Greek and Roman counterparts (Zeus, Hera, Vulcan, Athena, Neptune, and Hades) these gods were known for their all-too-human characteristics. In the Ras Shamra mythologies uncovered in the ruins of Ugarit, Baal sires a decoy of himself on a cow and later turns himself into a bull to rape his sister Anat. Anat wears a belt of the heads and hands of her victims and is depicted wading exultantly through rivers of blood. The gods hold orgies on Mount Zephon, sometimes including humans.

Priests in Canaan were political and religious leaders with absolute power over their followers. They practiced exorcism and various forms of divination. They were assisted by Kurgaru (castrato), Assinu (homosexual priests), Naditu (ritually neutered priestesses), Sinnishat Zikrum (lesbian transvestites), and Qadishtu (female temple prostitutes).

Among the most well-known of their practices was the invocation of "sympathetic magic." During the dry summer season vegetation died when Mot triumphed over Baal, forcing him to withdraw into the depths of the earth. Baal (and the rain) would return only after Anat conquered Mot and Baal could mate with Ashtoreth, ensuring fertility for the coming year. To encourage Baal to do so, Canaanites held huge sexual orgies in which the priests had sex with any and all women they desired. The priests might also re-enact Baal's copulation with cows, and offer sacrifices of infant children. In some cases, Canaanites would appeal to their dead relatives for help in overcoming Mot; this was done by having sex with one's closest living fleshly relative.

Evidence indicates that Canaanites lived in morbid dread of their priests. Marriages and families were shattered by their practices, and the unwanted children of these unions were often slaughtered on altars to Baal or Dagon. Sexually transmitted disease was likely epidemic; rape was perhaps as common as it is in the worst of today's war-ravaged nations. According to Merrill F. Unger: “Excavations in Palestine have uncovered piles of ashes and remains of infant skeletons in cemeteries around heathen altars, pointing to the widespread practice of this cruel abomination.” (Archaeology and the Old Testament, 1964, p. 279) Halley’s Bible Handbook (1964, p. 161) says: “Canaanites worshipped, by immoral indulgence, as a religious rite, in the presence of their gods; and then, by murdering their first-born children, as a sacrifice to these same gods. It seems that, in large measure, the land of Canaan had become a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah on a national scale. . . . Did a civilization of such abominable filth and brutality have any right longer to exist? . . . Archaeologists who dig in the ruins of Canaanite cities wonder that God did not destroy them sooner than he did.”

Writing about the reality of these practices is important, I think. People should know and understand why these nations were condemned to destruction. From a Biblical standpoint, the most humane thing Jehovah could do for them was to kill them, preserve them in His memory, and at a later date resurrect them into a better world.

The Home Stretch

Editing has entered the home stretch. I hope to order my final proof on 24 May. If all goes well, I will hold my release party on 19 June and the book will become available for sale on that day as well.

Today also begins my pre-marketing schedule. I intend to keep my blog and Twitter updated daily. I will be using Twitter to share information regarding life in Bible times and details about Bible verses that I have encountered in my research for The Eternal Throne Chronicles. I will also begin marketing to bookstores.

I hope to be invited to join the North Olympic Library System's Author Fair again this year on 22 May. (Unfortunately, this falls the day after Chelsey's and my sixteenth wedding anniversary--what were you thinking, NOLS?)

Thanks for following!

Editing progress

I am in Bellingham this weekend to give a talk about the 20th chapter of 2 Chronicles. We are staying with friends, allowing me to ignore phone calls and escape everyday distractions and work on editing Judge of Israel. So here I sit, Bolt curled up at my side, a view of Bellingham's storm-tossed bay outside the window--blogging instead of editing.

Prophet of Israel on Kindle

Prophet of Israel will be available as a free Kindle download from Amazon.com within the next few days. If you are a Kindle user, tell your friends about it!

Tragedy on 101

At around 10 p.m. on Saturday, the 12th of December, a Ford Escort carrying three Peninsula College exchange students from China collided with a Ford Focus on Highway 101, east of Port Angeles. Two of the students, Chi-Kan Cheung (21) and Duo Li (21) were declared dead at the scene.

Duo Li was a student of my editor, Kate Goschen--and one of those students Kate was "particularly fond of." This terrible, senseless tragedy has been devastating for Kate and the rest of the staff and students at Peninsula College. Kate is taking a few days off to recuperate and to welcome her daughter, Grace, back from her trip to Panama.

We will resume editorial work on Wednesday, the 23rd.

Chi-Kan Cheung and Duo Li--you will be missed.

Off to the editor

I am passing off the manuscript to Kate Goschen's able hands today. While she works her magic, I will work on finalizing the cover, final formatting, release plans, and registering for Bowkers, copyright, ISBN number, and Lulu Publishing's marketing package.

I have started fiddling with the outline for Book Three: "Hero of Israel" but it is in its very early stages. I have a rough outline I wrote several years ago, but there is a lot of fleshing out to do before any real writing can be started.

In the meantime, I will start planning the release party...