Ohhhh - me likey spending time in this “firm foundation” (serious voice) of knowledge getting to know god.
This written foundation, by man’s best guess, started (another topic, for another thread) with “Moses”.
He’s credited with writing Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers and Leviticus (may not be in order, done by memory). This was about 600 BCE (being generous - you do the math).
Anyhoo, moving on to what Moses wrote about his god’s interaction with people before the “laws” and “lessons” - YOU must remember; those ancient people were not writing it down, they were not in constant communication with god, AND they were doing their best to make their way through the world as they knew it.
So working together, they found co-operating was a great advantage. They could make things, trade things, share, and communicate with each other in a more efficient manner. They set up a form of “leadership” (notice I’m not bringing up our evolved inheritance for hierarchy). AND as a group, humanity was accomplishing.
Genesis 11:1-9
Now god had already “started over” after he regretted “making man” (hahahahaha - couldn’t see how fucked up “his” creation would turn out??? So much for all-knowing!). BUT it sounds like these offspring of Noah aren’t off to a bad start. No mention of “wickedness”, but still, god is perturbed (poor emotional, “feel sorry for me” type - “Nothing I do works out like I WANT!” stomps foot)
SO… like I said…
“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, (cool - sounds like they were inventing) and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, (hey…do YOU think god thought they could build something that could reach where he lives? I mean, he’s smart right - I think he’d “know”) so that we may make a name for ourselves (uh oh - I have a feeling god doesn’t want man taking credit for man’s accomplishments, I mean after all, aren’t people trained to thank “god” for the food prepared for them by human hands?); otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
So humanity at this time found an advantage of working together and co-operating - plus the added bonus of not limiting the gene-pool (oh right, fuck I FORGOT - up to this point incest is best)… “5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. (uh, I guess god is not all-seeing either…doesn’t “know” shit until he investigates it for himself) 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. (Goddamnit!!! He forgot they can communicate and if they’re together - fuck! - they are “competition” for the most powerful! AND nothing will be impossible for them …shit, god sounds very threatened by this discovery of what humanity has been up to) 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (is it me or wasn’t god already “down”? OR did he go back “up” to get reinforcements? AND then they can come back down and fuck around with the humans…) 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Hahahahaha- still didn’t work out well for your god!!! I’m typing and you’re reading with scientific technology AND we’ve learnt to speak each other’s languages and we’ve traced our evolutionary line AND cosmology to the “beginning” of Plank time. We are in space, gathering information AND our “buildings” ARE much “higher in the sky” then our ancient ancestors. We are trading internationally and have a quality of life that those ancient goat herders couldn’t even imagine!
POOR god… he’s fucked… he was threatened by a handful of brick and tar builders - no wonder he stays hidden now!