Agnosticism / Atheism: What's Hot Now: Babylonian Captivity

Agnosticism / Atheism: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Babylonian Captivity Dec 13th 2011, 11:01 Babylonian Captivity Back to Last Page >     Glossary Index>  Related Terms • Chaldeans • Zoroastrianism   Definition: The Babylonian Captivity occurred between 597 BCE and 538 BCE when large numbers of Jews were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Chaldeans, and held in Babylon. They were only released because Babylon was conquered by Cyrus who allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. During their captivity many Jews rose to become powerful and wealthy - indeed, many did not want to return to Jerusalem when they were allowed to do so. It during this time period that many basic concepts of Zoroastrianism, the primary religion of Babylon, entered into Jewish thought - particularly because the Torah, as it is currently known, reached its present form and was written down during this exile. Because the Temple had been destroyed and they were far from their homeland, the Jews had to develop entirely new forms of religion and community - thus leading to the development of the synagogues, which would eventually become the primary focus of Jewish religiosity and spirituality. This also caused them to emphasize different aspects of their traditions, particularly the portions which set them apart from others. These gained in importance because of being surrounded by so many non-Jews. In fact, some argue that pretty much everything which is currently associated with Judaism actually developed during this time. A new theology of God was also needed. Previously, their victories over others was attributed to the fact that their god was more powerful than other nations and the gods they worshipped. But did their defeat mean that their god was now weaker? No, the fault had to lie with them - they were sinful and failed to keep their covenant with God, which meant that their God decided not to keep his part of the bargain, either. Having removed his divine protection from them, they fell victim to the machinations of other empires. This, then, was a reason why the prophetic books came to play such a role in the Jewish canon, because the prophets had been warning the people of Israel and Judah about their poor behavior and the consequences which would befall them. Also Known As: Babylonian Exile Alternate Spellings: none Common Misspellings: none Related Resources: What is Theism? What is the difference between monotheism and monolatry? Between pantheism and panentheism? How about between animism and shamanism? Or theism and deism? What the heck is henotheism? For that matter, what is and is not a religion? What is Religion? A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Back to Last Page >     Glossary Index>

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