What's the problem with groves?
score:12
Sacred groves are a common feature of ancient pagan religion.
A particularly accessible Western example might be Oedipus at Colonus, which is the middle play in the Theban cycle of Sophocles (following Oedipus Rex and preceding Antigone).
A great deal of the action in Oedipus at Colonus takes place in a grove outside Colonus that is consecrated to the "Erinyes" (goddesses of vengeance).
It's also not uncommon in the legends of early-medieval Western saints for the saint to cut down a sacred tree in the presence of pagan clerics and dignitaries, in a sort of recapitulation of 1 Kings 18 -- e.g., Boniface and the Donar Oak.
Upvote:4
Yes. The original word Asherah referred to shrines to a fertility goddess, not to forests, groves, or trees in general. There's nothing wrong with having trees around, of course; this is just another example of God's repeated warnings against idolatry. Asherah was the consort of Baal, whose worshipers were always a thorn in the side of Israel, and the two were often worshiped together as male and female aspects of fertility worship. See Judges 6 for one example. And as the verses you cite show, cutting down asherah is always found in the context of doing away with idols and idol-worship.
More post
- 📝 Was Jesus literate?
- 📝 Doctrine of biblical inerrancy and Pope Benedict XVI questioning the historicity of passage in the Gospel of Matthew?
- 📝 Are there members in people's ancestry who claim to have seen Jesus, or witnessed His acts?
- 📝 What is the Protestant view with what happens to a Christian who resists the Devil but he doesn’t flee?
- 📝 According to Mormonism, is the Black race cursed and if so what does that imply?
- 📝 Why are Matthew, Mark, and Luke called the synoptic gospels?
- 📝 Byzantine Chant vs. Gregorian Chant: What are the differences in goals as far as attitude and concepts between these two chanting styles
- 📝 Was it possible for Catholics to express their faith openly in England during the time of persecution?
- 📝 Is there any biblical support for the world ending in 2029?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church explain passages that seem to use culturally specific logic?
- 📝 Where does the belief that the Earth is relatively young (6000 years) come from?
- 📝 What does "scripture" mean in NT writing?
- 📝 What does "live in you" mean?
- 📝 How to define an independent interference by God?
- 📝 Is it more important that a worship service be contemplative or instructive, and how do we know?
- 📝 Wouldn't evil have already existed on Earth before Adam and Eve?
- 📝 Did Jeremiah lie in Jeremiah 38:27
- 📝 Did God promise to appoint prophets in each generation?
- 📝 LDS Church view: was the earth and all life on it created in six 24-hour days?
- 📝 Exodus 20, "And God spoke all these words:"
- 📝 What is the oldest historical evidence of the Sabbath commandment?
- 📝 How is Freemasonry related to Christianity?
- 📝 Why should Christians strive to live long lives? At what lengths should they go to do so?
- 📝 On what basis does Thomas Aquinas say that the Church existed since the time of Abel?
- 📝 What was the real issue between Arius and Bishop Alexander at Nicaea in 325?
- 📝 How many hours does Jesus speak in the New Testament?
- 📝 How should we interpret Leviticus 18, 19?
- 📝 Has there ever been an exorcism conducted by the Mormon Church?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for believing that God punishes Christians for disobedience?
- 📝 What is depicted on this small piece of artwork with Mary and the Apostles?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 A problem with Purgatory: How could Jesus say what he did to the repentant criminal on a cross next to him if Purgatory existed?
- 📝 What's the problem with groves?
- 📝 How do Unitarian see the Problem of sharing YHWHs Honor with the Son? Isaiah 48:11 and John 5:23
- 📝 Why is it that so many Churches have a problem with Halloween but not with the other pagan holidays?
- 📝 How do young earth creationists reconcile the age of the universe with the speed of light, and visible distant objects?
- 📝 What is the history of the concept of a "personal relationship with Jesus"?
- 📝 Why was God so upset with Moses for striking the rock the second time in the desert?
- 📝 What's up with churches and guitars in this joke from The Big Bang Theory?
- 📝 What were Martin Luther's main disagreements with the Catholic Church?
- 📝 How does Matthew 25:31-46 ("The Sheep and the Goats") reconcile with salvation by faith?
- 📝 What are the Biblical and theological problems with theistic evolution?
- 📝 How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?
- 📝 Is "the ends justify the means" compatible with Christianity?
- 📝 Did the Apostles' Creed originate with the Apostles?
- 📝 How does free will fit with the doctrine of predestination?
- 📝 What crime was committed by the "thieves" crucified with Jesus?
- 📝 Why are psalms in the bible printed with funny spacing?
- 📝 The Greatest Commandment - Loving God with all our 1) heart, 2) soul, and 3) strength
- 📝 According to personalism, is political libertarianism compatible with the Golden Rule?
- 📝 Is the Qur'an compatible with Christianity?
- 📝 What do Protestants who deny transubstantiation do with the remainders of wine and bread after the Eucharist?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church reconcile evolution with original sin?
- 📝 When is the first time in church history we find a prayer ending with "in Jesus' name, amen"?
- 📝 What was the problem at Babel?
- 📝 Why did Jesus physically throw out the money changers instead of winning the argument with reason?
- 📝 How do Catholics reconcile Christ's intercessory prayer with the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 How do Christians reconcile archeology with the Bible in the account of the Battle of Jericho?
- 📝 Why Do Moses' Laws About Slavery and Punishment Not Align with the Teachings of Jesus?
- 📝 How do Bible Literalists deal with trees older than the flood?
- 📝 Are there any Catholic sects which disagree with the sinlessness of Mary?