s. Present-day scholars find the origin of the
resistance of Israelitish prophets to the prevailing religion of western
Asia in the hostility of a rustic population, with a primitive mode of
life and archaic mores, to the luxury of Tyre and Sidon, wealthy cities
of commerce and industry.[1984] The conflict was between two sets of
mores. The biblical scholars now tell us that Jahveh was a Baal amongst
other Palestinian Baals until this antagonism arose. Then he was made
the god in whose name the ancient mores of Israel were defended against
the introduction of luxury and licentiousness. The antagonism was
between simple, rustic, largely pastoral modes of life and the ways of
cities with wealth, culture, and luxury. This is a permanent social
antagonism, but it carried with it the antagonism of simplicity to
sensuality, materialism, formal manners, and luxury. For four or five
centuries a succession of "prophets" developed the antagonism between
the Jahveh religion and heathenism. They maintained that Jahveh was not
only the single god of the Hebrews but the sole God of all the earth.
Other gods were nullities. The prophets condemned idolatry, and all
sensuality, licentiousness, and bestiality, with which they connected
all sorcery and divination. They insisted on a broad and firm sex taboo
and denounced sacral harlotry and child sacrifice together. It must be
remembered that the peoples of that age generally regarded sex usages
which seem to us the most abominable as trivial, unworthy of notice,
matters of personal liberty and choice. Brahmins, a century ago, held
that view of pederasty.[1985] The prophets also set in opposition to
their own traditional ritual religion a doctrine of righteousness, by
which religion was made ethical. It was a marvelous product for an
insignificant hill people. It is, however, to be noticed that in the
_Zend-Avesta_ there was also a great revolt against sex vice.[1986]

+613. How the Jewish view of sensuality came to prevail.+ The religious
system of the Jewish prophets never has become the actual popular
religion of any people. The Old Testament contains the story of the
protests and failures of the prophets. Their work did not issue from the
mores of the Jewish nation, and did not influence the mores before the
captivity. The prophets were trying to introduce a new world philosophy
by virtue of its ethical value and by interpretations of current
political history. In Jer. xliv we see the