A Book by Yehoshua Etzion

Tag Publishing House, Tel Aviv,1999,

583 pages

Synopsis:

The Book of Heresy is a new and original reconstruction of the ancient history of the Jewish people. It is based on the assumption that in the distant past there existed upon this planet a developed culture – The Culture of the Gods, and that the Old Testament is a documentation of the relations that developed between one of the most important gods and a group of people that in the course of time became the People of Israel.
The book is divided into two parts: The Path of Heresy, and A Land Without God. The first part reviews the Israeli history from its emergence to the days of King Solomon. The second part represents the development of the Israeli belief during the First Temple era and at the time of the Return to Zion (see Brief Contents).
While carefully surveying the Old Testament and the Masoretic sources, the author shows that the Bible and its traditional interpretations are inlaid with sayings of heresy, that were spoken or written by the greatest believers. Some of his conclusions are the following:
The patriarch Abraham doubted the moral integrity of God
Moses was one of the greatest rebels against God of all times.
King Solomon did not believe that God is the creator of the world and its almighty ruler.
The prophet Amos claimed that the People of Israel were no more the Chosen People.

The author, in his special way, tries to tackle grave problems of belief that troubled the sages of Israel throughout the ages. In so doing, he presents God as a troubled and selfish figure, and people as none the less troubled rebels and unbelievers. They are the true heroes of this fascinating book.
The book is accompanied by a list of sources, and an index of the biblical quotations given

Brief Content:

Part One:The path of heresy
In the kingdom of Gods
Gods and humans
The Rebel
Heresy

Part Two: A land without God
People of faith
The reward for loyalty

List of sources
Index of biblical quotations

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