Religion:
The Supreme God, His Son, and Their Foe

Here’s a story that comes to us from ancient eastern Mediterranean culture. See if you can recognize it.

High above the clouds sits a bearded man on a throne, draped in flowing raiment. But this is no man. This is the supreme god, with a voice like lightning and thunder, whose unguarded visage to so terrible that it would strike a mortal dead.

But there is one who opposes the supreme god and resents his rule. This is a lower being, the creator of horrors that have been consigned to the pit, one who speaks with the voice of serpents. This entity sends its monstrous minions against the supreme god and his celestial home, hoping to drive the supreme god off his throne.

Fortunately, the supreme god is not alone. Beside him is his son, born of mortal woman. He demonstrated is divine origin in the crib, has led a miraculous life, and now lives with his father above the clouds. Through his judgment and his might, the son defeats the minions from below.

Recognize the father and son? Scroll down.

Zeus and Heracles. The lower power is Gaia, Mother Earth. Her minions are snake-legged giants. Heracles defeats them because he knows to lift them off the ground so that Mother Earth cannot regenerate them. Held aloft, they can be killed. With this defeat, Gaia gave up trying to overthrow Zeus, and his reign was secured.

—JoT
July 2006

YHWH the Bully: Another story about God as an imperfect but powerful authority figure.

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Gay Pride Parade
Seattle 2006
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