Eric Hoffer, The Stoic

 

Philosopher and Professor Pedro Blas Gonzalez and one other source who I cannot recall, refer to Eric Hoffer as a stoic. That labeled puzzled me because I did not know what they meant, and they do not seem to elaborate, but I think I have a plausible explanation.

 

I will soon copy, paste, and respond to any articles by Gonzalez on Hoffer, which I can uncover and discover. Gonzalez seems sharp.

 

For today I will copy and paste this short snippet from an article online, by Gonzalez, where he refers to Hoffer as a stoic thinker.

 

Here is the article snippet which I will comment on afterwards:

 

Gonzalez: “

 

Hoffer and the True Believers

Apr 30, 2018

The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
by Eric Hoffer.
Perennial Classics, 1960, 2010.
Paperback, 192 pages, $15.

PEDRO BLAS GONZÁLEZ

The American philosopher Eric Hoffer (1902–1983) is a rare thinker. Hoffer is a philosopher in the classic sense of the word—he sought life-affirming answers to vital concerns. Rhetoric, radical skepticism, intellectual posturing, and calisthenics, Hoffer asserted, defeat the essence of philosophical reflection. This is the case because philosophy is a vital activity that acts as a tool that props man up to purpose, meaning, and truth.

There is much of the stoic in Hoffer, a man known as the “Longshoreman Philosopher.” His work embodies that indispensable quality that informs the thought of all great thinkers: acumen for natural psychology that is guided by observation and perspicuity.”

Gonzalez equates Hoffer’s ruminations as being like the thought of all great thinkers: acumen for natural psychology that is guided by observation and perspicuity. It would seem that Hoffer, apperceptive and perceptive, so he could study himself and then observe others, and reach grand, inductive conclusions. It seems that Hoffer was speculative about metaphysical subjects, in a grand way.

This seems right but it does not explain how Hoffer is a Stoic.

Elsewhere, a couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon an internet description about Descartes to whom a rough, unidentified quote, paraphrased Descartes as a stoic—rather than change the world, change your passions.

Here, I am wildly speculative: and I must admit I cannot claim that Hoffer, Gonzalez, or Descartes think like I will speculate, but at least it gives me a potential answer to my question as to why Hoffer is regarded as a stoic, and the answer is vital if one would understand Hoffer’s view of the world. It seems important. Below is my theory.

If Hoffer was old-fashioned philosopher in the sense that he was deeply speculative about the great questions, even wallowing hip-deep in metaphysical hypothesizing, if that is the trait of a stoic philosopher, then he was stoical.

If a Stoic was one like the view attributed rightly or wrongly to Descartes above, that one should not change the world, just fatalistic endure without external effort to alter the exterior natural or social arrangements, but instead, act internally to change one’s passions, then perhaps Hoffer was a Stoic in that sense, that the good person seeks to change and reform himself personally and wholly before he becomes politically engaged.

Hoffer enjoyed his labor union, but did not get involved in running it, and some socialist labor theorists criticize him for this: they imply that he was sold out because he did not advocate publicly, promoting progressive reforms in the political arena.

 These accusations seem empty: they miss the boat because Hoffer the thinker, loner, writer, great soul, and philosopher and individualist, was about ideas and mediations, not political engagement.

 He would have regarded political activism and ideologically pursuits as collectivism/holy cause work, and an outgrowth of altruist ethics, whereas as a latent egoist, Hoffer concluded that the public good and making the world better was best done internally and private by self-improvement. This is the only practical and moral means by which we may change or attempt to change the world.

Self-realizing, advanced self-care versus self-disciplining is the only or the most important, substantive reform for the individual to partake in. It could be the life of personal maverization  is the only real revolution at all.

For public and political activists and ideologues, such retreat from the active affairs of the world is cowardly, treacherous submission to the elite running the corrupt status quo. Such surrender is betrayal, they bray: fatalism is anti-activism, and promoting evil in the world by acts of omission.

I vigorously disagree and counter-argue that, if all or most accepted and agreed that self-realization, the profound, powerful changing of the self for the betterment of the self first, and then others, the world and for God indirectly, if the majority so conducted their lives, the cumulative, healthy effect public would be to bolster the public good, to change the world radically and dramatically..

 

My own version of this conservative and individualistic and quiet revolution per capita is that we have agency, and we reform ourselves more than change the world and be politically involved. On the other hand, good people as citizens must run things publicly lest we allow evil people to take over the politics and set up tyranny and injustice.

We should be stoic but not too fatalistic: by self-realizing, the majority would be improving the self in their private lives and liberty, and yet as individuating supercitizens, they would plan and get together and come up with an agreed upon compromised agenda to run the country from the vantage of being the nation’s masses, the bosses, from the bottom up

So it could be that Hoffer is seen as stoical, turning against the world, improving himself, and doubting the efficacy of communal activism and political advocacy, this could be what Gonzalez means by Hoffer is a Stoic, but this is but my opinion.

 

 

Peterson The Altruist

 

I watched and took notes on a video clip on YouTube, wherein Jordan Peterson was answering questions from emailers or texters. I will write out my notes below, with slight editing for clarity. I will interject responses where appropriate.

 

This clip was produced on April 28, 2018, something called YouTube Philosophy Insights, entitled: Jordan Peterson, Egoism-Altruism: Jordan Peterson: Does Egoism Trump Altruism.

 

My take is that Jordan is an altruist, and that he likely holds that altruism trumps egoism. He has videos on great souls being quite alone and functioning, and years ago he had lectures on individualism as the sovereign assumption or Western thinking, but he really has been an altruist all along, and, as this video reveals, he only allows for some egoistic morality as the standard of the healthy, functioning individual, nested in a collective matrix, that we are  to serve others and sacrifice ourselves to others as our primary mission and duty in life—none of which I buy.

 

Here is the video from Jordan, and he is answering a question sent in by a follower, and his answer is the 8.48-minutes long response.

 

Jordan (J after this)): “What is your view on psychological egoism? If we’re all ultimately acting out of self-interest than does altruism have any merit?”

 

My response: If one’s view of human nature, a view of psychological egoism, is that all people are motivated selfishly, naturally by self-interest, then if that were universal human nature and accompanying social reality, the asker is seeking clarification from Jordan as to if we are all selfish all the time, are humans even capable of being generous, or does it make any sense, or can it be an effective ethical recommendation that people should learn to act altruistically, to be motivated most of the time or all of the time, by sacrificing themselves to serve the interest of others, in direct conflict with their internal, overpowering inclination to seek what the self wants instead?

 

This is not an unintelligent challenge to the efficacy of altruistic morality, and Bernard Mandeville similarly argued instead that since people are psychologically egoistic, it is more productive and effective to promote ethical egoism, to come in line with what people are and what they have to work with. Mandeville’s criticism of altruism is not unintelligent either, and I support it somewhat.

 

Now, I will anticipate that Jordan Peterson believes people are born selfish, and they are basically evil, but that there is still, in each human heart, enough residual, if undeveloped but requiring development and strengthening, an inborn decency and ability to love others, and, if the young are taught to be loving as altruistic moralists, they can become good children and society may be a place where moral people keep things operating.

 

I believe, like Jordan does, that people are born depraved (selfish, aggressive, malevolent), but residually are still good enough in the potential to mature as unselfish, kind, peaceful and benevolent agents, who, when morally guided by a successful ethical code, they can become civilized decent adults.

 

For, me people are not born as psychological egoists: they are born psychological altruists, a phrase which I have coined, and which I believe is meritorious.

 

 A psychological egoist—a natural, interest inclination per person which is theoretical but inapplicable to actually existing human beings--by my unique and revolutionary redefinition, defines each person as someone that loves herself more than she hates herself, that she esteems herself more than she downgrades herself--assuming her performance matches her self-assessment so that her self-assessment is based on merit not self-deluding—and that she pursues self-interest--enlightened and this is her telos of self-realizing over a lifetime as an individuators--before and more than other-interest, though serving other interest is still a significant priority for her.

 

Sadly, humans are not born as psychological egoists, but, they are born psychologically egoistic enough to, with training in self-esteeming and adopting egoistic morality, they can learn behave and be benevolent while having learned to make their enlightened self-interest, their primary moral motive and focus.

 

I assert that people are depraved because they are born predominantly to be and live as psychological altruists. They selfishly prioritize group interest over self-interest. People of pack-living and nonindividuating caliber, the vast majority of people, lack self-esteem (They hate themselves.), and when one loathes the self, one is filled with rage, hatred, despair and bitterness, and these people see themselves as victims, and then they will hurt others to export their inner frustration and sense of misery.

 

To preach the learned moral code of altruism of self-sacrifice in service of others’ interests is to grow evil in each human heart, and to grow evil in the world, and this is the moral code which Jordan mistakenly defends in this video. Remember, egoists are unselfish more than selfish, and altruists are selfish more than unselfish. Jordan and other proponents of altruism are accusing evil people of being naturally selfish, and then they offer altruistic medicine, a poisonous, crippling nostrum which is makes people ethically sicker than they were without it.

 

It is staggering to appreciate how someone as brilliant, good, wise and articulate as Jordan is to come to exactly the wrong solution on such a important, fundamental point—what moral code brings out the best in people. Jordan the influencer is doing great damage.

 

J: “I don’t think the question is well-posed, and that it’s one of these questions that leads into a philosophical dead end. And because it is not well-posed, it must be noted that there is no such thing as self-interest.”

 

My response: I am not a psychologist. Peterson the altruist moralist, would eliminate the concept of self-interest as a useful, metaphysically real and morally vital faculty of self-appraisal, because if he denies that it is real, getting the public to accept his superior knowledge of these things because he is a psychological expert and public authority of much prominence, then it is easier for him to gain his end, the total discrediting and defeat of the  proponents of egoism, who advocate that one should pursue one’s self-interest as one’s moral good and moral duty.

 

J: “It’s not the right way to think about it.”

 

My response: It is not only the right way to think about it, it is the only way to think about it, if any individual would be moral, fulfilled and happy, and if humanity is to have any chance for a future.

 

J: “Because you are not alone.”

 

My response: Of course, we are not alone, for we are social creatures jam-packed together with 8 billion other people on this small, crowded planet. But, being that innately we hate ourselves and are addicted to what makes us hate ourselves, to propose group-ethics as the moral solution will force people to become much sicker than they otherwise are, and they will inflict greater and greater wounds upon themselves and each other. Selfless, group-oriented morality, as the anecdote to the naturally self-poisoning tendency which people already suffer from, the affliction of self-sacrificing the self to the pack, is to extract the active agent from that genetic self-poisoning, and to seek to inoculate people against being evil but giving them an ethical code or shot which pumps that poisonous vaccine into their veins, which greatly, further damages all.

 

J: “And so this is why I like Piaget, Jean Piaget. This is because he thought about this intelligently. Look. First, of all, whose self-interest do you mean? You mean your immediate self-interest in the next second? So that would be impulsive pleasure. We’re all acting for the gaining of impulsive pleasure and to hell with anything else. Well, obviously that is a stupid way to behave because you can do the impulsive route in the short-term, gratifying things like snorting cocaine now, and you can keep going down that path, and it’ll pay off real well in the extremely short term. And they’ll just auger you into the ground in the medium to long term.”

 

My response: Jordan so despises egoism, egoists and promoters of self-interest that he creates a straw man here: those believing in pursuing self-interest as their primary ethical aim are reduced to snorting cocaine, and impulsively gratifying immediately every short-term temptation arising in them: craving for candy and chemicals, letting lose all personal lust and impulse which they feel at that second, to be fulfilled right now, without any regard for self-control, for how such rash, even deadly indulging physically and ethically impact the self and anyone around one.

 

This is not enlightened self-interest which I promote under Mavellonialism, nor the egoism pushed by Objectivists. It is almost an ad hominem attack against us by Jordan, and it is very unfair and misleading. Even Randians insist that the individual self-sacrifice his short-term desires in favor of serving his permanent aim, to fulfill his potential as a living creature who should live, work, play and interact with others in manner which makes him happy and productive. That surely is not hedonistic self-gratification with no regard for the future, for others or personal accountability.

 

J: “So if you’re acting in your own self-interest—let’s take that apart. Over what period of time is your self-interest operating in—in the next second, your self-interest in the next hour?

 

Like if you’re impulsive and you want to gratify an impulse, you’re obviously acting in your own self-interest.”

 

My response: This is completely wrong and false: Usually, when a man, for example, gratifies immediately any impulse that wells up into his consciousness, a heeded temptation often with awful consequences for himself or others around him, when he without moral self-restraint indulges this desire or whim every time without thoughts of rightness or repercussion, he is a sick, moral monster, or an adult without modest moral training.

 

His pathetic, destructive self-indulgence is not in his best interest. An egoist always or should always presuppose that when he acts in his own interest, that his choice and action should be in line with his long-term, enlightened self-interest. He is deliberative, conscious, reflective, and sober, so impulsive, selfish, reckless whim acts of self-gratification are not in his self-interest—nor does he identify hedonic pleasure, instantaneous gratification as his self-interest-- but are against his self-interest. And what is not in his self-interest is what is selfish, hateful, mean, and destructive.  This enlightened self-interest is consistent with other-interest.

 

Groupists are the ones most likely to engage in impulsive self-destructive ill-advised behaviors not in their interest or in any one else’s interest. Jordan’s caricature example of self-interest is actually other-interested motivation at its crudest revelation in action.

 

J: “in that next second, or in the next two seconds or in the next minute. But you know you pay for that. Maybe you slap someone because you’re so angry and then you know they knock you for a loop, and then they charge you with assault.

 

You know so well in your self-interest in that second but the future? Remember that Simpson’s episode. Homer drank a quart of mayonnaise and vodka, and Marjorie and all his kids are telling him not to. He said, well, that’s a problem for future Homer. I sure don’t envy that guy. That is one of the best Simpson lines ever. I think, well that’s it exactly.

 

It’s like well, there isn’t just you: there’s now you, and there’s tonight you.”

 

 

 

My response: No, Jordan there is just you, only you, one soul, one consciousness, one ego and one mind over a span of possibly 90 years, and that self is not a bunch of collective separate selves, and it not but a bundle of Humean successive, momentary, fleeting perceptions. It is the self like the Aristotelian oak nut that will grow into a mighty tree, and that ego over a lifetime requires an irreducible human consciousness acting egoistically in his own self-interest to make something of his life, to be an original thinker, crafter and produces to please God and this is how he benefits humanity.

 

J: “and there’s tomorrow you and there’s morning you. That’s the one that will have the hangover, by the way. And there’s next week you, and next month you and next year you, and old you. And so if you’re going to act in you self-interest, you have to take the collective of you across time into account when you make your decision.”

 

My response: I know of no reasonable, intelligent egoist who would deny that self-interest needs to be calibrated with the long view in mind, but they would not differentiate much between young you and old you as Jordan does. There is only one you over time, period. This if so, and it is an argument for enlightened self-interest and general denial of immediate self-gratification and pro-self-sacrificing immediate desires for long term person gain and self-development.

 

J: “And there’s morning you and there’s morning you. That’s the one that will have the hangover, by the way. And there’s next week you and the next month you and next year you, and old you, and if you’re going to act in your own self-interest, you have to take the collective of you across time into account when you make your decision.”

 

My response: This is crap. There is not collective collection of yous over time; it is but one unitary self, flowing through time on its life course, and the one self is the individual whose sole identity is the one you.

 

J: “And now here’s the cool thing about that. That would be acting in your self-interest writ large across time spans, but the thing is future you, and someone else you have to live with right now, that’s not you are pretty much the same people. And so, if you are going to act in your own self-interest, and you also have other people around you, then you also want to act in their own self-interest because otherwise they won’t like you.”

 

My response: If every adult pursued her own self-interest as a maverized individuators, that would best serve the interest of others and herself, and that would be her duty, and it is convenient and nice if others like her, but her duty to herself is her primary moral obligation, despite possibly not being liked or rejected as a social outcast.

 

J: “They won’t cooperate with you, and they won’t compete with you in a reasonable manner. And so that’s going to be a catastrophe, so you want to act out what is good for you next month and next year, and you want to do that in a way that’s good for you and your family, and your community, right now, next week and next year.”

 

My response: Jordan is too pessimistic here. If 85% of adults in the future adopt egoism or individuation as their  moral code, they will be reasonable and figure out how to cooperate, compete and compromise with each other as sensible, mature, reasonable adults. It usually will work out with less needless fighting and strife as now routinely occurs in interpersonal relationhips among collectivized, group-living nonindividuators tanked up on the tea of altruistic, selfless morality.

 

J: “And you’re going to take all those things into account at the same time. That’s an equilibrated game from the Piagetian perspective, and it was his idea that that constituted the basis for proper moral judgment. It’s a brilliant idea. And that’s your true self-interest. There’s no difference between your interest and the interest of others.”

 

My response: This is all rationalized nonsense to convince the young people whom he is counseling that duty to others trumps self-interest, and again, I refute that wholly and yet qualitatively, that duty to the self trumps one’s duty to others, and that each pursuing her enlightened self-interest is her duty to herself, and, paradoxically fulfills and best fulfills her duty to others, a serious but secondary moral obligation which each of us carries.

 

I admire the Piagetian concept of the equilibrated game as the optimal way for humans to cooperate and live loving, moral lives with each other. I agree that it is the basis for proper moral judgment, but Piaget and Jordan have it wrong, by nesting individualism, self-interest, and egoism a within and subordinate to a moral landscape of collectivism, other-interest and altruist morality. I flip that around, by positing that individuating individualists egoistically chasing after their self-interest is the primary moral and social context, within with the subsumed, secondary but important interests of selflessness, group interest, altruism and sharing are positioned and stressed as important moral goals and behavioral guides.

 

The true self is not selfless but is self-interested most of the time.

 

J: “Not in any fundamental sense.”

 

My response: It is clear to me here where Jordan is steering the monologue: He declares that self-interest is not fundamentally different from other-interest or common interest, so the best and only way to be more and fulfilled as an individual is to sacrifice self-interest to a life of service dedicated to others, forgetting about the self.

 

This is not convincing, and I must challenge it. In a fundamental sense, self-interest is significantly and qualitatively different from group-interest, and the individual pursuit of self-interest as his primary aim is the only way to lead a moral life.

 

Once most adults in a community are directly individuating in line with egoist morality, then, indirectly, their impressive display of actualized self-interest will lead to a well-functioning, equilibrated community, and, in that sense serving self-interest improves and vitalizes the public good, and only then and only this way are the two interests fundamentally the same and merge.

 

J: “Even, even your enemies which is why you’re enjoined to treat your enemy as if he was yourself, because he is. You know, when well, you should wish well, you should wish your enemy well. Well, why? It isn’t that you hope they get a bigger house than you. It’s that let’s say you are being pursued and tormented by someone who is truly reprehensible.

 

That person is, they have a miserable life, man, in all likelihood. Let’s say they are truly malevolent. You know they live in hell, and what you might hope for them is that they would figure out how to get out of there because it is not good for them. And it’s not good for anyone else. Think well even your enemies. It’s like, wouldn’t it be good if they could get their act together?

 

And stop bring so unnecessarily malevolent? And that’s in your self-interest. So, the idea that your self-interest is somehow opposed to other peoples’, or that if you maximize your self-interest, you’re not operating in the best interests of other people is predicated on a poor idea of what constitutes your self-interest, because you’re not separate from other people in any real sense.”

 

My response: Here Jordan is spouting collectivist, psychobabble horse crap. One’s enlightened self-interest and an egoistic individuator are not tied to other people in opposition to them, or in conjunction with their needs and preference. The individuating individual is flexing his positive power of powerfulness and personal liberty to please himself for his own reasons as a separate independent person. Yes, he has neighbors, but so what? Their interference in his affairs is impermissible and irrelevant, and his individuating indirectly, in the long run, leads to public benefit and harmony, but that is a happy result, not his motivation for individuating.

 

If you are not separate from other people in any real sense, is because you are a nonindividuated self-hating joiner, a conforming groupist with stunted consciousness and an atrophied sense of individualism: as you self emerges as you maverize, then you cannot be identical to others in any real sense other than being a fellow human being.

 

If self-interest is not pursued by the individual individuating, then the concept that the sovereign individual is the Western ideal and core belief, is but an empty shell, empty rhetoric. It is in their interest that you and your neighbors first and foremostly personally individuate your talents, you are separated and that unites you best, and this is how it should be and must be.

 

J: “You’re maybe not separate from everything in some real sense you know. I mean Jung, Jung in his book, Mysteriam Conjunctionis, he had this idea: I’m going to go through it real quick. It’s a complicated idea that this is how you put yourself together.

 

The first thing you do is you join your emotions and your rationality, so that, so that your mind and emotions are one thing. He called that the first conjunction so that your motivations and your emotions and the way you think about the world are all acting in the same direction, okay.

 

So that’s the first conjunction and you get your act together that way, so that would mean incorporation of aggression and sexuality. From a Freudian perspective those parts of you that are difficult to integrate, come to be integrated into one thing, so you can use your anger when you need to, and you have your sexuality under control. It, it doesn’t have you, but you know how to use it and it’s a power for you, um, and you’re properly assertive in all those things. And so, you, you build yourself into one psychological unit. And then you embody that. That’s the second conjunction.”

 

My response: Here Peterson seems correct and sensible: it seems to me that the moral, sane, mature, average adult would integrate his aggressions, sexuality, passions, thoughts, and motivations into a self-restrained adult, and I do not see where this is incompatible with egoist morality.

 

J: “The second conjunction is take your mind, emotion, and motivation unity and act it out, acted out in the world so, so there’s no distinction between you and what you do, and the way you think about the world, your philosophy and how you act. That makes you a second kind of unity.

 

And then the final conjunction, which is the most difficult one, is to stop thinking that the world is different from you, different than you are.”

 

My response: Here is where I part ways, sharply and vehemently, from the moral assertion (the 3^rd conjunction) from Jung and Peterson, demanding that the individual agent—if he would be a good person according to the lights of Jung and Peterson--accept and act out their assertion that one must stop thinking the world is different from you.

 

My egoistic counter-assertion is that people are born groupist and are evil (and made much sicker, more evil, unhappy, and crazy by toxic altruist ethics) because they cannot stop thinking the world and they are the same. ONLY standing apart from the world and others, as atomistic, isolated, self-interested individuals, by adopting and living out their telos, to individuate as a living angels of great, brilliant personal consciousness with full array of talents developed and presented to the good deities, to oneself and for public enjoyment and appreciation, only then will billions of human agents live happy, meaningful live of minimal suffering as mature, healthy moral adults.

 

I insist that each individual is separate from the world, and she must know this fact, her destiny, and she must believe it and act it out. Only as a separated, self-interested, self-sacrificing (She sacrifices her short-term, hedonistic desires in service to her long-delayed enjoyment of the fruits of maverized accomplishment.) individuating individual will she thrive. As millions come to live this way, paradoxically—if indirectly—this is how the authentically existing individual individuator of good faith is best, most intimately and most powerfully connected to the world, and makes the world a better place, and thus eases the burdens of others. A world of mental midgets of stunted consciousness, undifferentiated others, cannot help themselves, or anyone else, and they are no credit to the benevolent deities which they follow, or claim to work for. Jordan, so brilliant and wise, is completely out to lunch, here.

 

J: “This is why I ask people to clean up their rooms. It’s like your room is you. It’s you. So, you go in there and you clean up your room. You’re cleaning you up too.”

 

My response: Yes, what you think, plan and do inside, affects and influences the world outside, the well-being of oneself, of others, the boundary of the good deities kingdom on earth, and weaves the fabric of reality itself. And conversely, what is going on out there in the world deeply impacts the self in ways which can be explained, and which are also ineffable.

 

Jordan is correct in a way, demanding that one believe that the world is you and you are the world, but his conclusion that the conclusion of this argument is that you find meaning and nobility only in self-effacement, leading a life of utter self-sacrifice in the cause of others dominating needs and interests, is way off base.

 

It drives me to the opposite conclusion: The noble and meaningful life is best met by leading a life of self-sacrifice now for the sake of the enlightened, self-interested, and imaged self-vision of the self as a lived life as an individuator and individuated future self. So existing is the ethical lifestyle which ultimately benefits all, including the self and mediated primarily and generally through advanced, responsible self-care.

 

J:  “the same way you’re developing discipline. You’re putting yourself in order. You’re developing a vision of the future. You’re figuring out how to dress. You’re figuring out how to take care of your things. You’re interacting with the microcosmos that you have in front of you, and learning how to balance chaos and order.”

 

My response: I like his suggestion that the sane, healthy agent, be she altruistically or egoistically oriented, cannot lead a balanced, profitable life until she learns to balance chaos and order.

 

J: “There’s no difference between you and what’s around you. (No, no Ed replies.) And that’s a very difficult thing to understand. And so, you want to act in a way that’s good for you and good for everything else at the same time. And that’s a high moral virtue, and that’s the right way to think about the relationship between psychological egoism and altruism.”

 

My response: To repeat, a believer in psychological egoism claims that people are born selfish and always seek their self-interest, even when they claim noble motives of working for the welfare of others. An egoist would suggest that since we are all born selfish, the best way to deal with it, socializing children to become civilized and not a drain upon society, we find ways to allow them self-interest in a way that helps the public good (Mandeville’s private vices leading to public benefit).

 

Altruists like Jordan, psychological egoists as their presupposition, define natural, universal human selfishness as evil, and this is the human original, genetic sin. Humans too have a weak, recessive, in-born sense of conscience, unselfishness and generosity, which can be trained to become their civilized self, if the person learns to serve others as his life goal, and if he downplays his individualism and sees himself as immersed in the crowd, and into the world itself: he is the world, and the world is he, so he has no separate self, no self-interest to emphasize and selfishly pursue.

 

I think Jordan is wrong here. We are not psychological egoists but are selfish (in the tradition sense of being unpleasant and grasping) because we are groupists, selfless, self-effacing, self-hating and low self-esteeming: we are evil born because we are joiners, psychological altruists.

 

Only through enlightened self-interest may we fulfill our destiny, our self-interest or happiness, all while meeting our obligation to care for the world around us and the people populating it.

 

J: “It’s like if you’re, as you move towards a broader conceptualization of things, you start to understand that there is no selfish self in there.”

 

My response: Jordan is inferring that, ultimately, there is no self at all, selfish (instinctively selfish, or operationally selfish during one’s life one earth) or otherwise. My argument is that we are meant by God to live as separate selves, be we selfish or unselfish.

 

There is a self in there, a selfless/ selfish self which, if the person would maverize, can grow into being a self-interested/generous self who is self-maverized. The psychologically altruistic self is still a self, though it is a crude, barbaric, primitive, savage self. This self is basically selfless, thereby badly selfish, made worse by immoral altruism, group-living and devil worship (deliberate or unintentional).

 

J: “There is no selfish, self-interest. It isn’t how life works.”

 

My response: Yes, there is enlightened self-interest which is self-loving but not selfish in the conventional negative sense. To be a maverizer is how life works: When we are healthy, doing as God intends for us to do.

 

 

 

 J: “Like if you are married to someone for example, and you’re stuck with them for the next 50 years. It’s like you can’t win an argument with them. You can make peace because they’re you man.”

 

My response: He is correct that quarreling with a spouse, friends, family, or coworkers to win is counterproductive, but that is true whether one is an altruist and groupist, or an egoist and individualist. They are not you and you are not they, ever, if both parties are honest and self-developed, but living as individuators need not preclude seeking harmonious interrelations—indeed, without strong egoistic participants, harmonious interrelations are impossible to initiate, let alone extend and prolong.

 

Today, May 5, 2025, I saw a Jordan Peterson brief video clip on Facebook, and he was denouncing the horrible excesses and flawed trends promulgated by colleges of education. He is mostly correct, but it was telling when he decried excoriatingly educational experts in California, when, years back, they promoted self-esteem movement which did nothing but create neurotic narcissists. He hates egoism and self-esteem promotion, but that does not mean he is correct, let alone knowing what he is talking about.

 

J: “They are you. They are a huge part of your experience. You have to treat that person as if they are you. And that it’s not like, isn’t like I’m going to treat you well because you’re me because people do not treat themselves very well often.”

 

My response: Yes, people lack self-care and that is then how they mistreat and abuse others. If they took care of themselves first, then they will much less likely hurt others, or endure others hurting them. It all grows out of sensible self-care.

 

J: “It’s way more complicated than that. You just, you don’t want to defeat your wife, man, because then you live with a defeated wife, and if you think she isn’t going to take revenge on you, then here you’re not very bright.

 

So, you want to listen to her problems, and you want to help her solve them because she’s you. And you want to do the same with your kids. And then you want to do the same with the people around you if you can do it.”

 

My response: Other are not you and you are not others. This selfless model of human nature is too collectivist, too groupist, too altruistic—it holds the individual and all humanity down and back.

 

You are you and only you, but since you feel good about yourself, feeling good inside, it will be easy for you to act kindly and respectfully towards others because you are grateful to be alive, and you are almost without resentment and bitterness.

 

J: “So, and so the whole idea of like well, we’re basically wired to be selfish.”

 

My response: We are basically wired to be selfish because we are naturally selfless. And once we learn to act well, and veridically then can esteem ourselves then we will act much less selfishly in our personal lives, and towards others.

 

J: “Well, we are when we are not very wise and we act impulsively, but as your view of the world broadens, you start to understand that this is why in the Buddhist philosophy, Buddha attained Nirvana. So that meant he could stay in union with the gods, so to speak. So he attained the highest form of subjective experience which might be, which might be something like total immersion in bliss and meaning.”

 

My response: To lose the self completely, to see it eliminated, by totally immersing the self into Being, that irrational, purely subjective bliss by immersion of the self into the totality of Being, is one way to reach and live in heaven. And that is commendable.

 

Rather, I suggest a better and generally superior to experience God and heavenly bliss is experience and gained as a conscious individuator and individual, with God and apart from God, while God remains an and The Individuator and Individual, permanently a bit separate from while in communion with oneself. This rational experiencing of and communicating with and communicating with God, for the Divine Logos, is most enjoyable and comforting.

 

J: “But he rejected it because he went back into the world to help other people attain Nirvana, or at least move towards it because he realized that there was no individual redemption, without the redemption of all.”

 

My response: I would counter-argue that Buddha or God would preach and enforce for humans that without individual redemption first sought and gained, as a spiritual individuators, as a living angel, that there would be no redemption for that individual, and no redemption for all either. If one does not understand this, then one is not very wise, or at least has not been introduced to the wisest way to proceed in spiritual matters.

 

J: “And if you don’t understand that, then you’re just not very wise. And so you’re trying to be a force for good in the world.”

 

My response: Jordan, you mean well, but as Dennis Prager has often worried, the road to hell is paved by ideologues and idealists with good intentions. Your altruist morality promotes evil in the world, and by, vehemently and determinedly downgrading the egoist morality of Ayn Rand, you ae blunting the reach of egoist morality, depriving the young of its healing benefits, and that make the world a sadder, crueler place than it otherwise would have been.

 

J: “And that doesn’t just mean good for you. That’s just blind, because there isn’t any isolated you. That isn’t how things are. That is not how reality lays itself out.”

 

My response: The visionary quest to be a force for good in the world can only be lastingly achieved through the individual’s self-care as his first emphasis. When the individual makes things right for himself, then the whole society will heal.

 

 

We are responsible, ultimately, only for our own redemption. We cannot save others, for being saved and redeemed, does require God’s freely offered grace, but only the self and save the self, and she, of her own free will, must invite God in, and commence her salvational program of self-care.

 

What this indicates is that only she can save herself, should she dare to esteem herself. We may be able to destroy others by interfering in their lives so that they never learn self-esteem earned through productive self-care, when we make naturally evil, groupist, weak others more collective and more lost.

 

Again, there is no personal redemption unless it is individually self-chose, self-executed, self-made.

 

Jesus and Buddha can show us the way: they can and will lead the human horse to water, but they would never force us to drink: we must choose to quench our spiritual thirst: we must drink the healing waters of life by lifting the cup with our own hand and arm. Sorry about the mixed metaphor.

 

What we can do is to bring a child into the world, discipline her, set standards for her, and love her. We should build up her self-esteem, train her in the techniques of egoist morality and self-realizing as her life’s telos, and we can introduce her to a benevolent deity or deities, her Individuator or Individuators to dedicate her life to, and to worship.

 

If we take these steps with a child, there is a fair chance that, at some point in his development, he will elect to assume such responsibilities as his to be owned and dealt with forthrightly and maturely.

 

So oriented, he has chosen to path which will allow the good deities to offer human personal redemption, and God’s freely offered grace sure helps.

 

Everything Is Dangerous

 

Everything is or can be dangerous, and everything can bring hope, meaning and possibility to one’ s life.

 

It is my estimation that the more that one lies, the more likely it is that one will become addicted to lying, lying more and more, until one is trapped on one’s own manufactured state of fantasy lived, until lying is one’s conscious state, a personal hell which one cannot escape from. This is a most frightening state for people to experience, one in which one loses the ability to differentiate actively and objectively bwtwee fantasy and reality, lies and truth, evil and good.

 

A pattern of lying more and more as the years go by, building upon earlier whoppers, this state of self-deception is dangerous to the self, because the world of the lie becomes who the liar is, and his dabbling with deceit now is going to cost him: he is too far down the slippery slope, to recover.

 

He now resides in a semi-conscious state of madness and obfuscation. To lie is to do evil, and he gave into his temptation to deceive and indulge the self, and now he has payed the price, and likely there is no way to ever reemerge, to live as a free, rational, sober, realistic adult.

 

He no longer knows himself or others, and now he cannot know and converse with God.

 

Exodus 34:20

 

In Exodus 34, verse 20, Yahweh instructs the Hebrews that under His listed religious laws, the Lord requires that everyone bring offerings to Him, perhaps to the temple. Here is this short quote from my The New American Bible: “. . . No one shall appear before me emptyhanded.”

 

My response: I do not know how the priests of the temple managed this, but it seems obvious that the poor and dispossessed may have to appear before God emptyhanded, because they have not material gifts, no possessions, no food offering for God.

 

Still, God is merciful, practical and sensible: if the gift that a poor woman had to share ( a private prayer of praise, or do some volunteer work at the temple) was all that she had to share with Yahweh, then she should share that gift, and Yahweh would be tickled to receive it. Even if she stopped in the pasture before the temple and picked up a quartz stone or picked some wildflowers to offer Yahweh as a gift, that would be accepted and appreciated by Yahweh, for the gesture is worth far more than the value or price of the offering.

 

The priests and wealthy worshipers should not impugn her for her modest but heartfelt offering.

 

Here is this same verse from the Holy Bible (KJV): “ . . . And none shall appear before me empty.”

Exodus 34:12-17

 

 

Here are some passages from The New American Bible: “I will drive before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Take care, therefore, not to make a covenant with these inhabitants of the land that you are about to enter; else they will become a snare among you. Tear down their altars; smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their sacred poles* (*Asterisk from translator: Sacred poles” ‘Ashera’ was the name of the Caananite goddess. In her honor wooden poles (asherot) were erected, just as stone pillars (massebot) were erected in honor of the god Baal. Both were placed near the altar in the Canaanite shrine.).”

 

American Bible: “You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord is the Jealous One;* (*34,14: The Lord is ‘the Jealous One’: see note on Ex 20:5. Some by slight emendation, render, ‘The LORD is jealous for his name.’ Cf Ez 39:25.)”

 

My response: The note on Ex 20:5 reveals that God self-describes as a jealous God, and the translator in the footnote, defines Jealous: “demanding exclusive allegiance, such as a wife must have for her husband. God is loyal to his children, so He expects His children to be loyal to him, and I have no major problem with this reasonable form of jealousy, as long as the pagan deities or rival monotheistic deities are not satanic entities. If they are benevolent deities, then Yahweh and all good deities are allies, not competitors, and they will not be jealous of their noble allies. If adherents of different religions of rival good deities go to war with each other, then it is not holy but unholy and wicked, and their deity would not be jealous in a monopolistic way, nor condone bloodshed in his or her name.

 

American Bible: “a jealous God is he. Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of that land: else, when they render their wanton worship to their gods and sacrifice to them, one of them may invite you and you may partake of his sacrifice. Neither shall you take their daughters as wives for your sons; otherwise, when their daughters render their wanton worship to their gods, they will make your sons do the same.

 

You shall not make for yourself molten gods.”

 

My response: there may have been immoral or forbidden pagan sexual rituals as part of sacrificing to their deities, and this whole system might have been wicked and abominable in the eyes of Yahweh.

 

 

Here are these same verses from the Holy Bible (KJV): “Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

 

But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

 

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

 

Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice.

 

And thou take the daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

 

Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.”

 

My response: Yahweh names himself Jealous, so this divine self-identification is extremely significant, and I must spend considerable time scrutinizing His definition and its implication for Judaism, Christianity and Mavellonialism.

 

Yahweh the faithful and promise-keeper set up a covenant with his chosen people that he would bless, guide, and protect them if they were moral and gave honor to him in prayer and ritual.

 

Jehovah regarded the pagan, heathen neighbors as worship false gods or demonic gods, so to marry or intermingle with these natives, or not tear down their altars and sacred poles, and smash their graven images, would be to join them, worship their gods, sink into sin, forging a covenant with these sinners and their wicked gods, thus betraying Yahweh and violating their covenant or contract with God.

 

It appears that Yahweh’s metaphor for covenant between Himself and His Chosen People was metaphorically (not sexually in a literal or mythological sense, but in an innocent metaphorical sense) that Yahweh was the bridge groom married to his Chosen People, his bride, and if they went a whoring and slept with other gods (metaphorically speaking), they have betrayed Yahweh and their marriage vows, a mortal sin of great, grave proportion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yahweh was a jealous, Father Sky god who would not tolerate the worship of competing deities. Why was that? As an ontological, veridical, theological, and ethical moderate, I favor moderate stances, not absolutist, jealous, intolerant ones. I declare that there is no one true faith, that there is not only one way to know God and get to heaven. I insist that one requires faith, and God demands worship from else or else, and that is reality and fine, but it is necessary and sufficient that we worship a good deity, but it can be one of several good deities, a couple of them, or all of them. They are all on the same team and they get along and cooperate.

 

I believe that Jehovah was spiritually and ethically good and speaks and knows the truth, so much, most or all His jealousy was legitimate. He was against Hebrews consorting with pagans, abandoning their worship and covenant with Yahweh, to worship and set up rival covenants with page deities, worshiping these pagan deities (some demons, no doubt). God’s jealousy likely was legitimate, stemming from His knowing hatred towards evil heathen religious practices. There was much immorality, likely, as ancients worshiped demons, who knows. If some of these pagan gods and goddesses were good deities, and Yahweh remained jealous of them, then that strikes me as excessive denial of the worship of competing deities.

 

I am going to define jealousy generally below, and then I am going to identify, based in my opinion, good jealousy, and bad jealousy, and then apply these two identities to Yahweh’s self-ascription of being a jealous God, if they apply. Later I will explore some online articles which I copied and pasted and draw points from them if relevant. These articles may be slightly edited by me.

 

 

                                                                 B

 

My Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (decades old) describes being jealous this way, and they do note that being jealous seems related to being zealous. Here is the dictionary definition of jealous: “ . . . 1 a: intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness (shall worship no other God, for the Lord is a jealous God—Exod 34:14 RSV  (jealous of the slightest interference in household management—Haverlock Ellis)

b: disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness (as in love): apprehensive of the loss of another’s devotion (so jealous she wouldn’t let him dance with anyone else)

 

c: hostile towards a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage (as a possession or attainment) : envious, resentful (jealous because her coat isn’t as nice as yours)

 

2: zealous in guarding (as a possession) : vigilant (his jealous love of privacy and independence—J.W. Beach) : solicitous (students . . . were like sons to him, he was jealous of their welfare—Ellwood Hardwick)

 

3: distrustfully watchful: apprehensive of hard or fraud: suspicious (the jealous caution of New England—Van Wyck Brooks).”

 

My response:

 

1: If Yahweh’s intolerance of good deities could be established, then these instances of immoral jealousy would not pass muster. But divine jealousy, expressed as intolerance towards evil deities, would be divine moral godly behavior. I think for those simpler times, Yahweh just needed hold a hard line and being quite exclusive to get his beautiful faith up and running at all, but today Yahweh would likely agree with me that bad jealousy between rival good deities would not be countenanced or practiced by Yahweh or any other good deities.

 

To use a crude marketing analogy, rival deities are fighting for market share each working to harvest as many human souls to their covenant, faith and cause as possible. Mild jealousy of rival good faiths would be permissible on the part of a good deity as long as they cautioned their followers not to practice intolerance of rival deities and their followers.

 

Jealousy of an evil rival deity making believers unfaithful is morally acceptable on the part of a good deity.

 

A good deity will not be jealous in the sinful human way, a form of sick, pawing control of a person, imprisoned by an overly mistrustful, suspicious partner distrusting them all the time. That has nothing to do with God. God will trust us, allow us rope and privacy to betray him or her if we will but then we will be punished accordingly for our faithlessness, having gone a whoring.

 

 

 

2: I can see that God would be nobly jealous or zealous in watching over his faithful to protect them from going astray by strengthening their conscience and resolve without overriding their power to sin and break the covenant if that is what they choose to do. God would be alert, zealous and jealous enough to know right away if they betrayed and abandoned him.

 

3. This definition of jealousy is negative and cruel, and I cannot see that it relates to God or any good deity at all.

 

 

 

                                                                C

 

             

 

Monotheism could serve as the overarching religion, with including the worship of good goddesses and good gods subsumed under that umbrella.

 

If Yahweh’s jealous is directed to curb devil worship among ancient Palestinian peoples, or evil there are too close to nature, too tribal, too steeped in altruist morality, Yahweh is right to worry about His Chosen mingling with these people.

 

Ameriican Bible: “You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord is the Jealous One;* (*Asterisk from the translator: The Lord is ‘the Jealous One’: see not on Ex 20,5. Some by a slight emendation, render, The LORD is jealous for his name Cf Ez, 29, 25.)”

 

My response: If God is jealous for his name, he does not want his chosen people, to besmirch his name by chasing after evil, pagan deities, which is idolatry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                   D

 

This entry from Wikipedia I copied and pasted on 4/16/25 about idolatry. It seemed important to have some simple comprehension of what it is about worshiping false idols which enrages Yahweh and triggers His just jealousy.

Wikipedia (Wiki after this): “Idolatry

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Idol worship" redirects here. For the American hip hop group, see Idle Warship.

"False idols" redirects here. For the Tricky album, see False Idols. For the Veil of Maya album, see False Idol (album). . . .

Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity.^[1][2][3] In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic God as if it were God.^[4][5] In these monotheistic religions, idolatry has been considered as the "worship of false gods" and is forbidden by texts such as the Ten Commandments.^[4] Other monotheistic religions may apply similar rules.^[6] “

My response: It seems as if a golden calf, a graven image, a pagan altar or sacred pole are all false idols that that they are just material objects, with no deities reached through them, but there are also other times when these idols do serve as an intermediary between a good pagan deity or bad pagan deity who actually exist.

Wike: “For instance, the phrase false god is a derogatory term used in Abrahamic religions to indicate cult images or deities of non-Abrahamic Pagan religions, as well as other competing entities or objects to which particular importance is attributed.^[7] Conversely, followers of animistic and polytheistic religions may regard the gods of various monotheistic religions as "false gods" because they do not believe that any real deity possesses the properties ascribed by monotheists to their sole deity. Atheists, who do not believe in any deities, do not usually use the term false god even though that would encompass all deities from the atheist viewpoint. Usage of this term is generally limited to theists, who choose to worship some deity or deities, but not others.^[4]

In many Indian religions, which include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, idols (murti) are considered as symbolism for the Absolute but are not the Absolute itself,^[8] or icons of spiritual ideas,^[8][9] or the embodiment of the divine.^[10] It is a means to focus one's religious pursuits and worship (bhakti).^[8][11][9] In the traditional religions of Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, Asia, the Americas and elsewhere, the reverence of cult images or statues has been a common practice since antiquity, and idols have carried different meanings and significance in the history of religion.^[7][1][12] Moreover, the material depiction of a deity or more deities has always played an eminent role in all cultures of the world.^[7]

The opposition to the use of any icon or image to represent ideas of reverence or worship is called aniconism.^[13] The destruction of images as icons of veneration is called iconoclasm,^[14] and this has long been accompanied with violence between religious groups that forbid idol worship and those who have accepted icons, images and statues for veneration.^[15][16] The definition of idolatry has been a contested topic within Abrahamic religions, with many Muslims and most Protestant Christians condemning the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice of venerating the Virgin Mary in many churches as a form of idolatry.^[17][18]

The history of religions has been marked with accusations and denials of idolatry. These accusations have considered statues and images to be devoid of symbolism. Alternatively, the topic of idolatry has been a source of disagreements between many religions, or within denominations of various religions, with the presumption that icons of one's own religious practices have meaningful symbolism, while another person's different religious practices do not.^[19][20] “

 

 

 

My response: Here is an article about Idolatry which I copied and pasted from Topical Encyclopedia

 

Topical Encyclopedia: “Bible Hub 4162025 The Danger of Idolatry

Topical Encyclopedia

Idolatry, the worship of idols or the elevation of anything above God, is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, consistently portrayed as a grave sin and a significant spiritual danger. The Bible warns against idolatry in both the Old and New Testaments, emphasizing its destructive impact on individuals and communities.

Old Testament Warnings

The Old Testament is replete with admonitions against idolatry. The first of the Ten Commandments explicitly states, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). This command underscores the exclusivity of worship that God demands from His people. The Israelites were repeatedly warned against adopting the idolatrous practices of surrounding nations. In Deuteronomy 4:23-24, Moses cautions, "Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

The prophets frequently addressed the issue of idolatry, highlighting its futility and the judgment it incurs. Isaiah 44:9-20 vividly describes the absurdity of idol-making, where a craftsman uses part of a tree to warm himself and the rest to fashion a god. Jeremiah 10:5 declares, "Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good."

Consequences of Idolatry

The consequences of idolatry are severe and multifaceted. Spiritually, idolatry leads to a separation from God, as it represents a breach of the covenant relationship. In Hosea 4:12, the prophet laments, "My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God."”

 

My response: It is to be recognized that the practice of idolatry, the worship of rival deities to Yahweh led to the Hebrews breaking and violating their covenant with God, and their going a whoring.

Topical Encyclopedia: “Idolatry also brings about divine judgment. The history of Israel and Judah is marked by periods of idolatry followed by divine retribution, including invasions, exile, and destruction. In 2 Kings 17:7-18, the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel is attributed to their persistent idolatry and rejection of God's commandments.

New Testament Perspective

The New Testament continues to warn against idolatry, expanding its definition to include not only the worship of physical idols but also the elevation of any desire or pursuit above God.”

 

My response; This point is significant: Idolatry or covenant breaking between God and humans occurs when we worship physical idols or elevate any desire or pursuit above God.’

 

 

Total Encyclopedia: “ In 1 Corinthians 10:14, Paul exhorts believers, "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." The apostle identifies greed as a form of idolatry in Colossians 3:5, stating, "Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry."

The New Testament also emphasizes the spiritual warfare aspect of idolatry. In 1 John 5:21, believers are urged, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." This call to vigilance reflects the understanding that idolatry is not merely a physical act but a spiritual battle for the allegiance of the heart.”

 

My response: Jews and Christians are to withstand the worship of idols spiritually and as well as physically.

Total Encyclopedia: “Idolatry in Contemporary Context

While the overt worship of idols may be less prevalent in some modern contexts, the essence of idolatry persists in various forms. Materialism, the pursuit of power, and the elevation of personal desires can all become idols that detract from wholehearted devotion to God. The biblical warnings against idolatry remain relevant, urging believers to examine their hearts and lives for anything that might usurp God's rightful place.

In summary, the Bible presents idolatry as a profound spiritual danger with far-reaching consequences. It calls for exclusive worship of the one true God and warns of the judgment that follows when His people turn to idols. Through both historical examples and timeless principles, Scripture underscores the importance of fidelity to God and the perils of idolatry.

 

 

 

CHRISTIANITY WEBSISTE 51625”

 

Here is an article on idolatry from the Christianity website: “

 

What Is Idolatry in the Bible? Its Definition and Significance

Biblical stories of the Old Testament warn us about the sin of idolatry. Discover the significance of idolatry in the Bible and scripture quotes about its meaning.

Christianity.com Editorial Staff

Christianity.com

 

 

Idolatry is the worship of idols. It is a recurring and central theme in the Bible, representing a fundamental breach of the commandments delivered to the ancient Israelites. Both the Old and New Testaments address the issue with intense scrutiny, framing idolatry not merely as the worship of physical statues but as any act that places a person, object, or concept above the sovereign position of God. This article explores the various manifestations of idolatry as depicted in Scripture, and the consequences of such practices for believers. 

Idolatry Definition

According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, Idolatry is "image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object." Paul describes the origin of idolatry in Romans 1:21-25: men forsook God, and sank into ignorance and moral corruption (Romans 1:28).

The forms of idolatry are,

• Fetishism, or the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.
• Nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature.
• Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes.

Idolatry in the Bible

In Scripture, idolatry is regarded as of heathen origin, and as being imported among the Hebrews through contact with heathen nations. The first allusion to idolatry is in the account of Rachel stealing her father's teraphim (Genesis 31:19), which were the relics of the worship of other gods by Laban's progenitors "on the other side of the river in old time" (Joshua 24:2). During their long residence in Egypt the Hebrews fell into idolatry, and it was long before they were delivered from it (Joshua 24:14; Ezekiel 20:7). Many a token of God's displeasure fell upon them because of this sin.

The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Individuals and communities were equally amenable to the rigorous code. The individual offender was devoted to destruction (Exodus 22:20). His nearest relatives were not only bound to denounce him and deliver him up to punishment (Deuteronomy 13:20-10), but their hands were to strike the first blow when, on the evidence of two witnesses at least, he was stoned (Deuteronomy 17:2-7). To attempt to seduce others to false worship was a crime of equal enormity. An idolatrous nation shared the same fate. No facts are more strongly declared in the Old Testament than that the extermination of the Canaanites was the punishment of their idolatry, and that the calamities of the Israelites were due to the same cause (Jeremiah 2:17). "A city guilty of idolatry was looked upon as cancer in the state; it was considered to be in rebellion, and treated according to the laws of war. Its inhabitants and all their cattle were put to death." Jehovah was the theocratic King of Israel, the civil Head of the commonwealth, and therefore to an Israelite idolatry was a state offense (1 Samuel 15:23), high treason. On taking possession of the land, the Jews were commanded to destroy all traces of every kind of the existing idolatry of the Canaanites.

The history of Israel is clearly outlined in the Bible. For generation after generation, they repeatedly fell prey to being drawn away from the Lord to serve false gods. This did not only happen to the common people, but to their kings, priests, and prophets, as well. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:4).

The sin of idolatry, or worshiping other gods, is in violation of the Law of God. As a matter of fact, it breaks the first two of the Ten Commandments. It is important to remember that disobedience is the original sin and therefore encompasses all sin. I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (Ex. 20:2-4).

Excerpt from Beware the Sin of Idolatry by Bible Pathway

Bible Verses about Idolatry

• 1 Corinthians 10:7-14 - Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
   
• 1 John 5:21 - Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
   
• Colossians 3:5 - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
   
• Isaiah 45:20 - “Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
   
• Jonah 2:8 - “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.

Examples of Idolatry in Scripture

The Golden Calf (Exodus 32): Perhaps the most famous example, this incident occurs when the Israelites, having just been freed from Egyptian slavery, create a golden calf to worship while Moses is receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. This act of idolatry angers God, who threatens to destroy the Israelites, although Moses intercedes on their behalf.

The Worship of Baal (1 Kings 18): During the reign of Ahab in the northern kingdom of Israel, idol worship, especially of the Canaanite god Baal, becomes prevalent. The prophet Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal to demonstrate whose god is real, which culminates in a dramatic contest on Mount Carmel where God's supremacy is dramatically confirmed by fire from heaven.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue (Daniel 3): King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon creates a giant gold statue and commands all his officials to worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to comply, leading to their miraculous survival of being thrown into a fiery furnace, showcasing their steadfast faith and God's power over idolatrous practices.

The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-24): In the New Testament, Jesus encounters a man who claims to have kept all the commandments but cannot bring himself to give up his wealth to follow Christ. This story illustrates that idolatry isn't limited to the worship of physical idols but extends to anything that takes priority over God, including wealth and material possessions.

Quotes about Idolatry

"There is nothing so abominable in the eyes of God and of men as idolatry, whereby men render to the creature that honor which is due only to the Creator" - Blaise Pascal

"The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." - A. W. Tozer

"Verily, we know not what an evil it is to indulge ourselves, and to make an idol of our will." - Samuel Rutherford

"You don't have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you love more than God is your idol." - Dwight L. Moody

"As long as you want anything very much, especially more than you want God, it is an idol." - A. B. Simpson”

My response: The just above examples of idolatry are worshiping anything more than God, which seems immoderate or sinful in a way.

 

 

 

Topical Encyclopedia: “ Similar idol worshipidolatrismfetishismiconolatry

More Definitions, Word Origin & Scrabble

·  en.wikipedia.org › wiki › IdolatryIdolatry - Wikipedia

Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. [1] [2] [3] In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic God as if it were God.”

 

 

 

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Here is an article from Bible Study on divine jealousy”

 

Bible Study: “Bible Study

What Does it Mean That God Is a Jealous God?

As our Creator and Father, He knows what is best for us and wants to keep us safely in His fold, where He can love, guide, and protect us. That is...

Jessica Brodie

"Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14)

When we hear the word “jealousy” we might think of someone with an inferiority complex—someone envious of another’s looks, spouse, or status in life. A “jealous woman” is considered to be a rival, a hostile, bitter person filled with petty resentment. A “jealous man” is considered insecure and petulant, perhaps controlling or wildly competitive. But God tells us in the Bible that He is a jealous God. In fact, in Exodus 34, He even claims His name is “Jealous.”

Why and how is God jealous, and what does that mean? Are we supposed to think that our God is bitter and resentful, filled with trifling insecurities like some frail human? How can our “perfect Father” also be a jealous Father?”

My response: I think Jessica Brodie does a decent job in separating immoral, sick human jealousy from God’s special, honorable jealousy against covenant-makers and then becoming covenant-breakers.

Bible Study: “What Does it Mean That God Is a Jealous God?

In Exodus 20:5, when God commands that His people worship no other gods, He acknowledges it is because “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God" (NIV).

And in Exodus 34:14, God insists His people destroy altars to other, lesser gods, for, He says, “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

The word in Hebrew used for these instances of “jealous” is qanna, and not only does it mean jealous but also zealous, as in caring passionately. For we know that God does indeed love us with passion, fervent zeal and wants us to be His people. He does not want us to fall under the spell of any other. As our Creator and Father, He knows what is best for us and wants to keep us safely in His fold, where He can love, guide, and protect us. That is the jealousy God speaks of.”

My response: God is passionate, ardent, and emotional in De’s love of humans, and enjoys De’s relationship with us, and is hurt and disappointed if we betray His/Her trust and offering of friendship and contracted affinity. De wants us to be De’s people, not to go with Satan and Lera.

 

Bible Study: “

The NIV Quest Study Bible says this jealousy stems from a loving, unselfish concern for those under his care, which is why He demands our exclusive devotion. Indeed, this is a bit like the jealousy the apostle Paul talks about having in his letter to the early church in Corinth, where he says, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

It’s a righteous jealousy Paul is speaking of, protective and in our best interest, and that is the kind of jealousy God reflects—only it is perfect, for God Himself is perfect. God reminds the people of His jealousy in Deuteronomy 5 and again in Deuteronomy 6:14-16, He says this.

"It’s a pure jealousy, meant for our good. God knows that other forces exist in the world to tempt us, from other gods to the devil, the “father of lies” (John 8:44). He created us to be in relationship with Him, and He loves us truly and completely" (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).

God Is Jealous for You Scriptures

Exodus 20:5: "You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me."

Deuteronomy 4:24: "For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

2 Corinthians 11:2: "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ."

Nahum 1:2: "The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies."

Psalm 78:58: "For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols."

What Does Godly Jealousy Mean in the Bible?

God’s jealousy is different from human jealousy. But we often feel confused because there are so many negative, sinful connotations regarding human jealousy. Human jealousy is selfish; it is fueled by envy. We, humans, are stained by sin. Romans 3:23 reminds us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Only through Jesus, God’s Son, do we have salvation. 

But God is sinless. Jesus tells us our Father God is “perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The original Greek used here is teleios, from telos, which Strong’s Greek Concordance tells us means complete, having reached “the end,” much like the pinnacle. When God declares He is jealous, He doesn’t mean sinful human jealousy but the right, good jealousy that a father feels in claiming his own.

Human jealousy is rooted in anger, envy, pride, and the individual ego. Romans 1:29 includes it among characteristics of wickedness, and Proverbs 6:24 says “jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.”

The apostles were persecuted by Sadducees filled with jealousy (Acts 5:17), and 1 Corinthians 3:3 indicates quarreling accompanies human jealousy. In 2 Corinthians 12:20, Paul says he fears the people will display jealousy along with other wickedness when he finally is able to see them, descending into discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

And Galatians 5:19-21 urges us to steer clear of acts of the flesh, which are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

“I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God,” Paul writes. This, then, is human jealousy. It is far different from God’s pure, proper, righteous, and loving jealousy.

What Hope Can We Draw from This Characteristic of God?

Unlike human jealousy—which shows a person loves themselves more than the object of their jealousy and envy—God’s jealousy shows something beautiful. God’s jealousy points to the fatherly love He has for us and the claim He stakes in our lives. God gave us free will, so when it comes to following Him and choosing to align ourselves with Him, it is indeed a choice. But He designed us in His image (Genesis 1:2) and genuinely wants us to choose Him. 

For, as Jesus explained in Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” There is much at stake. There is great hope in the jealousy God has for us, we know we are wanted. God desires us to be with Him. God selected us. This means we don’t have to fear or worry about anything.

Jesus assures us of this in the Gospel of Matthew, when He says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:28-31).

God is God, almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing. Indeed, He is the “Great I Am.” So let His words about jealousy sink into your heart with warmth and welcome, for His jealousy is good and right and true. It claims us as His own and tells us we are important and loved.

God loves us all.

God's Statement and Our Response

Do not worship any other god,
for the Lord, whose name is Jealous,
is a jealous God.
Exodus 34:14

From the Father's Heart: My child, do you crave unswerving devotion from your spouse? The thought of betrayal is enough to fire up every jealous nerve in your body and spirit. Of course I desire all of your attention, all of your time, and all of your self. I am a jealous God, but not because of a fear of being replaced, as you feel. I love you so much that I am not willing for anyone to steal your heart away. I gave My life for you because I want none to perish.

Our Response: Your jealousy is not a flaw in Your character, Lord. Because You love me so much, You demand no less than my total devotion. You tolerate no other loves. In my negligence, I often build idols of my own choosing. But how can my heart truly worship another but You, Lord? Only You satisfy. 

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Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach. She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism. Her first novel, The Memory Garden, releases this spring. Learn more about Jessica’s writing and ministry and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com. She has a weekly YouTube devotional and podcast. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and more. She’s also produced a free eBook, A God-Centered Life: 10 Faith-Based Practices When You’re Feeling Anxious, Grumpy, or Stressed. Copied 4/17/25”

 

 

 

 

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Here is another Christian website on divine jealousy and I copied and pasted this article of 4/16/25.

 

Got Questions

                                                             

It is important to understand how the word “jealous” is used. Its use in Exodus 20:5 to describe God is different from how it is used to describe the sin of jealousy (Galatians 5:20). When we use the word “jealous,” we use it in the sense of being envious of someone who has something we do not have. A person might be jealous or envious of another person because he or she has a nice car or home (possessions). Or a person might be jealous or envious of another person because of some ability or skill that other person has (such as athletic ability). Another example would be that one person might be jealous or envious of another because of his or her beauty.

 

 

In Exodus 20:5, it is not that God is jealous or envious because someone has something He wants or needs. Exodus 20:4-5 says, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...” Notice that God is jealous when someone gives to another something that rightly belongs to Him.”

My response: Our covenant with God, when we break it, and we often do, offends God, for De has lost what belongs to De. God is self-sufficient, and does not need human loyalty, love, and adoration to survive, but God enjoys the relationship, especially mutual and loving, when it is working. God has a warm heart.

Got Questions: “In these verses, God is speaking of people making idols and bowing down and worshiping those idols instead of giving God the worship that belongs to Him alone. God is possessive of the worship and service that belong to Him. It is a sin (as God points out in this commandment) to worship or serve anything other than God. It is a sin when we desire, or we are envious, or we are jealous of someone because he has something that we do not have. It is a different use of the word “jealous” when God says He is jealous. What He is jealous of belongs to Him; worship and service belong to Him alone, and are to be given to Him alone.

Perhaps a practical example will help us understand the difference. If a husband sees another man flirting with his wife, he is right to be jealous, for only he has the right to flirt with his wife. This type of jealousy is not sinful. Rather, it is entirely appropriate. Being jealous for something that God declares to belong to you is good and appropriate. Jealousy is a sin when it is a desire for something that does not belong to you.”

 

My response: Jealousy, bad jealousy, is a human trait and it is a sin to be jealous, a desire for something that does not belong to you. I have long felt that jealousy is one of the most savage emotions, the most destructive emotion. We are born in sin, not liking ourselves, so we run in packs and practice altruistic morality. We in the collective mode of living interfere with our neighbors’ independence and happiness all the time. They cannot stand with their heads above the crowd, or they will be lopped off.

If that person materially succeeds and becomes rich, then we become jealous and steal his money illegally through theft and robbery, or we steal it legally by confiscating it from him without his consent—threatening to imprison him if he does not give up his wealth to the government. The government with the approval of the public steals his wealth and redistributes it to those not working as hard so they receive wealth they did not earn and are not entitled too, and this is jealousy at work, class envy.

When we socially ostracize the young artists or individuators to force her to quit being artistic or original, so she ceases striving and slowly slips back into the mediocre collective, this whole undermining of her is a popular, justified, but unjustifiable group jealousy unfolding, and there is hardly a more corrosive, cruel way to cause needless suffering and anti-progress in the world.

 

Got Questions: “Worship, praise, honor, and adoration belong to God alone, for only He is truly worthy of it. Therefore, God is rightly jealous when worship, praise, honor, or adoration is given to idols. This is precisely the jealousy the apostle Paul described in 2 Corinthians 11:2, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy...””

 

 

 

 

 

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I unloaded this article off the internet on 4/16/25.

 

 

Noyes: “Why Is God a Jealous God?

Because God is without sin, God’s jealousy in response to idolatry is righteous and holy. God is jealous for his relationship with his people because he passionately loves them and does not want them to be destroyed by idolatry.”

My response: God is without sin, and God’s jealousy is a rejection of humans worshiping false idols and evil demons, and this jealousy is righteous and holy. God loves us, but not approving of idolatry, and as idolaters, we may not make our ways to the gates of heaven, let alone be let in once we perish.

Noyes: “Penny Noyes

Author

Updated Dec 11, 2020

 

 

In the Ten Commandments, God describes himself as a jealous God after giving the command to not make idols. Exodus 20:5-6 continues,

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” 

In describing himself as jealous, God contrasts his passion and love for his people to the iniquity of those who hate him by chasing after false gods and idols.”

My response: Those who worship false idols and demons do hate God and seek to grow the powers of darkness in the world.

Noyes: “God’s description of himself as jealous is only given in the context of idolatry. In Exodus 34, God made a covenant with his people. The preferred meaning of an Old Testament covenant is a bond. A covenant refers to two or more parties bound together.

Breaking the bond also breaks the covenant. A covenant is similar to a legal contract today. In a contract, the parties are named, and their duties are explained.

This passage explains that God is a jealous God, and his name is Jealous, “for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

God promised to be faithful to his covenant and he expected them to be faithful and to avoid making covenants with the Canaanites.

Forty years after giving the Ten Commandments, God renewed his covenant with the people of Israel. They were about to enter the Promised Land and their leader, Moses, warned them to avoid idols of any kind. Deuteronomy 4:23-24 reminds them,

“Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” 

Deuteronomy 5 restates the Ten Commandments and reminds the people, again, that God is a jealous God. The next chapter of Deuteronomy connects God’s jealous anger in response to idolatry.

“You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you — for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God — lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:14-15).

In the New Testament, Paul explains a similar jealousy for the hearts of new believers. He does not want them to be led away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2).

What Does Jealous Mean in the Bible?

The Hebrew word translated “jealous” in the Ten Commandments is qanna (קַנָּא) It is only used to describe God and is related to another word that means “zeal.” Common synonyms for “zeal” are passion, enthusiasm, and fervor.

God passionately loves his people because he chose them. Deuteronomy 7:7-8 explains, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you.”

God’s passion for his people is a result of his love. In the Ten Commandments, God contrasts his passionate love and zeal for his people to idolatry as evidence of their hate (Exodus 20:5-6).

What Is the Difference Between God’s Jealousy and Envy?

In English, we often use the words “jealous” and “envy” interchangeably. A quick search shows a common definition of “jealous” is “feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages.”

The Oxford Languages definition of “envy” is “a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.””

My response: We need to work to be able to buy our possessions, and we can maverize to build our noble nature of enviable fine qualities, and by working hard and smart, we can become luckier for luck favors the prepared.

Noyes: “The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia explains how they are different: Envy “is an evil strongly condemned in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is to be distinguished from jealousy. ‘We are jealous of our own; we are envious of another man’s possessions. Jealousy fears to lose what it has; envy is pained at seeing another have.’”

Two Greek words are translated as jealousy and envy. Examining these words illustrates the difference between the biblical concepts of jealousy and envy.

“Phthónos (“ill-will”) conveys “displeasure at another’s good; . . . without longing to raise oneself to the level of him whom he envies, but only to depress the envied to his own level" (R. Trench, 90).”

This word is often seen in lists of sins to avoid. Romans 1:29 describes ungodly people, “They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,”

Matthew 27:18 and Mark 15:10 both use this word to explain that it was because of envy that Jesus was handed over to Pilate before the crucifixion. The chief priests and elders were resentful of Jesus’ ministry and sought to diminish his influence.

A similar situation occurred in Genesis 37 when Joseph’s brothers were resentful of their father’s affection for Joseph, so they sold him into slavery. Acts 7:9 summarizes this, “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him.”

The Greek word translated “jealous” in this passage is derived from the Greek word zelos. “The root (zē-, “zeal”) literally means “hot enough to boil.” It is metaphorically used of “burning anger, love, zeal” (A-S) — i.e. to burn (in spirit). It can refer to “boiling anger, love, zeal, for what is good or bad (J. Thayer)”

The brothers were jealous for their father’s affection. Since this word denotes both passionate anger and love, Bible translators often use the word “jealousy” when they translate it in a negative sense and “zeal” in a positive sense.

In John 2:13-21, Jesus drives the moneychangers and livestock merchants out of the temple. Jesus rebuked them saying, “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” Verse 17 explains, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’”

In this verse, zeal is translated from the Greek word zelos. John is referencing Psalm 69:9, “For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.”

The Hebrew word translated “zeal,” in this passage, is related to the qanna, the same word God used to describe himself in the Ten Commandments.

How Is God’s Jealousy Different Than Human Jealousy?

Human jealousy is often tainted by sin and quickly morphs into destructive anger and envy. In Proverbs 6:34, a father is warning his son to avoid having sex with a married woman because it would make her husband enraged, “For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge."

Because God is without sin, God’s jealousy in response to idolatry is righteous and holy. Idolatry is a cancer in our relationship with God. God’s desire to remove the sin of idolatry is for our good.

When surgeons remove cancer, they cause short-term pain by cutting into the cancerous flesh to remove that which is destroying the body for a long-term benefit.

God is jealous for his relationship with his people because he passionately loves them and does not want them to be destroyed by idolatry.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/aapsky

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Penny Noyes, M.Ed. is the author of Embracing Change - Learning to Trust God from the Women of the Bible and two books about Hezekiah. You can follow Penny on her blog and on Instagram @pennynoyes.”

 

 

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TGC is The Gospel Coalition, an association of evangelical churches in the Reformed tradition, and I coped and pasted one of their articles online about divine jealousy. Here is the article.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TGC: “

U.S. Edition

 

 

The Jealousy of God

An Essay By Kirk Wellum

The jealousy of God is his holy commitment to his honor, glory, and love that manifests itself in the salvation of his people and the just condemnation of all who stand in opposition to him.”

My response: I like this definition of divine jealousy, a holy commitment to God’s honor, glory, and love, as De seeks to increase the numbers of people who obey the God-human covenant, and to speak out against those that fight God and make covenants with anti-godly spirits or causes. To some degree, it seems to be and has been hinted elsewhere that God is justifiably jealous of De’s good name, not wanting it dragged through the mud by scandalous misbehavior by rebels and backsliders, wantonly and rebelliously sinning. Such misbehavior is socially contagious, and if enough people abandon the God-human covenant, then the world becomes chaotic hell on earth.

TGC: “Summary

In this essay we begin by defining jealousy more generally before turning to the Scriptures to see what they teach regarding the jealousy of God. Moving from text to concept we explain what the Bible means by God’s jealousy before tracing out the necessary entailments for Christians.

Often when people think of jealousy, they think of a powerful human emotion that can do a great deal of harm unless harnessed and kept under control. Jealousy is not something that immediately comes to mind in connection with God unless people have carefully read through the Bible. When we read about God’s covenant relationship with the nation of Israel and then see how it is ultimately fulfilled in his relationship with the church, we discover that the jealousy of God is an important theme and a necessary aspect of God’s majestic, holy, and loving character. As James Montgomery Boice has said, “Rightly understood, the idea of jealousy is central to any true concept of God” (Boice, The Sovereign God, vol. 1 of Foundations of the Christian Faith [Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978], 164). However, to understand and appreciate what Boice’s statement, we must examine what the scriptures say about divine jealousy and then explore how this doctrine relates to our lives.

Definitions of Jealousy

Dictionary definitions of jealousy are consistently uniform and often distinguish the human variety of jealousy from that which is said to characterize God. Human jealousy is described as a “feeling of resentment against someone because of that person’s rivalry, success, or advantages. It is characterized by or proceeds from suspicious fears or envious resentment” (Dictionary.com). Another definition speaks of “a feeling or showing an envious resentment to someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages” (Oxford Dictionary of English, Second Edition, 929). Both definitions highlight the negative aspects of jealousy.

At the same time these same dictionaries also recognize that human jealousy is not always negative. So, for instance, they speak of jealousy as “being solicitous or vigilant in maintaining and guarding something” (Dictionary.com) or of being “fiercely protective of one’s rights or possessions” (Oxford Dictionary) or of “zealous vigilance” (Merriam Webster). This further component of jealousy moves us closer to jealousy as it applies to God, which they explain as his “intolerance of unfaithfulness or rivalry” (Dictionary.com) or “demanding faithfulness and exclusive worship” (Oxford). As helpful as these definitions are as a starting point, they require us to go back to the scriptures and take note of how God speaks of his jealousy and what exactly it means for human beings generally and Christian believers in particular.”

My response: God demands faithfulness and exclusive worship from humans.

 

TGC: “Biblical Context and References

The first time we encounter jealousy by name in the Bible it is sinful human jealousy. In Genesis 30:1, Rachel is jealous of her sister Leah in their ongoing battle for the affections of their husband Jacob. Later in Genesis 37:11 we are told that the sons of Jacob were jealous of their brother Joseph because of the way he favored his favorite wife’s first son. This sibling jealousy played a significant role in the treacherous betrayal of Joseph by his brothers and his resulting slavery in Egypt even though God was at work to save the entire family. What is significant for our study of God’s jealousy is that jealousy, even though human and sinful, first appears in the context of family relationships that are dysfunctional because the main characters have rebelled against the God’s will for marriage and the family as revealed in Genesis 2:24. Following this basic pattern, what is subsequently revealed about God’s jealousy will be tied to human sin and the violation of a marriage covenant relationship just as it will transcend these realities by God’s sovereign grace.

The first reference to God’s jealousy comes in Exodus 20:5-6: “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” This revelation of God’s jealousy comes at Mt. Sinai where God makes a covenant with the children of Israel whom he has redeemed from Egypt. In this part of the covenant law it is given as the reason they are to turn away from idolatry and love the Lord exclusively and obey his commandments.

The next time we read of God’s jealousy he is renewing his covenant with Israel after they had violated it by their idolatrous worship of a golden calf it was still being inaugurated (Exod. 34:14 cf. Exod. 32). Because of their outrageous betrayal God threatened to destroy Israel, but Moses interceded, and God forgave their sin and agreed to go up among them, even though he initially refused. Moses was encouraged by his experience of God’s grace and emboldened to ask for a vision of God’s glory. God graciously agreed to let Moses see his glory and to rewrite the law of the covenant on tablets of stone and thus reestablish the covenant (cf. Exod. 33-34). As in the original covenant the Lord warns Israel about idolatry and forbids his covenant people from following the way of the nations. They are not to worship any other god, “for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

In Deuteronomy Israel is reminded of the jealousy of God at the beginning and end of the book. In Deuteronomy 4 Moses is preparing a new generation of Israelites to enter the Promised Land after his death. He urges them not to forget the covenant the Lord their God made with them by making a craved image in the form of anything that God has forbidden, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (v. 24). The same thing is said in Deuteronomy 6:14-15 about going after the gods of the people around them “for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God, lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” Near the end of the book Moses returns to this theme this time warning the people to watch their hearts as well as their conduct. If they walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, “the Lord will not be willing to forgive them, but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven” (29:20). God’s jealousy is mentioned a final time in the Song of Moses once again connected to idolatry, “They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger…; they have made me jealous with what is no god; they provoked me to anger with their idols” (32:16, 21).

At the end of his life, Joshua, reminds Israel of an inconvenient truth they do not want to hear: “You are not able to serve the Lord for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good” (Josh.24:19-20).

Other Old Testament references (e.g., 1Kgs. 14:22; Psa. 78:58; 79:5; Ezek. 8:3-5; 16:38, 42; 23:25; 36:5ff.; 38:19; 39:25; Joel 2:18; Nahum 1:8; Zeph. 1:18; 3:8 are consistent with antecedent references to God’s jealousy, although in the prophets a new theme emerges. This emerging theme is seen in Ezekiel where the Lord goes from indicting Israel for her outrageous sins and adulteries (8:3-5; 16:38, 42; 23:25) to burning with zeal against Edom and the nations who have made his land their possession and plundered its pastureland (36:5ff). In his zeal and fiery wrath, the Lord will come to the aid of his land and his people (38:19), and he will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on all the people of Israel, and he will be zealous for his holy name (39:25). Joel 2:18, Nahum 1:8, Zephaniah 1:18; 3:8 all speak of the judgment of God as an expression of his jealous wrath that goes hand in hand with the ultimate salvation of his people.

In the New Testament God’s jealousy is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:22 and James 4:5 in connection with idolatry and spiritual adultery, and believers are exhorted to avoid those things that contradict all that God has done for them in Christ. Instead they are to be devoted to God who wants them to walk in humility and holiness before him and to worship and serve him alone.

Theological Meaning of God’s Jealousy

What does the Bible mean when it says that God is a jealous God? Whatever it means, it cannot refer to or imply anything sinful in God. He is a holy God and is never sinfully jealous. He is never jealous because he is needy, greedy, or covetous, or because he is lazy and unwilling to put forth the effort necessary to accomplish his purposes. God is not jealous because he takes a petty dislike to certain individuals and begrudges their achievements, or because he is frustrated with his position in the universe. Such suggestions are absurd!”

 

My response: God’s jealousy seems reasonable and is based on human misbehavior and defiance.

TGC: “Wayne Grudem defines God’s jealousy as “God continually seeking to protect his own honor” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000], 205). For J. I. Packer, “it is his holiness reacting to evil in a way that is morally right and precious…; it is a praiseworthy zeal on his part to preserve something supremely precious” (J. I. Packer, Knowing God, [London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973], 189. Both explanations capture important aspects of the biblical doctrine of God’s jealousy. Building on their statements, I would like to suggest that we can think of God’s jealousy in 3 ways: (1) God’s jealousy related to his honor and glory, (2) God’s jealousy and his holiness, and (3) God’s jealousy and his love.

God is jealous for his honor and glory.”

My response: God is jealous for his honor and glory but as an egoist and individuators, yet loving God, when humans rebel and go a whoring, they are not seeking their own honor and glory (They seek their own honor and glory when being faithful and indviduating which adds to God’s honor and glory.)

When humans go a whoring, their sinful rebellion is seeking dishonor and shame, and this detracts form their own honor and glory, or the upholding of God’s honor and glory.

TGC: “When human beings seek their own honor and glory, they are denying their creatureliness and heading in the wrong direction because they were made to glorify God and to enjoy him forever (cf. Westminster Shorter Catechism). But this is not the case with God. He is infinitely glorious and worthy of our praise and adoration. There is no one like God. He is completely self-sufficient. He is the uncreated creator who ought to be worshipped by all that he has made. He has the right to command our obedience, love, and devotion and, therefore, he is rightfully jealous when we do not worship and serve him, which is the very best thing we can do for ourselves and for others. To worship anything, or anyone, other than the Triune God of the Bible rightly provokes the Lord to jealousy and it cannot be any other way.

God’s jealousy is also linked to his holiness.

God does not conform to a standard outside of himself; he is the standard of what is pure and holy. God is in a class by himself, not only in terms of his ontological being, but also in his moral purity. He is undefiled by sin and he knows what is right and good because he knows himself. When he encounters that which is a contradiction of his holiness, he reacts in wrath and he is jealous that what is right and good be pursued instead. God’s jealousy is not indicative of weakness or a character flaw on his part, but it is a part of his holy omnipotence. He will pursue his holy purposes, and, in his zeal, he will accomplish all the set out to do.

God’s jealousy is linked to his love.

This is where the marriage analogy reappears. Holy, righteous love without jealousy is an oxymoron. Even at a human level if a husband and wife truly love each other they will feel jealousy if that intimate love relationship is threatened. In a marriage this kind of jealousy – which is a necessary by-product of love (Packer, 189-191) – is evoked as a way of protecting the relationship and keeping it intact. It wants to preserve that which is valuable and beautiful. Human marriage is patterned after the relationship that exists between God and his people in the Old Covenant and Christ and his church in the New Covenant. Just as a husband is properly jealous for the love his wife, so the Lord is jealous for the love of his covenanted people—the Israel of God.

The Implications of God’s Jealousy

1. Because God is a jealous God, Christians should turn away from all that provokes his jealousy. It is disingenuous to say that we love him and then live contrary to the rightful demands that he makes on our lives. Believers in all generations are required to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and might (Deut. 6:4-6 cf. Matt. 22:37-38). The experience of God’s gracious redemption does not mean that we can live carelessly or in rebellion to his will for our lives. His deep love and commitment to us should continually fuel in us a desire to please him in everything.
2. Because God is a jealous God, we should worship him in spirit and truth as Jesus instructed us (John 4:24). One of the many problems with false teaching is that it misrepresents God. All doctrines are connected to our view of God, and when we go astray in any area of Christian truth – the authority of the scriptures, the triune nature of God, the person and work of Christ, the application of salvation to the believer, the doctrine of the church, and the future triumph of our Lord – we rob God of his glory and we invite his rebuke and discipline. While our understanding of scripture will never be perfect until we stand before him in glory, that does not excuse lazy thinking and self-styled worship that is man-centered rather than God-centered.
3. Because God is a jealous God, we should be passionately committed to his cause. We have many examples of passionate commitment in the Bible. In the Old Testament Phinehas (Num. 25:11-13) and Elijah (1Kgs. 19:10, 14) were zealously committed to the Lord in a time of moral and spiritual compromise. In the New Testament the apostle Paul faithfully served the Lord who rescued him by his grace. He was so transformed that he told the church in Ephesus that “he did not account his life of any value nor as precious to himself, if only he may finish his course and the ministry that he received for the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Surpassing all others is our Lord Jesus Christ whose commitment to his Father fulfilled Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house has consumed me” (cf. John 2:17). He taught his disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt. 6:9-10). It is not surprising, then, that Christians are “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). We must not be like the Laodicean church that was nauseatingly lukewarm and in danger of being spit out (Rev. 3:14-21). Instead, knowing who God is, and all that he has done for us, we should serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with singing knowing that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and are his, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psa. 100).”

My response: Zeal is useful and worthy if it does not transform the human heart over into fanaticism and ultraism: at that point, the human breaks the covenant between God and human, and these true believers worship a religiofied ideology, and that is not the worship of God, nor covenant-abiding, nor covenant enforcement.

 

 

                                                              I

 

My response: Jealousy is human and unproductive when it is misbehavior growing out of altruist morality and groupist games: when humans are individualistic and rationally self-interested, they are quite unlikely to be jealous of God’s power and seek to overthrow God—a impossible undertaking anyway—and seek to usurp God’s throne and rule the world for their demonic friends running hell.

 

 

 

                                                              J

 

Here are my notes on an online video which I copied out on 4/17/25, and it is narrated by a British pastor (?); the video is produced by Reading Between the Lines, 60, entitled, I am a Jealous God. Here is the video:

 

Pastor: “Our 60^th phase (sp?) as we travel through the Bible Reading: Exodus 20:4-6; Corinthians 11:1-3 Get the RBTL (Podcast and Vodcast, 9 years ago): Speak Life, IK . . . YouTube, a 5.34-minute-long video.

It’s right there in the midst of the ten words from Mount Sinai, Exodus, Chapter 20, Verse 5: You shall not bow down to the idols or worship them.

What a horrible idea we might think, a jealous God. What kind of God gets jealous. Well, Mount Sinai is not an unguarded moment of candor. The Lord is very open about His jealousy.

At a glance I found 34 times in the Bible where the Lord has said this.”

 

My response: If God repeats this warning to humanity, that He is a jealous God, repeating it 34 times in His holy book, this is a patent warning to pay attention, straighten out, and stay on the path of righteousness, worship God, not demons, false gods or physical objects. This concept of divine jealousy was a concept which is my hunch that we need to heed, figure out, and then do as God commands us to do.

Pastor: “This is not something He seems to be embarrassed about, and here in Exodus 20, it serves as a justification his word, his commandment against graven images, which we saw yesterday.

The Lord is saying don’t go to other gods, because I am jealous. Well, again, we have to ask what kind of God gets jealous? Answer: a God of love. You see jealousy implies a context of committed relationships.”

My response: Virtuous jealousy, be it divine jealousy or human jealousy, is based on faithful mutual commitment, to honor one’s past agreement to a covenant, a relationship, and sometimes marriage between willing partners.

Pastor: “God is jealous because He is faithful—unlike his people. The reason he’s a God of jealousy because he is a God of love.”

My response: God cares and loves us, so He disciplines and corrects us when we go astray.

 

Pastor: “Let us notice a few things about the Lord’s jealousy. Firstly, the word for jealousy could just as well be translated zealous. In fact both English words have come to us from the same Greek translation of this Greek word zealous. In Hebrew it is derived from the word for zeal.

 

It’s the idea for hot-blooded commitment and we can think of lots of examples of good jealousy in this world in human life.”

My response: Good divine jealousy and good human jealousy correspond and track together as admirable and worthy if one is enthusiastic and gung-ho in promoting the maintenance and expression in thought, word, and behavior, personally exemplifying the evidence celebration of the God-human covenant.

Bad divine jealousy would be satanic, and, in humans, bad jealousy is collective, envious, and emotionally mis-expressed as so passionate about a holy cause as a true believer, that if anyone is with the cause, but not 100%, all the time, as the guru in charge defines pure l the dissident’s lack of total, unswerving loyalty, then the deviant is criminal and to be destroyed. If an unbeliever from a rival cause or sect, be it a noble cause or a corrupt cause, it makes not difference, the jealous true believers will put them to the sword every time, and this jealous denial and any nonconformity and independence is pure wickedness. God would propose that De’s children of light wander over into such enthusiastic, passionate, hysterical, violent, melodramatic excess, but groupist human religions believers, even those serving a good faith and a good deity, can be so jealous of unbelievers, sinners, other-believers that they put them to the sword out of a mood of bad jealousy. We always want to be judicious, tolerant, temperate, and sober while passionately promoting our cause or cherished religious faith. Remember the Devil is fanatical and enthusiastic in a hateful, destructive way.

 

Pastor: “There’s a good, appropriate, hot-blooded, protective, possessive, zealous ardor in fact in the human realm of jealousy from a relationship. You may also wonder whether true love is also missing.”

My response: Yes, and no, some level of jealousy or objection is inevitable, healthy, natural, and even permissible if one’s partner is being pulled away from one or is willing to be pulled away from one. But it is important to be careful.

Covenants between humans, and between humans, collectively and individually, between them and their favorite good deity worshiped, should be mutually honored, and some jealous possessiveness and fear over losing that special relationship is condonable by all interested, covenanted parties.

Jealousy as an emotion obsessive, sick, controlling and unduly possessive when one partner assumes they own the other covenanter body and soul. Jealousy sickens and corrupts whenever one covenanter seeks to consume her partner, and such disregard for the other individual’s morality, dignity and separation is not wise or sustainable.

Negative or human jealousy leads to more wicked behaviors, and we should all be wary of it: we do not love others if we do not respect their individuality, that they can have other friends, and separate lives, hobbies etc. On the other hand, one should be jealous enough to have one’s partner in a religious relationship or personal relations be personal and perhaps primary.

 

Pastor: “If a husband is simply uninterested in the amorous advances of a man that it makes approaches to his own wife, we should start to question that husband’s true love. Is he really that bothered with her if he’s not starting to feel jealous, so we can see jealousy can be a good thing on a human level.

 

Now let’s think of the jealousy of God’s. You see He tells his people you shall have no other gods before my presence, my son. We saw this yesterday. He, he jealously covets his people’s affections, and he wants them whole-heartedly to their true bridegroom, Christ.”

My response: God wants His people’s wholehearted, all-in devotion, love, attention, and allegiance. Either they are loyal to God completely or not at all. Either their exclusive covenant is with Jesus or not at all.

I think one’s allegiance to God can be whole-hearted without being unconditional (for a moderate to hold unconditional love for anyone, even a deity—this unconditional should be mutually understood between humans, or the human and her God, to mean mostly unconditional but not completely unconditional, and the holding back is not to enjoy a covenant with another deity usually—or to go a whoring. This is dishonorable but slightly conditional love when the unfaithful human is chasing after bad deities after pledging oneself to Jesus. If the human is faith to his spouse, and to Jesus, then this rather conditional or moderate love is real love because each human covenanter should retain his individual personhood and dignity, though worshiping and loving God unreservedly. This is what good deities expect from us, and this is how they love us, thought that seems blasphemous. Unconditional love easily transmutes into unconditional hatred, and nothing violates the covenant between human and good deity faster than coming to hate the good deity. No party to the covenant should be burdened by the promise of unconditional loyalty a love, which is not a noble or achievable ideal for imperfect human beings. We never desire that the well-meant covenant relationship deteriorates into a holy cause expressed with excessive fervency.

 

Pastor: “Here is God with his heart on His sleeve. I am jealous he says in fact in Exodus 34 verse 14, he will say my name is jealous. God loves with a burning, faithful marital love”

My response: One can be rationally passionate and display and feel sincere, deep emotion but this felt expression of affection for others or for a good deity is nothing like super-exuberant, theatrical, public spectacles of loyalty declared, completed with mass pageantry, drums and trumps blazing, with mob parades and dances to intimidate individual in that society, awed by such mass displays like Hitler would stage to remind the individuals that they were small and insignificant; that their power, relationships and talent expressions are controlled by the partner or by the faith—that control is tyrannical jealous possessive and hateful, we do not want to be so passionate but be heartfelt and freely shared but restrained and polite almost always.

 

Pastor: “First of all, the Father loves His son in the power of His Almighty spirit. It is a marriage of God as the bridegroom and humans as the woman-like love, it is rightly possessive and jealous.”

My response: I realize that this sexual metaphor (God is the bridegroom enjoying a covenant with His people, his followers, and brides.) is innocent, but I am still uncomfortable with it and would like to move on from it. I do not like to see men as the dominant covenanter, and the woman, his co-covenanter, as his possession, his property, his to dominate and do with as he will.

If its meaning and intent are transmogrified, at its worst, pardon my French, and a new, lithe handsome young convict came into the prison and a burly, violent older convict looked at him and said, you are my bitch from now on. and I own your body and soul, sexually and otherwise.  I will be insanely jealous if you are attractive to anyone, get attention from anyone, or if another man approaches you to make you his bitch. I will kill you both before I let you go free because I own you and never release what I down.

As a macho heterosexual male, I am uncomfortable with being anyone’s woman, whether I enter into a covenant with a human woman or enter into a organized religious covenant/relationship/marriage with a good deity. I do not want the god or goddess to be the bridegroom in the relationship, and for me to be the bride. This Biblical metaphor was and is very innocent, but I in Mavellonialism going forward would like to move away from this sexual metaphor; it is just too loaded with sinister or potentially sinister implications, besmirching and casting a pall upon a decent, sweet innocent relationship between a human and the good deity she worships, and their admirable, shared covenant.

 

Pastor: “And then He loved His people, those who are married to his son. He loves the Bride of Christ with that same ardent love and throughout the Bible God’s people for their part, they respond badly to God’s zealous love.”

 

My response: If one loves anyone or anything with too much zeal or jealousy smothering, it is a turn-off; love and covenant should be passionate offered, without degrading, downplaying the dignity and free choice of the target of the offer. The relationship should be mutually courteous and respectful, and freely entered into by both parties knowing their obligations and willing to sustain them for a lifetime.

I do not like this work jealous to express displeasure on God’s part when God is displeased with human unfaithfulness and covenant violation by going whoring after bad deities or false gods. God’s love for, commitment to and unending concern for De’s children are whom De loves.

 I do not like emotional extremes, for it lets loose the id, demons, natural impulses, and temptations out upon society, with irrationalism, extremism, groupism, altruism, tyranny and injustice resulting, all driven by that mostly destructive emotion jealousy, undergirding, and contextually applying to all these negative traits. Humans are born wicked, pack creatures and jealously of others and God leads to mob violence intolerance, and malevolence. No good deity wants that at all.

Some conflate hysterical exhibitions of passionate sentiment or jealousy melodramas by individuals in the public space as preferable, but these loud, violent expressions of love and caring, referred to as virtuous but they are mostly satanic.

Extremism and excessive emotion are not sincere and healthy. Extreme emotion is not the same as purity of belief, commitment or intellectual excellence, or the highest ethical standard. Rather they are positions either excessive or mean, which is evil and jealousy smacks of these warped attitudes: no standard too high, impossibly strict—or the opposite that anything goes--too jealous, or too wishy-washy so the offended human or good deity feels or expresses no righteous jealousy at all.

 Humans always need to be cautious and humble and wary because they are born evil, and easily are led astray. Humans love to deceive each other and oneself and love meting out slavery and living in slavery and bad jealousy permeates these poor living arrangements, so we need to be careful of too passionate belief, overly affectionate, sky-high or the wrong kind of jealousy or commitment, lest we turn to the devil and work for him and hurt people and God. Cool it down and express quiet, heartfelt loving faithful to one’s covenant with God will suffice and that sensible approach is likely what God prefers.

 

Pastor: “But instead of being called to be obedient again and again, God’s people are called to be faithful. And when they sin, they’re not just called transgressors, they are called adulterers. There’s meant to be this marriage relationship. To be on the inside of God’s jealous love is a wonderful thing.

It’s to be rightly possessed and secure, it is the sunshine of His love. To be on the wrong side of His jealousy is a terrible thing because those who demean, threaten, or harm the objects of his love, either his son or His people, those people will feel that jealousy as a consuming fire of his wrath. The same jealous love will be experienced in two very different ways: for some, it’s the sunshine of his love. For others, the blazing fire of his judgment. But it’s the same love, the same jealous God.”

 

My response: Yes, a fiery loving deity will reward those faithful and just and burn those disloyal and unjust. It is the same love, the same deity.

Pastor: “What kind of God is this? Certainly, it is no cold, calculating clockworks God. He is not a God to be tamed or taken for granted. Here on Mount Sinai, we see a passionate God entering into committed covenant relationships with us.

He is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, but it’s on the mountain of Calvary that we see the full depths of his passion there. There on the cross his heart was not simply there, but pierced by his jealous love, which was not merely named but demonstrated for all time with his arms outstretched for the world. He does not approach us as a cosmic lawgiver. On the cross we his deepest, truest nature. He comes to us a  jealous, zealous lover and as he makes himself vulnerable to us. The question that defines every human being is not how can you disobey this lawgiver. The question is: How can you spurn this love? Speaklife.org UK”

 

My response: This pastor speaks like Kierkegaard, not a rational, cool, cerebral vicar, quiet Quaker, or rational theist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                 K

 

Here is my last YouTube video, hand copied by me off the internet on 4/17/25, and its title is: The LORD is jealous for his name, from Necessary Food: The Lord whose name is jealous—Exodus 39:12-16.

 

Here is the Narrator (N after this): “Well, good morning. I am reading from the book of Exodus. We are talking about our jealous God. Now, for some people that’s been a big problem but as we read this morning you will understand better what God is saying.

 

He says to the children of Israel, to Moses, Chapter 34, Verse 12 of the book of Exodus: ‘Take heed of thyself lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whether thou goest lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee, but you shall destroy their altars, break down their images, cut down their groves. Thou shall worship no other go for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God. ”

My response: It could be that, at that time, the time of Exodus, there was so much demonic paganism at work among the Gentiles, that God had to take a radical, severe line just to shock and to motivate his Chosen People to worship himself (Yahweh). It all seems drastic to me, but it might well be merited.

N: “lest thou make a covenant with the land and they go whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods. One will call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice and they’ll take care of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and they make thy sons whoring after their gods.

Now the key to understanding this jealousy of the God’s is the way that he refers to idolatry that can happen. So Israel is not to intermarry with the Canaanite tribes. The reason: Because you will wind up worshiping their false gods and God calls it whoring.

Now for it to be whoring we’ve got to understand the metaphor that God is using here. God sees Himself as the husband of his people, Israel. And they have entered a covenant with him—just like a marriage covenant. When a man and his wife enter into a marriage covenant they enter into this covenant and they say you know forsaking all others till death do us part.

 

That means they do not have eyes for somebody else. A husband whose wife has eyes for another man, well, he’s caring to experience jealousy, and rightly so because he has entered into a covenant with her. And she has made him a promise and a wife whose husband has eyes for another woman—she’s going to be jealous for him because they’ve entered into a covenant, and he made a promise, and now he’s breaking that promise.”

 

My response: God is faithful, but many humans are not, to their marriage vows and their covenant vow to remain faithful to God, who is always faithful and loyal to us, more than we deserve.

 

N: “And that’s what God is telling his people: don’t break this promise because when you go and you worship the gods of the Canaanites, it’s going to be like committing adultery. You’re going whoring after some other lover that’s not your husband, and when we think of God being jealous a jealous God we need not to read onto him our human sinful condition.

 

This is a definition of  jealousy among us as sinful, fallen creatures. Jealous resentment against a rival person enjoying success or advantage, and so, so what we many times, what we experience as jealousy is you know we are jealous you know because they have an ice cream cone and I don’t.”

My response: As a moderate ethicist and egoist moralist, and individualist, I avow that jealousy of our neighbors cause more human suffering—the malevolent kind—than anything else. We do not own others; we can mildly envy their success, but we must blame ourselves every time for being less smart, talented, popular, rich, or smart, and then we must work hard and innovatively to improve our lot. The failure is ours. The power to fix it is ours. The responsibility is ours. We have the free will to do something about it if we will, and we must quit interfering with neighbors to make all of this happen. We must celebrate and reward them for their success, not punish, rob, attack, or destroy them for bettering themselves, while we do nothing but take it easy.

Collectivist jealousy is the emotion back of most evil in the world, so I detest jealousy, and really do not like using it to describe the emotional frustration of an all-good or nearly all perfect deity, upset due to human leaving God to worship false gods.

I would replace the phrase that God is a jealous God with a phrase like God is displeased and disgusted and justifiably angry at human betrayal and covenant-breaking, especially repeatedly.

 

N: “I wish I had their ice cream cone and they had a pink feather. Well, that’s not the way that God is. You see God is; there’s nothing to compare with God. God is truth. God is light. God is he, he is the most incredible, awesome (being, added by Ed) being that there is so, and so for you to look straight at God, and to have this covenant relationship with God And then say, ‘yah,’ I think I’ll go worship the gods of the Canaanites, or, boy, that girl’s pretty—I like her, and she worships the gods of the Canaanites. So maybe I’ll just go with her to the sacrifice that she’s going to.

You seek that causes God to be jealous for his people because they are turning their backs on the truth. And they are walking straight into a lie.

And the Lord Jesus Christ: He is referred to as the bridegroom and his church is the bride. And he’s jealous for his bride because once again there is nothing in all of the universe that would be better or more powerful or merciful or true or kind or righteous than the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so for us to turn our back on the bridegroom and to follow after other idols, well, that’s, that’s just foolish.

So God says that He’s a jealous God. He, he wants for us to worship Him because he is the truth, and for us to worship something else, well, that is just foolishness on our part.

Listen, I want to encourage you this morning. He is worthy of our worship. God bless you. I hope you have a great day.”

 

 

 

 

                                                            L

 

My response: Judaism and Yahweh are monotheist religions, a Father Sky religions. Because Judaism is a faith that advocates humans living apart from nature and owning and dominating nature to make their living, this somehow implied that humans were slowly to awaken, become rational, individualistic, moderate, and unnatural, slightly egoist.

Yahweh exemplified these values, and when He chose the Hebrews as His chosen people, his covenant with them was predicated on the agreement that they would be faithful and worship Him solely, not the pagan gods of neighboring peoples.

Many of these pagan sects likely were evil but most or all of them would be natural, tribal, groupist, collective, altruistic, animistic, and pushing low self-esteem. These traits, patterns and behaviors track with, and evil expressed among humans in society, so it is natural that Yahweh loving good and love, would steer his people not to worship as the heathens and pagans did.

My axiom of moderation in most things ethical, spiritual, and metaphysical laws of nature and supernature, command and entail that there is no one, true faith, absolutely superior to all others, though Judaism and Christianity rank highly.

A faith becomes a sacred ideology, a form of devil worship, once its prophets and priests insist that it is the only faith that the good to be saved can worship, that all others will burn necessarily. These devil worshipers are most jealous of unbelievers and dissenters.

There are many good faiths and many good deities and none of them should excluded the worship of competing good deities and their faiths, and this is the commandment from the Father and the Mother. If people would enjoy Mavellonialism, they will invite in all rival good deities, and the worship of other good deities.

 

To worship good and minor deities need not rob the monotheistic deities of their worshipful due to pray to other, perhaps minor good deities.