The Father God

In the fourth millenium B.C.E. (3000-2000 B.C.E.) a group known today as the Aryans began to move outward from the steppes of modern Russia. They brought a new language, a new culture and a new religion--that of the Father God. These Aryans (also referred to as "Indo-Europeans") migrated into India, Mesopotamia, the area of Canaan, Egypt, the Mediterranean coasts, and central Europe, subduing the peoples who were already there (and who worshipped the Goddess). The Aryan culture was patriarchal, and their religion was centered on a Father God (Deus Pater in Latin--pronounced later as "Jupiter"--simply shortened as "Zeus" in Greek religion). For the next couple of thousand years, a bloody effort was made to eliminate the Goddess religion. That effort is reflected in the destruction of Jericho (a noted center of the worship of Astarte) in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the destruction of the ashtoreth--the fig tree shrines to Astarte.

It is also reflected in the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. The tree from which they were not to eat was the fig tree:

[The woman] took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves (Genesis 3:6b-7).

To people who lived in a place where Astarte was worshiped the serpent and the tree clearly represent the Goddess, and this was the one thing forbidden by YHWH. The result was sexual awareness--and expulsion from the garden.

It is noteworthy that archaeological evidence points to Russia's steppes as the origin of the Indo-European migrations, and that Abraham (the father of the Jews) is described in Genesis as from Haran (Genesis 12:4). Haran is north of Canaan--near the steppes of Russia.

 

Rituals
Animal sacrifice seems to be one of the key features of the worship of the Aryans' Father God. In Hinduism, in Judaism, and in the Celtic traditions, goats, rams, oxen and/or horses were all sacrificed. There is also some evidence (the reliability of which is often questioned) that there was at one point in the Aryans' past history human sacrifice, for which animal sacrifice may have been the replacement.

Accompanying these sacrificial cults is a tradition of hymn singing/chanting--hence the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible and the Rig Veda of Hinduism.

The blowing of the ram's horn (Judaism) and the conch shell (Hinduism) may also trace their roots to a common Aryan practice. Perhaps they are to reflect the warrior cry of the Father God. (Is it possible that the use of the pipes in Scotland and Ireland is related?)

 

Symbols
By far, the most prevalent symbols of the Father God are fire, thunder & lightning. Lava flow and smoke are related to these. In the Aryan traditions, the spoken word became the only certain experience of the divine, and thus written words its primary symbol.

 

Ethics
The major difference between the Aryan tradition and the indigenous Goddess traditions of India, Mesopotamia, Canaan and northern Europe is centralized on the role of women. The Aryan tradition is patrilineal--wealth is passed from fathers to sons. Thus, the sexuality of women was necessarily limited so as to avoid cuckolding--the infiltration of one man's blood line into another man's household. The control of female sexuality demanded changes in the economic power of women and their rights of divorce as well. Thus, rape required punishment of the women, and virginity was demanded of all first-time brides