Moses led the Hebrews in...
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Moses led the Hebrews in their escape from Egypt. The Hebrews had always lived in
Egypt; thus, they always lived with the assumption that a man (pharaoh) was god, or at
least semi-divine. At Moses' time the belief also existed in the Greek world that heroes
received divine honors after death.
When sociologists study modern cults they often find a revered leader who, again in sociological terms, is charismatic. Across history, religions have tended not only to focus too much upon individual religious teachers and leaders when they were alive, but to deify them after death. The extremes of the "cult of the saints" in the Middle Ages is evidence of such thinking.
Moses makes sure that his grave won't be venerated on Pisgah as John Calvin was careful also to be buried in an unmarked grave in Geneva. We don't "go" to Moses' grave to venerate him. We read the Torah to find out about God who is infinitely more important than all our religious leaders.
When sociologists study modern cults they often find a revered leader who, again in sociological terms, is charismatic. Across history, religions have tended not only to focus too much upon individual religious teachers and leaders when they were alive, but to deify them after death. The extremes of the "cult of the saints" in the Middle Ages is evidence of such thinking.
Moses makes sure that his grave won't be venerated on Pisgah as John Calvin was careful also to be buried in an unmarked grave in Geneva. We don't "go" to Moses' grave to venerate him. We read the Torah to find out about God who is infinitely more important than all our religious leaders.
