Yahwism and projection : an a/theological perspective on polymorphism in the Old Testament

Abstract

In this article, an attempt is made to demonstrate the presence projection tendencies in the religious language of Old Testament Yahwism(s) and to discuss the nature and extent thereof. The a/theological thesis of the inquiry is that both YHWH and the divine world as depicted in some of the texts may be seen as being the products of sociomorphic, anthropomorphic and psychomorphic projective operations. This heterodox perspective is held to be valid given the culturally relative and historically contingent nature of the biblical references to the divine and of the constructive nature of its supernaturalism. As a result, it is suggested that the popular theory claiming that all religious language is metaphorical fails to salvage realism as it involves the twin fallacies of anachronism and sweeping generalisation when applied to the Old Testament discourse en bloc.