Re: That "chosen people" thing. Now, here's something I came across years ago in all my readings, and since it's time to sit back and synthesize all that junk, I'll throw these thoughts out here:

It seems that back in the days when the ancient Hebrews were still following goats around, each and every tribe or band had its own primary god (no matter how many gods you generally believed in, which for most people, would have been any they heard of.) This god would be tended to first in prayers and offerings, before the other ones, and was thought to have a special relationship with that "chosen" group (either it adopted them, or chose to create/give birth to them or whatever.)

In this context, the idea of a "universal god" is kind of nonsense. It's also why the Ark of the Covenant has a seat for YHWH to sit upon, and why one might sing about not being able to sing their god's song in a strange land ... the people, the territory they claimed, and their god were all intertwined. To be run off your land was to be possibly cut off from your god, and I think this just reflects how people might be forced to convert if captured, or have to find refuge in another tribe's territory (they might require you to convert - remember, gods are part of the land at this point.)

Anyway, so of course the Hebrews were the "chosen ones" of their god, but so was everyone else a "chosen one" of their god, and these super-ancient people would have understood that.

So then the Hebrews claim territory, change their name to Jews (I'm realizing I'm not clear on when or why this happened), and some Romans invade their land; resistance happens, a resistance leader dies, and up comes Saul of Tarsis to make YHWH into a universal god by selling Jesus as a demi-god to the Greco-Romans (to whom no one was anyone unless they had a god for a parent.) So now that "chosen one" thing becomes a supremacist thing, but we're not supposed to look at it that way. But if we do, we see that we are being asked to worship a god that is not ours, if we're not Hebrew/Jewish, unless one wants to think that a tribal god just up and decided to Team Rocket every other god's human pokemon ...)

I'd pour a lot of stink-eye on that "St Paul" character. Along with pushy sun-worshipers, who seem to have been the worst jackbooty monotheists of the whole pagan bunch ...

Yes, I'm partially being facetious, BUT, I do like to dig at the roots of things, and the deeper they go, the more fun it is.

Re: That "chosen people" thing. Now, here's something I came across years ago in all my readings, and since it's time to sit back and synthesize all that junk, I'll throw these thoughts out here:

It seems that back in the days when the ancient Hebrews were still following goats around, each and every tribe or band had its own primary god (no matter how many gods you generally believed in, which for most people, would have been any they heard of.) This god would be tended to first in prayers and offerings, before the other ones, and was thought to have a special relationship with that "chosen" group (either it adopted them, or chose to create/give birth to them or whatever.)

In this context, the idea of a "universal god" is kind of nonsense. It's also why the Ark of the Covenant has a seat for YHWH to sit upon, and why one might sing about not being able to sing their god's song in a strange land ... the people, the territory they claimed, and their god were all intertwined. To be run off your land was to be possibly cut off from your god, and I think this just reflects how people might be forced to convert if captured, or have to find refuge in another tribe's territory (they might require you to convert - remember, gods are part of the land at this point.)

Anyway, so of course the Hebrews were the "chosen ones" of their god, but so was everyone else a "chosen one" of their god, and these super-ancient people would have understood that.

So then the Hebrews claim territory, change their name to Jews (I'm realizing I'm not clear on when or why this happened), and some Romans invade their land; resistance happens, a resistance leader dies, and up comes Saul of Tarsis to make YHWH into a universal god by selling Jesus as a demi-god to the Greco-Romans (to whom no one was anyone unless they had a god for a parent.) So now that "chosen one" thing becomes a supremacist thing, but we're not supposed to look at it that way.

I'd pour a lot of stink-eye on that "St Paul" character. Along with pushy sun-worshipers, who seem to have been the worst jackbooty monotheists of the whole pagan bunch ...

Yes, I'm partially being facetious, BUT, I do like to dig at the roots of things, and the deeper they go, the more fun it is.