University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Religious Studies Publications and Other Works Religious Studies Spring 5-27-2014 Gods Behaving Badly: Differences in Perceptions of Divine Violence in Mythologies of the Ancient Near East George Louis Groh
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_relipubs Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, and the Other Religion Commons Recommended Citation Groh, George Louis, "Gods Behaving Badly: Differences in Perceptions of Divine Violence in Mythologies of the Ancient Near East" (2014). Religious Studies Publications and Other Works. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_relipubs/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Religious Studies at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Studies Publications and Other Works by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 1 George Groh REST 499 Gods Behaving Badly: Differences in Perceptions of Divine Violence in Mythologies of the Ancient Near East Most people who follow one of the major contemporary religions, particularly in the Abrahamic traditions, adhere to a very specific set of beliefs concerning the types of behavior expected from a deity or divine power. The Bible portrays a God who “delights to show mercy” (Mic. 7:18) and encourages followers to “sanctify yourselves… and be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44). God’s character is often thought to be perfect, utterly above negative qualities such as evil, deceit, wrong doing and pettiness.