I was going to write a nice intro on the Testament story, but if you’re reading this then you likely already know about the comic. If not, then try a search engine and get the full scoop. So, on to the real discussion.
The most common complaint regarding Testament seems to be “Why is Rushkoff’s writing so obviously at odds with the Bible?” While there are parts of the story that are more than a bit confusing, most of the complaints seem to arise from a problem of approach.
A large number of people, especially in the US, treat the Bible as a history of real events containing real people at particular points in time. While looking at the Bible as documenting real-time events may preserve one’s religious traditions, the viewpoint misses what is most likely Rushkoff’s view: the Bible is better understood as a socially constructed collection of myths and stories. If one accepts the social construction view, or at least suspend one’s disbelief toward it, Rushkoff’s story begins to make a lot more sense.
One complaint from the this-is-history viewpoint regards Moloch as the deity worshiped at Mount Moriah’s altar.
The one criticism of Testament that I don’t see being made is the absence of any supporting documentation from Rushkoff for his assertions about the Bible. I’ve read a number of interviews where he makes various claims about the real story behind the Biblical stories. Not once does he point to any information or research which would provide the average reader a place to begin studying these assertions. Perhaps his book, Nothing Sacred : The Truth About Judaism, provides those answers, but I’m not very willing to shell out the $14 without having some idea where he is getting his information.
**(Don’t consider the above as taking a shot at Loren over at Suspension of Disbelief, as I really do respect his writing. I selected his commentary for three reasons:
- It is the best written of all the criticisms I found because it doesn’t descend into ad hominem attacks. Which is pleasantly typical for Suspension of Disbelief.
- It addresses a very specific issue which deserves to be investigated.
- It’s the only one I could find from memory, which is why I need to get better about either bookmarking or posting in a timely manner.
Loren does note that Rushkoff likely believes the Abraham-Isaac story is an acknowledgment of the point when the Hebrews gave up human sacrifice rather than a real event from real time, so he is definitely more aware of the possibilities than most bloggers.