Desiring divinity : self-deification in early Jewish and Christian mythmaking

257 Pages·2016·1.887 MB·English

by  M. David Litwa

Desiring Divinity

Desiring Divinity
Self- deification in Early Jewish
and Christian Mythmaking
z
M. DAVID LITWA
1
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Litwa, M. David, author.
Title: Desiring divinity : self-deification in early Jewish and Christian mythmaking / M. David Litwa.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press USA, 2016. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015051032 (print) | LCCN 2016031681 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190467166 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190467173 ()
Subjects: LCSH: Apotheosis. | Judaism—Doctrines. | Deification (Christianity) | God.
Classification: LCC BL465 .L583 2016 (print) | LCC BL465 (ebook) | DDC 202/.11—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2015051032
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
To my father
who believed

Contents
Preface  ix
Abbreviations  xi
Introduction: Types of Self- deification Mythology  1
PART I: The Self- deifying Rebel
1. “I Am a God.” The Primal Human as Primeval Self- deifier  13
2. “I Will Be Like the Most High!” The Self- deification of Helel  29
3. “I Am God and There is No Other!” The Boast of Yaldabaoth 47
PART II: The Self- deifying Hero
4. “I and the Father Are One.” The Self- deification of Jesus in John  67
5. “I and You Are One.” Simon of Samaria as Hero and Heretic  91
6. “I Became Divine.” Allogenes and Gnostic Self- deification  119
Conclusion: The Many Myths of Self- deification  137
Notes  149
Bibliography  205
Index  237

Preface
Why self- deification? Who today, after all, would claim godhood
besides, perhaps, a few dictators, athletes, and paranoid schizophrenics? The
question itself is telling. The very fact that we perceive self- deifiers as insane,
arrogant, and evil indicates that the ancient Jewish and Christian mythology of
self- deification is still very much our own. To make learning possible, this my-
thology must, first of all, be recognized as mythology. Such a recognition allows
for a kind of emotional bracketing: we push the subject beyond applause and
excoriation in order to understand it in a fresh and enlightening way.
What is the theoretical value of studying self- deification? What problem in
religious studies does this book try to solve? Simply put: this book offers one
more case study in the attempt to understand the relation between religious
myth, ideology, and practice. In this case, we focus on ancient myth and ideology,
although our conclusion briefly turns to the modern world.
Yet perhaps the distinction between past and present is overblown, since (as
noted) the biblical mythology of self- deification has become our own. We have
forgotten the names of ancient self- deifiers, but we still know the pattern of their
fate: they rise, then fall; they are arrogant, then humbled; they are mad, and fi-
nally destroyed.
Yet this book tells the story of some self- deifiers who succeed. Though these
figures are not normally classified as self- deifiers, they make the same or simi-
lar claims as their rebellious counterparts. What is different is their relation to
authority. Instead of trying to topple and replace the ultimate power structure,
heroic self- deifiers integrate themselves into the structure of divine power so as
to assume its mantle.
Why did the ancients tell myths of self- deification? As is to be expected, there
was an attempt to influence and control behavior. Myths of self- deification both
frighten and inspire, legitimize and expose, justify the present order and give rise
to a new one. There is no single meaning of the myths. Rather, the multiple mean-
ings continue to assist our projects of self- making and society- building, for they
provide the means of both social revolution and personal transformation.