Episode 3: How Did God Become God?

Before Rome: Mediumship and God with MaryAnna

Episode Summary

In this episode, MaryAnna takes us back to the ancient world to explore one of the most provocative questions in religious history: How did a regional deity named Yahweh become the God — singular, universal, and unchallenged? This is not a debate about faith. It's an invitation to be curious, ask questions, and follow the historical evidence wherever it leads.

What We Cover

• The world Abraham actually lived in — a polytheistic landscape full of gods of storms, fertility, war, wisdom, cities, mountains, and even household deities
• Polytheism vs. Monotheism — what these words mean and why the shift from many gods to one was not sudden or clean
• Yahweh's origins — scholarly evidence that Yahweh began as a regional storm and warrior god, fierce and territorial, before becoming the universal God
• Asherah, Yahweh's wife — archaeological evidence that was systematically edited out of scripture
• The priestly class of Jerusalem — how centralizing worship meant centralizing power, and how that shaped the texts we have today
• King Josiah and 622 BC — the purge that changed everything: smashed altars, executed priests, burned bones, and eliminated seers, diviners, mediums, and "knowers" (Yidioni) from Israelite life
• The Ob (medium) and the Yidioni (knower) — who these people were, what they did, and how they were woven into everyday community life
• Direct ancestral contact — why ancient consultation was specific, relational, and intentional, not a free-for-all with the dead
• The Witch of Endor — a preview of a future deep-dive episode
• Who controls access to the divine — the argument that has never ended, from ancient priests to modern churches
• A seed planted: The Desert Mothers — coming in future episodes

Key Takeaway

The wall between you and Spirit was built by people — which means it was never real to begin with. You don't need permission from a priest, a pastor, or a building to access whatever you believe God is.

Mentioned / Coming Soon

• The Witch of Endor (future episode)
• The Desert Mothers (future episode)
• Demons, angels, and fallen angels (future episode)

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