As-salaam alaikum.  My YouTube discussion with the Christian apologist “dhc21” has taken an interesting turn.  Apparently unable to respond to my incessant and undeniable evidence of pagan influences on the Bible, “dhc21” offered the following little nugget:

“Thanks Faiz but if paganism is what I worship then it is better than Mohammed’s version of paganism. Thanks for the invite but I most humbly decline the invitation to the dark side, Darth.”

This was in response to my comment on the pagan influences on the prayer of Jacob in Genesis 49.  Here is what I wrote:

Did you know that Genesis 49 contains more clear proof of borrowing from pagan mythology? Here are the relevant verses:

“But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed[l] limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty,[m] who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.”

The translation is very deceptive. The actual Hebrew text contains references to “El” (instead of “your father’s God”), the “Bull of Jacob” (instead of “the Mighty One of Jacob”), and “Shadday” (instead of “Almighty”; “Shadday” was another Canaanite name for El). But here is the SHOCKER! Scholars believe that “breast and womb” is a reference to the PAGAN GODDESSES ASHERAH and ANAT!!! In the Masoretic text, the Hebrew is “sadayim waraham”. According to Professor Mark Smith: “The phrase sadayim waraham…echoes Ugaritic titles of the goddesses Asherah and Anat.” WOW!! Did I just hear your jaw drop? Run away from this paganism, dude. It’s for your own good. Come to Islam. You will be glad you did.

Obviously, this apologist has never heard any of this stuff.  But it is well-known to scholars.  So what was his response?  Essentially, it was that his “paganism” is better than Muhammad’s alleged “paganism”!  Is this a monotheist or an idol worshiper?  That’s like saying “my god is better and stronger than your god”!  Naturally, I responded to his pitiful logic:

WOW! So, you think that one “version” of paganism is better than another? First of all, paganism is paganism. It leads to hell. Period. Second, there is no paganism in Islam. Islam is purely monotheistic. Unfortunately for you, your Bible is full of pagan influences. Like I said, be honest with yourself. You have been lied to by the likes of David Wood and Jack Chick. Chick is dead now. He will endure an eternity in hell. So will you and Wood if you don’t repent.

The context of Genesis 49 is again irrelevant. Whatever the purpose of the prayer was is not the point. The point is why does Genesis use pagan symbolism? Why did it appeal to the pagan goddesses Asherah and Anat? This is a question that you need to answer, for the good of your soul. Stop lying to yourself. Grow up and face the facts.  

Let us hope that he at least looks into this matter with the utmost seriousness, instead of burying his head in the ground.  Sadly, most people would prefer to live in denial, and Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) guides whom He wills.  Let us pray that “dhc21” will be guided. 

Disclaimer:  The quote from Professor Mark Smith is from his book “The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel”, 1987.