Constitutional Law

Part 2: “What Were They Thinking?”

Digression: “A History of Government in 6 Revolutions: From the Paleolithic to Philadelphia”

116. Inventing God and Law: God is Dead

Title: Part J: God is Dead

Panel 1: A map stretching from the foot of Italy to India, from Tunisia to Somalia. The territories of the Neo-Babylonian Empire are colored a dark teal blue, with the territory of Yehudah highlighted.

NARRATION:

Sadly, it couldn’t last.

Soon, Yehudah was once again a small province in a big empire—now the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Then Josiah’s heirs wound up repeating the same mistake that Israel had made…

…allying with Egypt, rebelling against Babylon…

…twice.

-=-

Panel 2: In the distance, Jerusalem is burning. Along a road snaking away from the city, a multitude of people march away, carrying their belongings in bundles or in hand carts. Armed soldiers watch from a hillside.

NARRATION:

Babylon responded in the civilized way.

As usual, they marched off the elites.

They executed all of the king’s sons.

And Jerusalem itself was razed to rubble… its temple utterly demolished.

(Most of Jerusalem’s population had already fled, as refugees, to other provinces with other gods.)

23 years after Josiah’s death, his newly-centralized state had been reduced to an impoverished, sparsely-populated waste.

SOLDIER 1:

That was one way to prevent institutional decay, I guess.

SOLDIER 2:

At least we’ll have no more trouble with these incorrigible Yahweh-worshippers…

…their god is dead.