Look out! They're everywhere!

So close is the connection between curses and their heavenly derivation that curses can become deities themselves. They separate the dead from the living. They are disease, calamity, ailment, and misadventure. They are the agents of death. They are the personification of divine weapons, the instruments used in the execution of the evil embedded in every malediction. They are executioner deities, dispatched by their divine lord and master to work his will. They are ever active. They move in collectives. They pursue and chase offenders. They attach themselves to the body of their victims. They grab the hems of garments and lurk in doorways and corners. They hide in jars and pots. They live in areas sparse in life, in cemeteries, in the wilderness, in the desert. They are demons. They bring death; therefore, they are the denizens of the netherworld.— Cursed Are You!, page 5

<idle musing>
This is the world the Bible grew up in, if you will. Curses are real. They are "out to get you..." You need a potent ally to protect you. Is your god big enough, strong enough? Do you take good care of your god? You need to or they won't stop the curse(s) from getting you!

There's a reason for all those sacrifices. There's a reason for the popularity of the personal god (^dLAMMA in cuneiform [see CAD L: lamassu, lamassatu for more information]). There's a reason the Greeks venerated the Hermai and got all bent out of shape over their desecration—indeed, they even credited the failure of their expedition against Syracuse to the desecration! There's a reason the Romans had hearth deities (Lares & Penates).

They needed protection!

Enter the idea of monotheism. Think about the ramifications of that. You don't have a small god anymore to protect you! You've only got one god, and he's way up there!

When I look up at your skies,
at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars
that you set firmly in place—
what are human beings
that you think about them;
what are human beings
that you pay attention to them? Psalm 8:3–4 CEB

It suddenly makes sense why the Israelites had a hard time giving up their other deities. It makes sense why, even after the "Christianization" of Europe, folk religion continued to be the real religion.

And, if I may be so bold, it makes sense why superstitions are so powerful in sports today...they really are out to get you!

Think about it. How different are you, am I, from those ancient Near Eastern people?

Just an
</idle musing>