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“Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments,” (Ex. 20:3-6).
Neo Paganism is the revival of the old gods and goddesses of pre-Christian polytheistic mythologies, mystery cults, and nature religions, such as Celtic, Egyptian, Roman, and Sumerian. Prudence Jones and Caitlin Matthews writes: “Pagans’ are people who follow the Old Religion, the native religious tradition of Europe which predated more abstract world religions such as Christianity . . . In a sense the new Pagans are neo-Pagans, since they derive their impetus from a spiritual re-emergence and reinstatement of ancient Pagan principles.”
Neo Paganism also includes existing tribal religions and shamanism. Then it includes new religions inspired by avant-garde science fiction and fantasy works as well as diverse occultic sources and traditions; related to witchcraft covens are other neo-pagan groups.
Moses stayed on the mountain for 40 days and received from the Lord all the laws that were to govern the religious and secular life of the Israelites. The Israelites felt abandoned by Moses during his absence and went to Aaron and said to him, “up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him,” (Exodus 32:1).
Aaron collected gold from the people, melted it down, and constructed the image of a calf or young bull, a common symbol of the divine in ancient Near Eastern religions. The Israelites acknowledged the calf as their god and Aaron announced a religious feast to take placed the next day.
Moses’ “anger burned hot, and he threw the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain,” (Exodus 32:19). The people had violated their covenant with God. The Bible says that: Moses “took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the people of Israel drink it,” (Vs.32: 20). On Moses’ instructions, members of the tribe of Levi put to death 3,000 Israelites who had worshiped the Calf. The next morning Moses sought to restore the people in God’s good graces. He audaciously declared that if Israel was not forgiven, “blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou hast written” (Vs. 32:32).