Ancestors Religion and Worldviews in Genesis 11:28-50:1-26

The issue of the role of ancestors within ancient Israelite world views and religion always elicits divergent views. This is partly due to different approaches to the issue. As a result the ancestor''s cult is a belief which has met with widely differing Christian responses. Some argue in favour and against of ancestor worship within ancient Israel whether public or private(Spronk 1986;Lewis 1989 Kennedy 1992 Cooper 1993 Wright 1952; De Vaux 1961; Kaufman 1972 Johnston 1994 Schmidt 1994). For example Cooper (1993: 303) argues that “in our ongoing investigation of what we call ''narrative reflexes of cult'' perhaps our most striking discovery has been the pervasiveness of ancestor - cult material that can be discerned in biblical stories. These stories have the potential to open a window to Israelite religious practice that certain authorities sought to suppress.”