Chosen people
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Various groups and individuals (see List of messiah claimants) have considered themselves chosen by God for some purpose such as to act as God's agent on earth.Template:Citation needed This status may be viewed as a self-imposed higher standard to fulfill God's expectation, or as a self-elevation over the rest of humanity due to a claimed proximity to God.
Specifically, in the Hebrew Bible, (or the Tanakh), called the "Old Testament" by Christians, the Treasured People is the exact phrase used in the text, referring to the Hebrews/Israelites. In the Book of Deuteronomy, YHWH proclaims the Nation of Israel, known originally known as the Children of Israel, as his "treasured people out of all the people on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6). As mentioned in the Book of Exodus, the Hebrew people are God's chosen people, and from them shall come the Messiah, or redeemer of the world. The Israelites also possess the "Word of God" and/or "Law of God" in the form of the Torah as communicated by God to Moses. Jews and, by extension, Christians consider themselves to be the "chosen people".
See also
- 144,000
- Chosen one
- Christ of Europe
- Ethnocentrism
- Exceptionalism
- God complex
- Master race
- Messiah complex (self-concept)
- Moral superiority
- Proselytism
- Religious fanaticism
- Religious intolerance
- Theocracy
