geographic territory, and thus a split in religious views. A group of people left the area of Judah and traveled North to found Israel, where they could be free to practice their own political flavors, and their own religious flavors as well. This sort of behavior has come to be seen as common of oppressed people, and the result is almost always a great deviation in the ways of the ‘old world’. A perfect example of this comes when examining the point in American history where independence was declared from England. Now, mere centuries later, America is as different in its politics, religions, and social forces from England as one could imagine. This was most likely the result when Israel was founded, far back in Biblical history. Communication between the two cities was sparse. The priests and prophets were undoubtedly addressing items pertinent to one group, but not neccesarily the other. The influence of foreign traders to each of the two places, as well as the political attitudes of each all would have had enormous impact on a newly-spawned religion. Thus, it can easily be seen that the religion was split into (at least) two major divisions during this time period. Toward the end of the Divided Monarchy, it seems that the prophets began calling for major changes in the basic foundation of the early Jews’ lives. The kings and priests had no major disputes with the status quo, but apparently the prophets were calling for a reorganization. This sort of ‘turmoil within’ can do nothing but further split people’s faith. It was is if the question was posed : to follow the kings and the priests, who have guided us and kept us safe? or follow the far-seeing prophets, who are more like us and honestly have our best interests at heart? As the next major historical division occurred this sort of argument would continue, and thus the Jewish people were left to practice their religion in whatever way they felt b...
