Wow, way to completely misrepresent the story. By the way, the golden calf happened before the 40 years of wandering. They built the calf 3 months or as it says "On the third new moon" after they came out of Egypt. Also that, "minor transgression" was the people about to turn and go back to Egypt when they were moments away from reaching their destination. If you don't like what the bible says, fine. But, don't lie about it.