Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
NO, it is not an admission that other gods exist. It is a commandment to not worship anything AS A god, other than God Himself. This could be anything, from Buddha to money. In biblical times they worshipped many other "gods" as they called them, and the commandment to not worship such things is just that.....a commandment to worship only the one true God, not a gold statue.
NO, it is not an admission that other gods exist. It is a commandment to not worship anything AS A god, other than God Himself. This could be anything, from Buddha to money. In biblical times they worshipped many other "gods" as they called them, and the commandment to not worship such things is just that.....a commandment to worship only the one true God, not a gold statue.
NO, it is not an admission that other gods exist. It is a commandment to not worship anything AS A god, other than God Himself. This could be anything, from Buddha to money. In biblical times they worshiped many other "gods" as they called them, and the commandment to not worship such things is just that.....a commandment to worship only the one true God, not a gold statue.
Excellent post. I don't think it could have been answered any better.
God is unlimite therefore He has unlimited form's-the worship of any of these forms is cool,but to worship false things,im not too sure about,false could just mean temporary,as for the bible God being the only form of god -i tottaly disagree,this would put a major lim it and reduce His all powerfullness
if God is Jealous-dont you think thats a negative emotion,why would He need to be jealous of anything,He is eternally situated in pure transcendental ecstatic bliss and knowledge,He just wants us to get back to Him so we can feel the same,and to be honest the christians dont know that much about bible God since their is not that much written about Him in the bible,where as the Vedas have countless scritpures on the nature of God!!!!!!!,but to me they are all part of the same Godhead--no-limits
Ilene, I have to say that you are not correct. I know, “who am I to talk,” right? There is a fairly new member by the name of Daniel O’collum or something like that, and he gives a deep treatment to this topic . Suffice it to say, I have to agree with him on many of his points
The understanding of the Jewish god you have was a much later development that has come down to you via the Christian faith. This idea that a “god could be anything placed BEFORE god” is a modern invention. The early Israelites were instructed to worship ONE god, but this did not discount the idea that other gods (of other nations) existed. It was a prevalent belief in that region of the world in THAT time that individual gods ruled over separate nations. Yahweh (the LORD) was Israel’s god – no one else’s. Reformers like Moses and others along his line (the prophets) fought to get Israel to worship JUST Yahweh. This was done for a few reasons, but I believe the most important was, to create a unity. It made better sense to unite the people under ONE god with one central temple where all were to come as opposed to many gods with many temples and subsequent priesthoods. Wasn’t this what later Roman emperors did? They made Christianity their STATE religion, a move that paid GREAT dividends and helped to catapult and keep rulers like Constantine in power followed by a series of popes in whom all power was eventually consolidated.
I have said it here time and time again in order to show WHAT the early Israelites believed. In Deuteronomy 32:7-9 (read the RSV which stays true to the Dead Sea Scrolls) we read a portion of the song of Moses. Moses instructs the young ones to consult their elders in order for them to recall HOW Yahweh became Israel’s god (note: NOT anyone else’s). He tells them that the Most High (El Elyon) divided the nations according to his [70] sons (note: 70 corresponding nations) and Jacob/Israel fell to Yahweh (became his portion/inheritance). Yahweh was nothing more than a son of El but was later amalgamated by Jewish scribes to BE El.
Note how the story unfolded. Did not Yahweh meet Moses at the burning bush and made it known that he wanted Moses to deliver his people in order to bring them into a covenant with him? This after some 450 years of slavery in Egypt? Did not Yahweh BECOME Israel’s god? Did not Yahweh FINALLY decide to listen to the cries of his people and come to their rescue? Yahweh followed the script and decided to finally pay attention to his inheritance. The curious thing is, you can see how the LATER writers tried link Yahweh with the Most High god himself. Yahweh tells Moses that he was NOT known to their fathers by the name Yahweh, but NOW, to Moses, he decides to reveal himself. The idea here that the writers were trying to convey is that the Yahweh of Moses was the same god who revealed himself to Abraham, but just under another name? Why the secrecy? Why this explanation? Well that’s another story, but I hope you see the point.
I also want to point your attention to the book of Judges which also reflects the theology of the early Israelites. In Judges (11:12-24), the Israelites and Ammonites find themselves in a dispute over land. Japhteth, the ruling judge at the time, sent a delegation to Ammon to settle the matter. When the Israelite representatives arrived, they pointed out to the Ammonites that Chemosh THEIR god, gave them their borders, but Yahweh gave Israel her borders. There was NO dispute on this as this was the common understanding of the day. The Israelites were NOT claiming their god was the ONLY god. They (the Israelites) were only sworn to one regardless of what other nations did with theirs. This is what scholars refer to as henotheism – the worship of one god, not necessarily discounting other gods exists.
Finally, just after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, a song is offered up in Exodus 15 (I think) and in one verse, the writer asks, “which other god in heaven is like you (Yahweh).” What other gods was he speaking about? This is just one of a few areas where this is hinted at.
Ilene, I have to say that you are not correct. I know, “who am I to talk,” right? There is a fairly new member by the name of Daniel O’collum or something like that, and he gives a deep treatment to this topic . Suffice it to say, I have to agree with him on many of his points
The understanding of the Jewish god you have was a much later development that has come down to you via the Christian faith. This idea that a “god could be anything placed BEFORE god” is a modern invention. The early Israelites were instructed to worship ONE god, but this did not discount the idea that other gods (of other nations) existed. It was a prevalent belief in that region of the world in THAT time that individual gods ruled over separate nations. Yahweh (the LORD) was Israel’s god – no one else’s. Reformers like Moses and others along his line (the prophets) fought to get Israel to worship JUST Yahweh. This was done for a few reasons, but I believe the most important was, to create a unity. It made better sense to unite the people under ONE god with one central temple where all were to come as opposed to many gods with many temples and subsequent priesthoods. Wasn’t this what later Roman emperors did? They made Christianity their STATE religion, a move that paid GREAT dividends and helped to catapult and keep rulers like Constantine in power followed by a series of popes in whom all power was eventually consolidated.
I have said it here time and time again in order to show WHAT the early Israelites believed. In Deuteronomy 32:7-9 (read the RSV which stays true to the Dead Sea Scrolls) we read a portion of the song of Moses. Moses instructs the young ones to consult their elders in order for them to recall HOW Yahweh became Israel’s god (note: NOT anyone else’s). He tells them that the Most High (El Elyon) divided the nations according to his [70] sons (note: 70 corresponding nations) and Jacob/Israel fell to Yahweh (became his portion/inheritance). Yahweh was nothing more than a son of El but was later amalgamated by Jewish scribes to BE El.
Note how the story unfolded. Did not Yahweh meet Moses at the burning bush and made it known that he wanted Moses to deliver his people in order to bring them into a covenant with him? This after some 450 years of slavery in Egypt? Did not Yahweh BECOME Israel’s god? Did not Yahweh FINALLY decide to listen to the cries of his people and come to their rescue? Yahweh followed the script and decided to finally pay attention to his inheritance. The curious thing is, you can see how the LATER writers tried link Yahweh with the Most High god himself. Yahweh tells Moses that he was NOT known to their fathers by the name Yahweh, but NOW, to Moses, he decides to reveal himself. The idea here that the writers were trying to convey is that the Yahweh of Moses was the same god who revealed himself to Abraham, but just under another name? Why the secrecy? Why this explanation? Well that’s another story, but I hope you see the point.
I also want to point your attention to the book of Judges which also reflects the theology of the early Israelites. In Judges (11:12-24), the Israelites and Ammonites find themselves in a dispute over land. Japhteth, the ruling judge at the time, sent a delegation to Ammon to settle the matter. When the Israelite representatives arrived, they pointed out to the Ammonites that Chemosh THEIR god, gave them their borders, but Yahweh gave Israel her borders. There was NO dispute on this as this was the common understanding of the day. The Israelites were NOT claiming their god was the ONLY god. They (the Israelites) were only sworn to one regardless of what other nations did with theirs. This is what scholars refer to as henotheism – the worship of one god, not necessarily discounting other gods exists.
Finally, just after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, a song is offered up in Exodus 15 (I think) and in one verse, the writer asks, “which other god in heaven is like you (Yahweh).” What other gods was he speaking about? This is just one of a few areas where this is hinted at.
Excellent analysis...perhaps others will take the time required to actually study where it is their beliefs originate...I'm hopeful...but I sincerely doubt they will do that because then they might actually have to use logic and reason instead of blind slave faith.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
