Only One God?
This is really a deep subject, and if one looks at it from a different viewpoint than one grew up with it is really difficult to deal with.
A recurring thought is, what if the one God gets so angry with me that He strikes me dead; worse yet, what if, because of what I am writing, He bars me from heaven.
However, I take comfort in the fact that I am writing things that the Bible clearly teaches. I am not concocting any fabulous theories. Based on what the Bible teaches I am portraying only facts. With that in mind, we continue.
Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. Genesis 19:24.
Our Lord, no other gods compare with you. Exodus 15:11. This is the definition given to the word gods, as it is used here, strength; as adjective mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity) Strong H410.
These verses very distinctly speak of more than one god. Some of the newer translations rearrange Geneses 19:24 in such a way that the Lord is mentioned only once. Was this change made because the translators could not grapple with the teaching that there is more than one God?
Were changes like this being made to the Bible so that the Bible would agree with the translator's theology? Some would rather change the Bible then change their own preset conclusions!
Abraham … dwelt on the other side of the river in old times: and they served other gods. Joshua 24:2. The word we notice here is gods and it is the same word that is used in Genesis chapter one, (about the Gods which created heaven and earth), and in many other incidents throughout the Old Testament. The gods are written about in plural, and as was already mentioned, the word gods does not always refer to idols.
The Psalmist said For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:3. Again, the word “gods” here, is the same word used in Genesis chapter one, speaking about a collective, creative group of gods.
O Israel, listen: Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone. Deut. 6:4 The Living Bible. Many theologians have used Deut. 6:4 to prove, from the Bible, that there is only one God (Jehovah), whereas it explicitly states the exact opposite.
What it actually says is that there are other Gods, but for Israel, there is to be only one God; His name is Jehovah. Therefore, for all practical purposes, as far as praise, worship, and faith are concerned, for Muslims, for Jews and for The Christian Church, it is not wrong to declare that there is only one God.
However, among those who have a need to be exact in their study of the Bible, it must be agreed, that the Bible distinctly teaches the existence of Gods other than Jehovah.
Abraham … dwelt on the other side of the river in old times: and they served other gods. Joshua 24:2. The word we notice here is gods and it is the same word that is used in Genesis chapter one, (about the Gods which created heaven and earth), and in many other incidents throughout the Old Testament. The gods are written about in plural, and as was already mentioned, the word gods does not always refer to idols.
Jehovah - A Great God
The Psalmist said For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:3. Again, the word “gods” here, is the same word used in Genesis chapter one, speaking about a collective, creative group of gods.
O Israel, listen: Jehovah is our God, Jehovah alone. Deut. 6:4 The Living Bible. Many theologians have used Deut. 6:4 to prove, from the Bible, that there is only one God (Jehovah), whereas it explicitly states the exact opposite.
What it actually says is that there are other Gods, but for Israel, there is to be only one God; His name is Jehovah. Therefore, for all practical purposes, as far as praise, worship, and faith are concerned, for Muslims, for Jews and for The Christian Church, it is not wrong to declare that there is only one God.
However, among those who have a need to be exact in their study of the Bible, it must be agreed, that the Bible distinctly teaches the existence of Gods other than Jehovah.
Wikipedia writes, Recognized scholars have formulated a substantial case for ancient Israel's practice of Monolatry. The book of Exodus, in fact none of “The Law”, denies the existence of other Gods. However, it does make a strong issue of the fact that the Jews are to follow and worship only Jehovah.
We recall, from a few posts ago, that monolatry means, to worship one. This viewpoint recognizes the existence of a plurality of actual gods, but insists that there is only one God worthy of worship. For the Christian Church that One is Jehovah.
Why don't we try and let the Bible speak for itself, even if it means that we have to "think again" about the basics that we have learned in the church, in the mosque, or in the temple?
Psalm 82:1 "He (God), judges among the gods". I think that one of the clues understanding the use of multiple gods (beside God) definitely goes back to Egypt. Two main figures, Joseph and Moses lived (and were certainly influenced) by the Egyptians.
ReplyDeleteShortly: There is a man called Yuya in Egypt. (Egyptian names often combined a goodly name in the name, like TUT-ANKH(=life)-AMON(the god). One theory is that Yu-Ya could be a named built from YU-Yuseph(Josef) and YA (Yahweh). YUYA happened to be the person in charge for the chariots (suites the bible story also) with title Master of the Horses and King’s Lieutenant. He was a very high ranked person.
YUYAs names is spelled many ways in Egypt (why) maybe he was a foreigner whos name was hard to spell (ex YIYA, YUYU, YAYA...). Yuyas appearance is NOT typically Egyptian.
Yuya´s daughter married pharaoh Amenhotep III, who is father to pharaoh Akhenaten. Akhenaten was was either a monotheist OR at least favored the belief in ONE god (while it seems he allowed ordinary people to continue their traditions with other gods). So a question here, could Akhenaten be Moses?
Anyway, influence from Egypt in the belief system have colored their view. The bible also uses AMEN which is no hebrew word, and has actually NO meaning, unless it is refearred to the Egyptian AMEN or AMUN (the hidden god).
Akhenaten (composes) the Hymn To Aten, which shares similarities, and could have influenced the biblical PSALM 104.
God is described (in an Egyptian way) in the bible, as SHINING UPON US, think about that sentence beeing placed into Akhenatens (Moses) Egypt.
Well, this was just some theories, but could open up for a new understanding of the relationship between biblical notes about many gods versus "the one", and Egypt.
A month ago you commented on my posts: Many Gods in the Old Testament. My intention was to respond but I sensed that you are much more learned than I am and so I felt inhibited. Yet I knew you deserved a response. Thank you for your comment. Your line of reasoning is very interesting and insightful. I have always been fascinated with Egyptology.
DeleteWriters such as appear on the World Mysteries Website have deeply influenced my thinking and Theology.
Thanks again for your note! ike
It is quite clear the people who contributed to the books of the Torah were communicating with various gods; in one instance the God said 'Don not kill' and in the next the God said kill those who do not follow. Another example is one God telling the people to make blood sacrifice after leaving Egypt, then another God asked them through the prophet Isaiah, 'Who told you I desire blood sacrifice?' Is it any wonder in Matthew 19 when the Christ referred to the Genesis story that he referred to the creator in a detached way; which is unusual knowing the Christ always identifying God as His Father or simply 'God', instead referred to the creator of humans as 'The One' or 'he who made man' which suggests that the Christ was distinguishing between the God who sent Him and the [One] who created mankind. I do believe the gnostic Christians also pointed to a difference between the God[s] of the Old Testament to the God who sent the Christ.
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