There is 0 trinity god in existence

[Czernobog]

Nope. Doesn't work. What you are describing is idol worship. The only way your explanation works is if all of those "personal gods" were, in fact, divine beings that actually existed. The worship of made up idols was covered in verses 4, and 5. Verse three specifically commanded that the jews not worship other divine beings. There is no way to get around that reality. Either other divine beings existed, in which case it is inaccurate to suggest that Jehovah is the only divine being in existence, and throws the whole God is all there is cosmology of Christianity into turmoil, or there were no other divine beings in existence, and the God of the Jews, and of Christians is in the habit of making up rules just to make up rules, for which there is no reason. Those are the only two options left available by Ex 20:3.

Of course it works. The vocabulary was such that one word was used to describe that which was being worshiped. As you may know the Hebrew languages has only one-third the number of words as English. Further, Hebrew speaks in pictures, whereas English presents subjective ideas.

In English, yes. Not in the original Hebrew. This would be why I pointed out the original Hebrew translated as God, and pointed out that the literal translation is "divine beings". The Hebrew word for "household gods" was teraphim - specifically, the rabbinical translation would be "terrible things", but it is entirely different from elohim, which translates as divine beings. Again, the command was very specific.

You want to try to change what God commanded by obscuring the English word "gods". Unfortunately, Hebrew was much more exacting that English, so it left no room for such ambiguity.

This is why, if one wants to truly understand the Bible, it is never enough to simply read it in English, and rely on interpretations, or commentary based on the English versions of the Bible. Both Hebrew, and Latin were much more exacting languages. So, to truly understand what was being said by any particular passage where ambiguity can be a problem, it is nevcessary to learn, and read the text in its original language.

 

[Meriweather]

[
You want to try to change what God commanded by obscuring the English word "gods". Unfortunately, Hebrew was much more exacting that English, so it left no room for such ambiguity.

I'm not trying to change anything. I am pointing out that the Hebrew word for God/gods covered a wide area of what was happening throughout the land. Language has limitations.

 

[Czernobog]

[
You want to try to change what God commanded by obscuring the English word "gods". Unfortunately, Hebrew was much more exacting that English, so it left no room for such ambiguity.

I'm not trying to change anything. I am pointing out that the Hebrew word for God/gods covered a wide area of what was happening throughout the land. Language has limitations.

No, it didn't. That is the point. Elohim had a very narrow definition - divine beings. You are describing household gods, for which the Hebrews had an entirely different word to describe - teraphim. What you are claiming is simply not true. You cannot find a single use of the word elohim in the Old Testament to mean anything other than divine beings. Hebrews never descriubed household, personal gods as elohim - divine beings. They always described them as teraphim - terrible things - demonstrating how little respect Jews had for personal, household gods, in comparison to Jehovah, and divine beings.

 

[Meriweather]

No, it didn't. That is the point. Elohim had a very narrow definition - divine beings. You are describing household gods, for which the Hebrews had an entirely different word to describe - teraphim. What you are claiming is simply not true.

I get the difference between Elohim and teraphim. I'm saying Elohim covered a lot of territory in its own right. In fact, a language like English is needed to delve into resulting nit-picking.

 

[Czernobog]

No, it didn't. That is the point. Elohim had a very narrow definition - divine beings. You are describing household gods, for which the Hebrews had an entirely different word to describe - teraphim. What you are claiming is simply not true.

I get the difference between Elohim and teraphim. I'm saying Elohim covered a lot of territory in its own right. In fact, a language like English is needed to delve into resulting nit-picking.

And you're wrong. I challenge you to present a single use of the word Elohim in the Old Testament to mean anything other than divine being. I challenge you to find a single reference to elohim used to describe a personal, household god as you are claiming. The word is only found in three places in the entire Bible, and not once is it used in the manner in which you are claiming that it was used.

 

[Meriweather]

And you're wrong. I challenge you to present a single use of the word Elohim in the Old Testament to mean anything other than divine being. I challenge you to find a single reference to elohim used to describe a personal, household god as you are describing.

Not going there (she said mildly). You are trying to argue that based on the Hebrew there is more than one God. The Hebrew word Elohim was used to signify the state of what humanity was doing at that time. It wasn't used to argue that there are many gods.

 

[Mudda]

Here are the undeniable facts of history.
From Moses on up until this very day, at every synagogue and temple ever to exist, taught, served, worshipped-- a single being God named YHWH.(Jehovah)-- While Jesus attended the Synagogues and temples, he was taught, served and worshipped a single being God named YHWH(Jehovah)-- He never refuted it. He taught it.( John 20:17, Rev 3:12, John 17>1-6,26= YHWH(Jehovah)--John 4:22-24 = bottom line reality.
His real teachers taught that true gospel as well( 2Cor 1:3, 1Cor 8:6, 1Cor 15:24-28--1Peter 1:3-- Rev 1:6-- All 100% in agreement- Jesus has a God like we do, his Father.
Gods word doesn't teach two different Gods, proving the trinity theory Is an error, created at the councils of you know who. And it is truth that a small g god belongs in the last line of John 1:1-- Carrying the biblical meaning of having godlike qualities--because it works like this- Acts 2:22, John 5:30) Its the Fathers will one must live by( Matt 7:21), every utterance, Jesus said.
Few listen to Jesus.
The greeks were refusing to go to a single being God religion-- councils were held--no trinity taught in the first council of Nicea. It was added later. Greeks liked that, their pagan practices came with them.

I'm a pagan? Cool. Putting that aside... why is this important to you?

Because people worship the messengers not the source. Furthermore they are false messengers at that. The church never names this father, therefore you are asking why does it matter that you worship a mystery (babylon) deity Baal as I proved source sits in the Brittish museum predated tablet on Baal, the baal cross & relics of the church and the dec 25th birthdate they use.

Speak for yourself. You worry about your faith, and I'll worry about mine. Fair enough?

How do you guys figure out whose faith is the right one? Since you all think that you're right?

 

[Czernobog]

And you're wrong. I challenge you to present a single use of the word Elohim in the Old Testament to mean anything other than divine being. I challenge you to find a single reference to elohim used to describe a personal, household god as you are describing.

Not going there (she said mildly). You are trying to argue that based on the Hebrew there is more than one God. The Hebrew word Elohim was used to signify the state of what humanity was doing at that time. It wasn't used to argue that there are many gods.

Well, you can claim that all you like, but the text does not support your claim. I get that you need to interpret the text like this, because the only other possibility is that everything you were ever taught in Sunday School is wrong. Unfortunately, the text says what it says.

I'll give you credit, though. You are the first original attempt at trying to find some "new" way to explain this contradiction away. Unfortunately, because Hebrew is such an exact language, explaining away the commandment is simply not possible without trying to make the words mean something for which there is no contextual reference allowing for the redefinition.

The word is only found in three places in the entire Bible, and not once is it used in the manner in which you are claiming that it was used.

I mean, you are now suggesting that the God who never changes, means what he says, and says what he means, didn't really mean what he said. He said not to worship other divine beings, while he meant put away household gods. And you can't even suggest that he said it this way, because the Jews wouldn't have understood it any other way, because, as pointed out, they knew what household gods were, and even had a specific word for it.

So, The Christian God is in the habit of saying things he doesn't really mean? Really?

 

[Meriweather]

Well, you can claim that all you like, but the text does not support your claim. I get that you need to interpret the text like this, because the only other possibility is that everything you were ever taught in Sunday School is wrong. Unfortunately, the text says what it says.

I'll give you credit, though. You are the first original attempt at trying to find some "new" way to explain this contradiction away. Unfortunately, because Hebrew is such an exact language, explaining away the commandment is simply not possible without trying to make the words mean something for which there is no contextual reference allowing for the redefinition.

I'm not going by what I was taught in "Sunday School", which by the way I never attended. I did attend Catholic School, but that's neither here nor there, either. Nor am I saying anything original. I had a Jewish friend (Hebrew was one of his first languages) who took some time explaining the Hebrew language and how it works. Therefore, from my perspective, you are the one who has come up with the "new" explanation.

 

[ding]

God in Judaism - Wikipedia

Judaism is strictly monotheistic. No consensus has been reached by academics on the origins of monotheism in ancient Israel, but Yahweh "clearly came out of the world of the gods of the Ancient Near East."[3] The worship of multiple gods (polytheism) and the concept of God having multiple persons (as in the doctrine of Trinity) are equally unimaginable in Judaism. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism – it is considered akin to polytheism.

God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.[4]

Since all of existence emanates from God, whose ultimate existence is not dependent on anything else, some Jewish sages perceived God as interpenetrating the universe, which itself has been thought to be a manifestation of God's existence. In this way Judaism can be regarded as being similar to panentheism,[citation needed] while always affirming genuine monotheism.

Kabbalistic tradition holds that the divine consists of ten sefirot (attributes or emanations). This has been described as a strand of Judaism which may seem at odds with Jewish commitments to strict monotheism, but Kabbalists have consistently emphasized that their traditions are strictly monotheistic.[5]

Any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical. Maimonideswrites that

God is the only one we may serve and praise....We may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements.....There are no intermediaries between us and God. All our prayers should be directed towards God; nothing else should even be considered.[citation needed]

Some rabbinic authorities disagreed with this view. Notably, Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichotprayer called "Machnisay Rachamim", a request to the angels to intercede with God. Modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer.[citation needed]

Ancient Jews believed in the existence of many gods

Ancient Jews[1] believed that many gods exist but felt that they should only worship y-h-v-h[2] and maintained this notion for hundreds of years, and this fact is found in hundreds of verses in the Hebrew Bible. This is not monotheism, but monolatry. Monotheism is the belief that only a single god exists. Monolatry, from the Greek mono = one and latreia = service, is the belief that many gods exist but only one should be served.



Today, Judaism is strictly monotheistic, but scholars have recognized the many examples in the Hebrew Bible of the ancient Israelites being monolatric (although there are also statements in the Hebrew Bible that are clearly monotheistic). The following are some examples of monolatry.



The Decalogue, meaning ten statements, commonly called Ten Commandments even though the ten statements contain more than ten commands, begins with y-h-v-h telling the Israelites that while there are other gods, he is the one who helped them in the past, and he alone should be worshipped by them. “I am y-h-v-hyour God.” This phrase “your God” reappears frequently in Scripture. God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god. This is similar to saying “I am your father,” meaning that there are other fathers but I belong to you and you to me.



Y-h-v-h continues by telling the Israelites why they should serve him, because he, not the other gods, “brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”



Then he says that although there are other gods “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” meaning, don’t serve them. The Israelites are told that if they serve any of the other gods, he, y-h-v-h, will be angry “for I, y-h-v-h, your god, am a jealous god.”



The famous statement called shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 reflects monolatry: “Hear[3] Israel, y-h-v-h is our God; y-h-v-h is one.”[4] Psalm 82:1 is clearly monolatric: “God (elohim) stands in the Assembly of God (el): in the midst of the judges, he judges.”



Many other psalms express monolatry, for example those recited in the Jewish Friday night service. Psalm 95: “For y-h-v-h is a great god and a greater king than all (other) gods…. He is our god.” This psalm lists things thaty-h-v-h did for the Israelites. Psalm 96: “Y-h-v-h is great and very praiseworthy. He is more awesome than other gods. For (while) the gods of the nations are gods,[5] y-h-v-h made the heaven.” Psalm 97: “All gods bow to him…. You are exalted above all gods.”[6] Psalm 98 has words that are similar to 96. Psalm 99 repeats four times y-h-v-h is “our god.”



Psalm 29 and many other sources speak of the Israelites being “God’s people.” This concept that Jews are the “chosen people,” as in the prayer “you have chosen us from all other people,” is misunderstood because people don’t realize that it is a monolatric statement. It is not saying that Jews are special. It is saying that the Israelites understood that y-h-v-h decided to be the god of the Israelites who in turn agreed to serve him rather than the other gods.



The repeated references to y-h-v-h being the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rather than saying that Jews accept him because he is the only god, means that Jews are faithful to the tradition and belief of their ancestors; the ancestors accepted y-h-v-h as god, and so will we. We see this, for example, in Exodus 15: “This is my god, and I will beautify him, my father’s god, and I will exalt him.”



The oft repeated phrase y-h-v-h elohim, usually translated “Lord God,” should be understood as “the God y-h-v-h” differentiating him from other gods.



The scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919), author of Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” offered two other interesting examples. When y-h-v-h first spoke with Abraham in Genesis 12, he asked Abraham to make a covenant with him: Abraham should serve him and he, in turn, would reward Abraham for his service. Ehrlich suggests that if Abraham believed that only one god exists there would have been no need for a covenant. God would have simply said, “I am God, serve me.” There would have been no need to bargain, establish a covenant, and promise payment for the service. Ehrlich gives an example: when Adam joined with (married) Eve, he didn’t make a covenant with her, binding her to remain faithful only to him, because there was no need for it; there were no other men for Eve to be unfaithful with.



Similarly, in Genesis 14:18, Abraham gives ten percent of the loot he acquired during his battle against the four kings to Melchizedek the priest of el elyon. Ehrlich explains that Melchizedek was not a priest to y-h-v-h, for if he was, he would have been closer to y-h-v-h than Abraham. Abraham gave ten percent of his booty because he had battled in the land where el elyon was god, and he thought that this was the proper thing to do. However, immediately afterwards, in verse 22, Abraham made an oath to his own God, y-h-v-h.



This are just some of hundred of biblical verses that could be cited showing monolatry.




[1] The ancient Jews were called B’nei Yisrael, Israelites, in most of the Hebrew Bible. It was only after 536 BCE when many Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile to the small area that once belonged to the tribe of Judah that the people were called Judeans, after their land, or Jews in short.

[2] The Jewish God is named y-h-v-h in the Hebrew Bible. We no longer know how to pronounce these consonants. They are frequently written as Jehovah. Since early time, Jews felt that they should respectfully not mention God’s name. Thus in the first translation of the Bible in about 250 BCE, the Septuagint, the Jewish Greek translators substituted the Greek word curios, which means Lord, and this practice of substituting Lord for y-h-v-h has continued in most Bible translations today.

[3] The term “hear” in the Bible is often used as a metaphor, as it is in English, meaning “accept.”

[4] The word “one” here is obscure. Many understand it to mean “unique,” better than other gods or indicating that he is very powerful.

[5] Ignoring the monolatry, the rabbis interpreted elilim as “idols.”

[6] The rabbis interpret elohim here as “heavenly powers.”

 

[Czernobog]

Well, you can claim that all you like, but the text does not support your claim. I get that you need to interpret the text like this, because the only other possibility is that everything you were ever taught in Sunday School is wrong. Unfortunately, the text says what it says.

I'll give you credit, though. You are the first original attempt at trying to find some "new" way to explain this contradiction away. Unfortunately, because Hebrew is such an exact language, explaining away the commandment is simply not possible without trying to make the words mean something for which there is no contextual reference allowing for the redefinition.

I'm not going by what I was taught in "Sunday School", which by the way I never attended. I did attend Catholic School, but that's neither here nor there, either. Nor am I saying anything original. I had a Jewish friend (Hebrew was one of his first languages) who took some time explaining the Hebrew language and how it works. Therefore, from my perspective, you are the one who has come up with the "new" explanation.

Well, then, your friend is either ignoring the exactitude of meaning that exists in the Hebrew language, or he is claiming that your God is in the habit of saying things he doesn't mean. After all, he said not to worship other divine beings, while he meant put away household gods. And you can't even suggest that he said it this way, because the Jews wouldn't have understood it any other way, because, as pointed out, they knew what household gods were, and even had a specific word for it.

 

[Czernobog]

God in Judaism - Wikipedia

Judaism is strictly monotheistic. No consensus has been reached by academics on the origins of monotheism in ancient Israel, but Yahweh "clearly came out of the world of the gods of the Ancient Near East."[3] The worship of multiple gods (polytheism) and the concept of God having multiple persons (as in the doctrine of Trinity) are equally unimaginable in Judaism. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism – it is considered akin to polytheism.

God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.[4]

Since all of existence emanates from God, whose ultimate existence is not dependent on anything else, some Jewish sages perceived God as interpenetrating the universe, which itself has been thought to be a manifestation of God's existence. In this way Judaism can be regarded as being similar to panentheism,[citation needed] while always affirming genuine monotheism.

Kabbalistic tradition holds that the divine consists of ten sefirot (attributes or emanations). This has been described as a strand of Judaism which may seem at odds with Jewish commitments to strict monotheism, but Kabbalists have consistently emphasized that their traditions are strictly monotheistic.[5]

Any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical. Maimonideswrites that

God is the only one we may serve and praise....We may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements.....There are no intermediaries between us and God. All our prayers should be directed towards God; nothing else should even be considered.[citation needed]

Some rabbinic authorities disagreed with this view. Notably, Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichotprayer called "Machnisay Rachamim", a request to the angels to intercede with God. Modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer.[citation needed]

Ancient Jews believed in the existence of many gods

Ancient Jews[1] believed that many gods exist but felt that they should only worship y-h-v-h[2] and maintained this notion for hundreds of years, and this fact is found in hundreds of verses in the Hebrew Bible. This is not monotheism, but monolatry. Monotheism is the belief that only a single god exists. Monolatry, from the Greek mono = one and latreia = service, is the belief that many gods exist but only one should be served.



Today, Judaism is strictly monotheistic, but scholars have recognized the many examples in the Hebrew Bible of the ancient Israelites being monolatric (although there are also statements in the Hebrew Bible that are clearly monotheistic). The following are some examples of monolatry.



The Decalogue, meaning ten statements, commonly called Ten Commandments even though the ten statements contain more than ten commands, begins with y-h-v-h telling the Israelites that while there are other gods, he is the one who helped them in the past, and he alone should be worshipped by them. “I am y-h-v-hyour God.” This phrase “your God” reappears frequently in Scripture. God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god. This is similar to saying “I am your father,” meaning that there are other fathers but I belong to you and you to me.



Y-h-v-h continues by telling the Israelites why they should serve him, because he, not the other gods, “brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”



Then he says that although there are other gods “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” meaning, don’t serve them. The Israelites are told that if they serve any of the other gods, he, y-h-v-h, will be angry “for I, y-h-v-h, your god, am a jealous god.”



The famous statement called shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 reflects monolatry: “Hear[3] Israel, y-h-v-h is our God; y-h-v-h is one.”[4] Psalm 82:1 is clearly monolatric: “God (elohim) stands in the Assembly of God (el): in the midst of the judges, he judges.”



Many other psalms express monolatry, for example those recited in the Jewish Friday night service. Psalm 95: “For y-h-v-h is a great god and a greater king than all (other) gods…. He is our god.” This psalm lists things thaty-h-v-h did for the Israelites. Psalm 96: “Y-h-v-h is great and very praiseworthy. He is more awesome than other gods. For (while) the gods of the nations are gods,[5] y-h-v-h made the heaven.” Psalm 97: “All gods bow to him…. You are exalted above all gods.”[6] Psalm 98 has words that are similar to 96. Psalm 99 repeats four times y-h-v-h is “our god.”



Psalm 29 and many other sources speak of the Israelites being “God’s people.” This concept that Jews are the “chosen people,” as in the prayer “you have chosen us from all other people,” is misunderstood because people don’t realize that it is a monolatric statement. It is not saying that Jews are special. It is saying that the Israelites understood that y-h-v-h decided to be the god of the Israelites who in turn agreed to serve him rather than the other gods.



The repeated references to y-h-v-h being the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rather than saying that Jews accept him because he is the only god, means that Jews are faithful to the tradition and belief of their ancestors; the ancestors accepted y-h-v-h as god, and so will we. We see this, for example, in Exodus 15: “This is my god, and I will beautify him, my father’s god, and I will exalt him.”



The oft repeated phrase y-h-v-h elohim, usually translated “Lord God,” should be understood as “the God y-h-v-h” differentiating him from other gods.



The scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919), author of Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” offered two other interesting examples. When y-h-v-h first spoke with Abraham in Genesis 12, he asked Abraham to make a covenant with him: Abraham should serve him and he, in turn, would reward Abraham for his service. Ehrlich suggests that if Abraham believed that only one god exists there would have been no need for a covenant. God would have simply said, “I am God, serve me.” There would have been no need to bargain, establish a covenant, and promise payment for the service. Ehrlich gives an example: when Adam joined with (married) Eve, he didn’t make a covenant with her, binding her to remain faithful only to him, because there was no need for it; there were no other men for Eve to be unfaithful with.



Similarly, in Genesis 14:18, Abraham gives ten percent of the loot he acquired during his battle against the four kings to Melchizedek the priest of el elyon. Ehrlich explains that Melchizedek was not a priest to y-h-v-h, for if he was, he would have been closer to y-h-v-h than Abraham. Abraham gave ten percent of his booty because he had battled in the land where el elyon was god, and he thought that this was the proper thing to do. However, immediately afterwards, in verse 22, Abraham made an oath to his own God, y-h-v-h.



This are just some of hundred of biblical verses that could be cited showing monolatry.




[1] The ancient Jews were called B’nei Yisrael, Israelites, in most of the Hebrew Bible. It was only after 536 BCE when many Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile to the small area that once belonged to the tribe of Judah that the people were called Judeans, after their land, or Jews in short.

[2] The Jewish God is named y-h-v-h in the Hebrew Bible. We no longer know how to pronounce these consonants. They are frequently written as Jehovah. Since early time, Jews felt that they should respectfully not mention God’s name. Thus in the first translation of the Bible in about 250 BCE, the Septuagint, the Jewish Greek translators substituted the Greek word curios, which means Lord, and this practice of substituting Lord for y-h-v-h has continued in most Bible translations today.

[3] The term “hear” in the Bible is often used as a metaphor, as it is in English, meaning “accept.”

[4] The word “one” here is obscure. Many understand it to mean “unique,” better than other gods or indicating that he is very powerful.

[5] Ignoring the monolatry, the rabbis interpreted elilim as “idols.”

[6] The rabbis interpret elohim here as “heavenly powers.”

You get that the article you are quoting supports my position, From your second article:

God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god.

 

[ding]

The important thing to remember is context. The Word of God was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and given great latitude. What is indisputable is that at the time it was written it was monotheism was not the norm and the morals and values established by the Jews were heads and shoulders above that of their contemporaries. The nitpicking and quibbling is nothing more than fringe argument and confirmation bias. The reality is that the proof is in the pudding. Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. Hands down.

 

[ding]

God in Judaism - Wikipedia

Judaism is strictly monotheistic. No consensus has been reached by academics on the origins of monotheism in ancient Israel, but Yahweh "clearly came out of the world of the gods of the Ancient Near East."[3] The worship of multiple gods (polytheism) and the concept of God having multiple persons (as in the doctrine of Trinity) are equally unimaginable in Judaism. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism – it is considered akin to polytheism.

God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.[4]

Since all of existence emanates from God, whose ultimate existence is not dependent on anything else, some Jewish sages perceived God as interpenetrating the universe, which itself has been thought to be a manifestation of God's existence. In this way Judaism can be regarded as being similar to panentheism,[citation needed] while always affirming genuine monotheism.

Kabbalistic tradition holds that the divine consists of ten sefirot (attributes or emanations). This has been described as a strand of Judaism which may seem at odds with Jewish commitments to strict monotheism, but Kabbalists have consistently emphasized that their traditions are strictly monotheistic.[5]

Any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical. Maimonideswrites that

God is the only one we may serve and praise....We may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements.....There are no intermediaries between us and God. All our prayers should be directed towards God; nothing else should even be considered.[citation needed]

Some rabbinic authorities disagreed with this view. Notably, Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichotprayer called "Machnisay Rachamim", a request to the angels to intercede with God. Modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer.[citation needed]

Ancient Jews believed in the existence of many gods

Ancient Jews[1] believed that many gods exist but felt that they should only worship y-h-v-h[2] and maintained this notion for hundreds of years, and this fact is found in hundreds of verses in the Hebrew Bible. This is not monotheism, but monolatry. Monotheism is the belief that only a single god exists. Monolatry, from the Greek mono = one and latreia = service, is the belief that many gods exist but only one should be served.



Today, Judaism is strictly monotheistic, but scholars have recognized the many examples in the Hebrew Bible of the ancient Israelites being monolatric (although there are also statements in the Hebrew Bible that are clearly monotheistic). The following are some examples of monolatry.



The Decalogue, meaning ten statements, commonly called Ten Commandments even though the ten statements contain more than ten commands, begins with y-h-v-h telling the Israelites that while there are other gods, he is the one who helped them in the past, and he alone should be worshipped by them. “I am y-h-v-hyour God.” This phrase “your God” reappears frequently in Scripture. God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god. This is similar to saying “I am your father,” meaning that there are other fathers but I belong to you and you to me.



Y-h-v-h continues by telling the Israelites why they should serve him, because he, not the other gods, “brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”



Then he says that although there are other gods “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” meaning, don’t serve them. The Israelites are told that if they serve any of the other gods, he, y-h-v-h, will be angry “for I, y-h-v-h, your god, am a jealous god.”



The famous statement called shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 reflects monolatry: “Hear[3] Israel, y-h-v-h is our God; y-h-v-h is one.”[4] Psalm 82:1 is clearly monolatric: “God (elohim) stands in the Assembly of God (el): in the midst of the judges, he judges.”



Many other psalms express monolatry, for example those recited in the Jewish Friday night service. Psalm 95: “For y-h-v-h is a great god and a greater king than all (other) gods…. He is our god.” This psalm lists things thaty-h-v-h did for the Israelites. Psalm 96: “Y-h-v-h is great and very praiseworthy. He is more awesome than other gods. For (while) the gods of the nations are gods,[5] y-h-v-h made the heaven.” Psalm 97: “All gods bow to him…. You are exalted above all gods.”[6] Psalm 98 has words that are similar to 96. Psalm 99 repeats four times y-h-v-h is “our god.”



Psalm 29 and many other sources speak of the Israelites being “God’s people.” This concept that Jews are the “chosen people,” as in the prayer “you have chosen us from all other people,” is misunderstood because people don’t realize that it is a monolatric statement. It is not saying that Jews are special. It is saying that the Israelites understood that y-h-v-h decided to be the god of the Israelites who in turn agreed to serve him rather than the other gods.



The repeated references to y-h-v-h being the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rather than saying that Jews accept him because he is the only god, means that Jews are faithful to the tradition and belief of their ancestors; the ancestors accepted y-h-v-h as god, and so will we. We see this, for example, in Exodus 15: “This is my god, and I will beautify him, my father’s god, and I will exalt him.”



The oft repeated phrase y-h-v-h elohim, usually translated “Lord God,” should be understood as “the God y-h-v-h” differentiating him from other gods.



The scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919), author of Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” offered two other interesting examples. When y-h-v-h first spoke with Abraham in Genesis 12, he asked Abraham to make a covenant with him: Abraham should serve him and he, in turn, would reward Abraham for his service. Ehrlich suggests that if Abraham believed that only one god exists there would have been no need for a covenant. God would have simply said, “I am God, serve me.” There would have been no need to bargain, establish a covenant, and promise payment for the service. Ehrlich gives an example: when Adam joined with (married) Eve, he didn’t make a covenant with her, binding her to remain faithful only to him, because there was no need for it; there were no other men for Eve to be unfaithful with.



Similarly, in Genesis 14:18, Abraham gives ten percent of the loot he acquired during his battle against the four kings to Melchizedek the priest of el elyon. Ehrlich explains that Melchizedek was not a priest to y-h-v-h, for if he was, he would have been closer to y-h-v-h than Abraham. Abraham gave ten percent of his booty because he had battled in the land where el elyon was god, and he thought that this was the proper thing to do. However, immediately afterwards, in verse 22, Abraham made an oath to his own God, y-h-v-h.



This are just some of hundred of biblical verses that could be cited showing monolatry.




[1] The ancient Jews were called B’nei Yisrael, Israelites, in most of the Hebrew Bible. It was only after 536 BCE when many Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile to the small area that once belonged to the tribe of Judah that the people were called Judeans, after their land, or Jews in short.

[2] The Jewish God is named y-h-v-h in the Hebrew Bible. We no longer know how to pronounce these consonants. They are frequently written as Jehovah. Since early time, Jews felt that they should respectfully not mention God’s name. Thus in the first translation of the Bible in about 250 BCE, the Septuagint, the Jewish Greek translators substituted the Greek word curios, which means Lord, and this practice of substituting Lord for y-h-v-h has continued in most Bible translations today.

[3] The term “hear” in the Bible is often used as a metaphor, as it is in English, meaning “accept.”

[4] The word “one” here is obscure. Many understand it to mean “unique,” better than other gods or indicating that he is very powerful.

[5] Ignoring the monolatry, the rabbis interpreted elilim as “idols.”

[6] The rabbis interpret elohim here as “heavenly powers.”

You get that the article you are quoting supports my position, From your second article:

God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god.

Yes, I get that. Do you get that it was necessary at that time for that to be allowed to be believed?

 

[Czernobog]

The important thing to remember is context. The Word of God was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and given great latitude. What is indisputable is that at the time it was written it was monotheism was not the norm and the morals and values established by the Jews were heads and shoulders above that of their contemporaries. The nitpicking and quibbling is nothing more than fringe argument and confirmation bias. The reality is that the proof is in the pudding. Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. Hands down.

Really? Three bloody crusades, the Inquisition, the Burning Times, the Conquistadors. Throwing men of science in prison, and even condemning them to death for the crime of "heresy. It has been used to justify every form of bigotry and hatred in history from slavery, to racism, to current gay bigotry. Yeah...greatest force for "good"

I think you, and I have two very different definitions of the word "good".

 

[Czernobog]

God in Judaism - Wikipedia

Judaism is strictly monotheistic. No consensus has been reached by academics on the origins of monotheism in ancient Israel, but Yahweh "clearly came out of the world of the gods of the Ancient Near East."[3] The worship of multiple gods (polytheism) and the concept of God having multiple persons (as in the doctrine of Trinity) are equally unimaginable in Judaism. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism – it is considered akin to polytheism.

God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.[4]

Since all of existence emanates from God, whose ultimate existence is not dependent on anything else, some Jewish sages perceived God as interpenetrating the universe, which itself has been thought to be a manifestation of God's existence. In this way Judaism can be regarded as being similar to panentheism,[citation needed] while always affirming genuine monotheism.

Kabbalistic tradition holds that the divine consists of ten sefirot (attributes or emanations). This has been described as a strand of Judaism which may seem at odds with Jewish commitments to strict monotheism, but Kabbalists have consistently emphasized that their traditions are strictly monotheistic.[5]

Any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical. Maimonideswrites that

God is the only one we may serve and praise....We may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements.....There are no intermediaries between us and God. All our prayers should be directed towards God; nothing else should even be considered.[citation needed]

Some rabbinic authorities disagreed with this view. Notably, Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichotprayer called "Machnisay Rachamim", a request to the angels to intercede with God. Modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer.[citation needed]

Ancient Jews believed in the existence of many gods

Ancient Jews[1] believed that many gods exist but felt that they should only worship y-h-v-h[2] and maintained this notion for hundreds of years, and this fact is found in hundreds of verses in the Hebrew Bible. This is not monotheism, but monolatry. Monotheism is the belief that only a single god exists. Monolatry, from the Greek mono = one and latreia = service, is the belief that many gods exist but only one should be served.



Today, Judaism is strictly monotheistic, but scholars have recognized the many examples in the Hebrew Bible of the ancient Israelites being monolatric (although there are also statements in the Hebrew Bible that are clearly monotheistic). The following are some examples of monolatry.



The Decalogue, meaning ten statements, commonly called Ten Commandments even though the ten statements contain more than ten commands, begins with y-h-v-h telling the Israelites that while there are other gods, he is the one who helped them in the past, and he alone should be worshipped by them. “I am y-h-v-hyour God.” This phrase “your God” reappears frequently in Scripture. God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god. This is similar to saying “I am your father,” meaning that there are other fathers but I belong to you and you to me.



Y-h-v-h continues by telling the Israelites why they should serve him, because he, not the other gods, “brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”



Then he says that although there are other gods “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” meaning, don’t serve them. The Israelites are told that if they serve any of the other gods, he, y-h-v-h, will be angry “for I, y-h-v-h, your god, am a jealous god.”



The famous statement called shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 reflects monolatry: “Hear[3] Israel, y-h-v-h is our God; y-h-v-h is one.”[4] Psalm 82:1 is clearly monolatric: “God (elohim) stands in the Assembly of God (el): in the midst of the judges, he judges.”



Many other psalms express monolatry, for example those recited in the Jewish Friday night service. Psalm 95: “For y-h-v-h is a great god and a greater king than all (other) gods…. He is our god.” This psalm lists things thaty-h-v-h did for the Israelites. Psalm 96: “Y-h-v-h is great and very praiseworthy. He is more awesome than other gods. For (while) the gods of the nations are gods,[5] y-h-v-h made the heaven.” Psalm 97: “All gods bow to him…. You are exalted above all gods.”[6] Psalm 98 has words that are similar to 96. Psalm 99 repeats four times y-h-v-h is “our god.”



Psalm 29 and many other sources speak of the Israelites being “God’s people.” This concept that Jews are the “chosen people,” as in the prayer “you have chosen us from all other people,” is misunderstood because people don’t realize that it is a monolatric statement. It is not saying that Jews are special. It is saying that the Israelites understood that y-h-v-h decided to be the god of the Israelites who in turn agreed to serve him rather than the other gods.



The repeated references to y-h-v-h being the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rather than saying that Jews accept him because he is the only god, means that Jews are faithful to the tradition and belief of their ancestors; the ancestors accepted y-h-v-h as god, and so will we. We see this, for example, in Exodus 15: “This is my god, and I will beautify him, my father’s god, and I will exalt him.”



The oft repeated phrase y-h-v-h elohim, usually translated “Lord God,” should be understood as “the God y-h-v-h” differentiating him from other gods.



The scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919), author of Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” offered two other interesting examples. When y-h-v-h first spoke with Abraham in Genesis 12, he asked Abraham to make a covenant with him: Abraham should serve him and he, in turn, would reward Abraham for his service. Ehrlich suggests that if Abraham believed that only one god exists there would have been no need for a covenant. God would have simply said, “I am God, serve me.” There would have been no need to bargain, establish a covenant, and promise payment for the service. Ehrlich gives an example: when Adam joined with (married) Eve, he didn’t make a covenant with her, binding her to remain faithful only to him, because there was no need for it; there were no other men for Eve to be unfaithful with.



Similarly, in Genesis 14:18, Abraham gives ten percent of the loot he acquired during his battle against the four kings to Melchizedek the priest of el elyon. Ehrlich explains that Melchizedek was not a priest to y-h-v-h, for if he was, he would have been closer to y-h-v-h than Abraham. Abraham gave ten percent of his booty because he had battled in the land where el elyon was god, and he thought that this was the proper thing to do. However, immediately afterwards, in verse 22, Abraham made an oath to his own God, y-h-v-h.



This are just some of hundred of biblical verses that could be cited showing monolatry.




[1] The ancient Jews were called B’nei Yisrael, Israelites, in most of the Hebrew Bible. It was only after 536 BCE when many Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile to the small area that once belonged to the tribe of Judah that the people were called Judeans, after their land, or Jews in short.

[2] The Jewish God is named y-h-v-h in the Hebrew Bible. We no longer know how to pronounce these consonants. They are frequently written as Jehovah. Since early time, Jews felt that they should respectfully not mention God’s name. Thus in the first translation of the Bible in about 250 BCE, the Septuagint, the Jewish Greek translators substituted the Greek word curios, which means Lord, and this practice of substituting Lord for y-h-v-h has continued in most Bible translations today.

[3] The term “hear” in the Bible is often used as a metaphor, as it is in English, meaning “accept.”

[4] The word “one” here is obscure. Many understand it to mean “unique,” better than other gods or indicating that he is very powerful.

[5] Ignoring the monolatry, the rabbis interpreted elilim as “idols.”

[6] The rabbis interpret elohim here as “heavenly powers.”

You get that the article you are quoting supports my position, From your second article:

God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god.

Yes, I get that. Do you get that it was necessary at that time for that to be allowed to be believed?

Sooo...God was just sayin stuff he didn't really mean...? Interesting God you worship.

 

[ding]

The important thing to remember is context. The Word of God was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and given great latitude. What is indisputable is that at the time it was written it was monotheism was not the norm and the morals and values established by the Jews were heads and shoulders above that of their contemporaries. The nitpicking and quibbling is nothing more than fringe argument and confirmation bias. The reality is that the proof is in the pudding. Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. Hands down.

Really? Three bloody crusades, the Inquisition, the Burning Times, the Conquistadors. Throwing men of science in prison, and even condemning them to death for the crime of "heresy. It has been used to justify every form of bigotry and hatred in history from slavery, to racism, to current gay bigotry. Yeah...greatest force for "good"

I think you, and I have two very different definitions of the word "good".

I could argue each point with you but it would be a waste of my time. So I will just point out that your assessment is biased in that you have totally ignored the good in your equation and focused on what you perceived as bad. Western Civilization was built on Judea/Christianity values. By any objective assessment - weighing the good and the bad - Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. In fact, your self righteous indignation was made possible by the high standards of morality and virtue that was established through Judea/Christianity.

 

[Czernobog]

The important thing to remember is context. The Word of God was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and given great latitude. What is indisputable is that at the time it was written it was monotheism was not the norm and the morals and values established by the Jews were heads and shoulders above that of their contemporaries. The nitpicking and quibbling is nothing more than fringe argument and confirmation bias. The reality is that the proof is in the pudding. Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. Hands down.

Really? Three bloody crusades, the Inquisition, the Burning Times, the Conquistadors. Throwing men of science in prison, and even condemning them to death for the crime of "heresy. It has been used to justify every form of bigotry and hatred in history from slavery, to racism, to current gay bigotry. Yeah...greatest force for "good"

I think you, and I have two very different definitions of the word "good".

I could argue each point with you but it would be a waste of my time. So I will just point out that your assessment is biased in that you have totally ignored the good in your equation and focused on what you perceived as bad. Western Civilization was built on Judea/Christianity values. By any objective assessment - weighing the good and the bad - Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. In fact, your self righteous indignation was made possible by the high standards of morality and virtue that was established through Judea/Christianity.

What I percieved as bad? Which of the examples that I listed do you submit is not bad? This should be interesting.

 

[ding]

God in Judaism - Wikipedia

Judaism is strictly monotheistic. No consensus has been reached by academics on the origins of monotheism in ancient Israel, but Yahweh "clearly came out of the world of the gods of the Ancient Near East."[3] The worship of multiple gods (polytheism) and the concept of God having multiple persons (as in the doctrine of Trinity) are equally unimaginable in Judaism. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism – it is considered akin to polytheism.

God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.[4]

Since all of existence emanates from God, whose ultimate existence is not dependent on anything else, some Jewish sages perceived God as interpenetrating the universe, which itself has been thought to be a manifestation of God's existence. In this way Judaism can be regarded as being similar to panentheism,[citation needed] while always affirming genuine monotheism.

Kabbalistic tradition holds that the divine consists of ten sefirot (attributes or emanations). This has been described as a strand of Judaism which may seem at odds with Jewish commitments to strict monotheism, but Kabbalists have consistently emphasized that their traditions are strictly monotheistic.[5]

Any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical. Maimonideswrites that

God is the only one we may serve and praise....We may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements.....There are no intermediaries between us and God. All our prayers should be directed towards God; nothing else should even be considered.[citation needed]

Some rabbinic authorities disagreed with this view. Notably, Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichotprayer called "Machnisay Rachamim", a request to the angels to intercede with God. Modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer.[citation needed]

Ancient Jews believed in the existence of many gods

Ancient Jews[1] believed that many gods exist but felt that they should only worship y-h-v-h[2] and maintained this notion for hundreds of years, and this fact is found in hundreds of verses in the Hebrew Bible. This is not monotheism, but monolatry. Monotheism is the belief that only a single god exists. Monolatry, from the Greek mono = one and latreia = service, is the belief that many gods exist but only one should be served.



Today, Judaism is strictly monotheistic, but scholars have recognized the many examples in the Hebrew Bible of the ancient Israelites being monolatric (although there are also statements in the Hebrew Bible that are clearly monotheistic). The following are some examples of monolatry.



The Decalogue, meaning ten statements, commonly called Ten Commandments even though the ten statements contain more than ten commands, begins with y-h-v-h telling the Israelites that while there are other gods, he is the one who helped them in the past, and he alone should be worshipped by them. “I am y-h-v-hyour God.” This phrase “your God” reappears frequently in Scripture. God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god. This is similar to saying “I am your father,” meaning that there are other fathers but I belong to you and you to me.



Y-h-v-h continues by telling the Israelites why they should serve him, because he, not the other gods, “brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”



Then he says that although there are other gods “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” meaning, don’t serve them. The Israelites are told that if they serve any of the other gods, he, y-h-v-h, will be angry “for I, y-h-v-h, your god, am a jealous god.”



The famous statement called shema in Deuteronomy 6:4 reflects monolatry: “Hear[3] Israel, y-h-v-h is our God; y-h-v-h is one.”[4] Psalm 82:1 is clearly monolatric: “God (elohim) stands in the Assembly of God (el): in the midst of the judges, he judges.”



Many other psalms express monolatry, for example those recited in the Jewish Friday night service. Psalm 95: “For y-h-v-h is a great god and a greater king than all (other) gods…. He is our god.” This psalm lists things thaty-h-v-h did for the Israelites. Psalm 96: “Y-h-v-h is great and very praiseworthy. He is more awesome than other gods. For (while) the gods of the nations are gods,[5] y-h-v-h made the heaven.” Psalm 97: “All gods bow to him…. You are exalted above all gods.”[6] Psalm 98 has words that are similar to 96. Psalm 99 repeats four times y-h-v-h is “our god.”



Psalm 29 and many other sources speak of the Israelites being “God’s people.” This concept that Jews are the “chosen people,” as in the prayer “you have chosen us from all other people,” is misunderstood because people don’t realize that it is a monolatric statement. It is not saying that Jews are special. It is saying that the Israelites understood that y-h-v-h decided to be the god of the Israelites who in turn agreed to serve him rather than the other gods.



The repeated references to y-h-v-h being the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rather than saying that Jews accept him because he is the only god, means that Jews are faithful to the tradition and belief of their ancestors; the ancestors accepted y-h-v-h as god, and so will we. We see this, for example, in Exodus 15: “This is my god, and I will beautify him, my father’s god, and I will exalt him.”



The oft repeated phrase y-h-v-h elohim, usually translated “Lord God,” should be understood as “the God y-h-v-h” differentiating him from other gods.



The scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919), author of Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” offered two other interesting examples. When y-h-v-h first spoke with Abraham in Genesis 12, he asked Abraham to make a covenant with him: Abraham should serve him and he, in turn, would reward Abraham for his service. Ehrlich suggests that if Abraham believed that only one god exists there would have been no need for a covenant. God would have simply said, “I am God, serve me.” There would have been no need to bargain, establish a covenant, and promise payment for the service. Ehrlich gives an example: when Adam joined with (married) Eve, he didn’t make a covenant with her, binding her to remain faithful only to him, because there was no need for it; there were no other men for Eve to be unfaithful with.



Similarly, in Genesis 14:18, Abraham gives ten percent of the loot he acquired during his battle against the four kings to Melchizedek the priest of el elyon. Ehrlich explains that Melchizedek was not a priest to y-h-v-h, for if he was, he would have been closer to y-h-v-h than Abraham. Abraham gave ten percent of his booty because he had battled in the land where el elyon was god, and he thought that this was the proper thing to do. However, immediately afterwards, in verse 22, Abraham made an oath to his own God, y-h-v-h.



This are just some of hundred of biblical verses that could be cited showing monolatry.




[1] The ancient Jews were called B’nei Yisrael, Israelites, in most of the Hebrew Bible. It was only after 536 BCE when many Israelites returned from the Babylonian exile to the small area that once belonged to the tribe of Judah that the people were called Judeans, after their land, or Jews in short.

[2] The Jewish God is named y-h-v-h in the Hebrew Bible. We no longer know how to pronounce these consonants. They are frequently written as Jehovah. Since early time, Jews felt that they should respectfully not mention God’s name. Thus in the first translation of the Bible in about 250 BCE, the Septuagint, the Jewish Greek translators substituted the Greek word curios, which means Lord, and this practice of substituting Lord for y-h-v-h has continued in most Bible translations today.

[3] The term “hear” in the Bible is often used as a metaphor, as it is in English, meaning “accept.”

[4] The word “one” here is obscure. Many understand it to mean “unique,” better than other gods or indicating that he is very powerful.

[5] Ignoring the monolatry, the rabbis interpreted elilim as “idols.”

[6] The rabbis interpret elohim here as “heavenly powers.”

You get that the article you are quoting supports my position, From your second article:

God does not say, I am God, meaning the only one, but I am your god, meaning that other nations have a different god.

Yes, I get that. Do you get that it was necessary at that time for that to be allowed to be believed?

Sooo...God was just sayin stuff he didn't really mean...? Interesting God you worship.

Obviously you totally missed the point. Do you believe that men who had lived their entire lives believing that there was more than one God would be able to understand the true nature of God. It is not even possible for us today to understand the true nature of God. That would be like an ant understand the nature of humans. They were allowed to write the Bible in their own words in ways they could understand.

 

[ding]

The important thing to remember is context. The Word of God was written by men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and given great latitude. What is indisputable is that at the time it was written it was monotheism was not the norm and the morals and values established by the Jews were heads and shoulders above that of their contemporaries. The nitpicking and quibbling is nothing more than fringe argument and confirmation bias. The reality is that the proof is in the pudding. Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. Hands down.

Really? Three bloody crusades, the Inquisition, the Burning Times, the Conquistadors. Throwing men of science in prison, and even condemning them to death for the crime of "heresy. It has been used to justify every form of bigotry and hatred in history from slavery, to racism, to current gay bigotry. Yeah...greatest force for "good"

I think you, and I have two very different definitions of the word "good".

I could argue each point with you but it would be a waste of my time. So I will just point out that your assessment is biased in that you have totally ignored the good in your equation and focused on what you perceived as bad. Western Civilization was built on Judea/Christianity values. By any objective assessment - weighing the good and the bad - Judea/Christianity has been the greatest force for good in the history of mankind. In fact, your self righteous indignation was made possible by the high standards of morality and virtue that was established through Judea/Christianity.

What I percieved as bad? Which of the examples that I listed do you submit is not bad? This should be interesting.

Let's take the Crusades which stopped the advance of the Ottoman empire or the inquisitions which halted the advance of the Cathars which you know nothing about. Those were not bad things. The Catholic Church was light years ahead of civilization on slavery. The Catholic Church was a safe haven for gays back in the 50's when they really were being persecuted, unlike today's faux persecution. I will say this again... your self righteous indignation was only made possible by the high standards of morality and virtue that was established through Judea/Christianity.