Zone1 the first Commandment says: Thou shalt have no other Gods!

[hobelim]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time? before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

I wonder about this...

"He who invokes a blessing on himself in the land shall do so by the God whose name is Amen, and he who utters an oath in the land shall do so by the God of Amen." Isaiah 65:16

Any thoughts?

 

[hobelim]

In Egypt after the Jews gave it to the world. He was run out of town by the Egyptians.

And they tried to erase memory of him. Sounds like the story of Moses. Even the story of A&E reflects Egyptian ideas as when God breathed "the breath of life", the ankh, into Adams nostrils creating "a living being", not to mention that the pharaoh wore a serpent on his head and was a master of the magical arts, sorcery, what is now well known as brainwashing or mind control. The earliest recorded evidence of hypnotism was found in Egypt.

 

[Hafar1014]

And they tried to erase memory of him. Sounds like the story of Moses. Even the story of A&E reflects Egyptian ideas as when God breathed "the breath of life", the ankh, into Adams nostrils making him a living being, not to mention that the pharaoh wore a serpent on his head and was a master of the magical arts, sorcery, what is now well known as brainwashing or mind control. The earliest recorded evidence of hypnotism was found in Egypt.

It was common in Egypt to destroy all the statues of previous leader. Akhenaten and Nefertiti threatened the power of the religious caste.

 

[hobelim]

Akhenaten and Nefertiti threatened the power of the religious caste.

Yes, Akhenaten, who was originally named Amenhotep IV almost ruined their scam and their smooth easy lives.

 

[BothWings]

I think it's pretty much saying "I AM the one God, your only God". But then again, God hasn't reprinted (and revised) the Bible for the past 5000 years, people have. So there's that.

And with that said, I'll also add that most organized religions have all the same type of assertions and disclaimers proclaiming that THEY are the owners of truth.

I DO believe that humanity has a deep connection to a spiritual realm but I also believe that organized religion usually obscures the truth as much as it preserves it. And we are too small in the universe to be so assured that we know which church offers the most comprehensive understanding of, or path to spiritual oneness, to "God" or WHATEVER you prefer to call it.

 

[Zebra]

Judaism was originally a monolatry religion. Archeology and the OT show that the Jews accepted that other gods existed but had a covenant with only one.

One example is the golden calf in exodus. If Jews believed there was only one god, I'd expect them to give up religion completely if they lost faith in Yahweh. If they were polytheists I'd expect them to turn to other gods when times were tough.

there is the theory, that Yahwe once had a wife, the Goddess Ashera.

What do you know about it?

 

[hobelim]

There is only one G-d.

I guess that precludes the existence of three coequal gods, a trinity that raped a virgin to become an edible man.

Damn. A lot of people are going to be shocked by the news...

 

[alang1216]

there is the theory, that Yahwe once had a wife, the Goddess Ashera.

What do you know about it?

According to Wright's book, Yahweh was a minor God in the Canaanite pantheon of gods. When Israel became more nationalistic (when Judah was an independent country), the other gods were demoted so Israel's god could be shown as the greatest of them all. I seem to recall that as a lesser god he had other relations but once he was the supreme being they had to be forgotten.

 

[Zebra]

According to Wright's book, Yahweh was a minor God in the Canaanite pantheon of gods. When Israel became more nationalistic (when Judah was an independent country), the other gods were demoted so Israel's god could be shown as the greatest of them all. I seem to recall that as a lesser god he had other relations but once he was the supreme being they had to be forgotten.

he started as a weather god only .....

 

[0311]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time?

before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

It should read Thou shall NOT god. Which is true because there is no good.

 

[Zebra]

It should read Thou shall NOT god. Which is true because there is no good.

..?

 

[rosends]

according to Judaism, that is not the first commandment.

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2896/jewish/What-Are-the-Ten-Commandments.htm#English

 

[norwegen]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time?

before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

Up until the beginning of Isaiah, or the first Isaiah, YHWH was Israel's god and greater than all other gods. For the second Isaiah, or the Isaiah of Babylon, only one god exists, that being God, the rest being figments of the imagination. "Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any" (44:8). Israel had finally reached the peak of its monotheism.

However, the nation would never divest itself of its idolatry. Hosea denounced her stubborn idolatry (2:16; 8:4-6; 13:2). 2 Kings 17:7-18 is an indictment against Israel for building high places and pillars, serving idols, burning her children as offerings, and general disobedience. Hence her destruction in 722 BC.

They practiced idol worship up until their destruction. Paul iterated this ancestral habit of theirs to the people of Athens (Acts 17:30). He also summarized his forebears thus to his brethren in Rome:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Rom 1:21-23)​

 

[onefour1]

Just as we all really have only one father in this world, we all only have one eternal father in heaven who is the Father of our spirits whom we recognize as our God and one Lord Jesus Christ and one Holy Ghost which three constitute the one true God. However, there are other Father's in heaven who have their own universes just as there are many, many fathers here on earth. The Apostle Paul taught:

1 Corinthians 8:5-6
5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

 

[Zebra]

It was common in Egypt to destroy all the statues of previous leader. Akhenaten and Nefertiti threatened the power of the religious caste.

Nefertiti in German is Nofretete

 

[toobfreak]

the first Commandment says: Thou shalt have no other Gods!​

How do you interpret this?

Once again, the Bible leaves itself open subject to interpretation. I interpret it this way:

At the time, Christianity was the upcoming religion promoting the god of Moses and Abraham toward the west over the other known "pagan" religions promoting idolatry. So, Christianity joins other exclusive religions like Islam that there can only be one way, their way or the highway, as compared to the older, more inclusive east-Asian religions which had little or nothing to compete against, therefore, did not seek to compete.

 

[MostBoringManInTheWorld]

So where does that leave fans of Eric Clapton?

 

[Winco]

Religion changed society

Religious Beliefs have caused ALL the Worlds Problems.

With Religion, we would be a peaceful Planet.

Religion is the largest Indoctrinators.
No Doubt.
**** this religion belief.
If there was just ONE God, there would be just ONE religion/belief/Bible.

You have 'fun' suggesting that schools indoctrinate, but c'mon........ it is religious beliefs that have caused ALL of the WORLDS problems.

How many trans people or Gay people have started or caused a WAR?
How many religious beliefs have started a WAR?

 

[Winco]

So where does that leave fans of Eric Clapton?

Newbie, WTF does Clapton's kid dying and the song he wrote about it, have to do with your agenda?

 

[Meriweather]

Religious Beliefs have caused ALL the Worlds Problems.

On the contrary, religions/spiritual beliefs are the contrast to worldly problems with the awareness there is no need to sink to that level.