Exodus 20:3 - "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."Was Jehovah a henotheist?
Was He concerned more with being primus inter pares (the first among equals) than saying that His way was the only way?
It would seem that God recognizes the existence of other gods - only that He is the greatest among these.
I agree totally with you. And even more specifically, he was telling the Children of Is-Ra-El that they could have no other Gods before him. All the rest of us could have the God or Goddess of our choosing as Primus inter pares.
ReplyDeleteCould it be they mean the follower of this book should only believe in the GOD presented within the pages! Like an exclusive handshake by the Water Buffalos in Bedrock? More like a social order and their sworn allegiance?
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's like signing a contract saying that you agree to play for this team and this team only (following all it's rules).
ReplyDeleteBut if Yaweh understood that others had the right to co-exist - why do most men interpret it as "My way or the highway"?
Why do men believe that their way is the only way and that that way applies to all under every circumstance?
Because the Bible tells them so! Irrationality backed by GOD assumed meaning is the reason for a lot of the world's atrocities.
ReplyDeleteYou can't get a man to kill and slaughter blindly for any other reason besides doing GODS work!
While the bible mentions many gods (for example Baal and Marduk and they even engaged in calf worship to mention a few) that were initially worshiped by the Nation of Israel as well as those of the surrounding nations.
ReplyDeleteWhat Jehovah was helping them to see was that he was the creator of man. No other god's could take credit for creation because they were all created in one form of another by humans. Remember, in bible times people worshiped many powerless images that symbolized their gods. They engaged in mother worship, they venerated and worshiped the dead, their successes and failures they attributed to some form of gods.
When Jehovah had Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt and he challenged Pharaoh (who himself was considered a god by the Egyptians) and his Egyptian gods with the ten plagues he proved that as Psalm 83:18 states that he was the only true GOD and more powerful than any other gods that they thought existed.
Similarly today, Jehovah has not changed according to Malachi 3:6. He is the only creator and he is the only GOD whose son died in behalf of man. Only through him and by worshiping Jehovah can we obtain salvation. This is no longer just extended to the Nation of Israel but to all men.
"Why do men believe that their way is the only way and that that way applies to all under every circumstance?"
ReplyDeleteBecause it seems men somehow believe they are distant relatives of the children of IsraEl. I wonder why men don't believe they are somehow related to the people that existed before Adam & Eve. People were living in one city, On, mentioned in the bible. It's a poor and weak assumption to believe that all mankind come from the Children of IsraEl.
@ Toya - I agree with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteI'm ruled by my Christian influences more than anything else - but others I come in contact with don't have to be.