RE: Why are you (still) a Christian?
September 14, 2023 at 9:47 pm
(This post was last modified: September 14, 2023 at 9:50 pm by Data.)
(September 14, 2023 at 8:49 pm)LinuxGal Wrote: The God of Israel specifically rules out the existence of other gods.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Okay, first off, when you see LORD in all upper case like that it means at that verse the name of God, Jehovah, has been removed by the Sopherim (copyists). Comparing translations here, you see, some translations preserve the name.
Secondly, think about what your saying. First your saying that a god has to literally exist. Also think about the Biblical command that Israel should have no other gods before him. Then think about all of the other gods mentioned in the Bible.
Now, let me run this by you.
The angels are gods. Psalm 8:5 (LSV): You make him a little lower than the gods [or God], | And surround him with glory and majesty.
Some translations read gods, some read angels, etc. The Hebrew word used is elohim. The Hebrew word for angel is malakh. Here you can see the Hebrew.
The judges of Israel, mortal men are gods: Psalm 82:1 and Psalm 82:6. Jesus quoted this at John 10:34, 35.
Moses was God to Aaron and Pharaoh: Exodus 4:16; 7:1.
(September 14, 2023 at 8:49 pm)LinuxGal Wrote: Anti-theists just go one better and rule out the existence of the God of Israel too.
I thought anti-theists were just against theists. You specifically rule out something that doesn't exist? But what of all of the gods that do exist? Moses, Jesus, the judges of Israel, Kim Jong Un? Zeus (meaning the supreme God) was a title for Roman rulers. Oxford dictionary defines a god as, among other things, "an image, idol, animal, or other object worshiped as divine or symbolizing a god; used as a conventional personification of fate; an adored, admired, or influential person; a thing accorded the supreme importance appropriate to a god; the gallery in a theater."
Does an anti-theist rule those out as well?