Monotheism

[jaybird88]

This is going to sound like a dumb topic but it wouldn't be the first time from me.

so what exactly is monotheism?


I was taught its the belief in one G-D and any other is non existent, but the bible mentions other gods so whats going on?


Would it be more correct to say the monotheism of our faith is the worship of one All High and any other gods that may be out there are lesser / lower and we have nothing to do with them?

 

[CS1]

This is going to sound like a dumb topic but it wouldn't be the first time from me.

so what exactly is monotheism?


I was taught its the belief in one G-D and any other is non existent, but the bible mentions other gods so whats going on?


Would it be more correct to say the monotheism of our faith is the worship of one All High and any other gods that may be out there are lesser / lower and we have nothing to do with them?

Mono= one Thies= god the belief in ONE god even though there are people who believe in many gods polytheist = many gods
People can believe in what ever they want . The Christian Faith is grounded in One God and NO other thus we are given the term Monotheist because we believe ion the ONE Truth God our faith doesn't prevent other to have the belief in many gods like India with many people there

 

[jaybird88]

Mono= one Thies= god the belief in ONE god even though there are people who believe in many gods polytheist = many gods
People can believe in what ever they want . The Christian Faith is grounded in One God and NO other thus we are given the term Monotheist because we believe ion the ONE Truth God our faith doesn't prevent other to have the belief in many gods like India with many people there

so why does the bible mention other gods when their are none? why are we commands to have no other gods before the Most High if there are no other gods to have before Him?

 

[santuzza]

When the Bible speaks of other gods, it is referring to false gods. There is only one God, all the others are fake, made-up gods that non-Believers worship. Some religious systems have multiple gods. Christianity, the only true religion, worships only one God and is, therefore, monotheistic.

 

[santuzza]

so why does the bible mention other gods when their are none? why are we commands to have no other gods before the Most High if there are no other gods to have before Him?

Because some people make up gods to fit their own personal religion. The one true God commands us to have no fake gods and we are to worship Him alone.

 

[mcubed]

There is only one true living G-d of the Bible. One G-d expressed in three persons. Now I know the example of this is not scientifically correct when you breakdown the molecular structure, but we do see one substance expressed in three forms here in the now. We have water as a liquid, water as a solid (ice) and water as a gas (vapor).

There are so many countless Scriptures that revel G-d is three persons, G-d the Father, G-d the Son, and G-d the Rauch HaKodesh, G-d’s Spirit. It helped me to get it that Christianity is not 3 gods when I finally understood G-d many times stepped out of heaven in the form of a man before He came as Y-shua. With Father Abraham, Gideon, Joshua, Sampson’s mother. G-d also came to earth in the form of the Shekinah. He is G-d and can take on any form He wants and kept heaven, He is G-d. as far as the Holy Spirit being G-d look at Judges 3:10-14, Micah 3:8-10, and Isaiah 63:10.

 

[jaybird88]

Because some people make up gods to fit their own personal religion. The one true God commands us to have no fake gods and we are to worship Him alone.

the command says nothing of fake gods or made up gods, it plainly says gods. and again, if they did not exist it would make no sense to say dont serve them. we would never tell our own children not to eat a cake off the table if there was no cake on the table, even more if we live in a world where other cakes do not exist.

 

[Laish]

the command says nothing of fake gods or made up gods, it plainly says gods. and again, if they did not exist it would make no sense to say dont serve them. we would never tell our own children not to eat a cake off the table if there was no cake on the table, even more if we live in a world where other cakes do not exist.

Hello jaybird88
A thing or two happening here
one is when we read our Bible we need to remember it includes expressions of speech that may be unfamiliar or not used anymore. Also we are reading a translation of a different language ,and some languages can have many meanings for one word . Where in English a word may have a more narrow definition.
Like gods . Example Genesis 31 :34Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them.
Do you see here that gods can represent just idols that can be placed in a bag and stored on a saddle. Yes God dose warn us not to worship other gods sense little small idols divert our worship from our true God .
The word gods has a more dynamic meaning than what you think.
Blessings
Bill

 

[jaybird88]

Hello jaybird88
A thing or two happening here
one is when we read our Bible we need to remember it includes expressions of speech that may be unfamiliar or not used anymore. Also we are reading a translation of a different language ,and some languages can have many meanings for one word . Where in English a word may have a more narrow definition.
Like gods . Example Genesis 31 :34Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them.
Do you see here that gods can represent just idols that can be placed in a bag and stored on a saddle. Yes God dose warn us not to worship other gods sense little small idols divert our worship from our true God .
The word gods has a more dynamic meaning than what you think.
Blessings
Bill

i think context plays a key role to understanding specific passages. the context of th4e Gen passage would lead me to believe its not suggesting Rachel is putting real cosmic beings in her saddle pack. if im wrong on that it would mean this is no lady i would want to tangle with. the word in question is hat·te·ra·fim which refers to idols.
what im talking about is when the word e·lo·him is used. this word does not mean an idol made of wood or clay, it means G-D, god or gods.

Psalm 82
[SUP]1 [/SUP]God standeth in the assembly of [SUP][a][/SUP]gods: he judgeth among gods.

the gods here are e·lo·him, not made up, not idols. so who are they?

 

[mpaper345]

the command says nothing of fake gods or made up gods, it plainly says gods. and again, if they did not exist it would make no sense to say dont serve them. we would never tell our own children not to eat a cake off the table if there was no cake on the table, even more if we live in a world where other cakes do not exist.

When God says do not serve other gods,He does not mean that they exist,but whatever people views as a higher power,that they believe exists,do not serve them,but only the God of Israel,who proved He is the true God.

Isa 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
Isa 41:22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
Isa 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
Isa 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isa 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
Isa 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
Isa 41:27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
Isa 41:28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
Isa 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Also God said that those false gods are the works of men's hands,which cannot do anything,cannot see,cannot eat,cannot hear,cannot smell,can do nothing,which God is stating they do not exist.

Deu 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

God said there is no God beside Him,He knows no other God,and there was no God formed before Him,and there will be no God formed after Him,so there is no other God but the God of Israel.

God is an omnipresent Spirit that fills all space,and has no beginning,for He was not created,and He is the first,and the last,so if God has no beginning,and always exists,and is the first,and the last,if there were any other gods out there they would have to be created by God who has no beginning,and is the first,and the last.

That is why God said there is no other God,but Him,and there will be no God formed after Him,because they would have to be created by God,and He did not do it.

Also God means supreme being,and God is an omnipresent Spirit that fills all space,for how can God create a God on that level,when He fills all space.

Also if God did create other beings that were more powerful than the angels,they still would not be gods,but advanced beings,and they would still be subject to God,but God created no such beings,and if He did mankind would not know about them anyway.

There are only 3 beings,God,angels,and people.

Also they would be made of physical matter,for all things are made of physical matter,even the angels,and even our glorified body,for even though angels,and our glorified body,are thought of as spiritual,they are still of physical matter,for all things are physical matter,but God's Spirit is the only substance not of the physical world.

There are no other gods,for if there were God would of had to create them,in which He said He said He did not,and also they would not be gods,but advanced beings,and be subject to God,and mankind would not know about them anyway,at least not on this earth.

God cannot create a God on His level,for He is an omnipresent Spirit that fills all space,and also He is the only substance that is not of physical matter,so God cannot create a God of His substance,because it is not to be found,but only God,and would have to be made of physical matter,but what kind of God is that,for God has the ability to assemble,and disassemble,physical matter at any time.

There cannot be anything called a God that could even compare to God,for God's Spirit is greater than the energizer bunny,it keeps going and going,and made a substance that cannot be found anywhere,but Himself,and God's Spirit is indestructible,cannot blow up,cannot dissolve,cannot disintegrate,cannot deteriorate,cannot wear out,cannot decay,cannot decompose.

God is so awesome that it causes many to not believe in Him,that He is omnipresent filling all space,everything that there is to possibly know,He knows it,any power that is to be had,He possesses it,anything there is to see down to the smallest thing,He sees it,anything that there is to hear down to the faintest sound,He hears it,every little particle,every atom,God knows every thing,and could make a creature a trillion miles long,by a trillion miles high,by a trillion miles thick,that has the power to throw a boulder the weight of 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lbs. through the atmosphere for 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles,and God could disassemble Him and bring the creature back to before it was created.

 

[jaybird88]

When God says do not serve other gods,He does not mean that they exist,but whatever people views as a higher power,that they believe exists,do not serve them,but only the God of Israel,who proved He is the true God.

Isa 41:21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
Isa 41:22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.
Isa 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
Isa 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isa 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
Isa 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
Isa 41:27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
Isa 41:28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.
Isa 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Also God said that those false gods are the works of men's hands,which cannot do anything,cannot see,cannot eat,cannot hear,cannot smell,can do nothing,which God is stating they do not exist.

Deu 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Isa 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

God said there is no God beside Him,He knows no other God,and there was no God formed before Him,and there will be no God formed after Him,so there is no other God but the God of Israel.

God is an omnipresent Spirit that fills all space,and has no beginning,for He was not created,and He is the first,and the last,so if God has no beginning,and always exists,and is the first,and the last,if there were any other gods out there they would have to be created by God who has no beginning,and is the first,and the last.

That is why God said there is no other God,but Him,and there will be no God formed after Him,because they would have to be created by God,and He did not do it.

Also God means supreme being,and God is an omnipresent Spirit that fills all space,for how can God create a God on that level,when He fills all space.

Also if God did create other beings that were more powerful than the angels,they still would not be gods,but advanced beings,and they would still be subject to God,but God created no such beings,and if He did mankind would not know about them anyway.

There are only 3 beings,God,angels,and people.

Also they would be made of physical matter,for all things are made of physical matter,even the angels,and even our glorified body,for even though angels,and our glorified body,are thought of as spiritual,they are still of physical matter,for all things are physical matter,but God's Spirit is the only substance not of the physical world.

There are no other gods,for if there were God would of had to create them,in which He said He said He did not,and also they would not be gods,but advanced beings,and be subject to God,and mankind would not know about them anyway,at least not on this earth.

God cannot create a God on His level,for He is an omnipresent Spirit that fills all space,and also He is the only substance that is not of physical matter,so God cannot create a God of His substance,because it is not to be found,but only God,and would have to be made of physical matter,but what kind of God is that,for God has the ability to assemble,and disassemble,physical matter at any time.

There cannot be anything called a God that could even compare to God,for God's Spirit is greater than the energizer bunny,it keeps going and going,and made a substance that cannot be found anywhere,but Himself,and God's Spirit is indestructible,cannot blow up,cannot dissolve,cannot disintegrate,cannot deteriorate,cannot wear out,cannot decay,cannot decompose.

God is so awesome that it causes many to not believe in Him,that He is omnipresent filling all space,everything that there is to possibly know,He knows it,any power that is to be had,He possesses it,anything there is to see down to the smallest thing,He sees it,anything that there is to hear down to the faintest sound,He hears it,every little particle,every atom,God knows every thing,and could make a creature a trillion miles long,by a trillion miles high,by a trillion miles thick,that has the power to throw a boulder the weight of 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lbs. through the atmosphere for 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles,and God could disassemble Him and bring the creature back to before it was created.

Psalm 82
[SUP]1 [/SUP]God standeth in the assembly of [SUP][a][/SUP]gods: he judgeth among gods.

so the gods mentioned here are make believe?

1 Ki 11:33
Because they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the god of the Sidonians, and Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways (to [SUP][a][/SUP]do right in mine eyes, and my statutes, and my laws) as did David his father.

and here, are these gods, which the Almighty gave proper names, made up as well?

Exodus 7 10-13
[SUP]10 [/SUP]So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. [SUP]11 [/SUP]Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: [SUP]12 [/SUP]Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. [SUP]13 [/SUP]Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

and where did the Egyptians priest get the power to turn their staffs to snakes. the passage seems to suggest it was of their ways, not the ways of Israel.

 

[Adstar]

the command says nothing of fake gods or made up gods, it plainly says gods. and again, if they did not exist it would make no sense to say dont serve them. we would never tell our own children not to eat a cake off the table if there was no cake on the table, even more if we live in a world where other cakes do not exist.

When it says gods they are gods to people who made them their gods but they are Not real Gods because there is only one God... Some of these other gods are actually demons / fallen angels who inspired people to make carved images so as to worship them as if they where gods.. But in the end the truth is there is only one True God..

 

[nowyouseem033]

Isaiah 45:5 "I am the Lord and there is no other, apart from me there is no other God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledge me"

God uses our language which is called anthropomorphic. In other words gods that are mentioned are from the human understanding of gods, but are in no way greater than God himself. In other words they are false gods and do not exist only in the human imagination do they get there existence and God knows that and he relates that.

 

[TMS]

the command says nothing of fake gods or made up gods, it plainly says gods. and again, if they did not exist it would make no sense to say dont serve them. we would never tell our own children not to eat a cake off the table if there was no cake on the table, even more if we live in a world where other cakes do not exist.

Does evolution exist like it is taught in schools? The false theory that by millions and millions of years we evolved, is something that some people believe in. The false theory of reincarnation, or witchcraft is also something that people believe in.
The theories do exist and they are believed but that doesn't make them true.
The theory about the Easter bunny does exists and people believe it for a while until they know better.

Just because God said don't worship other gods doesn't make the gods true.
If God said don't believe in evolution, that doesn't mean evolution is real.

 

[jaybird88]

Does evolution exist like it is taught in schools? The false theory that by millions and millions of years we evolved, is something that some people believe in. The false theory of reincarnation, or witchcraft is also something that people believe in.
The theories do exist and they are believed but that doesn't make them true.
The theory about the Easter bunny does exists and people believe it for a while until they know better.

Just because God said don't worship other gods doesn't make the gods true.
If God said don't believe in evolution, that doesn't mean evolution is real.

evolution to my knowledge is never mentioned in the bible, im referring to things spoken of in the bible. not sure i would call witchcraft a false theory, its wrong to practice it, but the bible teaches the witch of endor and Egyptian priest were involved in it. this would make it real to me.
if no other gods existed it would make the 1st and 2nd commandment pointless. think about it, dont steal, dont murder, respect the name, all these make sense and serve a purpose. dont worship other gods, because other gods dont exist, makes no sense, if they didnt exist why make a command to forbid it?

Ex 20 4-6
[SUP]4 [/SUP]“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. [SUP]5 [/SUP]You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, [SUP]6 [/SUP]but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

thats a lot of judgment and sounds very serious, the judgment passes down to the 3rd and 4th generation of ones family. it makes little sense that the Most High would be so concerned, and bring down such harsh judgment on something that does not exist in the first place.

 

[Adstar]

evolution to my knowledge is never mentioned in the bible, im referring to things spoken of in the bible. not sure i would call witchcraft a false theory, its wrong to practice it, but the bible teaches the witch of endor and Egyptian priest were involved in it. this would make it real to me.
if no other gods existed it would make the 1st and 2nd commandment pointless. think about it, dont steal, dont murder, respect the name, all these make sense and serve a purpose. dont worship other gods, because other gods dont exist, makes no sense, if they didnt exist why make a command to forbid it?

Ex 20 4-6
[SUP]4 [/SUP]“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. [SUP]5 [/SUP]You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, [SUP]6 [/SUP]but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

thats a lot of judgment and sounds very serious, the judgment passes down to the 3rd and 4th generation of ones family. it makes little sense that the Most High would be so concerned, and bring down such harsh judgment on something that does not exist in the first place.

The reason why God is concerned is because when people are bowing down ans worshiping idols they are not focused on the One and only true God of all existence.. Eternal salvation can only be had through the LORD.. So people spending all their lives following something other then God are cursing themselves and their kids..

 

[OneFaith]

The gods He's referring to are false gods (nonexistent). If someone makes a false god, in order to talk to them about it you have to call it by a name, and you should use the name for it that they use. Like if a child has an imaginary friend called "Fred". Then you say "Fred needs to stay out of the cookie jar." Fred wasn't in the cookie jar, the child was, Fred don't exist. People can fashion a statue out of wood or gold and call it a god, but it's still a hunk of gold or wood.

People believed in luck, and that if you worshipped the image good things would happen.

 

[jaybird88]

The gods He's referring to are false gods (nonexistent). If someone makes a false god, in order to talk to them about it you have to call it by a name, and you should use the name for it that they use. Like if a child has an imaginary friend called "Fred". Then you say "Fred needs to stay out of the cookie jar." Fred wasn't in the cookie jar, the child was, Fred don't exist. People can fashion a statue out of wood or gold and call it a god, but it's still a hunk of gold or wood.

People believed in luck, and that if you worshipped the image good things would happen.

i never knew of a person that had life long issues over an imaginary friend they had as a child nor have a heard of a parent punishing a child and the next 3 generations after over this.

the gods in psalm 82, this is the Most High having an assembly with non existent gods? an assembly with Himself?

 

[OneFaith]

i never knew of a person that had life long issues over an imaginary friend they had as a child nor have a heard of a parent punishing a child and the next 3 generations after over this.

the gods in psalm 82, this is the Most High having an assembly with non existent gods? an assembly with Himself?

I guess you don't understand my example. Let me try another...

Indians worshiped the sun, animals, and dead ancestors, even though they are not gods. They worshipped creation instead of the Creator- but that doesn't make them gods, but false gods. (Romans 1:25)

 

[santuzza]

the command says nothing of fake gods or made up gods, it plainly says gods. and again, if they did not exist it would make no sense to say dont serve them. we would never tell our own children not to eat a cake off the table if there was no cake on the table, even more if we live in a world where other cakes do not exist.

But people BELIEVED they existed. Hence the command.