The Bible and other gods

MANY MEN have called themselves god, Pharao, Nebacanezzer, and others. Yet that is how man saw himself but they were not a god. AS the Lord God showed them very well. saying you are god doesn't make it so. The Bible tells us they called themselves god to show how foolish they were not to substantiate the claim those men made.

I am a Christian who believes everything in the Bible and accepts the teachings of Jesus as absolute truth.

really I thought it was because of this

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭11:26-28‬ ‭

and then I thought God told Noah this before his death

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

and I thought when they entered the promised land they did this repeatedly

“And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.”
‭‭Judges‬ ‭2:11-12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Isn’t that the running narrative throughout the ot ? Didn’t they chase God away and cause him to leave the temple because they worshipped false gods over and over ?

“He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?

…And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.

And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery?

for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.

And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭8:6-7, 9-12, 16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

isn’t the whole idea about Israel whoring themselves out to other gods a main theme of the ot ? I’m not sure we should always blame women for the evils of The world seems like it’s always the wife that gets blamed but as far as I recall the preists we’re men as well
As the prophets and they were the ones who led israel Into a curse

I’m pretty sure idolatry worship was israels Downfall again and again every time he restored them They did it again bit God told Moses beforehand what was going to happen and why so it isnt a surprise

All that being said yea intermarriage was a problem that helped idolatry spread I agree with that part. It wasn’t thier main issue though idolatry was even before they got out of the desert or married any foreigner

Immediately before Moses even came off the Mount th the commandments God just had spoken look at how ingrained idolatry was in them

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32:7-8‬ ‭

they had spent 400 years in Egypt without hearing from God so it stands to
Make sense that they learned idolatry from Egypt

I am a Christian who believes everything in the Bible and accepts the teachings of Jesus as absolute truth. It cannot be denied that my beliefs are very Christ-like, but I have a view that differs from other Christians.

Over 99.9% of Christians think that God is the only real god. They figure all the gods and goddesses in the Hindu religion, as well as the pagan gods who don’t have any adherents today, aren’t real. Maybe they think those deities are human invention and imagination, but it seems like most believers in Christ haven’t thought about the other gods.

I used to think that God of the Bible was the only god and believed that all humans started out as polytheistic, but then evolved into monotheism (which I interpreted to be the only correct view). At the time I figured that the Hindus, who pray to many different gods, hadn’t quite caught up with everyone else.

But one day I found out that other gods exist. I don’t feel like writing many paragraphs explaining how this happened, so just take my word for it.

I’ve had contact with several of the Hindu gods, and they seem very nice and caring. I also had contact with Baal Hadad, a bronze age god popular in the Near East who the Bible apparently doesn’t like much, as described in the Book of Exodus. He is also nice and caring.

I did some research to find out what the Bible says about the existence of other gods. Apparently the Jews in the Old Testament believed that multiple gods existed, but Yahweh (God) was the correct and only god to follow. You can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism#Canaanite_religion_and_Yahwism There appears to be several verses in the Bible that suggest other gods are real such as Psalms 96:4: “For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.” Notice here that scripture says gods instead of idols. Gods implies they are real, but if it said idols that would imply imagination.

I am posting this thread to get other people’s input. What do you think about the existence of other gods? Do you think it’s possible that other gods exist? Or is God of the Bible the only god who is real? If you don’t believe it’s possible for other infinite beings to exist, how do you explain the Bible passages that imply the existence of other gods? And also what about my experiences meeting other infinite beings? It was very real to me.

GoodRanger, in the Prayer Requests forum you asked for help with permanently expelling demons. You told in detail about the hellish torments you are experiencing at the hands of demonic entities. In that thread, I told you exactly what you need to do.

You are hanging over the pit of Hell, friend. Repent and beg Jesus Christ for salvation.

There is ONE Creator God and ONE Mediator between Him and man: the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, angelic beings in the Bible are sometimes referred to as sons of god and there are also demonic entities including the Father of Lies and Murder himself, Satan the Devil. The Bible also talks about principalities and powers, sometimes with an evil connotation and (I think, not 100% sure) sometimes neutrally. I think these terms refer to the authority structures and dominions (perhaps there are kingdoms or nations of angelic beings, I do not know) of angels and demons, some serving the Creator God and some opposing Him.

The Bible also talks about the seven spirits of God but does not go into great detail. Extrabiblical traditional sources give names to these spirits which coincide with some names in the Bible of angelic messengers and other angelic beings: Michael, Gabriel being the two that I remember off the top of my head. Angels however are messengers FROM God TO man and there's no reason why men should try to contact them.

And in fact several false religions have been founded when men encountered demonic beings. Islam and Mormonism being two religions begun when their founders had visions of shining angelic beings, which were in fact demonic entities or even Satan himself who can appear as an angel of light.

The bottom line is that YES there are spiritual beings out there, but they are NOT on the same level as the Creator God and there is no reason why a Christian should interact with them.

GoodRanger, I don't know if you are on medication (it sounds like this may be the case from your other posts) which makes you vulnerable to demonic entities or if you opened that door via some other means, but you are in a terrible place and only the grace of Jesus Christ can save you now.

You will surely die and be lost unless you repent of your sins and give yourself to the Lord Jesus. Go back to the thread where you asked for help with your demonic torments and do exactly what I told you to do there.

My situation with demons is odd. I’ve achieved both much victory and much defeat on this subject. I’ll elaborate…

Over the years I have killed many demons who were tormenting me and making my life a literal living hell. I don’t know the exact figure of victories, but I estimate over 200 demons no longer exist because of me. The figure could be as high as 300, but I don’t know because I’ve killed so many and no longer keep track.

How does a Christian kill a demon? The answer can be found in the Gospels where Jesus casted demons out of a victim. The scriptures here describe how those infernal spirits begged Christ to send them into the bodies of swine (considered a filthy animal by the Jews at the time and even by many non-Jews today) because dwelling on the bodies of pigs would have been preferable to the fate that awaited them.

And what fate awaited them? Death.

Without a body a demon will die. I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes, and the Bible confirms this to be true. Matthew 12:43 says that without a body a demon will wander around without water and find none of it. Water is used as an analogy here, because without water (nourishment) a human will die from thirst. And so it is with demons: If they don’t have a human host, they die from lack of nourishment, or whatever sustains their existence.

God gives me the ability to pull demons out of my body. This ability comes directly from the Holy Spirit. In fact, Jesus conferred this ability to his disciples, and it is available to all believers today. But there is one condition that Christians must meet to kill demons: They must be in excellent standing with God.

What does that condition of excellent standing with God entail? It means the Christian cannot be in a state of sin.

Since I have problems with sinning, as do many Christians like myself who aren’t as disciplined as they want to be, I’m often in a situation where demons come right back and attach onto me, causing torment and grief—and I can’t do anything about it because God won’t allow me to pull the demons out of my body to kill them, since I’ve been in a state of sin. This is where I have suffered much defeat.

I wanted to kill the demons who have been tormenting me last night, but couldn’t. They continued to harass me in my sleep and cause a lot of grief. And nothing could be done about it because God isn’t pleased with me over my sins.

I really wish God would drop this requirement that I have to be perfect to get rid of demons. They are truly ruining my life. It isn’t possible for me to be perfect 100% of the time, so this means my life is pretty much ruined unless God has compassion and realizes that no one can live up to perfect standards.

As to the existence of 'gods', I think CS1 gave the best explanation in post 22. Scripturally, there are angels and demons of different forms, different spirits that either serve God or don't. (Some of the strangest "grey" area would be the lying spirit that served God by speaking falsehoods through the mouths of priests for other 'gods.') We see John the revelator turning to worship the angel that guided him through the revelation and the angel told him not to worship him. It is possible to encounter something that isn't evil but without a good understanding start to idolize it as something more than it is. Not all of these spirits are bad.

In a sense, RCC patron saints also fit into this fold of spiritual entities that can be petitioned for guidance. It becomes more complicated when we consider that many of the pagan 'gods' were amalgamated into RCC patron saints. It was part of what led Martin Luther to reject the notion that people needed a mediator for talking to God (Christ is the mediator). There are different feelings on the subject, but it is part of the reason why the RCC is accused of being polytheistic by some parties.

When Iceland was being converted to Christianity, the conversation wasn't that the Wodinists were conversing with thin air but rather that devils or other spirits had been guiding their ways. It is easy to see how if John the Revelator's vision had been abruptly interrupted before the angel had a chance to tell him not to worship him, that John might have continued with the wrong idea in mind after the experience. This might also be the case for other spirits that are worshiped as 'gods'. It may not have been the intention to have that kind of reaction by their interaction. These spirits may not be inherently devilish despite being worshiped and idolized by the few, just as the guiding angel wasn't inherently devilish despite John feeling the urge to worship and idolize.

So we have historical examples of pagan 'gods' being amalgamated and other examples of pagan 'gods' being deemed demons. We see that generally speaking there isn't a rejection of the concept that "something is there" but rather there is a rejection of the title of that thing being a "god". One thing that is true about most of these pagan gods is that none or very few of them by description fit the profile of a 'capital G' supreme God.

I find it impossible for someone filled with the Holy spirit to also have Demons attached to them. Light and Darkness do not, nor ever can co-exist together. I wonder if your definition of Demons attaching is more of a reference where you still are vulnerable when temptations face you. If a recovering alcoholic sits in the bar every day, they are only putting them self in position to fail. If a Believer suffers from porn addiction, they need to stop looking at places where porn exists. You are the one who opens these doors. I guarantee that the Holy Spirit is not leading you to do as such. You have to be ignoring God to achieve these others things.

That seems to be the response I’ve heard from many other Christians. They think that if I suffer with a demon problem, then I must not be a real Christian. But I am born-again; I do believe Jesus is my savior; and I accept the Bible and all scripture teachings as the absolute truth.

The reason why God is allowing these demonic attacks to happen is because he doesn’t like my addictive tendencies. Please note: I said God allows it, but he doesn’t cause it. That is a big difference.

I wish addiction were a choice. If it were, I could simply put down the stuff and not feel like I need it. Unfortunately it isn’t that easy for me. Addictive personalities are probably innate, meaning there is a gene that affects the brain and predisposes people to addiction.

My grandfather has this gene. He is a very smart person who graduated from Rice University, the most prestigious university here in Texas and arguably one of the most prestigious in the US. He was very successful too, having made a lot of money in the oil and gas industry as an exploration geologist—but he has a compulsive gambling problem. Indeed he is addicted to gambling and wastes a ton of money every year on it, well into the six figures. Last year my dad went over to his house to help him pay taxes. He inquired about his gambling losses for tax write-offs and found out that my grandfather lost $82,000 that year at Indian casinos.

So yeah, I have this addiction gene. It was passed onto me.

What addictions do I have? Fortunately it isn’t gambling. Knowing me and my personality, it is best to stay away from gambling because I would probably like it too much and get addicted to it, just like my grandfather.

I like to drink a lot. When I do drink, which is pretty much every day, I don’t just drink one or two beers. Instead I might drink 3, 4, or even 5. And sometimes it happens not just once a day, but two or three times a day.

I also like substances. I don’t want to confess to doing anything illegal on the internet, so I won’t elaborate any further on this. But I will say that I don’t do the hard stuff and stick to the prescription stuff. But still, prescription pills can be every bit as addicting as stronger drugs, especially when someone takes more than one pill, and I like to take more than one pill. I also like nicotine a lot, and quitting that drug is super hard.

I really need a detox pill to help me quit misusing alcohol and pills. Last week I wanted to make an appointment with my doctor to get some Librium or another related pill that mellows me and exponentially eases the withdrawal process. For some reason I keep putting that off, but I really need to do it.

That seems to be the response I’ve heard from many other Christians. They think that if I suffer with a demon problem, then I must not be a real Christian. But I am born-again; I do believe Jesus is my savior; and I accept the Bible and all scripture teachings as the absolute truth.

The reason why God is allowing these demonic attacks to happen is because he doesn’t like my addictive tendencies. Please note: I said God allows it, but he doesn’t cause it. That is a big difference.

I wish addiction were a choice. If it were, I could simply put down the stuff and not feel like I need it. Unfortunately it isn’t that easy for me. Addictive personalities are probably innate, meaning there is a gene that affects the brain and predisposes people to addiction.

My grandfather has this gene. He is a very smart person who graduated from Rice University, the most prestigious university here in Texas and arguably one of the most prestigious in the US. He was very successful too, having made a lot of money in the oil and gas industry as an exploration geologist—but he has a compulsive gambling problem. Indeed he is addicted to gambling and wastes a ton of money every year on it, well into the six figures. Last year my dad went over to his house to help him pay taxes. He inquired about his gambling losses for tax write-offs and found out that my grandfather lost $82,000 that year at Indian casinos.

So yeah, I have this addiction gene. It was passed onto me.

What addictions do I have? Fortunately it isn’t gambling. Knowing me and my personality, it is best to stay away from gambling because I would probably like it too much and get addicted to it, just like my grandfather.

I like to drink a lot. When I do drink, which is pretty much every day, I don’t just drink one or two beers. Instead I might drink 3, 4, or even 5. And sometimes it happens not just once a day, but two or three times a day.

I also like substances. I don’t want to confess to doing anything illegal on the internet, so I won’t elaborate any further on this. But I will say that I don’t do the hard stuff and stick to the prescription stuff. But still, prescription pills can be every bit as addicting as stronger drugs, especially when someone takes more than one pill, and I like to take more than one pill. I also like nicotine a lot, and quitting that drug is super hard.

I really need a detox pill to help me quit misusing alcohol and pills. Last week I wanted to make an appointment with my doctor to get some Librium or another related pill that mellows me and exponentially eases the withdrawal process. For some reason, I keep putting that off, but I really need to do it.

That seems to be the response I’ve heard from many other Christians. They think that if I suffer with a demon problem, then I must not be a real Christian. But I am born-again; I do believe Jesus is my savior; and I accept the Bible and all scripture teachings as the absolute truth.

The reason why God is allowing these demonic attacks to happen is because he doesn’t like my addictive tendencies. Please note: I said God allows it, but he doesn’t cause it. That is a big difference.

I wish addiction were a choice. If it were, I could simply put down the stuff and not feel like I need it. Unfortunately it isn’t that easy for me. Addictive personalities are probably innate, meaning there is a gene that affects the brain and predisposes people to addiction.

My grandfather has this gene. He is a very smart person who graduated from Rice University, the most prestigious university here in Texas and arguably one of the most prestigious in the US. He was very successful too, having made a lot of money in the oil and gas industry as an exploration geologist—but he has a compulsive gambling problem. Indeed he is addicted to gambling and wastes a ton of money every year on it, well into the six figures. Last year my dad went over to his house to help him pay taxes. He inquired about his gambling losses for tax write-offs and found out that my grandfather lost $82,000 that year at Indian casinos.

So yeah, I have this addiction gene. It was passed onto me.

What addictions do I have? Fortunately it isn’t gambling. Knowing me and my personality, it is best to stay away from gambling because I would probably like it too much and get addicted to it, just like my grandfather.

I like to drink a lot. When I do drink, which is pretty much every day, I don’t just drink one or two beers. Instead I might drink 3, 4, or even 5. And sometimes it happens not just once a day, but two or three times a day.

I also like substances. I don’t want to confess to doing anything illegal on the internet, so I won’t elaborate any further on this. But I will say that I don’t do the hard stuff and stick to the prescription stuff. But still, prescription pills can be every bit as addicting as stronger drugs, especially when someone takes more than one pill, and I like to take more than one pill. I also like nicotine a lot, and quitting that drug is super hard.

I really need a detox pill to help me quit misusing alcohol and pills. Last week I wanted to make an appointment with my doctor to get some Librium or another related pill that mellows me and exponentially eases the withdrawal process. For some reason I keep putting that off, but I really need to do it.

Hey sorry if I offended anyone. My intention was not to provoke any hostility, but to tell about my experiences—which are very real—and hear what other Christians think about it.

I absolutely did not use a Ouija board! That is a terrible “game” that attracts a certain demon named Zozo who likes to cause harm and mischief. That demon has a history of causing problems in my life. Sometimes he shows up and creates a lot of grief for me, thinking it is amusing.

He is a high rank demon and assistant to the High Devil. He told me he is one of Satan’s biological relatives. I’ve seen what he looks like, too. He is a terrible-looking shadowy thing who looks really evil. I actually know quite a bit about him, much more than other people, but enough of that demon. I don’t want to talk about him because he is so atrocious.

Communicating with other infinite beings—if that is what they are—happens the same way I communicate with God. It’s telepathically, meaning I speak words in my head, and since infinite beings have all-knowledge and all-perception they can hear me this way, and often they respond right away.

I am approving this thread solely so that the OP's errors can be refuted and corrected.

“I am a Christian who believes everything in the Bible”

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:4-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

there is One God , but many “gods “ they are false is the thing demons and devils masquerading as something else

“As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.

For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and Lords many,)

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.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭8:4-6‬ ‭

I’m glad you believe the Bible it holds the truth

If you are really receiving prophecy from "other gods", I would strongly recommend ignoring it... and if you are praying to other "gods" to see if they will answer, I would stop that if I were you. You don't want to find out the hard way- there has to be some former occultists on CC that can testify...

No offense but you don't believe everything in the bible because it says God is the only God. ....