Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[h_k_s]

ktz wrote:

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.
There may be other "gods" in the Judeo-Christian tradition under the definition of immortality that the OP has provided, but you better not let that Old Testament God catch you calling them that or describing yourself as "polytheistic" or even henotheistic if you plan to worship him. This concept is reiterated in the New Testament and Q'uran as well.

This was at a juncture where Jahweh was in conflict with other gods that were still being actively worshipped at the same time. It was inevitable that Jahweh's people would be jealous for Jahweh's sake. Conflicting ideologies always bring some amount of bother.

So why does YHVH require half a dozen or more different names ??

[Belindi]

ktz wrote:



This was at a juncture where Jahweh was in conflict with other gods that were still being actively worshipped at the same time. It was inevitable that Jahweh's people would be jealous for Jahweh's sake. Conflicting ideologies always bring some amount of bother.

So why does YHVH require half a dozen or more different names ??

For historical reasons. More precisely answers are provided by historian Karen Armstrong 'A History of God'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_God

[Fooloso4]

In the Hebrew Bible there are traces of the movement from gods to the god of the people to the only God. But there is also Kabbalah - en sof, the infinite and its manifestations which include the God of the Hebrew Bible.

In Christianity there is a mishmash of the God of Jesus and Paul and the pagan gods - a “Son of God” which comes to mean something different than the “sons of God” of the Hebrew Bible, a Trinity, deification/apotheosis.

Although we tend to think in terms of dualities I see no reason why a religion cannot have one God, and there are a variety of ways in which that might be conceived.

[h_k_s]

So why does YHVH require half a dozen or more different names ??

For historical reasons. More precisely answers are provided by historian Karen Armstrong 'A History of God'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_God

Armstrong is wrong.

Maybe you don't mind but any more ignorant replies from you and I will not trouble read your posts.

[bucky]

While science is a belief system with zero gods, religious systems can only have two or more Gods. Belief systems with one God are the only ones which won’t work.

Actually Hinduism only has one God. The forms of this supreme God are represented by the deities which emanate from the supreme God. Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are executives, they're not the CEO.

[Belindi]

While science is a belief system with zero gods, religious systems can only have two or more Gods. Belief systems with one God are the only ones which won’t work.

Actually Hinduism only has one God. The forms of this supreme God are represented by the deities which emanate from the supreme God. Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are executives, they're not the CEO.

That is interesting. What is the name of the CEO?

[bucky]

Actually Hinduism only has one God. The forms of this supreme God are represented by the deities which emanate from the supreme God. Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are executives, they're not the CEO.

That is interesting. What is the name of the CEO?

Pasting the below from Wikipedia's entry on Hindu gods:

All Hindus worship one Supreme Being, though by different names. This is because the peoples of India with different languages and cultures have understood the one God in their own distinct way. Regional and family traditions can play a large part in influencing this choice. Through history four principal Hindu denominations arose —Vaishnavism, Shakthism, Saivism and Smartism. For Vaishnavites, Lord Maha Vishnu is God Of Supreme, For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti is supreme, For Saivites, God Siva is Supreme. For Smartas—who see all Deities as reflections of the One God—the choice of Deity is left to the devotee.

[bucky]

Another one I've found: When God is formless, He is referred to by the term Brahman. When God has form, He is referred to by the term Paramatma. This is almighty God, whose three main forms are Brahma; the creator, Vishnu, the sustainer and Shiva, the destroyer.

... Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic. Hinduism is not polytheistic. Henotheism (literally “one God”) better defines the Hindu view. It means the worship of one God without denying the existence of other Gods.