Why does the semitic god (christian god/yahweh/allah) say that he's a jealous god? Would it not force you to question his very being! Ideally one who is infallible, assured of his qualities would not be jealous of others. If this god is not perfect why worship him is monotheism demands perfection in the one supreme being! Can anyone give me a logical answer instead of the usual commandments that tell you not to worship other! For a change think for yourself, afterall if there is a god he gave you the brain to think.
Also don't tell me the disbelievers eyes are covered so they donot see. If you cannot debate a point logically don't just recite passages written/advised by an obviously fallible god!
2006-06-22 15:33:09 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Do't say he doesn't have to be infallible for that denies the very definition of god in monotheism. If he's fallible he's not all powerful.
2006-06-22 15:36:24 · update #1
hey mainworry
i happen to be Scottish and also practice the Celtic religion. I'll have you know that the Celts were around 5 to 6 thousand years before Christianity. Christians were then murderers and worse trying to kill off the Celts and druids. and by the way... the Celts covered the earth and then were driven to places like Scotland and Ireland and such. if your god were the only one then why is he so afraid of people worshiping other gods? if there were no other gods then there would be no need for such a commandment. so i challenge you to at least learn what you are talking about before you give an opinion.
2006-06-22 17:26:36 · answer #1 · answered by bgdadyp 5 · 1⤊ 4⤋
Let me give you a satisfactory answer. First the problem is that people interpret that as, God is jealous because you are going to give your love to someone else ( the typical thought when we think of jealousy) But that is not the case the definition of jealousy in this case is 3 : vigilant in guarding a possession
Let me bring it a little closer to home. Lets say that you have a young daughter and she brings home some clown that's only interested in using her up and then throwing her away. Wouldn't you, as a parent, be naturally upset at this situation? Well so is God. That is why He is a jealous God
2006-06-22 15:57:55 · answer #2 · answered by david v 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that you are referring to Exodus 34:14, and if so, I can only give you my opinion, I think that when in the Bible it says in
Exodus 34:14 : For you must not prostrate yourself to another god, because Jehovah(God), whose name is Jealous, he is a jealous God.
I don't think that he is talking about human jealousy, I think that this is a righteous jealousy God created the heavens, the earth and everything in them.
Also God has 4 outstanding qualities (well more, but these are the main ones)
Power ~ Isaiah 40:26 ... Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power.
Having the power to create such wonderful things and then to have humans worship idols and little statues that cannot even get up and move themselves (yeah I'd be jealous too!)
Justice ~ God has even blessed us with a small measure of his profound sense of Justice. We humans have a strong sense of right and wrong, when an injustice is commited, we are incensed and we want the victim to be compensated and the offender brought to justice. this is just one example of God's detest of injustice so a sense of his Justice.
Proverbs 6:16-19 : There are six things that God does hate, yes, seven are things detestable to his soul: lofty eyes, a false tongue, and hands that are shedding innocent blood, a heart fabricating hurtful schemes, feet that are in a hurry to run to badness, a false witness that launches forth lies and anyone sending forth contentions among brothers.
Wisdom ~ Genuine wisdom is one of the most precious treasures that you can seek. God alone is it's source.
Job 9:4 He is wise in heart and strong in power.
also Romans 11:33 O the depth of God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments are and past tracing out his ways are.
and finally God's greatest quality Love! Of all the qualities that God possesses, love is the dominant one. It is also the most appealing and unlike the other qualities this is the only one that says that God is love! It says that God has knowledge, wisdom and power, but it never says that he is like this scripture says
Love ~ 1 John 4:8 He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.
Now taking this into consideration, I believe that God's Jealousy is righteous, unlike human jealousy. God is perfect and with all of his wonderful qualities, there is not an action or emotion that he could feel that would be in disagreement with any of his perfect qualities. God is and has the right to feel jealous, because he is a far superior being than we are and unlike humans he always does the right thing for the right reason.
2006-06-22 16:15:25 · answer #3 · answered by iluvmyduckies05 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is God, the great I AM, why could he not be jealous? a very good question and i am not sure you are going to get a satisfying answer.
however, i do not think jealousy removes his perfection. we are created in the image of God therefore all the traits we posess are a mirror of what and who God is. God becomes angry, God punishes. these are also "negative" traits however, that does not take away God's perfection. God is omnipotent omnicient...it is impossible for us to even fathom all that/who God is. impossible.
just think about the Trinity. i am a christian and i go to church every sunday and i read the Bible and i still have difficulty fathoming how Jesus is the Son of God and He is God and He is the Holy Spirit. unfathomable.
so, what i am trying to say is God is God and He can be jealous/unconditionally loving/angry/understanding/full of wrath
He is God.
2006-06-22 15:46:07 · answer #4 · answered by Jen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To be jealous is to want or desire something someone else has that you feel you deserve. WE are not allowed to be jealous because we do not deserve anything good. God is allowed to be jealous because HE is God and deserves all praise.
And dont go saying this isnt a satisifying answer just because you dont like it. It's the truth... God is allowed to do a lot of things we arent. Just like adults can do more things than children can.
2006-06-22 15:39:09 · answer #5 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am assuming that you are referring, among many other verses, to Exodus 20:5 (Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God). If you look to the original Hebrew, the word used for jealous in this verse is "qanna" and it is only ever used to speak of God's jealousy. It isn't the same word used when we are commanded not to be jealous (i.e. it is not the same word associated with the sin of jealousy. It is something else entirely).
When God says He is a jealous God, it means He cares about you enough that He will be upset if you choose to worship another. He loves you enough that if you started paying more attention to your basketball skills than Him, He would be very upset. He does not sin by doing this.
Hope this helps.
Nanny G.
2006-06-22 15:52:04 · answer #6 · answered by Nanny G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
“Jealousy” can be a positive quality or emotion. The original Hebrew and Greek terms can mean “insistence on exclusive devotion; toleration of no rivalry". Jehovah does not permit interfaith, He does NOT tolerate worship of other gods by His people.
Here is that verse in its context:
(Exodus 34:14-15) Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, he is a jealous God; for fear that you may conclude a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, as they will certainly have immoral intercourse with their gods and sacrifice to their gods
This verse clarifies that this godly jealousy is not the petty human emotion:
(Ezekiel 39:25) I will show exclusive devotion for my holy name.
2006-06-23 01:27:01 · answer #7 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We were created in his image, not only physically but with a mind and emotions. God has emotions, he gets happy, he does get angry and jealous. He created each and everyone of us, yet we chose to worship false gods and then we deny him. God is very forgiving and his son Jesus taught that we should always be forgiving of others as often as they need forgiving.
He gets jealous when he seeks his handy works that he designed in his image worshiping false gods that can do nothing for them. If your children were to leave you and cling to another set of parents because they rather their affection irregardless of what you have done for them, would you not be angry? would you not be jealous? We were created in his image.
2006-06-22 15:41:20 · answer #8 · answered by JESUS IS LOVE 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, think about it. Anyone who loves you soooooo very much would be jealous if you loved someone else more than them, right? (Makes perfect sense to me!)
2006-06-22 15:36:59 · answer #9 · answered by Lynell S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because He is God. There are no other gods. Yet His sottish children dream up gods.
2006-06-22 15:38:27 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋