Take Genesis 3:22 "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us,..." which would indicate that there is more than one God. Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me.", with the pluralized "gods", hence more than one god.
Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..."
Also in the original Bible, the fourth word is Elohim in Hebrew, which Elohim is Gods - note it is that plural. Hence "In the beginning Gods created the heaven and the earth." The word Elohim is used 2,570 times in the Old Testament, all times the usage is plural.
2007-01-28 11:44:16 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Chef Bob: Try reading the Bible.
2007-01-28 11:56:35 · update #1
OK, to all the people who keep bringing up the fact that the Bible uses the term God in plural, because you think that it is referring to the "Holy Trinity", just FYI Jesus was not around at that time, nor an itch in his daddy's pants. And in the event that Jesus was around, then he would constitute a seperate God (entity), hence no belief in monotheism.
2007-01-29 03:04:08 · update #2
And for those who have been told that Elohim is meant to be singular, then why would they not have used Eloah. Elohim is the plural of Eloah.
And no this is not meant to beat up on Christians, and if it feels that way when someone questions the book you hold above all others, maybe that is because you also question the Bible as well.
2007-01-29 03:21:40 · update #3
Even more telling is the fact that prior to the book-based faiths, monotheism was unheard of. Even if you only worshipped one deity, you accepted the reality of many gods.
2007-01-28 11:48:09 · answer #1 · answered by Huddy 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
For one thing, in Gen 3:22, God is speaking with the Angels as well, since they also have free will and know good from evil so this isnt a verse pointing to "other gods" for another thing, there ARE other gods, just only One True God, all the rest are false gods.
And Elohim being plural has been in agreement with the Christian doctrin of the trinity, that God IS plural in His own essence.
2007-01-28 19:50:12 · answer #2 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 5⤋
One thing you should all keep in mind is that this question is not simply a question for Christians, but for Jews and Muslims as well. And that means that if you genuinely want to explore this question, you should also look to rabbinical commentary.
I've been told in the past that in many places in the Old Testament, "Elohim" is used in conjunction with singular verbs and adjectives. I do not have a reference for this, so please, don't take my word for it. But be sure to eliminate that possibility before you decide that this question shows how Christians are irrational morons who can't admit that this is a contradiction.
Don't leap to easy conclusions simply because they let you beat up on people you don't like.
2007-01-28 20:33:29 · answer #3 · answered by TimM 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 3 persons in the one God. Plural.
It is also generally presumed that God has a male and a female side. Plural again. It is not wise to assume that God is a man that looks like you do. God is spirit and the essence of man is spirit. That is why God made man in his image: not human image but spiritual image. The reference to Exodus 20.3, the false gods bit..people often had a host of statues to the many different gods of the day. The Lord God didnt want them to praise these many gods, but to pray to Him alone. One true God.
2007-01-28 19:56:53 · answer #4 · answered by fitzy 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I think the use of the plural form in the Bible refers to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (the Trinity). Man has flesh and spirit, each part of what makes up "God". A person can have multiple "gods" in that they can worship many things - money, self, family, satan (you get the point). If the word God is mostly plural in the Old Testament, that leads me to think that once Christ was sent to earth, the plural was no longer used - but I do believe the spirit of Christ (God) was around much longer than Christ in the flesh.
There is One God, and Christ said He is the way, the truth and the light.
2007-01-28 19:51:45 · answer #5 · answered by jane 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋
I think "one God, to trump all other gods" was just the natural progression in the evolution and sociology of the god concept.
In the immortal words of a prophet of long ago, "There can be only one..."
2007-01-28 20:37:40 · answer #6 · answered by hanovercc 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Bible does teach there are many gods, all the angels are gods, Satan is a god, the god of this system of things, Jesus is a god, BUT, there is only ONE TRUE GOD, Jehovah, the creator, and Father of all, and it is to him alone everyone must render sacred service. When God said man has become as one of us, there were all the angels in heaven with him you know, he wasn't alone. And when God said, let us make man in our image, he was speaking to his Son, his Masterworker, the firstborn of all creation, Colossians 1:15.
2007-01-28 19:51:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
yes, you are right in Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is one being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit.
2007-01-28 20:09:24 · answer #8 · answered by Christine S 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Just goes to show that the Bible was interpreted by humans who only allowed what was convenient into it.
2007-01-28 20:39:25 · answer #9 · answered by Who Knew! 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Their god Jehovah commanded them to deny the existence of the other gods. If they believe their Bible, they believe in the other gods, but deny their existence lest they incur the Holy Smackdown of JHVH-1.
2007-01-28 19:51:32 · answer #10 · answered by Lee Harvey Wallbanger 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋