if god says "Thou shalt have no gods before me" is this an admittance of the existance of other gods?

Question

and, other than "because god says so", how can we be sure he is the best one? i know it says so in the bible and all, but that's not proof that he is the best god to follow.

just curious

don - why don't we take this line in the bible literally? god meaning god, not money etc?

Answer 1

Yahweh/Jehovah/Allah once was part of a hierarchy of gods, but he was honored in particular because he was in charge of storms and rain - vital to the survival of a desert people. Later Yahweh replaced Ra the Egyptian sun god, thanks to the Atenist priest Moses, at which time his image was morphed into a brutal war god. It was then he was elevated to solitary "God" status by the Jews so that they could organize an army and take land, property and slaves for themselves, and claim a divine right to commit atrocities in the name of their 'God'. The Greek gods were evicted by a very popular branch (Christianity) of the cult of Yahweh, one of the desert gods in the middle east.

Christians claim that other gods are money, lust and so forth, but the historical fact is that the founders of Judaism considered Yahweh their own special god from a hierarchy of many gods just as real but not, in their ideology, as powerful.

Answer 2

When this was said, the Chosen were marryimg into other tribes, who followed all manner of dieties, nature, the moon, golden calves, fertile women, etc. etc. and God didn't want to be replaced. The verse is "I the lord thy God, am a jealous God, thou shalt have no other Gods before me." By the way, money is not a god, nor is the love of money, a God is a force untouched. Which may be why the Catholic Church is reviled, it professes to be untouched, taking the place of God.

Answer 3

Some argue that the Bible teaches polytheism in the Old Testament. Admittedly, several passages refers to "gods" in the plural (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 10:17; 13:2; Psalm 82:6; Daniel 2:47). It is debatable whether ancient Israel fully understood that there was only one true God. The ancient Israelites definitely did not live as if they believed that to be true. So, what are we to make of these and other passages that speak of multiple gods? It is important to note that the Hebrew word "elohim" was used to refer to the one true God, and to false gods / idols. It functioned almost identically to the English word "God." Describing something as a "god" does not mean you believe it to be a divine being. The vast majority of Old Testament Scriptures which speak of "gods" are speaking of false gods, those who claim to be gods but are not, idols. 2 Kings 19:18 summarizes it nicely, "They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands." Notice Psalm 82:6, "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler."

Answer 4

Zoroastrianism, a semi-monotheistic religion that existed in that are before Judaism became so strong is often thought to be the first belief in a single Deity, and the inspiration for many other beliefs.

In truth, though, the Zoroastrians did not believe in one god. They believed in a trinity: a neutral creator, a good god, and an evil god. They only believed in praying to the good god; the neutral god would not respond to them, and the evil god was not to be worshiped. This led to a stronger and stronger focus on one god and it became the job of special priests to handle anything relating to the other gods.

Answer 5

When you put something before God, like we put sacrifices, altars and priests, etc. then you don't have a very personal relationship. It's worship, by proxy.

God played a trick on man, in Jerusalem. For a full week before the crucifixion, everyone idolized Jesus. When the leaders realized they had put him before God, he was sacrificed. This was according to the Commandments. But then...he lived...

And now we can't get that fact out of our minds. Whether you believe the story or not, that fact will still pester your minds forever. And now, that fact, of Resurrection is the only thing that can stand before God. That fact of Resurrection is Christ, it is Jesus, the sacrifice, the intercessor. He stands before God, because man put him on the cross. They even put a sign above his head.

The pagan is baffled, and the atheist knows for sure there are no small gods.

Answer 6

Because before christianity there was and still is paganism,
worshiping of the gods and goddesses. In the bible it also states that God is a jealous god. Personally I would follow on non jealous god.
Morgaine

Answer 7

This has two meanings, one is for them not to worship fake gods, ie at the time there were many polytheistic religions in the region. Today it means not making things more important than God, ie money and possessions. Though it still does apply to worshiping other gods literally like if you happened to worship a golden calf in your backyard.

Answer 8

Gods were worshipped throughout the ancient world - The Egyptians worshipped gods, as did all the ancient civilizations. If you believe in the Adam and Eve story, the children of Adam moved away and their children's children's children etc remembered the god story and adapted it to their way of life.
If your God answers your prayers, then that is the god to follow.

Answer 9

It is an admittance of the tendency of men to create other "gods" of their own making, and to worship them instead of the real God. there is not "best" God. There is simply the eternal and omnipotent God vs. the feeble constructs of men.

Answer 10

The early books contained in the former testomony DO talk about different gods, as lots of the early human beings were monotheistic. even with the actuality that this verse is often interpreted as no idols somewhat those days.