Christians, how is it your Bible supports the idea that there are many Gods?

Question

You say there is only one God, yet your Bible states otherwise. Do you really know what you are believing in, or just accept what someone else tells you to believe? Here is a quote from your Bible (Corinthians 8:5-6):
8:5For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
8:6 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.
- It clearly admits that there are many Gods, but that you only worship one. That there are many Lords, but you only worship one (Jesus). So what is the deal here? Has someone lied to you? It is quite apparent that YOUR Bible states there are other Gods out there, as it was written by your God and must be taken literally and as the truth.

Scipio: It did not take long to have someone state that no matter how it reads, by taking it literally you are taking it out of context. Love that one. So does that mean the religion can not be taken literally since their Bible can not? I would go with that one, but once again Christians always twisting their religion to support their thoughts.

Mikearion: OK, so somehow the literal passage is not to be taken literally, wow that is amazing. So your whole religion should not be taken literally?
Here are more quotes of many Gods in your BIble:
Genesis 1:27 KJV: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:" Clearly "OUR" is plural, meaning more than one. Hence more than one God.
Exodus 20:3 "Thous shalt have no other gods before me." Note once again "GODS" plural, meaning more than one. It does not say you will not have any false gods before me, but Gods before me.
Throughout your Bible there is support that there are more than one God. Even Satan can be considered a God, as he obviously has power and dominion over his own place, HELL, and Earth.

Steve A: While you are being a jerk, here is my background so you can pull your head out of your.........well hopefully you will get the hint.

Roman Catholic school through to grade 12, spent two years in grade school in England at a private school, where Religion was one of the classes taught and Bible study was very much enforced (we all had our own Bibles that was part of it, KJV). So I have read the Bible front to back numerous times. University courses studying Christianity, Judaism and Islam. But then you are right, I would have no idea what the Bible is, let alone pick one up.

Madkins: Sorry I forgot the 1 Corintians 8:5-6, and only put in the question Corinthians 8:5-6. My bad, and I probably made you break open your Bible.

Answer 1

Lets not forget about noahs ark - no truth in this story whatsoever!

I wondered how long it would take someone to say "your quoting it out of context"

It seems to me that no matter how you quote the bible it appears to be out of context - what a ridiculous book.

Answer 2

Well, first, anything can become a god, (lower case), if you worship it! But not everything can be God, (upper case). The references are to the 'gods of the earth' etc. the gods made and worshipped by people on Earth at that time. Also idols sometimes performed miracles because a demon had possessed it and stated it was a god above God, which was of course a lie. It's just like 'son'. According to The Bible, the following are all described as God's 'Son':

- Adam
- Satan
- Jesus
- Priests and Kings
- Any Christian

But Jesus is the true 'Son of God' i.e the God the Son in Flesh of Man, the rest were made by God's Power and Glory. As I said before, anything can be a 'god'. So these gods were real, just not the God of Creation. The 'Ye are gods' is reffering to the same as God's 'Son' could refer to: one who is glorified through the Blood of Jesus. Even atheists acknowledge that there are gods, they just never created the world or lived in the heavens, (they were invented by man).

Thus, Pan is a 'god', Vishnu is a 'god', Thor is a 'god', Baal is a 'god', they're just not the God of Creation.

Then there is the question, 'Who is God talking to when He says 'Us'. Some possibilities could be:

- The angels.
- Himself as a Spirit without physical body.
- Other gods.

Who knows? But the fact that these 'gods' are referred to as lower-case letter gods seems to imply that they weren't and aren't the God of Creation.

And the question about 'Don't worship other gods', that's like saying that a Jew, Christian or Muslim would not go up to say, a Hindu or Wiccan and say, 'Who is your false god?'. They could, but chances are they'd just say, 'Who is your god?'

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Psa 19:7 The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. Psa 19:8 The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. Psa 19:9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever: The ordinances of Jehovah are true, and righteous altogether. Deu 32:4 The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he. Heb 2:10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. 2Sa 7:28 LORD All-Powerful, you are God. You have promised me some very good things, and you can be trusted to do what you promise. Job 40:1 I am the LORD All-Powerful, Psa 24:10 Who is this glorious king? He is our LORD, the All-Powerful! Psa 80:19 LORD God All-Powerful, make us strong again! Smile on us and save us. Isa 5:7 I am the LORD All-Powerful! Israel is the vineyard, and Judah is the garden I tended with care. I had hoped for honesty and for justice, but dishonesty and cries for mercy were all I found.

Answer 4

(When quoting Cor. or some other books, it is polite to include which one it is, ie- 1 Cor. 8:5-6)

The context of this passage speaks about meat sacrificed to idols, and you skipped the verse just before it: " But as for the meats that are sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one. "

There are other passages that suggest other gods (www.crosswalk.com's online concordance listed 215 of them across the Bible.) In many cases, the 'other gods' refered to are just idols, but a few suggest that there are other things that people think are gods, and a couple even suggest that there indeed are other things that can be called 'god'.

We as Christians confirm this every time we mention 'one true God', or that we believe in 'one God'. You don't phrase it that way if there is really only one. We never mention our 'one sun' or 'one President of the US'.

Most branches of Christianity recognize that there are indeed several 'gods'. It is the 'sound-bite, over-simplified' Christianity that is so common today that says otherwise.

Answer 5

Well maybe you should look at that passage again. 1 Corinthians 8:5 says "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords")," it says if there are 'so called Gods' that is not saying that there are other gods its saying that people are saying that there are other Gods and the words God and Lord are in quote marks. Then 1 corinthians 8:6 says "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." notice it says "yet for US there is ONE God..." THere is only one living God that is the TRUE God all the other "Gods" are made up by humans either built or thought of by us. So our bible says that there are other "so called Gods" but there is only One true God.

Answer 6

The bible says a lot of weird and contradictory things.

Psalms 82 is another place that has stuff about other gods.

Psalms 82
82:1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
82:4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
82:7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Some biblical commentators say that in the verses above, the word "gods" actually means "judges" or some other sort of human authority.

However, there is a bit of a problem that arises when these verses are interpreted that way. The problem is that Jesus quoted these verses in the gospels, and if you interpret these verses to be about judges, then the statement Jesus makes about these verses makes no sense.


John 10
10:30 I and my Father are one.
10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

If the verses in Psalms were actually talking about human judges, then in the verses in John, Jesus would be defending his own statements by saying that he didn't "literally" mean he was God, when he said he and the father were one.

However, if the verses in Psalms are taken to mean that there actually ARE other gods, then Jesus is saying that the Psalms back up his claim to be a god.

Either way, it seems a bit screwy.

I kind of wonder if the verses in Psalms may have actually been a reference to the angels that came down to Earth, mated with human women, and created the Nephilim, (giants). (Genesis 6:1-4).

It is generally believed that those angels were rebels and that they were never supposed to have come down to Earth. However, the non-canonical Jewish scripture, "The Book of Jubilees", states that God actually sent those angels to Earth to govern mankind. According to Jubilees, those angels didn't actually "fall" until they started mating with human women.

There are some indications that these angels, who had at one time ruled over men, may have been considered to be "gods" (small-case g), by the humans of that time.

To me, its seems like a decent explanation for why "God" would be lecturing a bunch of "gods" in this Psalm.

I'm not sure how much all of this addresses your original question, however...

I kind of think that the bible DOES say there are multiple gods that one COULD worship. However, it seems that most pastors and priests don't like to make this point too obvious. It could kind of lead into "dangerous territory" where their followers might start thinking about maybe praying to an extra god or two on the side. So, most Christians probably believe that there is only one deity, simply because their preachers have tried to encourage the idea, (even though the preachers know it is not strictly 100% correct).

Answer 7

I rarely meet someone as clever and learned as you, so it surprises me that you missed : You shall be as gods !!

In Hebrew, 'gods' can refer to spirits, without reference to where they are on the totem pole. You've heard of King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that's the superlative, again differing from the English.

Here is a distinction you should hold on to: There is what is being said, and there is how it is said. Go look up all those quotes in the LXX which was the actual Old Testament that Paul and Jesus usually quouted.

Answer 8

i love the coverall answer "youre taking the bible out of context" instead of actually addressing the question.

remember this was written at a time when the state religion was roman polytheism. if it were to say that other gods dont exist, it would have been burned immediately.... which might or might not have been for the best...

Answer 9

You are taken that a little out of context and missing the points. Let me try to help clarify the issue some.

...For though there be that are called gods... refers to the many "man made" gods that exist such as Baal, Zeus, even the spaghetti monster. Because their are those who believe in them doesn't make them real.
...as there be gods many... refers to the countless number of false gods that mankind has dreamed up over the years.
....and lords many.... refers to the many people that we subject ourselves to such as the lord of the house, English lords, etc.
The point that Paul is making is that Christians recognize that their is only one God and we should submit ourselves to Him as our Lord and only worship Him as our Lord and not treat any other as our Lord.

Hope that helps.

Answer 10

Religion scholars with Phds who spend their whole lives studying the bible can't agree on a uniform interpretation of its contents.

But despite that, we're all suppose to take your word for it on a random excerpt you likely got from the web? I'll bet you couldn't even find that passage if someone handed you a bible, let along offer an attention worth interpretation.