Road rules3 mins ago
Why was God demoted?
63 Answers
Here's a question for those of you who believe in the Judaeo/Christian 'God'. There's a bit of a preamble:
Until nearly 3000 years ago the Jews worshipped several gods depending on where in Israel they lived. The main gods of northern Israel were Baal and El. The god of southern Israel was YHWH (modified to Yahweh to make it pronounceable, and later to Jehovah). When the Jews decided to become monotheistic they chose YHWH to be their sole god, now called 'God'. This is the basis of the 1st commandment ('Thou shalt have no other gods but me'). Christians later adopted this god too, though not monothestically.
(That, briefly, is history as far as we can ascertain it.)
It was claimed that 'God' had created the whole of the universe and all life on earth.
(That is religious belief.)
The problem is that the universe emerged about 12,000 million years ago, the earth about 4,700 million years ago and life about 3,500 million years ago. (That is scientific fact as far as we can ascertain it.) So to my multiple question:
How come that the chap who performed such mind-boggling miracles thousands of millions of years ago, making him a Supreme Being, ended up as an obscure minor deity in a small part of a small country with very few people recognising him until the Jews decided to promote him? Why was he demoted from Supreme Being and who demoted him?
Rational discussion please. No sermons, Theland!
Until nearly 3000 years ago the Jews worshipped several gods depending on where in Israel they lived. The main gods of northern Israel were Baal and El. The god of southern Israel was YHWH (modified to Yahweh to make it pronounceable, and later to Jehovah). When the Jews decided to become monotheistic they chose YHWH to be their sole god, now called 'God'. This is the basis of the 1st commandment ('Thou shalt have no other gods but me'). Christians later adopted this god too, though not monothestically.
(That, briefly, is history as far as we can ascertain it.)
It was claimed that 'God' had created the whole of the universe and all life on earth.
(That is religious belief.)
The problem is that the universe emerged about 12,000 million years ago, the earth about 4,700 million years ago and life about 3,500 million years ago. (That is scientific fact as far as we can ascertain it.) So to my multiple question:
How come that the chap who performed such mind-boggling miracles thousands of millions of years ago, making him a Supreme Being, ended up as an obscure minor deity in a small part of a small country with very few people recognising him until the Jews decided to promote him? Why was he demoted from Supreme Being and who demoted him?
Rational discussion please. No sermons, Theland!
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1st. I am not a creationist but i do belive in creation. I firmly belive that when the Bible talks of creative days what is meant is epochs of time or creative periods of no set lenght.
So I do belive the universe has been around for many millions of years and the the earth has excisted for many millions of years.
However there is no solid proof that man has been here for more than about 6000 years. The data that man has is INCONCLUSIVE even if it does suggest a longer period of time
The God of the nation of Israel was YHWH. This was name was known from before the nation was born while they were in Egypt. But people did not always recognise the power and ability of YHWH.
When the nation of Isreal first setteled in the land of Cannon, the God they worshiuped was YHWH. At various times the nation rejected that God and went following other Gods. that is not the fault of the Almighty Creator but the faule of the people.
The God of the Bible, both as in the Old Testament and the New Testament is YHWH. Jesus was a Jew and worshiped the God of the Jews. He mentioed several times that his God was the same God as his people.
The New testament does not mention YHWH because by that time the Jews (the southern 2 tribe od Israel) had stopped using the name because they thouight it was too holly to pronounce. We have no original writtingsd of the New Ttestament writters only what scribes after the events coppied. It would apear as if the latter scribes droped YHWH and replaced it witrh God or Lord because of that custom. This makes it difficult to distinguish Jesus as lord and YHWH as Lord in the New Testsment
So I do belive the universe has been around for many millions of years and the the earth has excisted for many millions of years.
However there is no solid proof that man has been here for more than about 6000 years. The data that man has is INCONCLUSIVE even if it does suggest a longer period of time
The God of the nation of Israel was YHWH. This was name was known from before the nation was born while they were in Egypt. But people did not always recognise the power and ability of YHWH.
When the nation of Isreal first setteled in the land of Cannon, the God they worshiuped was YHWH. At various times the nation rejected that God and went following other Gods. that is not the fault of the Almighty Creator but the faule of the people.
The God of the Bible, both as in the Old Testament and the New Testament is YHWH. Jesus was a Jew and worshiped the God of the Jews. He mentioed several times that his God was the same God as his people.
The New testament does not mention YHWH because by that time the Jews (the southern 2 tribe od Israel) had stopped using the name because they thouight it was too holly to pronounce. We have no original writtingsd of the New Ttestament writters only what scribes after the events coppied. It would apear as if the latter scribes droped YHWH and replaced it witrh God or Lord because of that custom. This makes it difficult to distinguish Jesus as lord and YHWH as Lord in the New Testsment
Thankyou,gordo-burns, for that astonishingly late, but no less welcome, answer. Most of what you have said about YHWH I already know, as must be obvious from my question.
So what is your answer to the question: why was this awesome creature who created the universe some 12,000,000,000 years ago demoted to the role of a minor god of southern Israel, to be promoted less than 3000 years ago to be the monotheistic "God"?
I don't know where you got your 6000 years from for "man", though I suppose it depends on where you pick up the trail of 'homo' after his separation from the chimpanzee 6 million years ago and call him "man" at that point.
He would, though, have been very advanced indeed a mere 6000 years ago.
So what is your answer to the question: why was this awesome creature who created the universe some 12,000,000,000 years ago demoted to the role of a minor god of southern Israel, to be promoted less than 3000 years ago to be the monotheistic "God"?
I don't know where you got your 6000 years from for "man", though I suppose it depends on where you pick up the trail of 'homo' after his separation from the chimpanzee 6 million years ago and call him "man" at that point.
He would, though, have been very advanced indeed a mere 6000 years ago.
