Polytheism or Monotheism?

paland · #1 06-27-2005, 12:19 AM

On the first page of the King James version of the Bible, it says, "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over ...". Just why is God speaking in the plurality?

Actually in the Hebrew Bible it has Elohim instead of God. And there are several interpretations of Elohim. One of which is "He who from the sky, to Earth came". Who are the Elohim?

This is also found in the clay tablets of Sumaria and Mesopatamia, which are over 1000 years older than the Old Testament. It leads one to believe that genesis was taken from the older accounts of the Sumarians. And according to the Sumarians, the Elohim are actually the Annunaki, which is an interesting story in itself.

But back to the original question, I have had several Bible thumpers tell me different versions on the plurality of quite a few quotes from Genesis. What do some of you all say?

vulturesrow · #2 06-27-2005, 12:43 AM

[ QUOTE ]
On the first page of the King James version of the Bible, it says, "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over ...". Just why is God speaking in the plurality?

Actually in the Hebrew Bible it has Elohim instead of God. And there are several interpretations of Elohim. One of which is "He who from the sky, to Earth came". Who are the Elohim?

This is also found in the clay tablets of Sumaria and Mesopatamia, which are over 1000 years older than the Old Testament. It leads one to believe that genesis was taken from the older accounts of the Sumarians. And according to the Sumarians, the Elohim are actually the Annunaki, which is an interesting story in itself.

But back to the original question, I have had several Bible thumpers tell me different versions on the plurality of quite a few quotes from Genesis. What do some of you all say?

[/ QUOTE ]

First off, you should always be suspicious of the KJV translations. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] At any rate, since Christians believe God is a trinity this pluralism is quite acceptable.

poker-penguin · #3 06-27-2005, 12:47 AM

1) It could be the Royal "We" (especially likely given it's the KJV).

2) As already stated, God is a Trinity so "Our" could be OK.

paland · #4 06-27-2005, 12:51 AM

Remember that the Jews do not believe that God is a trinity, lest they admit that Jesus was a messiah. And the quote comes from the Jewish religion. So saying that God is a trinity (Are there three Gods?) is not a good answer. And according to some Christians, Jesus did not sit by Gods side until he went through his ordeal here on Earth.. In which case, God was not yet a trinity at the time Genesis was written.

vulturesrow · #5 06-27-2005, 12:56 AM

Very few Christians believe that Jesus wasnt always part of the picture. And just because the Jews dont believe it doesnt mean it isnt an accurate translation (which Im not sure, dont have my Bible handy).

Zeno · #6 06-27-2005, 01:14 AM

There are actually two creation stories (myths) spliced together in Genesis. The first one ends at chapter 2 v. 4. Then another creation myth is added, this one goes into more detail about how humans were made etc, this version ends with Chapter 2. Chapter 3 starts another theme, man's disobedience. Any unbiased reading of the text shows the discordant nature of this text, even in translation. Note that man (and the animals) is created 'twice'.

There is intertwined in much of the Old Testament two traditions of god, one of Elohim and one of Yahweh.

Much of the Old Testament was probably not put together into a full account, that included all the oral traditions, until after the Babylonian Captivity, and creation, flood, and other myths with a more or less standard motif were borrowed and mixed in with other long standing oral traditions. If that is not quite right it is close - there are numerous scholarly works on this subject and a little searching would be very profitable.

-Zeno

quinn · #7 06-27-2005, 02:22 AM

[ QUOTE ]
And according to some Christians, Jesus did not sit by Gods side until he went through his ordeal here on Earth..

[/ QUOTE ]
John 1 (NIV)
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

and then..

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So according to John, Jesus was there from the beginning.