Exactly how monotheistic are we?
I want to ask a question that may require a great deal of preface. This question is likely to be just as answerable by our friends in the Jewish and Muslim communities as by Christians (he says while acknowledging his lack of insight into at least two of the three).Â
It is the common understanding that God is God alone. So much so that we all (usually) claim (with varying degrees of convincingness) to be monotheistic. Meaning we worship a single God.Â
There are no other ârealâ gods, we are told. It is this specifically but the monotheism, in general, that I would like to talk about.
Psalm 82 tells us you are all gods! That is a topic with its own question.
For the LORD is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods. [NET]
Here it is again annotated with the translation notes I looked up (on Bible hub).
For the LORD (Yahway SH3068) is a great God (El SH410), a great king who is superior to all gods (Elohim SH430).
Elsewhere all these titles are attributed directly to The Most High God. A title that would be meaningless unless there were lower gods.
âElohimâ is, according to the NAS Exhaustive Concordance the (masculine) plural form of âeloahâ.
In Genesis 3:22 Yahway Elohim says âthe man has become like usâ. Yahway (Rendered Lord or most high) Elohim (God).
1. To whom is Yahway Elohim speaking?
2. Who are the lower Elohim that God is King or ruler over? Is it just us as Psalm 82 counts us among the Elohim or are there others?
3. If we are gods as Psalm 82 and Genesis 3:22 suggests, then are there very many âlowerâ gods?
In Genesis 1:1 which says, âIn the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...â That word we render God is Elohim a plural form of âeloahâ. The translation notes for verse 2 has the VeRuach (of) Elohim hovering. The Spirit of Elohim is usually how that is translated.
3. Why donât we render that first verse âIn the beginning, the gods created...â? I understand that this would create doctrinal problems for everyone but if that is what the text is saying...Â
4. Is the Spirit of God (or the spirit of any elohim) a separate entity or an extension of Elohim?
In Job 1:6, the sons of haElohim (The God) present themselves before him. That suggests an entire family structure going on. Among the sons is haSatan (The Accuser) who makes a case against Job.
5. Are the sons of God the lower gods? It would stand to reason that a son is like his father, after all.
6. Is The Satan, therefore a lesser god - or at least the job description of one?
In Christianity, we have the figure of Jesus who is, we are told, the only begotten son of God. In light of the questions from the texts the predate Jesus, it does not seem like a huge stretch to claim to be a son of God if we are all gods and, by extension, all Godâs children.
7. With all these pre-existing sons, where does Jesus fit into the picture?
The new testament authors talk about us being co-heirs with Jesus. Which suggests that Jesus stands to inherit something.
8. What might Jesus inherit?
9. Given that we are elohim, as the scriptures say, might our place in the life to come be as sons of The Most Hight?Â
10a. Are we, therefore, little more than babies in a nursery right now?
10b. And, if so, might our best understanding be highly simplistic and very, very limited?
All of these questions leave me wondering how monotheistic the faith truly is. I do not, just for clarity, question that we worship The Highest of the gods, only if there are other gods our God is king over.
I have many questions and few, if any, answers. The floor is yours, what do you make of all this?