I need help with this commandment

[SoulTYPE]

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Please explain why this command is given. Ok, perhaps He wants us all to worship Him to mould us in His image. So that we follow Him, through a life of truth and peace, and perhaps harmony.

But on the other hand, it is like He is forcing the issue a bit. it is apparently a sin to break one of the commandments. So, if one does not follow God Himself, he breaks the mentioned commandment. So, is this an instant sin?

 

[Circle_One]

I never really understood this either. It's like with Catholics who worship Mary and other saints...does that mean they are breaking this commandment as well?

 

[FyreBrigidIce]

Or could it mean that a mortal wrote that as the commandment in order to convert the pagans that worshipped Gods and Goddesses that existed to people before Christianity was even made?

I am curious as well.

 

[Circle_One]

I believe whomever wrote it definitely did so as a means of either condemning or converting others who did not follow the Christian God, but what about the Catholics? That's what I really want to know about.

 

[lilithu]

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Please explain why this command is given. Ok, perhaps He wants us all to worship Him to mould us in His image. So that we follow Him, through a life of truth and peace, and perhaps harmony.

No, it isn't a call to be like God, altho that's a very nice way to view it. It's literally a command to not worship any other gods than YHWH. At the time when these commands were issued, there were people - even Jews - worshipping other gods. And the god of Israel said, "I the Lord thy God am a jealous god. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

It means precisely what it says. The early Israelites were henotheistic and monolatrous, accepting the existance of many gods (and lessor deities), but professing allegiance to the "G-d of Israel".

 

[SoulTYPE]

I understand that D32, that it means what it says. Or how God meant it to sound. But does it not sound forceful? And if that is correect, what you said, does that mean the early Israelites HAD to believe in God?

 

[lilithu]

It's like with Catholics who worship Mary and other saints...does that mean they are breaking this commandment as well?

That's what a lot of Protestants claim. But if you talk to a knowledgeable Catholic, (s)he will say that they're not really worshipping Mary and the Saints when they pray to them. They're asking for intercession, but they always know Who really has the final say.

In a similar vein, when Buddhists bow to statues of the Buddha or other Bodhisattvas, they're not worshipping. And the Chinese do not engage in ancestral worship despite rumours to the contrary. A bow or a prayer does not a god make.

 

[lilithu]

The early Israelites were henotheistic and monolatrous, accepting the existance of many gods (and lessor deities), but professing allegiance to the "G-d of Israel".

Deut, I'm going to pick your mighty thesauric brain if I may.

I recently read a description of Hinduism as henotheistic. Hinduism has many devas - gods with a little "g" and one Atman or Brahman - God with a big "G." Theoretically, all Hindus worship God, but many choose to do it thru worship of one or another god. Would you agree that Hinduism is henotheistic?

 

[cardero]

Many religious institutions have accused me of conversing with a false GOD but my lawyer was able to dismiss the accusations due to prepositional loophole in the commandment. It seems that the discovery of the GOD that I am describing came after the GOD who wrote the commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Last I heard YHWH plans to appeal.

 

[fromthe heart]

Isn't there also something in the Bible that says we are not to bow down to anyone or anything? How would then bowing out of respect affect this part of thou shalt not have's. I do think the commandment 'THou shalt have no other gods before me' does mean we are commanded by God to not hold anything above God in any way shape or form...If we hold so much pride in anything in life it could be seen as holding that higher than God...gods could be ANYTHING. God put us here and He can take us out...His choice. I feel I must respect that my maker wants me to hold no one above Him...so I try very hard to not put too much stock into 'things'. Yes it may sound forcefull...but I'm a parent...I know I like to have my children listen to me when I tell them 'don't' so I see God in that sense...He's my heavenly Father...He says don't I'd better listen up.


Just my opinion...not intended to disallow any other's opinion.

 

[jewscout]

"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" - it's supposed to be a commandment to the Hebrew people to worship HaShem and not the gods of pagan nations. And really it's technically only for the Jewish people...everyone else is supposed to follow the 7 Laws of Noah.

 

[Circle_One]

Many religious institutions have accused me of conversing with a false GOD but my lawyer was able to dismiss the accusations due to prepositional loophole in the commandment. It seems that the discovery of the GOD that I am describing came after the GOD who wrote the commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Last I heard YHWH plans to appeal.

ROFL!!

 

[SoulTYPE]

With Moses as a lawyer?

But seriously. if God loves ALL people, despite whatever they believe, why would He make it a sin to disbelieve in Him? Sin is like bad. Does god not want people to be free of sin?

 

[lilithu]

Isn't there also something in the Bible that says we are not to bow down to anyone or anything? How would then bowing out of respect affect this part of thou shalt not have's.

This was the source of a great deal of pain when I was ten. My parents, who are agnostic/atheist, had sent me to a Lutheran school when I was nine for purely educative reasons, where I was taught the ten commandments and the fear of hell. Then, when I was ten my grandfather died and I refused to kowtow (bow) to his casket, thinking it was a violation of the commandment in question. My dad and my grandmother begged and cried but I still refused. I was ten and very sillly.

Do you really think that God would mind me paying my respects to my dead grandfather and more importantly giving some comfort to my living family?

I do think the commandment 'THou shalt have no other gods before me' does mean we are commanded by God to not hold anything above God in any way shape or form...If we hold so much pride in anything in life it could be seen as holding that higher than God...gods could be ANYTHING.

This is a less literal interpretation, but I agree with it completely. One ought not hold desire for wealth or fame or power over God. I personally don't believe that God will actually smite someone for doing so, but it certainly damages one's own soul.

 

[SoulTYPE]

"..keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety.."

The words from our Lord's prayer come into play here. So, within this prayer, is the Lord continually (yet subliminally) notioning that we must "reject" all other gods by asking to be kept free of sin.

 

[lilithu]

"..keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety.."

Is there more than one version of the Lord's prayer?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Deut, I'm going to pick your mighty thesauric brain if I may.

Unless you're on a diet, I recommend that you consider more fecund gardens.

Theoretically, all Hindus worship God, but many choose to do it thru worship of one or another god. Would you agree that Hinduism is henotheistic?

In my opinion, henotheism is not simply the worship of one among many, but also the obligation to worship one versus the others. This was definitely the case with the Sumerian/Canaanite Divine Council, with its individual deities assigned to the individual 'nations'.

With Hinduism - a theology about which I am far from conversant - the various deities seem to be viewed as manifestations of the Hindu trinity rather than the competing nobility of some polytheistic confederation. I would hesitate to apply terms like 'henotheism' and 'polytheism' to Eastern theology, if only because it seems more likely to confuse than clarify.

Sorry that I couldn't be of more help.

 

[SoulTYPE]

Is there more than one version of the Lord's prayer?

That is the part the priest at church says, AFTER you say the Our Father.

"Deliver us lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our dy. Through your mercy, keep us free from sin, and protect us from all anxiety, as we wait in joyfull hope for the coming of our saviour lord jesus christ. For the Kingdom, power and glory are yours; now and forever. I give you peace, my peace I give you. Look not in our sind but in the faith of our .."

I forgot the rest. I can almost recite a whole religious sermon.

 

[cardero]

The first commandment reads more like a factual statement than a commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods before me sounds like something that the first and longest existing entity would TRUTHfully proclaim.